Courtyard House: A Veteran Returns Home and Becomes a Father

At the summit of West Mountain, flames soared into the sky.

The three-story sanatorium building had been completely transformed into a giant burning tomb. The steel twisted in the flames, groaning under its own weight, before collapsing with a deafening roar, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Faced with this hellish scene, Su Mo carried Xia Wanqing and walked step by step out of the thick smoke.

Behind him lay destruction.

Before him lay rebirth.

At the foot of the mountain, Jiang Chao jumped out of the command jeep, followed by several military doctors carrying medicine boxes, their faces filled with anxiety. When he rushed closer and saw the bloody, mangled wound on Su Mo's back, deep enough to expose the bone, this iron-blooded general, who wouldn't even flinch on the battlefield, instantly turned red in the eyes.

"You little brat..." Jiang Chao's voice was thick with nasal tone. He reached out, wanting to touch her, but then quickly pulled back, afraid that his touch would cause secondary harm.

"Commander, the injuries are too severe!" A military doctor stepped forward, and after just one glance, he gasped, dropping the scissors in his hand. "Extensive penetrating wounds to the back, lacerations, multiple fractures... This... this patient must be sent back to the main hospital immediately for emergency treatment!"

However, Su Mo simply waved his hand.

"It's a superficial wound; you won't die."

His voice was hoarse, yet unusually calm. The spiritual spring water was circulating wildly within his body, and the injury that would have killed an ordinary person ten times over was slowly healing at a speed defying medical logic. New granulation tissue was wriggling; though still gruesome, the bleeding had stopped.

He carefully put Xia Wanqing, who was still trembling in his arms, down and helped her to her feet. Only then did Xia Wanqing recover from her extreme terror. She looked at the horrific wound on her husband's back, and then at her own clothes, which were intact except for some dust. Tears could no longer be held back and rolled down her cheeks like broken beads.

"Su Mo..." she choked, reaching out her trembling hand, wanting to touch him, but not daring to.

"I'm fine." Su Mo grabbed her hand and held it tightly, then turned to Wang Erniu.

Wang Erniu was already sobbing uncontrollably. He knelt down with a thud, pounding his chest with his fists: "Boss! I'm useless! I..."

"Get up." Su Mo's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority. "Go search the ruins. I need that underground control room. Even if you have to dig three feet into the hillside, find the people or corpses inside."

"Yes!" Wang Erniu wiped away his tears, stood up, and led a few brothers, turning around and rushing towards the still burning sea of ​​fire.

"I'll investigate!" Jiang Chao's eyes also blazed with fury. "I don't care what kind of 'special' or 'ironclad' organization he is. If he dares to do something like this in Beijing, I'll tear a hole in the sky and drag him out!"

He turned to give orders to the guards, but Su Mo spoke first.

"Old boss, let me handle this myself." Su Mo's gaze was as cold as the Siberian ice field. "I will avenge myself."

He didn't give Jiang Chao a chance to refute, and directly gave orders to the "ghost" team members beside him.

"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!"

A dozen or so "Ghost" team members shouted in unison, their eyes flashing with bloodlust, and quickly dispersed, like drops of ink, silently merging into the deep night.

A more bloody and direct purge from underground has begun.

Jiang Chao watched Su Mo's resolute retreating figure, and finally sighed, giving up. He knew his soldier's temperament. He simply waved to the guard beside him: "Send the best car to take Madam home. Also, send a guard platoon to protect the east wing 24 hours a day, starting now. Not even a fly is allowed to get in!"

……

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

When a jeep with military license plates escorted Xia Wanqing, who was pale but unharmed, back to the gate of the courtyard, all the neighbors who were peeping from behind the curtains felt as if their hearts were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

In the Intermediate People's Court, the lights in Yi Zhonghai's house were still on.

He watched as Xia Wanqing, escorted by several heavily armed soldiers, entered the east courtyard. The heavy wooden door slammed shut with a bang, like a heavy hammer striking his heart.

It’s over.

Su Mo was unharmed, and so was his wife.

Moreover, the army was also deployed!

Who exactly is he?

An unprecedented fear gripped his heart like vines, almost suffocating him.

He turned around abruptly, staring intently at Qin Huairu, who was trembling with fear beside him, a hint of resentment and ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

No, I must clear myself of all responsibility for this!

"Huai Ru..." Yi Zhonghai's voice trembled, but he forced a pained expression onto his face. "It's all my fault! I was so senile! I shouldn't have let you go to Su Mo! Now this has happened, what if Su Mo comes back to settle scores..."

Qin Huairu froze, a chill running from her feet to the top of her head. She wasn't stupid; she could easily tell that Yi Zhonghai was trying to shift the blame. This old man, who had always been so "caring" towards her, making her incredibly grateful, was now, in this crisis, his first thought was to push her out as a scapegoat!

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she found her throat so dry that she couldn't utter a single word.

……

Houhai, Lin Residence.

Inside the study, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

Lin Wanyuan hung up the phone call he had made from his insider in the military high command, and slumped into his favorite rosewood armchair. His refined face was now distorted beyond recognition.

"Jiang Chao has gone mad. You'd better watch yourself."

The phone call contained only that one short sentence, yet it plunged him into an icy abyss.

He lost, he lost miserably.

He suddenly stood up, rushed into the secret room, and took out a small leather suitcase from a hidden compartment. Inside was his last resort and trump card.

He couldn't wait any longer; he had to leave through the secret passage immediately! If he could escape to Tianjin and board the ship that had been prepared long ago, he would still have a chance to make a comeback!

However, just as he picked up the box and turned to step into 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, as if nailed to the spot, and suddenly turned around.

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

A one-eyed man dressed in tattered overalls, slowly wiping a razor in his hand.

It was that barber.

Lin Wanyuan's pupils instantly shrank to the most dangerous pinpoints.

"Who...who are you?!"

The one-eyed man grinned, revealing a set of teeth yellowed from tobacco smoke. His gaze fell on the tea set in front of Lin Wanyuan, which had gone completely cold.

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

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