Courtyard House: A Veteran Returns Home and Becomes a Father

At the summit of Xishan Mountain, flames raged like dragons, turning half the night sky a shocking orange-red.

The ruins were burning, the steel was melting, and the air was filled with a nauseating smell of coke, gunpowder smoke, and roasted meat.

At the edge of that hellish sea of ​​fire, Su Mo carried Xia Wanqing step by step as they walked out.

Behind him was a collapsing world.

Before him lay the memory of surviving a catastrophe.

At the foot of the mountain, the "Ghost" team members, who had just been immersed in despair and rage, were now frozen in place, staring intently at the figure that emerged from the firelight.

"Yes...it's the boss..."

One of the team members' voices trembled, tinged with sobs and unbelievable elation.

"The boss is still alive!"

"Boss!"

Wang Erniu was the first to react. He let out a roar mixed with joy and sorrow and charged forward like a mad bull. All the team members followed closely behind, running wildly towards their god, their faith.

Su Mo's steps were steady, but with each step he took, he left a deep, bloody footprint on the ground.

His back could no longer be called a "back." It was a bloody inferno, with tattered clothes, flesh, and bones stuck together, and deep, bone-revealing wounds crisscrossing the area, as if it had been repeatedly plowed by countless shrapnel.

Under his protection, Xia Wanqing was unharmed, not even a single strand of her hair was singed by the flames. But she was already terrified and her body went limp. She could only cling tightly to her husband's clothes like a frightened kitten, burying her face in his chest and letting out suppressed, incoherent sobs.

"It's alright now."

Su Mo lowered his head, looking at his wife in his arms, his voice hoarse as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. He tried to force a smile, but it aggravated the wound on his back, causing him to groan and a trickle of blood to escape from the corner of his mouth.

"Boss!" Wang Erniu rushed over, and when he saw the horrific injuries on Su Mo's back, this tough guy knelt down with a "plop," his face covered in tears and snot.

"Boss! Your...your injury!"

"I won't die." Su Mo waved his hand. The spiritual spring water was already circulating wildly in his body, repairing those fatal wounds that would have killed an ordinary person ten times over.

He carefully put Xia Wanqing down and helped her stand up.

Just then, a screeching sound of brakes and a jumble of footsteps approached from afar.

Dozens of heavily armed soldiers quickly dispersed in battle formation, their dark gun barrels pointed at the area.

Jiang Chao jumped out of the command jeep, followed by several anxious military doctors and nurses. When he saw Su Mo's bloodied and mangled back illuminated by the firelight, the eyes of this battle-hardened general instantly reddened.

He rushed to Su Mo in three steps, his lips trembling for a long time, unable to utter a single word. He simply reached out, wanting to touch Su Mo's wound, but then hesitated, afraid of hurting him, and his hand froze in mid-air.

"Good lad...good lad you..." Jiang Chao's voice was thick with nasal congestion and lingering fear, "You son of a bitch, were you trying to scare this old man to death?!"

"Old boss," Su Mo looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips, "I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Bullshit!" Jiang Chao cursed angrily, turning to the medic behind him and yelling, "What are you all standing there for! Save him! Save him now!"

Several military doctors rushed over with their medical kits, and when they saw Su Mo's injuries, they all gasped in shock.

With a loud 'gēda' sound, one of the young military doctors dropped the scissors in fright.

"This...this...Commander, the injury is too severe! He needs immediate surgery! No...he needs to be rushed back to the main hospital for emergency treatment!"

However, Su Mo waved his hand and refused them.

"It's just a minor scratch, nothing serious," he said calmly, then turned to Wang Erniu, "How are you?"

Wang Erniu wiped away his tears and quickly stood up to report, "Boss, we've already sent men to search the ruins. We'll dig up that underground control room you wanted, even if we have to search every inch of this mountain!"

Su Mo nodded, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and returning to the still-burning ruins.

That icy gaze made the surrounding temperature seem to drop several degrees.

"Lin Wanyuan." Su Mo squeezed out the name through gritted teeth.

"I'll investigate!" Jiang Chao's eyes also blazed with fury. "I don't care what kind of 'special' or 'ironclad' organization he is. How dare he cause such a commotion in Beijing, how dare he touch my 38th Army! I'll tear the sky apart and drag him out, torn him to pieces!"

