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

Zhao Weiguo did not enter the house.

He disassembled the Mauser pistol, wiped the bolt, and reloaded the magazine. He Yuzhu crouched three steps away, his eyes following each bullet as it went down.

Aren't you going to sleep?

"If I'm asleep, will the door be able to see me by itself?"

He Yuzhu touched his nose.

"I'll keep watch for you for half the night."

He Daqing reached out from inside the house and grabbed him by the back of the collar.

"What are you guarding? Go back inside."

Even as He Yuzhu was being dragged away, he didn't forget to look back.

"Brother Weiguo, let me know if you've caught someone!"

Zhao Weiguo tucked the gun back into his waistband.

"You were asked to collect the body?"

He Yuzhu shrank back and fell silent.

The courtyard went dark again.

Half an hour later, two barks came from afar. They weren't random barks; one was long and the other short, as if someone had choked them.

Zhao Weiguo pushed the door open a crack.

At the alley entrance, a short communications soldier ran along the wall, his tattered cotton-padded coat reeking of the grease and smoke from the mutton soup stall. As he entered, he slipped and nearly knelt on the threshold.

"Young Master Zhao... Company Commander Zhou sent me to deliver a message."

Zhao Weiguo raised his hand.

"explain."

"Little Bean took the whistle inside. The innkeeper examined the mark on the whistle and took it. Before a pipe's worth of time had passed, three people ran out of the backyard of the inn, two of them came out through the manure chute and one of them went into the stable."

"How many were arrested?"

"The two in the manure path got caught in the net. The one in the stable was knocked unconscious by Old Xu with a knife sheath. No shots were fired."

Zhao Weiguo's eyes did not move.

"Where's the list?"

The communications soldier, panting, pulled a wad of oilcloth from his pocket.

"Company Commander Zhou showed it to you, saying you could figure out the trick."

The oilcloth was opened, revealing a thin ledger page covered in dense writing. Zhao Weiguo scanned a few lines, his fingertip lingering on a name.

"Guanghetang, the inn, and the coal shop are all outposts. This is the main point."

The communications soldier was taken aback.

"where?"

"Outside Chongwen Gate, there is the Renyi Goods Store."

Yan Bugui's door opened again.

"Renyi Goods Store? Doesn't that sell imported fabrics?"

Zhao Weiguo looked at him.

"Have you bought it?"

Yan Bugui shrank his neck.

"I can't afford it, I just heard about it from others."

Zhao Weiguo folded up the account book pages and stuffed them back into the oilcloth.

"Go back and tell Company Commander Zhou not to interrogate the people at the inn, but to seal off the back door of the Renyi Goods Store first. The ledger says 'three bolts of cloth,' but it doesn't mean cloth; it means three guns. 'Twenty catties of white sugar,' that means explosives."

The communications soldier's face turned pale instantly.

"Explosives?"

"It would be useful near the armory."

The communications soldier turned and ran.

Before closing the door, Zhao Weiguo added another sentence.

"Have Company Commander Zhou bring the warehouse manager back alive. He speaks Chinese."

The communications soldier paused, turned back, nodded, and disappeared into the darkness.

Just as dawn was breaking, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

This time it's not a matter of three short and two long.

It was Zhou Shichang's fist that pounded the door panel until it trembled.

"Open the door."

Zhao Weiguo moved the wooden cabinet.

As soon as the courtyard gate opened, a cold wind carrying the stench of blood rushed in. Zhou Shichang stood outside, a gash on his shoulder, a long slit cut into his gray overcoat by the blade. Old Xu carried a burlap sack, from which dripped dark red liquid. Li Shuanzi was holding a middle-aged man under his arm; the man wore a silk-lined cotton robe, his face was pale, and his mouth was gagged with a strip of cloth.

He Yuzhu ran out with one bare foot.

"Got him?"

He Daqing chased after him, carrying his shoes in his hand.

"You fucking put on your shoes first!"

Old Xu threw the sack on the ground.

Splash!

Two Nambu pistols, half a bundle of detonators, several packets of explosives, three short knives, and a roll of electrical wire rolled out.

All the windows in the courtyard were lit up.

Jia Zhangshi screamed.

"Explosives! Take them away! Take them away!"

Zhou Shichang looked up.

"If you shout again, we'll take you away for questioning."

The Jia family's window slammed shut.

Zhao Weiguo squatted down, not touching the explosives, but only looking at the broken wire.

"The armory won't be blown up tonight."

Zhou Shichang's breath hitched.

"You figured it out again?"

"The detonator wasn't fitted with a fuse, the wires were freshly cut, and no moisture got in. They're preparing to move."

Without explaining, Lao Xu pushed the middle-aged man forward.

"The manager of Renyi Goods Store was surnamed Bai. When they arrested him, he was burning his account books."

Zhao Weiguo walked up to Manager Bai and reached out to pinch his chin.

A ruthless glint flashed in Manager Bai's eyes.

Zhao Weiguo had already shoved the iron ruler into his mouth and flicked it towards his back teeth.

A wax pellet fell to the ground.

Zhou Shichang stomped on it and crushed it.

"Almost."

Manager Bai made a whimpering sound in his throat, his eyes fixed on Zhao Weiguo.

Zhao Weiguo ripped the cloth out of his mouth.

Manager Bai coughed up blood, his voice hoarse.

"Kid, you've ruined everything."

Zhao Weiguo spread the account pages out in front of him.

"Where is the next batch of goods?"

Manager Bai shut up.

Zhou Shichang drew his gun.

Zhao Weiguo stopped him and pointed to the last line of the account page.

"He would say, 'Five bushels of black beans,' which was a dock code. Black beans weren't goods, they were people."

Manager Bai's face twitched visibly.

Old Xu grinned.

"Alright, there's still a place to stay at the dock."

Zhou Shichang grabbed Manager Bai by the collar.

"lead the way."

Zhao Weiguo rewrapped the oilcloth and handed it back.

"Send them to the station first. Don't interrogate them in the courtyard. The neighbors will talk too much."

Yan Bugui immediately closed the door.

Yi Zhonghai stood by the moon gate, his throat dry.

"Weiguo, these things... can they really blow up an armory?"

Zhao Weiguo looked at the detonator on the ground.

"It could blow up half a street."

Yi Zhonghai's face turned ashen, and he didn't say another word.

Zhou Shichang ordered the explosives to be packed into boxes and the firearms to be wrapped up, then escorted Manager Bai out. Old Xu lagged behind, pulled a broken gun barrel from his pocket, and tossed it to Zhao Weiguo.

"It was agreed upon. Barrel steel."

Zhao Weiguo caught it and lowered his wrist.

The system panel lights up.

[High-quality gun barrel steel detected: 1.8 kg]

[Enemy network account detected: Submit allowed]

[Temporary mission completed: Assisted in dismantling the inn's rendezvous point]

[Reward: Basic knowledge of gunpowder stabilization]

Zhao Weiguo shoved the gun barrel into the room.

Zhou Shichang stood outside the door and looked back at him.

"Zhao Weiguo, we arrested seven people tonight, seized explosives, and even uncovered the dock line. The armory owes you a life."

Zhao Weiguo held the door bolt.

"Just return the scrap metal."

Zhou Shichang chuckled, which aggravated the wound on his shoulder, causing his face to twitch.

"Okay, I'll haul you a whole cartload."