Courtyard House: I only wiped out 30,000 Japanese pirates

Not long after He Dajun returned, the Japanese jeep stopped at the entrance of the courtyard.

At this moment, He Dajun was at home with Bai Ling, but the lights were still on.

The guard pushed open the door and came in, saying that Major Sasaki wanted him to report to the factory immediately.

He Dajun looked surprised and asked the guard what had happened. The guard only said that there had been an attack at the gate of the steel mill and that Section Chief Liu Sheng had been killed in the attack.

He Dajun stood there stunned, his mouth agape several times, his face filled with shock and fear.

He leaned on his wooden stick and followed the guard into the jeep.

The car was quiet; the guard stared straight ahead without saying a word.

He Dajun sat in the back seat, tapping his fingers lightly on a wooden stick, watching the street scene rushing past the window, pondering what Sasaki would ask next.

Thirteen minutes later, the jeep arrived at the gate of the steel rolling mill, where the scene was even more devastating than he had anticipated.

The wreckage of the jeep was still smoking. The fire had been extinguished, but the acrid smell of burning rubber and gasoline was still strong in the air.

The vehicle frame was twisted and deformed from the explosion, and the broken glass windows shone palely under the searchlight.

Two bodies covered with military overcoats lay side by side by the roadside. One of them was short, and half of a walking stick was visible under the hem of the overcoat. He Dajun recognized it as Yagyu Kazuo's walking stick.

He stood beside the corpse, head bowed, silent for a long time.

The Japanese soldiers and staff officers around him were all watching him. His eyes were slightly red, and his knuckles were white as he gripped the wooden stick tightly.

Sasaki stepped out from the crowd and stood next to He Dajun, saying nothing but looking at him.

He Dajun turned around and bent down in front of Sasaki, his voice hoarse, saying that he hadn't known Section Chief Yagyu for long, but Section Chief Yagyu was the most conscientious and responsible section chief he had ever met. He had even eaten at his house that afternoon, but he never expected that Yagyu would be gone that evening.

As she spoke, tears finally fell, not in a fake way, but genuinely welling up from her eyes, mixing with the dust on her face as they streamed down her cheeks.

Sasaki looked at He Dajun's face, which was a mess of tears, and remained silent for a while. Then he reached out and patted He Dajun on the shoulder. The pat was not hard, but He Dajun's shoulder tilted to the side.

Sasaki said you are the most loyal subordinate I have ever met. Mr. He, Section Chief Yagyu was right about you.

He Dajun wiped away his tears with his sleeve, his voice still trembling, and asked Major Sasaki who did it, demanding that the culprit be caught to avenge Section Chief Yagyu.

Sasaki did not answer the question, but simply said, "Come with me."

Afterwards, He Dajun followed Sasaki to his office.

Sasaki wasn't the only one in the office; there were three other guards as well.

Sasaki looked at He Dajun, remained silent for a while, and then said, "Yagyu Kazuo said you were suspicious before the attack."

When the translator translated this sentence, his voice was heavy, as if he were revealing a very important secret.

Upon hearing this, He Dajun was jolted awake. His eyes widened, his mouth opened and closed, and his expression shifted from shock to grievance, and then from grievance to anger in just a few seconds.

That kind of anger that one tries hard to suppress after being wronged. He took half a step forward, leaning on his wooden cane, his voice urgent and hoarse.

"How could that be! Sir, I am absolutely loyal to the Imperial Army! Section Chief Yagyu had lunch at my house this afternoon, how could I possibly harm him?"

At this point, He Dajun remembered to explain, saying, "Besides, I don't have that ability. Look at my legs, sir, I have trouble even walking. How could I possibly attack Section Chief Yagyu?"

Sasaki leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, without immediately responding.

He actually had some doubts before.

He Dajun was incredibly lucky. He would only get a scratch from stepping on a landmine, and he would only hold his breath from being hit by a grenade. He was never present when the Imperial Army was in trouble, yet he always managed to appear right afterward, as if he had calculated every single moment.

But after Yagyu Kazuo was attacked, he immediately sent someone to the courtyard house. The guard returned and reported that He Dajun was indeed at home, dressed in casual clothes, talking to his wife inside the house, and the lights were still on.

Judging from the timeline, He Dajun was already sitting in his house less than a few minutes after the attacker threw the grenade and disappeared. Unless he had wings, it was impossible for him to do that.

If He Dajun isn't at the courtyard house this time, then he's highly suspicious.

But he was there. This time difference is He Dajun's strongest alibi.

He Dajun clearly hadn't guessed that Sasaki had already gone through so many twists and turns in his mind.

He stood in front of the desk, his face still bearing the aggrieved expression of being wronged, but inwardly he was coldly observing Sasaki's silence.

He wasn't actually that worried. Even if Sasaki really turned against him, he wouldn't be able to make a move against him immediately.

He will most likely be arrested and interrogated first, and as long as he is not executed on the spot, he will have plenty of opportunities to fight back.

There were three guards and a major in this office, and he could take them all down with his bare hands, then climb out the window and disappear into the night.

This is what it means to be highly skilled and daring.

Of course, this card won't be played unless absolutely necessary, but holding onto it gives you confidence.

Sasaki suddenly changed the subject. He leaned forward, placed his hands clasped on the table, and looked into He Dajun's eyes, asking, "Dajun, what do you think was the purpose of this attack on Lord Yagyu Kazuo by these die-hards?"

He Dajun paused for a moment, then frowned and thought about it seriously for a long time.

His fingers tapped lightly on the wooden stick, the rhythm going from fast to slow, as if he were going through all the possibilities in his mind.

After a long while, he finally looked up, his tone carrying a mixture of uncertainty and serious speculation: "Lord Sasaki, I suspect that the other party intended to assassinate you. The attacker thought that you were in the car."

Sasaki felt a chill run down his spine.

He had the same idea before.

That grenade was aimed at him; Yagyu Kazuo was just a scapegoat.

Now that He Dajun has voiced this idea, it confirms the conclusion he least wanted to face: the resistance fighters' assassination target was Sasaki himself.

He leaned back in his chair and remained silent for a long while, his fingers tapping on the table at a slower and slower pace.

The air in the office was heavy and stuffy, and smoke drifted slowly in the light from the ceiling lights.

"He Dajun," Sasaki finally spoke again, his voice a few decibels lower than before, as if discussing important matters with one of his own, "what do you think is the best way to deal with these stubborn elements?"

"After all, you Great Xia people understand the Great Xia people better."

He Dajun remained silent for a long time this time.

He stood in front of the desk, leaning on a wooden stick. The expression on his face changed from aggrieved to thoughtful, and then from thoughtful to hesitant, as if he was considering what he was about to say.

Sasaki noticed that his fingers tapped the stick several times, slowly, as if he was weighing it repeatedly.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, as if he had made a great decision, and looked up at Sasaki.

"Lord Sasaki, I think the most direct way is to conduct a thorough house-to-house search of all the houses in Beijing. We should find all the suspicious persons and turn every tunnel, secret room, and weapons hideout upside down."

"As long as the search is thorough enough, the resistance fighters will not be able to hide."