The Little Demonic Cultivator in the Courtyard: Borrowing 100,000 Japanese Pirates to Heal

Li Cunyi was a grandmaster of Xingyi Quan, with countless disciples, the most famous of whom was Shang Yunxiang.

That's Shang Yunxiang, who was given the title "Iron-Legged Buddha" by Emperor Guangxu.

As Li Cunyi's disciple, Xu Jiande's father must indeed have been quite skilled.

However, Bai Ling still had a question, "What about your father?"

Xu Jiande proudly continued to lie, "My father later got into a fight with someone and killed him."

Xu Jiande's voice lowered, tinged with distress, "The other party was the son of a wealthy local family, whose influence was considerable, and they had been seeking revenge. My father hid for several years, but they were eventually found. My father fought valiantly and died..."

Bai Ling immediately understood that Xu Jiande was hiding from his enemies. However, she had a new question: with Xu Jiande's current skills, he could easily kill ten more enemies.

Xu Jiande further explained, "I came to Beijing after that. My father had instructed me before he passed away not to show off my skills unless absolutely necessary, for fear that I would be recognized and my enemies would come knocking on my door."

Xu Jiande looked up at Bai Ling and said very seriously, "So don't tell anyone about my matter."

Bai Ling nodded; of course, she wouldn't say anything.

Looking at Xu Jiande, Bai Ling's mind raced.

No wonder the Li Cunyi lineage is so powerful.

She knew the status of Xingyi School in the northern martial arts world. In recent years, many Xingyi School disciples have served as martial arts instructors in many military units, specializing in teaching soldiers killing techniques.

Even a major party has such a highly capable person. However, Bai Ling felt that Xu Jiande's abilities far surpassed those of the people she knew.

It's strange, perhaps it's due to innate talent or some other extraordinary encounter.

This further solidified his resolve to recruit Xu Jiandala into the major party.

This man is incredibly skilled and has killed so many Japanese soldiers; he is definitely a patriot.

The organization is currently in dire need of manpower, and recruiting a young successor to Li Cunyi would be of great help in the reconstruction of underground work in Beijing.

However, the two are not very familiar with each other yet. Her understanding of Xu Jiande is limited to the two days of contact, and it is not time to reveal her identity.

Bai Ling decided to wait and observe for a few more days.

The two chatted for a while longer, and then it gradually got dark.

Strangely, Yi Zhonghai and the others have not yet returned.

Normally, someone working at a steel rolling mill should be back before dark.

He hasn't returned yet; I guess he's being treated like a beast of burden by the Japanese, who won't let him leave until he finishes his work for the day.

Xu Jiande moved two benches and placed them at the door.

Bai Ling sat down next to him. The evening breeze blew through the alley, carrying a smell of coal ash and gunpowder.

The two sat side by side, talking quietly, watching the courtyard gradually be swallowed by the twilight.

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi saw it from afar, stood at her own door and glanced in this direction a few times, muttering something under her breath, but she didn't come over.

When Xu Jiande's gaze swept over her, she immediately turned away, pretending to look at something else.

The deaf old woman slowly walked over.

The deaf old lady is only in her fifties now, her legs and feet are still quite nimble, and her hearing isn't as bad as it used to be.

Leaning on a well-worn bamboo cane, she walked to Xu Jiande's door, squinted at Bai Ling, and then asked Xu Jiande, "Little Dezi, who is this girl?"

If this title were used decades from now, people would definitely laugh at it.

Xu Jiande stood up, offered the stool to the deaf old woman, and said, "Grandma Long, this is my daughter-in-law."

"Ah!" The deaf old woman was startled, her eyes widening as she asked, "When did you get married? I've never heard you mention it before!"

"It was an arranged marriage back in our hometown," Xu Jiande repeated the same line he had told Jia Zhangshi before. Perhaps he had lied so much that he could even fool himself.

"Due to the chaos of war, she came ahead of schedule. I just received her today."

The deaf old woman said "oh" and walked up to Bai Ling, carefully examining her for a few moments.

Bai Ling felt a little embarrassed by her gaze, and lowered her head slightly, the tips of her ears turning a thin layer of red.

"He really is handsome." The deaf old woman straightened up, nodded, and said bluntly.

