Courtyard House: Home Alone

A tense atmosphere seemed to permeate the air. Master Yao had overheard a few sentences during Lin Yifan's interrogation and knew that there was a large bandit hideout in the area. Although he didn't know the specifics, he could feel the oppressive atmosphere of the place, and his hands gripping the steering wheel began to sweat slightly again.

Lin Yifan, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened, calmly scanning the area ahead, while his mental energy acted like an invisible net, taking in the situation within several miles.

He "saw" that, five kilometers ahead, at a narrow mountain pass, there was indeed a roadblock. Six bandits with rifles were lazily leaning against a rock smoking, with a thick log lying next to them, obviously intended to stop passing vehicles.

Less than a hundred meters away on the hillside, four bandits armed with long guns lay in ambush. It seemed these bandits were seasoned veterans, not only knowing how to set up visible sentries for interception but also leaving hidden sentries as a precaution, creating a crossfire formation.

Lin Yifan understood; these guys did have some strategy, knowing how to take advantage of the terrain. He carefully observed the bandits' positions: the six sentries were positioned on both sides of the mountain pass, and the logs were placed across the road, blocking vehicles from passing.

The sentries on the hillside were hidden behind bushes in treacherous locations, making them difficult to spot.

He could even "hear" their hushed conversation, interspersed with a few swear words and complaints about passing vehicles. It seemed they had been waiting there for quite some time and were getting impatient.

For Mr. Yao's safety, he asked him to stop and pointed to a gentle slope next to him, saying, "Mr. Yao, drive the car down the slope into the woods and wait for me in the car. I'll go check ahead first."

By the way, before you left, I heard you mention that you would bring a weapon for self-defense. I wonder if you did? If so, what kind of weapon?

Master Yao was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized what he meant and nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, Mr. Lin, I'll get it for you right away!"

As he spoke, he shakily pulled a long object wrapped in oilcloth from under the driver's seat and carefully unwrapped it.

Inside was an old hunting rifle. The gun was in fairly good condition, but signs of use were clearly visible.

"This was something I used when I was young, hunting with my father. After we stopped hunting, I kept it, thinking it would be useful for self-defense in case we encountered wild animals. I never expected... sigh, I never expected to encounter something like this." Master Yao's voice was trembling with tears, clearly he was quite frightened by what he had just witnessed.

Lin Yifan took the shotgun, checked the chamber and trigger, weighed it in his hand, and nodded: "It's alright, it'll be useful. After you hide the car, stay inside, lock the doors, and don't come out or make any noise no matter what you hear. I'll come back to you after I've finished this."

"Okay, okay, I understand, Mr. Lin. You...you must be careful!" Master Yao looked at Lin Yifan, his eyes filled with worry and gratitude. He knew that this young man was his only hope.

Lin Yifan grunted in response, said nothing more, opened the car door, and darted out silently like a cat, disappearing into the dense forest in a few leaps.

Instead of rushing directly towards Luka at the mountain pass, he used his mental strength to circle around to the hillside on the side of Luka, where he lay in ambush in a thicket of bushes, carefully observing Luka's situation.

The location of the road was indeed very tricky. The mountain pass was narrow, only wide enough for one truck to pass through, with steep mountain walls on one side and a bottomless cliff on the other.

Although the bandits looked lazy, their eyes kept glancing at both ends of the mountain road.

Suddenly, Lin Yifan noticed a group of about ten people appearing behind the cliff next to him, led by the bandit scout he had just spotted.

These men were fast on their feet; in no time at all, they had caught up. He didn't know that they had actually driven a large circle around the mountain, while the bandit scouts had come in a straight line.

The two scouts were followed by a burly man, presumably also a bandit leader. To finish the job quickly, he decided not to wait any longer.

So, with a thought, he first fired four bullets from the stationary warehouse, taking out the four bandits on the hillside. Next, he dealt with the six bandits at the outpost.

At the same time, they collected the bodies and their guns, throwing the corpses into the nearby bushes, while leaving the guns and loose coins in the storage space. Although these guns were practically useless, if they were left here, someone would surely pick them up and continue to harm the neighbors.

After doing all this, he used his lightness skill to rush towards the group of people behind the cliff.

At this moment, the two scouts were walking along, trying to curry favor with their leader. One of them said, "Second Boss, we saw it clearly. There were only two people in the cart, and the cart looked brand new. There were also several packages on it, indicating that they were going to buy goods somewhere. There must be a lot of silver dollars in those packages."

"Second-in-command, and I saw that the person next to that driver looks like a child. He's dressed nicely, with fair skin and delicate features. He's probably some rich young master. If we kidnap him... we can definitely make a fortune!" Another scout chimed in, his face full of greedy smiles.

The burly man known as "Second-in-Command" narrowed his triangular eyes, his fat twitched, and he grinned, "Good! You two dogs have some sense! Once we take this fat sheep, you'll get your share! Hurry up, both of you, hold your weapons tight, don't let the duck that's already in our mouths fly away!"

He had barely finished speaking when he felt a blur before his eyes, a chill on his neck, and then his consciousness vanished into darkness. Lin Yifan appeared behind him like a ghost, a dagger he had somehow acquired from the bandits now in his hand, dripping with blood.

The two scouts, still dreaming of getting rich, didn't even see Lin Yifan's movements clearly before they clutched their necks and fell to the ground, their eyes wide with fear and confusion.

The remaining bandits were terrified when they saw this. Just as they were about to raise their guns, they found that Lin Yifan was already weaving among them.

With a few muffled thuds, accompanied by the bandits' short screams, in the blink of an eye, all ten or so bandits fell into pools of blood, without even firing a single shot.

Lin Yifan clapped his hands, as if he were just brushing off the dust, and coldly swept his eyes over the corpses on the ground. Then he used his mental power to put their guns and money into his spatial storage.

He glanced at the empty mountain pass to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then continued running in the direction they had come from. He had already used his mental power to "see" the mountain stronghold on Niutou Mountain.

It was getting dark, and Lin Yifan checked the time; it was already past six in the afternoon. He needed to hurry, otherwise, Master Yao might get scared out of his wits by being alone in the woods by the roadside.