Courtyard House: A Veteran Returns Home and Becomes a Father

The night is getting darker.

One by one, the lights of Beijing went out, like a giant beast slowly closing its millions of weary eyes.

As the last jingling tram returned to the terminal, the whole city fell asleep.

But beneath this slumber, an invisible net is quietly tightening in the darkness.

The barbershops in the south of the city, the used bookstores in the west, the candied hawthorn vendors at Qianmen, the burly rickshaw pullers at Deshengmen… all these figures, inconspicuous during the day, have now become ghosts in the night. They did not gather together, but with an astonishing tacit understanding, they silently infiltrated from all directions toward the same coordinate point—Houhai, a heavily guarded private residence.

This is Lin Wanyuan's private treasure vault.

A true fortress.

The high wall, made of blue bricks, was at least three meters high, with the top reinforced with cement and studded with sharp shards of glass. The only entrance was a heavy double iron gate, behind which two wolfhounds, brought from the military, were patrolling the yard warily.

Inside the house, besides Lin Wanyuan's confidants, there were four retired scouts who patrolled in two shifts around the clock, ensuring that no movement escaped their notice.

With such a defense, not even a fly could fly in undetected, let alone a person.

Just past midnight, all was quiet.

In an alley not far from the mansion, a sudden, fierce argument broke the silence of the night, a mixture of a woman's cries and a man's curses.

Inside the mansion's courtyard, a burly man on patrol frowned, listened intently, and spat out a disdainful "Pah!"

"Damn it, another couple arguing, what a jinx."

Another man came over, and the two of them lit cigarettes, their attention briefly drawn to each other.

In that very instant.

In the darkest corner behind the mansion, a shadowy figure, like a gecko, silently slid up the wall.

It's Wang Erniu.

With only his calloused hands, he carefully pried open the cracks in the brickwork, lightly tapped the wall with his toes, and his burly body, as nimble as a cat, silently vaulted over the wall covered with glass shards, landing steadily on the grass in the yard without making a sound.

Immediately afterwards, two more dark figures, in the same manner, slipped in like ghosts.

One of them was none other than the one-eyed barber who had been shaving heads during the day.

After landing, the three of them did not pause at all. They quickly made hand gestures in a triangular pattern and moved towards the side of the main house.

The two wolfhounds in the yard seemed to have smelled something, and a low "woof" sound came from their throats, just about to bark.

With a flick of his wrist, one of the shadowy figures sent two pieces of still-warm braised beef, wrapped in oil paper, flying in precise parabolic arcs as they landed silently near the wolfhound's mouth.

-

The beef contained a special drug that could instantly put dogs into a deep sleep.

The two wolfhounds, smelling the aroma of meat, immediately lowered their guard by half. They tentatively licked the meat, then swallowed it whole. Within ten seconds, they swayed and collapsed to the ground, fast asleep like logs.

Having dealt with the wolfhound, the three had reached the back window of the main house.

This is a blind spot in the defense of the entire house.

The one-eyed barber pulled a small leather bag from his pocket, opened it to reveal dozens of metal wires of varying lengths and shapes. He leaned close to a window with iron bars and listened intently to what was happening inside.

After confirming that no one was around, he took out a thin steel wire and inserted it into the lock cylinder of the brass lock.

His movements were slow and steady, and his single eye gleamed in the darkness with an almost focused, craftsman-like light.

"Click".

A sound even fainter than a mosquito's hum.

The window lock, which seemed unbreakable to others, was opened.

Wang Erniu and another team member worked together to slowly lift and dismantle the heavy iron railing without colliding with the wall in the slightest.

The three filed in.

Inside the room was Lin Wanyuan's study.

The air was filled with the scent of expensive ink and old books.

Wang Erniu's gaze swept quickly across the study, finally settling on an inconspicuous hidden door next to the bookshelf.

According to intelligence, this is the entrance to his secret chamber.

