Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

"Xiuqin shouted from the city wall, 'Let me fire! Let me ignore her! Let me avenge those dead villagers!'"

Li Yunlong's voice choked with emotion, and two streams of tears rolled down his weathered cheeks.

"My heart was breaking! That was my newlywed wife! But for the sake of all the brothers in the regiment, for the greater good, I could only grit my teeth, raise my hand, and prepare to give the order to fire!"

Monk Wei sat to one side, his eyes wide open, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. He had been there too, and he knew all too well the atmosphere of utter despair.

"Just as I was about to shout 'Fire!'..."

Li Yunlong suddenly turned his head, staring intently at Lin Yang, his eyes filled with gratitude and awe that could not be expressed in words.

"It's Yangzi! It's that kid!"

"He led a platoon of assault troops that had come as reinforcements from the Fourth Field Army, as if they had sprung up from the ground. He was covered in blood, his military cap had been knocked off, and he was holding a submachine gun. He had single-handedly torn a bloody path through the Japanese flank defenses!"

Li Yunlong slapped his thigh hard, the sound like a booming bell.

"This kid isn't human, he's a war god! He led a dozen brothers, braving the heavy machine gun fire from the Japanese on the city wall, rolling across minefields with his body! I watched helplessly as his brothers fell one by one, but he still managed to climb over their corpses and reach the base of the city wall!"

Lin Fan trembled all over as he listened, gripping the edge of the table tightly with both hands, tears welling up in his eyes. He looked at his younger brother beside him, whose expression remained calm, unable to imagine the hellish scene he had gone through.

"And then?!" Lin Fan asked in a hoarse voice.

Wei Heshang picked up the conversation, taking a big gulp of wine and shouting, "Then, Commander Lin was like a living Yama who could fly and disappear! He used a grappling hook to hook onto the city wall and climbed up in no time! The Japanese bayonets were already right in front of him, but he didn't even dodge. He just drew his broadsword and chopped off the Japanese officer's head in one stroke!"

"I, the monk, saw it all clearly from below. Commander Lin swiftly cut the ropes binding my sister-in-law and shielded her behind him. But the Japanese soldiers were firing too many sniper shots..."

Monk Wei's eyes also reddened, and his voice trembled slightly.

"Three shots! A full three shots!"

Li Yunlong picked up the conversation, pointing to Lin Yang's chest and shoulder: "One shot hit his left shoulder, another grazed his ribs, and the most fatal shot was less than two centimeters from his heart! To protect Xiuqin, he used his own body to block the Japanese bullets!"

"When he rolled down the city wall with Xiuqin in his arms, he was a bloody mess, completely lifeless!"

At this point, Li Yunlong suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Lin Yang.

"Yangzi, you gave me my life, and Xiuqin's life! If it weren't for you, I would have spent the rest of my life suffocating in regret!"

Lin Yang quickly stood up and helped Li Yunlong up.

"Old Li, what are you doing! We're brothers. On the battlefield, who wouldn't take a bullet for whom? Besides, if it weren't for these three shots, would I have been able to turn misfortune into good fortune and meet Tian Yu?" Lin Yang joked with a smile, trying to ease the heavy atmosphere.

Tian Yu blushed, but her eyes were full of heartache.

She held Lin Fan's hand and whispered, "Brother, I was in charge of resuscitation when Yangzi was sent to the field hospital. He lost too much blood and his heart stopped beating twice. At that time, the field hospital had run out of anesthetics, and the doctor used a knife to dig the shrapnel out of his bones. He bit a towel to pieces and didn't even utter a sound of pain."

"My dear brother..."

Lin Fan could no longer control his emotions, grabbed Lin Yang, and burst into tears.

He had always thought his younger brother became a deputy division commander because of his intelligence and skill in commanding troops. Only today did he realize that every star on his brother's shoulder and every medal on his chest was earned with blood and flesh, fought right through the grim reaper's book of life and death!

And what about himself? He was bullied so badly by a few beastly neighbors in this city that he didn't even dare to lift his head. His younger brother was risking his life outside, while he couldn't even protect the house his parents left him!

"Yangzi, I'm so sorry, I'm useless..." Lin Fan cried his heart out.

Lin Yang gently patted his elder brother's back, his voice gentle yet firm: "Brother, don't cry. The men of the Lin family shed blood, not tears. I fought these ten years of war so that you, and millions of other Chinese people, could stand tall and live with dignity!"

Just as the atmosphere inside the room was tragic and moving.

In the corridor outside the door.

He Daqing held a plate of freshly stir-fried pork kidneys in his hand, frozen in place like a stone statue.

He was busy in the kitchen when he heard Li Yunlong's loud voice from inside the house, so he couldn't help but bring the dishes to the crack in the door to eavesdrop.

As a result, he heard the entire process of the battle in Ping'an County very clearly.

He Daqing's heart pounded wildly, as if struck by a sledgehammer. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and his legs were so weak he could barely stand.

Good heavens!

What kind of deity did He Daqing encounter?

He originally thought that Lin Yang was just an ordinary demobilized military officer who became a deputy division commander at a young age, perhaps because he had a powerful family background or was just lucky.

But now he realized that this seemingly gentle and refined Secretary Lin was actually the kind of extraordinary person who dared to charge into minefields amidst gunfire and dared to shield the army commander's wife from bullets!

That's a true god of slaughter who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

"No wonder...no wonder he looked at Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong like they were two ants he could crush at any moment..." He Daqing swallowed hard, secretly relieved.

Luckily, I was quick-witted and stuck to him early. If I had gone with Yi Zhonghai and the others to provoke Lin Yang, I probably wouldn't even know how I died!

He Daqing took a few deep breaths to calm his excited and trembling heart, and once again put on the most radiant and respectful smile.

He knocked on the door cautiously.

"Secretary Lin, Chief Li, the dishes are ready. Eat them while they're hot."

"Come in," Lin Yang called out.

He Daqing pushed open the door and placed a plate of stir-fried pork kidneys, its color a deep red and its knife work exquisite, on the table. Then, as if by magic, he brought out a pot of fragrant braised chicken and a dish of braised sea cucumber with scallions.

"Commander Li, please have a taste. My cooking skills may not be comparable to those of a big restaurant, but they are still quite unique in the hutongs of Beijing," He Daqing said, bowing and flatteringly.

Li Yunlong was in a state of high excitement when he saw the table full of delicious-looking and fragrant dishes, which immediately whetted his appetite.

He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of chicken, and put it in his mouth.

"Um?!"

Li Yunlong's eyes suddenly lit up, and he couldn't help but swear.

"Damn! This is delicious!"

The chicken is stewed until it's so tender it falls off the bone, melting in your mouth. The rich broth coats the meat, making it incredibly delicious.