Courtyard House: Home Alone

A moment later, a man wearing a worn black cotton-padded jacket strode out, followed by several thin soldiers carrying guns. The leader was Lü Wei.

When Lü Wei saw Lin Yifan, his eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly took a few steps to greet him: "Young Master! You really came in person! We only received the news last night, and we thought you wouldn't arrive for several days."

Lin Yifan smiled and nodded, then shook hands with him: "The situation here is urgent, so I rushed over at night. Lead the way and take me to see their leader."

"Okay, sure!"

Lu Wei quickly agreed and led Lin Yifan into the canyon, explaining the situation of the Third Detachment to him in a low voice as they walked: "Young master, the current detachment leader of the Third Detachment is named Wang Dengzhi. Last year, the original detachment leader was seriously injured during the breakout and did not survive."

"Now the detachment has a total of 427 people, including him, and 118 of them are wounded. Nearly 30 of them have caught a cold and have a persistent fever, just waiting for medicine to save their lives."

Lin Yifan followed him inside. Along the way, the Anti-Japanese Allied Army soldiers they encountered were all very surprised to see the child following behind Lü Wei, but they all behaved themselves and did not surround him. They just looked at him from a distance, and it was clear that although this team was poor and destitute, its discipline was still very strict.

As they approached the entrance to the main cave, a burly man with a full beard, wearing a coarse linen jacket with several patches, stood there, looking at Lin Yifan with a questioning gaze.

Lu Wei approached the burly man, made way for Lin Yifan behind him, and said to the burly man, "Captain Wang, this is Lin Yifan, the representative of 'Ghost,' also known as Young Master Lin. He just arrived from Beiping."

After saying that, he turned to Lin Yifan and said respectfully, "Young Master, this is Captain Wang of the Third Detachment of the Anti-Japanese United Army. Their situation is very bad. If they don't get any outside help, they probably won't last even a month."

Wang Dengzhi was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward and extended his rough hand, his voice slightly hoarse: "I didn't expect it would be Brother Lin who came all this way in person. Thank you so much. All the soldiers of our Third Detachment thank 'Ghost' for his help!"

Lin Yifan reached out and shook hands with him, feeling the thick calluses on his palms and the gun calluses on his hands. He smiled and said, "You have persisted in the War of Resistance under such difficult conditions. You are all heroes of China. I truly admire you."

"We're all brothers fighting the Japanese, so let's skip the formalities. I brought a lot of medicine, food, and weapons with me this time. Come with me to check the supplies first, and let's get the medicine to the wounded as soon as possible so we don't delay treatment."

Upon hearing this, Wang Dengzhi's eyes welled up with tears. His throat bobbed a few times, and it took him a long time to speak: "Brother Lin, our Third Detachment of the Anti-Japanese United Army will remember this favor. We will never hesitate to help you in the future!"

"You're too kind. Let's go now. The supplies are in a cave not far from here. Let's get more people with us; there's a lot of stuff."

After saying that, he turned to look at Lü Wei and said, "Have your brother send a telegram home immediately to tell the stationmaster that I have arrived safely."

Lü Wei quickly replied, "Okay, I'll go arrange it right away."

Wang Dengzhi turned around and called to an Anti-Japanese Allied Army soldier: "Er Gouzi, go and find Deputy Captain Chen, and have him go and register the supplies together."

The soldier responded loudly, turned and ran into the cave next to him. He returned a moment later and saluted Wang Dengzhi: "Brigade Commander, we can't find the Deputy Brigade Commander. I asked around, and they said they didn't see him last night."

"What? Chen Zhipeng is missing?"

A look of astonishment flashed across Wang Dengzhi's face, followed by a deep frown. His rough hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and his voice carried a barely perceptible hint of anxiety: "He was perfectly fine, how could he just disappear? Who was the last person to see him last night?"

The soldier straightened up and quickly replied, "Last night during the shift change, some brothers saw him go to the slope on the east side of the ridge, saying he was going to check for any traces of the Japanese. After that, no one has seen him return to the cave."

"Er Gouzi, get a few men to go look for him again right now. Also, go and call the last person who saw him last night; I need to talk to him."

Er Gouzi responded loudly, turned around and called to two soldiers, who then hurriedly headed towards the east of the ridge with their guns.

Wang Dengzhi suppressed his unease and cupped his hands in greeting to Lin Yifan: "Please excuse my rudeness, young man. This mountain is quite chaotic. Perhaps he sprained his ankle somewhere and was delayed. Let's go move the supplies first. I'll have someone look for him here."

Lin Yifan felt a bit more wary. At this stage, the Anti-Japanese United Army was in a very difficult situation. Under the Japanese encirclement and suppression, this Third Detachment was one of the few remaining anti-Japanese forces in Northeast China. It was inevitable that some of them would have wavering wills.

If Chen Zhipeng were to defect to the Japanese, the entire hiding place of the Third Detachment would be exposed, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

He suppressed his doubts and ordered Lü Wei, who was waiting at the door, in a deep voice: "Take two brothers and search carefully the place where Chen Zhipeng was last seen. See if he left anything behind. Be careful not to alert the nearby sentries and don't leave any traces."

After instructing Lü Wei, he turned to Wang Dengzhi and said, "Captain Wang, let them search first. We should bring the supplies back first. The wounded and sick soldiers need their medicine immediately."

Wang Dengzhi took a deep breath to calm himself down. Saving lives was the priority now, so he nodded and called on the dozen or so soldiers who had rushed over to follow Lin Yifan to the cave where the supplies were hidden.

The group tiptoed around several slippery, steep slopes and soon reached the cave entrance.

Lin Yifan lifted the bushes blocking the cave entrance, and a fresh scent of food and medicine wafted out. The soldiers who had come with him stared wide-eyed at the cave filled with supplies, speechless for a long time.

Wang Dengzhi rubbed his eyes, walked over and touched the new cotton quilts piled on the outside, then moved a box of penicillin still in its packaging, his hands trembling slightly.

These are the treasures they're desperately trying to get their hands on, but they just can't have them.

Lin Yifan smiled at their excited expressions and said, "Quickly have someone transport all these things back. Pick out the medicines and give them to the wounded first. Steam some hot food so everyone can have a good meal. Distribute the weapons and ammunition to the soldiers as well, so they'll have something to fight if the Japanese come."

Wang Dengzhi then snapped out of his daze, quickly wiping his eyes. He turned and waved to the soldiers behind him, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry back and get some people to move it. Be careful, don't make a noise!"

The soldiers responded with a roar and hurriedly turned back to the canyon to call for reinforcements. Before long, dozens of soldiers who could still walk came over. They carried and lifted the supplies, making three trips to transport all the supplies back to the canyon base.