The Courtyard House: The Little Red Devil Returning from the Peninsula

Old Xu tightened the knot, twisting the arms of the three spies behind their backs, their hard knuckles protruding from their shoulders.

The first spy's mouth was full of blood, and broken teeth mixed with saliva dripped down. He was still glaring at Zhao Weiguo, his eyes bloodshot.

Zhao Weiguo squatted down and disassembled the Nambu Type 14.

The magazine was ejected, the bolt was pulled back, and a bright yellow bullet jumped out and landed on the blue brick.

Ding.

He Yuzhu stared at the bullet and moved his foot forward.

He Daqing grabbed his ear.

"If you dare touch me, you'll be eating stir-fried pork with sticks tonight."

He Yuzhu winced in pain.

"I'm not stupid!"

Zhao Weiguo picked up the bullet and put it next to the broken bowl.

"Don't just accept this gun. It has fingerprints, oil, and a history on it."

Zhou Shichang looked down at his hands as he disassembled the gun, his gaze growing increasingly heavy.

"You even know this?"

Zhao Weiguo wrapped the gun barrel in cloth.

"The books left behind by the Ordnance Department are enough to read."

Yi Zhonghai stood in the shadow of the moon gate, his fingers fiddling with his cuffs, making the fabric fuzz.

"Weiguo, those books in your house... I've never heard you mention them before?"

Zhao Weiguo looked up.

"I told you, so you won't steal it anymore?"

Yi Zhonghai's face froze instantly.

People in the courtyard gasped.

Yan Bugui quickly tried to smooth things over, his voice so soft it sounded like it was being squeezed out from under a door.

"At a time like this, let's not talk about these things. Commander Zhou, look at these Japanese guys, they're not going to be a problem in our compound. What if their accomplices sneak back..."

Zhou Shichang looked towards the dark alley outside the courtyard gate.

"So I have to go."

Old Xu pulled a spy up from the ground.

The man's knees buckled, and he stumbled to the side as soon as he stood up. Old Xu used the scabbard to press against his lower back.

"Playing dead? Go soft again, and I'll make you really soft."

The second spy grunted and glanced at the Jia family's window.

Jia Zhangshi called out through the paper window.

"He's looking at me! What's he looking at me for! Don't bring him to my house!"

Zhou Shichang kicked the spy in the back of the knee.

"Look at the land."

The spy knelt on the blue bricks, his forehead hitting the ground with a dull thud.

Zhao Weiguo looked at the soles of his boots.

"Company Commander Zhou, their shoes have hidden nails on the soles."

Old Xu lowered his head.

"What kind of hidden nail?"

Zhao Weiguo used an iron ruler to pry open the seam of the boot heel, revealing a black dot the size of a grain of rice embedded in the edge of the sole.

"Walking through the mud leaves a mark. People behind follow the footprints to find their way."

Zhou Shichang's face darkened. He pulled out a dagger and shaved off a layer from the heels of all three men's shoes. The scraps of leather mixed with frozen mud fell to the ground, revealing tiny copper nails underneath.

Old Xu cursed so hard his teeth were chattering.

"You bastard, you even leave a trail of rumors when you walk."

Zhao Weiguo kicked the shaved-off shoe heel into the furnace ash.

"Burn it."

He Daqing picked up the fire tongs and stuffed the scraps of bark into the remaining charcoal. The acrid smell wafted out, and He Yuzhu covered his nose, but his eyes remained fixed on the charcoal.

"Brother Weiguo, did you read all of this in books?"

Zhao Weiguo put the iron ruler back into his sleeve.

"In this world, if you want to survive, you have to sharpen your eyes."

He Yuzhu nodded, then looked at his father halfway through.

He Daqing didn't scold him; his face was as stiff as a chopping board.

Three short knocks and two long knocks came from outside the courtyard gate.

dong dong dong.

stop.

dong dong.

Zhou Shichang raised his gun.

Zhao Weiguo listened intently.

"Li Shuanzi".

There was a low voice outside the door.

"Company commander, it's me. I've brought two brothers with me."

Zhou Shichang winked at Lao Xu.

Old Xu pressed himself against the door and suddenly pulled open the latch. Li Shuanzi led two soldiers from the 29th Army in, their bodies radiating coldness. Their guns first swept across the corner of the courtyard before landing on the three spies.

One of the soldiers saw the Southern gun on the ground and his throat tightened.

"Is he really a Japanese spy?"

Li Shuanzi brandished his bayonet.

"Ask less, take him into custody."

Zhou Shichang stuffed the blueprints into his inner pocket and then picked up five large knives from the table.

"Split the knives. Old Xu gets two, Shuanzi gets one, I get one, and the last one goes to the guy behind him."

Zhao Weiguo stopped him and pulled out the fourth, temporarily patched, broken knife.

"You can take this one yourself."

Zhou Shichang frowned.

"I've got it."

"Okay, give this to the person who clears the way. You take the prisoner and keep him in the middle. This should be enough for an emergency."

Zhou Shichang glanced at him and hung the broken knife on his waist.

"become."

Yan Bugui huddled by the door, rubbing his hands together.

"Commander Zhou, about what happened tonight... did the neighbors pretend they didn't see it?"

Zhou Shichang turned around, his gaze sweeping across each window.

"Anyone who dares to utter a single word will be treated as a traitor, regardless of whether they are terrified or have a long tongue."

A sob came from Jia Zhangshi's room, followed by a loud bang as the cupboard was hit.

"I didn't see anything! I'm blind!"

He Yuzhu muttered to himself.

"You're not usually blind."

He Daqing slapped him on the back of the head.

"Shut up."

Yi Zhonghai swallowed hard and bowed to Zhou Shichang.

"Don't worry, sir, the people in the compound are tight-lipped."

Zhao Weiguo looked at him.

"Just keep your mouth shut."

Yi Zhonghai's hand stopped in mid-air and slowly lowered.

Old Xu pushed the first spy to the courtyard gate. The man's mouth was stuffed with cloth, and after his teeth were smashed, the cloth quickly became soaked in blood. He walked unsteadily, his eyes darting towards Zhao Weiguo.

Zhao Weiguo took a step closer and raised his hand to press on the back of his neck.

The agent froze.

Zhao Weiguo pulled out a small piece of oiled paper from the lining of his collar. The oiled paper was folded very thinly and hidden close to the seam. If it weren't for the fact that the fabric around the agent's neck felt slightly stiffer than the rest of the fabric when he moved, it would have been impossible to detect.

Zhou Shichang's eyes twitched.

"besides?"

Zhao Weiguo unfolded the oil paper.

There are only two Chinese characters written on it.

Knife Boy.

Old Xu couldn't understand it.

"What do you mean?"

Zhou Shichang's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Zhao Weiguo handed over the oil paper in a very flat voice.

"They gave me a code name."