Courtyard House: A Veteran Returns Home and Becomes a Father

Houhai, Lin Residence.

The sandalwood incense in the study had burned out, leaving only a faint scent of ashes, mixed with the fragrance of sandalwood furniture, solidifying in the air.

This frozen state is called despair.

Lin Wanyuan stared intently at the one-eyed man behind the desk, his back soaked with cold sweat in just a few seconds. The suitcase he was carrying felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

He lost.

But a person who is used to losing may accept their fate, while a person who is used to winning will only go crazy.

A glint of ruthless cunning flashed in Lin Wanyuan's eyes. He hurled the briefcase at the one-eyed man, simultaneously retreating rapidly, his right hand already reaching for his waist. There, hidden, was a small Browning pistol, his last weapon for self-defense.

However, he was fast, but the one-eyed man was even faster.

Faced with the flying suitcase, One-Eyed Dragon didn't even get up. He simply sat in his armchair, flicked his wrist, and the razor he had been wiping flew out of his hand like a black lightning bolt.

"call out--"

The razor drew a strange arc in the air, ignoring the suitcase, and precisely and deeply embedded itself in the back of Lin Wanyuan's hand as he reached for his waist!

"what!"

Lin Wanyuan let out a suppressed groan as his entire hand was pinned to the wall behind him by the razor, blood instantly staining his cuff. The pistol that was so close became a distant dream he could never reach.

The suitcase fell to the ground with a "bang," smashing open to reveal stacks of brand-new US dollars and half of a yellowed animal hide map.

Without even glancing at what was on the ground, the one-eyed man stood up, walked over to Lin Wanyuan, and with a swift and decisive movement, grabbed Lin Wanyuan's pinned wrist with one hand and quickly pressed several acupoints on his neck and shoulders with the other.

Lin Wanyuan felt a numbness in half of his body, all his strength was drained, and he collapsed like a lump of mud.

The one-eyed man dragged him to the tea set that had gone cold and pressed him into a chair.

"Our boss said we can't leave until we've finished our tea."

One-Eyed Dragon repeated the sentence, then stepped aside, crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, like a silent door god, and didn't say another word.

Time passed by, second by second.

The ticking of the old-fashioned pendulum clock on the wall became the only sound in the study. Each swing was like a heavy hammer blow to Lin Wanyuan's heart.

He looked at his hand pinned to the wall, at the razor still trembling slightly, at the cup of cold tea on the table, and an unprecedented sense of humiliation and fear spread from the deepest part of his heart.

He is not afraid of death.

But he feared this cat-and-mouse game where he was manipulated and had no control over his own life or death.

I don't know how much time passed.

Outside, the roar of a car engine could be heard, growing louder as it approached, and finally stopping in front of the mansion.

The one-eyed man, who was leaning against the wall, shifted slightly.

Lin Wanyuan's heart sank to the bottom.

he came.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the courtyard, each step unhurried yet carrying a suffocating sense of oppression.

The study door creaked open.

A figure walked in against the moonlight.

The man's clothes were tattered and covered in blood and dust. The wound on his back had not been treated in time, and the blood had congealed into a dark red scab. He looked like a demon who had just crawled out of hell.

But his eyes were as cold as the Siberian ice field.

It was Su Mo.

He didn't even glance at Lin Wanyuan, who was nailed to the wall. Instead, he went straight to the desk, picked up the half of the animal skin map from the ground, and pieced it together with the other half in his arms.

The two pictures fit together perfectly.

"The pictures are all there."

Su Mo said something indifferently, and then he slowly turned around and looked at Lin Wanyuan with his emotionless eyes.

That look in his eyes was like looking at a dead person.

"Lin Wanyuan," Su Mo spoke, his voice hoarse yet carrying an undeniable authority, "I'll give you two choices. First, tell me where the 'Special Task Force' headquarters is, and who your superior is. Second, I'll smash all these treasures in your room, one by one, to pieces right in front of you. Then, I'll ask you the first question."

Lin Wanyuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

Su Mo's words hit him right where it hurt most.

He could die, but these treasures of his were more important than his life!

"You dare!" Lin Wanyuan roared, his voice trembling with fear. "Su Mo, don't be so smug! You think you've won? Let me tell you, by messing with me, you've made an enemy of the entire 'Special Office'! Our power is beyond your imagination! You and your family will never have peace again!"

"Yeah?"

Su Mo laughed, a laugh that was utterly cold.

Without another word, he turned and walked into the secret room.

A moment later, he came out, holding a Tang tri-colored pottery figurine of a court lady. The figurine was beautiful in form and rich in glaze, clearly a top-tier treasure from the Kaiyuan era.

Su Mo walked up to Lin Wanyuan, picked up the female figurine, and admired it as if it were a work of art.

"Tang Dynasty, Luoyang official kiln. Yes, it's genuine."

He made a comment.

A hint of pride and arrogance flashed in Lin Wanyuan's eyes. It was the confidence a collector had in his own judgment.

However, the next second, Su Mo's actions made his eyes widen in fury.

He loosened his grip.

"Snap—!"

A sound so crisp it was heartbreaking.

The priceless Tang tri-colored female figurine fell straight onto the hard floor and shattered into hundreds of pieces.

"ah--!"

Lin Wanyuan let out a scream that was not human, a scream filled with a despair more painful than death itself. His body trembled violently as he stared at the pile of shards on the ground, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

"It seems you haven't made up your mind yet."

Su Mo didn't even glance at the fragments on the ground, turned around, and walked back into the secret room.

This time, he brought out a Duan inkstone from the Song Dynasty. The inkstone was made of fine stone, warm and smooth like jade, and was carved with exquisite auspicious cloud patterns.

"Songkeng, the old mine material, was it used by Su Dongpo? It's a pity it wasn't well preserved."

Su Mo shook his head, and then, in front of Lin Wanyuan, he smashed the inkstone that countless scholars dreamed of against the corner of the wall!

"Bang!"

The inkstone hit the wall and shattered into several pieces.

"My inkstone...my inkstone!"

Lin Wanyuan's heart shattered along with the inkstone. He gasped for breath, feeling as if his soul had been ripped from his body.

"Where's the map?" Su Mo walked up to him, looking down at him, her voice completely flat. "Where's the headquarters of the 'Special Office'?"