Courtyard House: A Veteran Returns Home and Becomes a Father

Tianjin, Yuan Residence.

The once bustling mansion is now shrouded in a deathly atmosphere.

Inside the main hall, Yuan Tianlong, dressed in a dark red silk Tang suit specially made for the birthday banquet, sat alone on the grand master's chair that symbolized his status.

Before him lay a bowl of ginseng tea that had long since gone cold. The hand holding the teacup, veins bulging, trembled slightly uncontrollably, causing ripples to spread across the tea.

This local tyrant, who had ruled Tianjin for decades with his iron fists and menacing aura, now had only rage, fear, and an undisguised sense of decay on his usually dignified face.

"Bang!"

He could no longer control himself and smashed the teacup in his hand onto the ground.

The precious Jianyang kiln black-glazed cup shattered into several pieces in an instant.

"Where are they all?! Where have they all gone?!" he roared like a wild beast.

Outside the door, several trusted guards ran in tremblingly, their faces pale, their heads bowed, not daring to even breathe.

"Master... there are still no guests at the First Floor." A guard reported in a trembling voice, "The brothers we sent out to invite people reported that all the business guild owners and foreign firm compradors are claiming illness and staying at home, refusing to come out."

"Useless! A bunch of ungrateful wretches!" Yuan Tianlong trembled with rage. He kicked over the eight-immortal table in front of him. "I feed them meat and support them all the time, but now that I, Yuan Tianlong, am in trouble, they run away faster than rabbits!"

"And that Su Mo! Just who is he?! In one night, he crippled my five tigers and severed my limbs! He's trying to kill me!"

Just as Yuan Tianlong was roaring hysterically, a cold voice came from behind the screen.

"Chief Yuan, getting angry won't help now."

Chen Shou, dressed in a gray Zhongshan suit, slowly walked out. His face was equally grim, but his eyes still retained a trace of the composure befitting a former military intelligence agent.

"You, surnamed Chen! How dare you show your face!" Yuan Tianlong was even more enraged when he saw him. He pointed at Chen Shou's nose and cursed, "It's all your fault! If you and that idiot Lin Wanyuan hadn't provoked this fiend, how could I, Yuan Tianlong, have ended up like this! More than five hundred of my brothers, dead, crippled, or fled overnight! My decades-long foundation is completely destroyed!"

"Chief Yuan, it's too late to say all this now." A barely perceptible hint of contempt flashed in Chen Shou's eyes. "We're in this together now. Since Su Mo dared to come to the banquet, it means he's fearless. Tianjin's No. 1 Restaurant is now a den of dragons and tigers; it's either him or us who perish."

"What do you mean?" Yuan Tianlong asked, panting heavily as he stared intently at him.

"What I mean is, transfer all the capable people to the First Floor." Chen Shou's voice was low, like a viper hissing. "I've already contacted my connections in the concession and gotten a bunch of 'big shots.' Since we've already lost face, let's lose everything. Today, right here in Tianjin's First Floor, we'll use lives and explosives to keep this Su Mo here forever!"

A glint of mad ruthlessness flashed in Yuan Tianlong's eyes.

He knew that Chen Shou was right.

He had no way out.

"Fine!" he gritted his teeth, speaking each word slowly and deliberately. "Pass on my orders! Everyone still breathing, grab your weapons and head to the First Floor! Tell them that whoever can cut off Su Mo's hand will be rewarded with a thousand silver dollars! Whoever can take his life, I, Yuan Tianlong, will give him half of everything I own in Tianjin!"

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

The entire Yuan residence, and even the last remaining forces of the Tianjin underworld, began to frantically gather towards the First Building in Tianjin, like sharks smelling blood.

……

It was 11:30 a.m.

The No. 1 building in Tianjin.

This once most famous restaurant in Tianjin is now desolate.

Outside the building, hundreds of Black Tiger Gang members, armed with machetes and steel pipes, had completely blocked the street, their faces filled with a frenzied, fearless madness.