He turned to his bodyguard and ordered, "Get me connected to the General Staff! I need to investigate a man named Lin Wanyuan! Use all available resources; I need all his information! Where is he? What's his background? Dig up his entire family history!"

A massive, official manhunt launched by the military has officially begun.

Su Mo shook his head.

"Old leader, let me handle this myself." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable resolve. "I will avenge myself."

He turned his head and looked at the members of the "Ghost" squad.

"Notify all brothers in Beijing: from this moment on, lay down everything you're doing. I need a net, a net that covers the entire city of Beijing. I need to know where Lin Wanyuan is, and I need to know the movements of every fly around him."

"I want to see him alive, or I want to see his body if he's dead."

"yes!"

The "ghosts" uttered a low, unison shout, their eyes flashing with bloodlust, before quickly dispersing like drops of ink merging into the deep night.

A more bloody and direct purge, originating from underground, also unfolded at the same time.

……

Unlike the earth-shattering commotion in Xishan, No. 95 Nantongluo Lane is now shrouded in an eerie silence.

Everyone in the courtyard saw the massive explosion on Xishan Mountain and the night sky turning red in the distance. Then, the sight of military vehicles speeding past made everyone realize that something terrible had happened.

The Intermediate People's Court, at Yi Zhonghai's home.

He was restless, pacing back and forth in the room, his usually hypocritical face now filled with fear and unease.

He just wanted to use Qin Huairu as a tool to disgust Su Mo and, incidentally, consolidate his control over the Jia family.

He never imagined things would turn out this way!

The military was mobilized! And there was even an explosion!

Who exactly is Su Mo's gatekeeper?!

"Uncle... what happened... I... I'm scared..." Qin Huairu stood trembling at the door, clutching the stick, her face pale.

She was afraid too.

She just wanted to ask for some leftovers, why is she making such a fuss?

"Don't...don't panic!" Yi Zhonghai tried to remain calm, but his voice trembled. "What...what could possibly happen! It has nothing to do with us! Yes, it has nothing to do with us!"

The more he spoke, the more guilty he felt, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

He abruptly stopped, looked at Qin Huairu, and a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

No, I must extricate myself from this matter!

He didn't dare to think about what would happen if Su Mo came back to settle scores.

"Huai Ru," Yi Zhonghai lowered his voice, adopting a pained expression, "it's all my fault! I was so foolish! I shouldn't have let you go to see Su Mo! Now that such a big thing has happened, what if it gets involved..."

He's trying to distance himself from the situation, and also testing the waters.

Qin Huairu understood the implication in his words perfectly, and a chill ran through her. This old man, who had always been so "caring" towards her, was now, in this crisis, the first thing he thought of was pushing her out as a scapegoat!

……

Houhai, Lin Residence.

Lin Wanyuan hung up the phone and slumped into the armchair, his once refined face now contorted beyond recognition.

The call came from his insider in the military high command, and it consisted of only one sentence.

"Jiang Chao has gone mad. He's mobilized the garrison and sealed off Xishan. You'd better watch yourself."

Immediately afterwards, contact with Xishan was also completely lost.

He knew he had lost.

A crushing defeat.

All his plans and backup plans became a joke in the face of the opponent's unreasonable, table-flipping absolute power.

"Su Mo... Su Mo!" He gritted his teeth as he uttered the name, his eyes filled with resentment and bitterness.

He suddenly stood up, rushed into the secret room, and took out a small leather suitcase from a hidden compartment.

He couldn't wait any longer; he had to leave immediately!

As long as he escapes Beijing, reaches Tianjin, and leaves by sea, he still has a chance to make a comeback! He still has one last trump card!

However, just as he was carrying the box, preparing to leave through the secret passage...

A faint voice came from the shadows of the study.

"Mr. Lin, it's so late, where are you going?"

Lin Wanyuan froze and turned around abruptly.

Behind his favorite rosewood desk in the study, someone was already sitting there.

A one-eyed man dressed in tattered overalls, fiddling with a throwing knife in his hand.

It was that barber.

Members of "Ghost".

Lin Wanyuan's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

"Who...who are you?!"

The one-eyed man grinned, revealing a set of teeth yellowed from tobacco smoke.

"Our boss told me to wait for you here."

He said, "You can't leave until you've finished your tea."