Courtyard House: Home Alone

Leading the group was a burly Japanese sergeant with a sword at his side. After kicking Old Man Zhang aside, he roared in broken Chinese, spitting as he spoke, "All of you, come out! Men, stand on the left; women, stand on the right! The Imperial Army is searching; have any suspicious persons entered this area?"

In the courtyard, everyone was awakened and came out trembling. Yi Zhonghai frowned and stepped forward to say something, but was driven back by the fierce look in the eyes of the Japanese sergeant.

Li Ermazi, with a fawning expression, approached and bowed obsequiously: "Sir, sir, everyone in this courtyard is a law-abiding citizen, absolutely no suspicious persons! Is there some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding?" The Japanese sergeant sneered, drawing his sword and pointing it at Li Ermazi. "Baka! When has the Imperial Army ever made a misunderstanding?! Search! Search thoroughly! Don't miss a single room! Especially check if there are any strangers!"

"Yes! Yes!" Several puppet soldiers immediately responded and were about to rush into the various rooms.

The deaf old woman, leaning on her cane, stood at the back of the crowd. Although her face was somewhat pale, her eyes were unusually calm. She seemed to have sensed something, and her gaze drifted unintentionally toward the room where Lin Yifan was.

Lin Yifan had a bad feeling. He had just returned and there might still be a faint smell of blood on him. Although he had tried his best to remove it, these Japanese soldiers with a keen sense of smell and the puppet troops who had been in the underworld for a long time might notice something.

Moreover, once they enter the house, although he can deal with them instantly, that would implicate everyone in the entire courtyard, with unimaginable consequences.

"We can't let them search the house." Lin Yifan's eyes were icy, his mind racing. A direct confrontation wouldn't work; he could only try to distract them or create chaos.

Just then, the Japanese sergeant seemed to get impatient and kicked open the door of He Daqing's house next door with a loud "bang," which startled Han Fengzhi so much that she screamed and hugged her five-year-old son, He Yuzhu, tightly.

He Daqing had an angry expression and clenched his fists, but when he saw the Japanese soldier's sword, he ultimately did not dare to retaliate.

Suddenly, Lin Yifan noticed that at the entrance of another alley more than 200 meters away, a group of more than ten puppet soldiers, led by traitors and Japanese soldiers, were preparing to enter the alley to search.

Then, he had a flash of inspiration and precisely threw the remaining three grenades at their feet.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The delayed-action grenades exploded before the Japanese soldiers and puppet troops could react.

Three violent explosions rang out almost simultaneously, shaking the surrounding courtyards. The flames instantly illuminated the night sky, turning the alleyway over two hundred meters away as bright as day. This was followed by a barrage of gunfire and the agonizing screams of the puppet troops.

The expressions of the Japanese soldiers and puppet troops in the courtyard changed drastically. The Japanese sergeant turned his head sharply towards the direction from which the explosion came, his face showing a look of surprise and uncertainty.

"What's going on over there?!" he shouted sternly.

Before his men could respond, even more intense gunfire and shouts came from afar, as if a large force was gathering in the direction of the explosion.

The Japanese sergeant's eyes gleamed. News of the consulate attack had already spread, and martial law and a manhunt were in effect throughout Beiping. The sudden, violent explosion meant that a "big fish" had appeared.

In comparison, this small courtyard house doesn't seem so important anymore.

"Damn it! There's something going on over there!" The Japanese sergeant gritted his teeth, clearly believing the other side deserved more "credit." He immediately ordered, "Leave two men to check, the rest of you come with me to provide support! Quickly!"

"Yes, sir!"

The puppet soldiers dared not delay and immediately followed the Japanese sergeant to run out of the courtyard, leaving only two puppet soldiers with nervous expressions who hurriedly looked around the courtyard and occasionally glanced in the direction of the explosion.

The people in the courtyard breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing the relief of surviving a close call. Yi Zhonghai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, while Li Ermazi patted his chest and chuckled, "That scared me to death! Luckily, something happened over there, otherwise..."

The two puppet soldiers went through the motions and left. The deaf old woman turned her gaze away from Lin Yifan's room, a barely perceptible smile appearing on her lips before returning to her calm.

Leaning on his cane, he said shakily to Grandpa Zhang, "Old Zhang, close the gate, it's getting cold. Xiao Yi, go and collect the silver dollars. If the Japanese come again, send them away and don't let them into the yard and cause trouble."

Grandpa Zhang quickly agreed, carefully closed the gate, and locked it.

Yi Zhonghai nodded in agreement and began collecting silver dollars from house to house.

Lin Yifan, watching everything unfold from behind the window, breathed a slight sigh of relief. His risky detonation of the bomb was a calculated move, anticipating the Japanese soldiers' greed for credit, and it had worked.

"It's safe for now," Lin Yifan thought to himself, but his eyes remained alert. He knew this was only temporary; the Japanese wouldn't give up easily, and the search would only become more thorough.

He quickly entered the space, washed himself, changed into his usual clothes, returned to his room, and turned on the light.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Yi Zhonghai's voice came from outside: "Xiao Fan, the old lady wants each family to pay one silver dollar."

Lin Yifan opened the door and saw Yi Zhonghai standing there, his face bearing his usual sternness, but deep in his eyes seemed to lie a complex emotion that was difficult to detect. "Xiao Fan, are you alright? Did the Japanese search you just now scare you?" he asked with concern.

"It's alright, Uncle Yi, I was a sound sleeper. I was just woken up by the noise outside." Lin Yifan rubbed his eyes, feigning confusion, his voice hoarse from just waking up. "Collecting silver dollars? What are you collecting silver dollars for so late?"

Yi Zhonghai sighed and lowered his voice, saying, "It's all because of those Japanese soldiers who were searching the house earlier. Madam said that each family should contribute one silver dollar to get rid of them quickly. If we let them in, who knows how much they'll rob us of."

Lin Yifan's face showed a look of sudden realization, then he frowned, "But Uncle Yi, I'm just a kid, where would I get so much money? You know my situation..." He deliberately looked embarrassed.

Yi Zhonghai seemed to have expected this, and waved his hand, saying, "I know you're short on money. So, I discussed it with the deaf old lady, and I'll cover your share for now. We can talk about it again when you have more money."

As he spoke, without waiting for Lin Yifan to refuse, he turned around to leave, saying, "Alright, you should get some rest. Tomorrow probably won't be peaceful either."

"Well... thank you very much, Uncle Yi," Lin Yifan said, "thank you profusely," watching Yi Zhonghai walk to the next house.

As soon as the door closed, Lin Yifan's expression returned to calm, his eyes deep and thoughtful. Yi Zhonghai paying for it? It's probably not that simple.

Are they genuinely trying to protect the courtyard, or are they using this opportunity to further investigate their own background, or even to tie themselves to their "war chariot" and provide for their old age?

"Interesting." Lin Yifan's lips curled into a cold smile. These shrewd people in the courtyard each had their own thoughts and calculations.

However, their skills are no match for his greatly increased strength.