Courtyard House: Home Alone

Lin Yifan glanced at the deaf old woman, knowing that she wanted to settle things peacefully.

He didn't want to make a big fuss, after all, this was his temporary refuge, and the deaf old woman was a good shield.

As long as the Jia family doesn't provoke him again, he's too lazy to go after them completely.

So he said calmly, "For Grandma Long's sake, let's let this matter go today. But I'm telling you this: the Jia family had better behave themselves from now on."

"Don't get any more ideas, or next time it won't be as simple as just losing a hand!" After saying that, he didn't look at the three Jia family members again and turned to walk towards the backyard.

Seeing that there was nothing exciting to see, the neighbors dispersed, chatting amongst themselves.

"I never expected that Yifan, who usually seems so well-behaved, would be so ruthless when he gets going. I didn't even see it clearly before Jia Dongxi got slapped twice."

"Of course, this child must have practiced."

"They even slander a seven-year-old child; the Jia family is truly despicable."

Yi Zhonghai stood there, watching Lin Yifan's figure disappear through the back gate of the backyard. His eyes were complicated, and his brows were furrowed. It was unclear what he was thinking.

The deathly silence in the courtyard was broken only by Jia Dongxu's painful groans after Lin Yifan's figure disappeared behind the door.

Only then did Madam Jia realize what had happened. She rushed to her son's side, hugging his arm and weeping uncontrollably, "Dongxu! My son! What will we do if your hand is ruined!"

Yi Zhonghai's face was ashen. He looked at Lin Yifan's tightly closed door, then at Jia Dongxu wailing on the ground and Jia Zhangshi crying her heart out. A look of fear and confusion flashed in his eyes.

He never expected Lin Yifan to be so ruthless and so cruel! This guy is no longer a child, he's a monster!

The deaf old woman, leaning on her cane, had a barely perceptible flicker of emotion in her cloudy eyes. She coughed softly, her voice low but carrying a hint of authority: "What are you all doing here? What's so interesting! Disperse! Disperse! Dongxu, take him to the hospital right away!"

The neighbors, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, lowered their heads and quickly dispersed, afraid of getting involved in any trouble.

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath and stepped forward to Jia Zhangshi, saying, "Alright, stop crying! Hurry and get Dongxu to the hospital! If we wait any longer, his hand will be ruined!"

Only then did Madam Jia remember her son's injuries, and she cried out, "Money... I have no money! My silver dollars have been stolen, how can I afford to take Dongxu to the doctor!"

She started crying out for her "big ocean" again, but this time, her voice was noticeably weaker, and she no longer dared to openly look at Lin Yifan's door.

Yi Zhonghai frowned, took out a few yuan from his pocket and handed it to Jia Zhangshi: "Take this first, hurry up and go!" Jia Zhangshi took the money as if she had grasped a lifeline. With the help of several neighbors, she hurriedly helped Jia Dongxu up and walked towards the yard, crying and sobbing.

The farce seems to have come to a temporary end.

But both Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman understood that this was just the beginning. Lin Yifan, this child, had already begun to show his talent.

As Yi Zhonghai stared at Lin Yifan's door, his gaze grew increasingly somber. He knew that his previous plans would likely have to be completely changed. This Lin Yifan was not someone he could easily control.

Meanwhile, in Beiping, more than eighty Japanese soldiers and puppet troops were killed due to Lin Yifan's daytime attack. These killed Japanese soldiers and puppet troops were mainly in some residential areas and alleys.

This caused widespread panic among the Japanese soldiers and puppet troops assigned to the search. What was supposed to be a cushy job had now turned into a deadly one.

They carried their guns and moved cautiously through the alley, carefully observing their surroundings with every step, fearing that a vengeful ghost might suddenly appear from any corner.

Most residents kept their doors and windows tightly shut, barely daring to breathe, and the entire city of Beiping was shrouded in a suffocating atmosphere of panic.

Occasionally, one could hear the furious roars of Japanese officers and the chaotic footsteps in the streets and alleys, but none of this could dispel the shadow of death that permeated the air.

This assassin, lurking in the shadows, has now become an inescapable nightmare for the Japanese soldiers and their collaborators.

When the Japanese headquarters learned of this news, they first transferred a major general brigade commander from Tanggu to take charge of the overall situation, and they were discussing overnight who to send to Beiping to serve as the commander and chief of staff of the Japanese North China Area Army.

Back in his room, Lin Yifan quickly finished his dinner, washed up briefly, and went to sleep in his spatial dimension. He knew that due to the curfew and martial law, there shouldn't be many military police personnel left on duty, so he planned to go to the military police headquarters tonight to see if he could replenish some grenades and weapons.

At the official residence in Wudu, Director Dai, beaming with joy, had just arrived and immediately instructed his aide to inform the president that there was some extremely good news to report. Upon receiving the news, Jiang Kaishi, while dressing, walked out of the bedroom and, seeing Director Dai, said, "Yu Nong, what good news is it that you're in such a hurry?"

"Principal, Station Chief Wang from Beiping just sent an urgent telegram: the Japanese North China Expeditionary Army Commander, Chief of Staff, newly appointed 6th Division Commander, Japanese Consul in Beiping, and five major generals, among other high-ranking officers, were all wiped out at the Japanese New Year's banquet yesterday. Among them were also many high-ranking officials of the puppet government."

Director Dai's voice trembled with excitement as he handed over the newly translated telegram with both hands: "Principal, look, this is a telegram sent back by Station Chief Wang using the highest level of encryption. It says that at least a dozen Japanese generals and more than a dozen junior officers were killed on the spot, and the entire Japanese command headquarters in Beiping was almost completely wiped out!"

Jiang Kaishi took the telegram, his fingers turning slightly white from the force. After reading it word by word, he slammed the telegram onto the table.

His eyes gleamed with disbelief: "Good! What a brilliant move to wipe them all out! Who has such a large-scale operation? Have you found out yet?"

Director Dai quickly bowed and said, "It's not clear yet which hero it was. Station Chief Wang only said that there were very few traces left at the scene, as if a master had made a precise surprise attack and escaped unscathed."

But that doesn't matter anymore—Principal, this is the most exhilarating decapitation operation we've achieved on the North China battlefield since the start of the war!

The Japanese North China Area Army is now leaderless and will inevitably fall into chaos, which is a huge advantage for our resistance war behind enemy lines!

Jiang Kaishi paced around the study for a few steps, then suddenly stopped, pointed to the location of Beiping on the map, and said in a deep voice: "Immediately send a telegram back to Station Chief Wang, and find out this person's identity at all costs!"

If they are truly patriots of our side, we must do everything in our power to protect and support them; if not... we must find a way to win them over!

Furthermore, the Propaganda Department was ordered to immediately publicize this matter extensively, so that the entire nation, both military and civilian, would know that the Japanese devils are not invincible!

Director Dai acknowledged the order and turned around, unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips—who would have thought that in the fallen, isolated city of Beiping, there was such a mysterious assassin capable of stirring up storms?