Then she asked Bai Ling what her name was, and Bai Ling answered in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, with just the right amount of shyness.

The deaf old woman then asked her where she was from, who else was in her family, and how she got here.

Bai Ling answered each question calmly, but as the deaf old woman listened, her eyes reddened. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and repeatedly said, "Poor child."

Then he added, "Damn those Japanese devils!"

Hearing the commotion, an older woman also came out of the house.

She didn't go out much in the afternoon, staying at home to mend Yi Zhonghai's work clothes.

He walked over and saw Bai Ling. He paused for a moment, then a smile bloomed on his face.

"Oh, whose daughter is this? She's so pretty."

The deaf old woman answered for Xu Jiande: "Xiao Dezi's wife is named Bai Ling."

The old woman's eyes lit up immediately. She put the bowl of porridge on the windowsill, grabbed Bai Ling's hand, and started asking her all sorts of questions.

Bai Ling felt a little embarrassed when asked, but she didn't pull away.

Suddenly, the courtyard became lively.

The deaf old woman would ask a question, and an older woman would follow up with another, while Bai Ling answered in the middle, her voice soft. Sometimes she would be amused and smile with her lips pursed, the red tips of her ears never fading.

Xu Jiande stood by and watched, occasionally chiming in with a word or two, but mostly just listening quietly.

The three pools of blood in the courtyard have been covered with yellow earth, and for the first time today, the courtyard has come to life again.

Although it was just the sound of a few women chatting in front of their house, it was still that sound.

The sounds of talking, laughter, and the clinking of teacups were like a few rays of light leaking in from a peaceful era, temporarily dispelling the gloom brought by the Japanese invaders.

It just didn't last long before it was gone.

Yi Zhonghai and his group finally returned, but they brought back very bad news.

While working at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill, two more people were stabbed to death by Japanese soldiers with bayonets. One of them was a resident of the courtyard house named Shitou. The Japanese soldiers didn't even bother to find a reason; they just complained that he was working too slowly and had a bad attitude, and then they stabbed him to death with their bayonets.

Stone's mother squeezed through the crowd and, upon hearing this, couldn't help but burst into tears.

"My son..."

Stone's mother was heartbroken; she never imagined that working for the Japanese would end like this.

Including the four people killed by the Japanese soldiers that morning, four people died in one day in the courtyard house of more than thirty people. Everyone was overcome with sadness and fear.

Stone's body was left at the steel mill; the Japanese wouldn't allow it to be brought back.

They said they'd handle it all tomorrow. What do they mean by "handling it all"? They'll just take it outside the city, dig a hole, bury it somewhere, and might not even allow anyone to collect the body—it's all to make an example of others.

Stone's mother cried for a while, then the neighbors helped her up from the ground and back into the house.

Her legs were still weak, and she was practically being dragged along.

After entering the room, she slumped onto the bed, staring intently at the opposite wall. She took out an old stone garment and began to cry again.

Seeing an object reminds me of someone.

After that, the other people in the house also started burning paper money.

But they dared not cry out loud, for fear of being harassed and killed by the Japanese devils.

This is the daily life of residents in the occupied area.

Everyone lived without any dignity, living in constant fear.

Xu Jiande made no comment and had dinner with Bai Ling.

By this time, it was getting dark, so they could only light kerosene lamps.

The two sat at the dining table without speaking; the only sound in the room was the clinking of chopsticks against bowls.

The sound was very soft, but in that silence, each tap felt like a blow to the heart.

The flame of the kerosene lamp flickered slightly inside the lampshade, casting long shadows of the two of them on the wall.

After eating, washing the dishes, and resting for a while, Xu Jiande said that he would treat Bai Ling again, and said with a smile, "Wife, this time you don't need to cover your mouth, you have to deliberately make people misunderstand."

"..." Bai Ling.

Ten minutes later, Bai Ling finally couldn't resist singing again. Her voice carried far throughout the courtyard. It wasn't just Jia Zhangshi who heard it.

Jia Zhangshi, an older woman, and others thought to themselves, "It's good to be young. So many neighbors have died, but you're not sad at all. You just want to sleep."

But I can understand, they're young, and they haven't been together for very long.

Little did they know that Bai Ling was covered in sweat and in pain.