Inside the building, hundreds of banquet tables covered with red cloth were empty. Only Yuan Tianlong and Chen Shou sat at the main table facing the entrance, where a pot of wine was kept warm.

Yuan Tianlong's hand remained pressed under the table. There, hidden, was a loaded Mauser pistol.

Chen Shou also concealed a poisoned dagger in his sleeve.

They are waiting.

Waiting for the one who will pronounce their fate.

At 11:50, a gray Jeep slowly pulled up in front of the First Building in Tianjin.

The car door opened.

Su Mo got out of the car alone.

He was still dressed in simple black casual clothes, his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless, as if he hadn't come to a perilous banquet, but rather to a small restaurant on the street to eat a bowl of ordinary fried noodles.

The hundreds of thugs at the entrance were taken aback when they saw him appear alone, and then burst into arrogant laughter and curses.

"Kid, you actually dared to come!"

"Today I'll show you just how many eyes Lord Horse has!"

Su Mo didn't even glance at them, but simply strode forward, step by step, toward the entrance of the restaurant.

His pace was not fast, but every step he took felt like it was stepping on everyone's heart, carrying an invisible, suffocating sense of oppression.

The shouting and cursing gradually subsided.

All the thugs unconsciously stepped back, making way for him.

Their hands, gripping the knives, were sweating.

Under the gaze of hundreds of eyes, Su Mo walked alone into the spacious hall of the First Building in Tianjin, which was as empty as a mausoleum.

His gaze passed over the hundreds of empty tables and landed directly on the faces of Yuan Tianlong and Chen Shou, who were seated at the head of the table.

"It seems none of your guests have come." Su Mo's tone was as calm as if he were stating a fact.

"Su Mo!" Yuan Tianlong suddenly stood up, roaring menacingly, "You destroyed my business and killed my brothers! Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving this place alive!"

"Yeah?"

Su Mo smiled, pulled out a chair, sat down, and poured himself a glass of wine.

"I killed the man. I ruined the business." He picked up his glass, swirled it gently, and said, "I'm here today to tell you something."

"What is it?" Yuan Tianlong asked instinctively.

Su Mo raised his eyes, and a chilling killing intent, enough to freeze the soul, instantly erupted from those calm eyes.

Your tea has gone cold.

The moment the words fell.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The window on the second floor of the restaurant was smashed from the outside!

Wang Erniu and five "ghost" team members descended from the sky like divine soldiers, landing in the hall!

In their hands were all entrenching shovels, gleaming with a cold light!

"kill--!"

Yuan Tianlong let out a terrified scream.

The hundreds of thugs outside the door also realized what was happening and rushed in like a tidal wave, shouting.

A massacre with no suspense began.

Wang Erniu charged ahead, his entrenching tool tracing deadly arcs. One of the thugs at the front, who had just raised his machete, was struck in the face by the shovel, half of his cheek instantly caved in, and he was sent flying backward, crashing into a group of tables and chairs.

Another "ghost" member, moving like a phantom, didn't engage in direct combat but instead weaved between tables and chairs. Every strike was clean and swift; the edge of his entrenching tool always precisely sliced ​​open the enemy's throat.

Fresh blood gushed out.

Screams, cries, and the sound of bones breaking filled the air.

This wasn't a battle; it was a one-sided, highly efficient massacre.

Yuan Tianlong and Chen Shou were completely dumbfounded. Their proud human wave tactics were as fragile as paper in front of these killing gods, utterly vulnerable.

Chen Shou was the first to realize that the situation was hopeless!

He shoved Yuan Tianlong beside him and turned to run away through the back door!

However, he had only taken two steps.

A figure, like a ghost, blocked his way.

It's Su Mo.

He had left his seat without anyone noticing.

"Station Chief Chen, you haven't finished your tea yet." Su Mo's voice sounded like it came from the deepest hell.