The door had no lock, but it was connected to a makeshift alarm device. Once pushed open, it would trigger a bell.

One-Eyed Dragon stepped forward again. He didn't touch the door, but instead followed a nearly invisible thin thread to a copper box hidden in the corner. He pried open the box with a tool, examined the intricate wiring inside for a moment, and then decisively cut one of the wires.

Alert, all off.

Wang Erniu pushed open the hidden door, and a narrow stone staircase leading underground appeared before the three of them.

At the end of the stone steps lies Lin Wanyuan's true treasure trove.

A secluded room of nearly 100 square meters, with calligraphy and paintings by famous artists hanging on the walls; antique shelves filled with porcelain, jade, and bronze artifacts from the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. Any one of these pieces would be enough to ensure an ordinary person's livelihood for a lifetime.

Wang Erniu's gaze was immediately fixed on the independent display stand covered by a glass dome in the very center of the secret room.

On the display stand, a small and exquisite celadon bowl was quietly placed.

A celadon lotus-shaped bowl from the Ru kiln of the Song Dynasty.

Lin Wanyuan's most cherished collection is priceless.

Another team member walked to a rosewood cabinet in the corner and took out a can of tea sealed with tin foil.

On the cliffs of Wuyi Mountain, there grows a mother tree that produces only two ounces of Da Hong Pao tea a year.

Action begins.

One-Eyed Dragon was in charge of guarding, while Wang Erniu and another team member wore white gloves.

One person carefully removed the glass cover, while another opened the tea canister and gently poured the precious tea leaves, as valuable as gold, onto the black velvet cloth of the display stand.

His hand was as steady as a rock.

Under his arrangement, the tea leaves gradually formed a complex and bizarre pattern—two dragons playing with a pearl, and the character for longevity.

The emblem of Feng San Tang!

After doing all this, they put the glass cover back exactly as it was. The small celadon bowl remained as warm and smooth as ever, but the emblem made of top-quality tea next to it was like a curse from hell, radiating a silent, deadly mockery.

Wang Erniu took out the paper with Su Mo's drawing from his pocket, gently placed it on the rosewood desk in the study, and weighed it down with a Duan inkstone.

Task completed.

The three returned the way they came, quietly leaving the mansion and disappearing into the deep night.

From infiltration to evacuation, it took no more than fifteen minutes.

They come like ghosts and go like a gentle breeze.

……

The next morning.

Lin Wanyuan, dressed in a silk bathrobe and carrying a cup of freshly brewed Longjing tea, strode into his study as usual.

Every morning, he makes it a habit to examine and appreciate his treasured collection without fail.

However, today, when he pushed open the study door, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He smelled a scent that didn't belong here.

A very faint, outdoor scent, a mixture of earth and dew.

His gaze sharpened instantly as he slowly swept across the study. Everything was exactly as he had left it, without any signs of disturbance.

Until his gaze fell on the desk.

The extra piece of paper that was pressed down by the Duan inkstone.

Lin Wanyuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

He slowly walked over and picked up the paper. The "Fengsantang" emblem on the paper, which he knew all too well, was like a red-hot branding iron, burning fiercely onto his eyes.

His body stiffened, and he turned around abruptly, rushing towards the hidden door.

When he saw the exact same emblem made of Da Hong Pao tea leaves that he treasured, next to his most cherished Ru ware celadon lotus bowl, a chill that went deep into his bones instantly swept over his entire body.

He did not fly into a rage, nor did he shout.

He just stood there quietly, the color draining from his face little by little until it turned deathly pale.

The other party did not take anything.

But this was more frightening and humiliating than having all his collections looted.

This is a silent declaration.

Your fortress is nothing to me.

Your treasures are at my disposal.

Your life is no exception.

"Su...Mo..."

Lin Wanyuan spat out those two words through gritted teeth. His refined face twisted slightly with extreme anger and fear, and his eyes held an unprecedented, chilling killing intent.