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

Lou Bancheng, the richest man in Beijing, has been staying at home in fear these past few days, not even daring to step out of the door.

Seeing Japanese cars parked in front of his house early in the morning gave him a headache, but there was nothing he could do.

We are at their mercy, like fish on a chopping board.

He straightened his clothes, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and got into the car with Liu Shengyun.

The car drove through the blocked streets and stopped near the bombed-out courtyard house.

Lou Bancheng got out of the car and saw that the sentries standing at the gate were all wearing masks. There was also a strange smell that was hard to describe wafting from the courtyard not far away, and his heart sank a little more.

He followed Yagyu Un into another courtyard and saw Sasaki sitting in a grand chair. He quickly walked over to Sasaki and bowed.

Sasaki stood up, a smile on his face that sent chills down Lou Bancheng's spine.

He didn't exchange pleasantries with Lou Bancheng, but simply tilted his head to the side, gesturing for Lou Bancheng to follow him.

The two walked to a makeshift tent in the corner of the courtyard. Sasa Maki lifted the curtain and let Lou Bancheng look inside.

Several Da Xia people were lying in the tent; they were the residents closest to the courtyard house that had been bombed the night before.

Some have already been stabbed to death by the Japanese, while others have not.

Their faces and arms were covered with large patches of ulcers, their skin looked as if it had been burned from the inside out, and blisters were bulging out.

Some have ruptured, oozing pale yellow pus and revealing dark purple muscle tissue underneath.

A middle-aged man was curled up on a stretcher, his hands tied to the sides of the stretcher, obviously to prevent him from scratching his face in pain.

He was so itchy that his whole body trembled violently, and he let out a painful groan.

The woman next to him no longer had the strength to groan; she just kept her eyes open, her chest rising and falling slightly.

This proves that she is still alive.

But it was clearly not ordinary pain.

Lou Bancheng stood at the tent entrance, feeling as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head.

He had seen dead people, but he had never seen a living person tortured like this.

After all, he was just an ordinary person.

These people had no gunshot wounds, but their skin and muscles appeared to be rotting from the inside out, slowly spreading outwards.

"Mr. Lou," Sasaki stood beside him, his tone as gentle as if they were chatting in a tea room, "this is a new weapon invented by our Imperial Army. Would you like to try it?"

Use the gentlest words to utter the most vicious threat.

The Japanese devils are just that shameless and perverted.

Lou Bancheng's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

His fingers trembled uncontrollably inside his sleeves, and his knees buckled, almost causing him to collapse.

He then waved his hands repeatedly, his voice trembling, "No, no, I don't want to."

Sasaki's smile deepened as she watched his reaction.

That's exactly the effect he wanted—to let this richest man in Beijing see firsthand what the consequences of non-cooperation would be.

Killing an ordinary civilian can only frighten ordinary civilians, but if a prominent figure like Lou Bancheng were to witness the power of biological weapons firsthand, he would genuinely cooperate with the Imperial Army.

He was afraid, and the businessmen and entrepreneurs under his command were afraid too.

"Then, Mr. Lou, you'd better cooperate with the Imperial Army," Sasaki's smile vanished, his tone returning to its usual coldness, "and make all the merchants and entrepreneurs in Beijing cooperate with us. Otherwise—"

He paused, glanced at the ground, and said in a clear, unambiguous tone, "Please, enjoy our latest scientific research results. I really enjoy hearing Mr. Lou's screams."

Lou Bancheng cursed inwardly while nodding repeatedly, "Okay, okay, definitely."

At the same time, I felt an overwhelming sorrow. Slaves of a conquered nation, this is what it means to be a slave of a conquered nation.

After he finished speaking, Sasaki added, "Then Mr. Lou, why don't you give your Lou's Steel Rolling Mill to our Imperial Army? Our Imperial Army will not treat you unfairly."

When Sasaki said this, her tone was light and casual, as if she were talking about something trivial.

Lou Bancheng felt a wave of bitterness wash over him once more.

Lou's Steel Rolling Mill is the culmination of half his life's work. He built it from a small ironworks into the largest steel rolling mill in Beijing, working countless nights and toiling tirelessly to achieve its current scale.

Now the Japanese can take it away with just a word, without even a written IOU.

But what could he do? The person in front of him was still wailing on the ground; if he objected, his whole body would immediately start to fester.

He gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and said "okay."

Of course, Lou Bancheng's fists were clenched tightly, and there were even several bloody marks from his fingernails digging into them.

……

On the other side, two hours ago.

Xu Jiande was woken up by Bai Ling.

He slowly opened his eyes, his consciousness switching from sleep to wakefulness in an instant.

It was already daylight outside the window, and the morning light shone through the window paper, casting a hazy white glow on the ground.

The sounds of neighbors talking and footsteps could be faintly heard in the courtyard; it seemed a bit noisier than usual today.

"What's wrong?" He turned to look at Bai Ling.

"Listen." Bai Ling, already dressed, sat on the edge of the bed and pointed out the window. "What are they talking about in the yard? It sounds like someone is calling for a gathering."

Xu Jiande sat up and, sure enough, it was true. He then got up with Bai Ling immediately.

Bai Ling had already gotten dressed, but she didn't wake him. She felt sorry for him, as he had worked so hard last night, fighting outside for so long and only coming back so late.

A moment later, sure enough, they heard someone shouting outside; it was Wang Xiaoyong's voice.

"Everyone from the courtyard, come out! The Imperial Army has ordered everyone to assemble in the courtyard! Hurry!"

The voice echoed in the courtyard, exactly the same tone as yesterday morning, carrying an undeniable air of authority.

Then came the sound of doors opening, creaking and groaning, and a cacophony of footsteps rushing into the courtyard.

Xu Jiande and Bai Ling exchanged a glance, straightened their clothes, and pushed open the door to walk out into the courtyard.

There were already quite a few people standing in the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai stood at the front of the crowd, rubbing his fingers against the edge of his trouser leg until the fabric became frayed.

Liu Haizhong stood next to him, his back still straight, but his complexion was not good, his eyes were puffy and his eye bags were bluish, obviously he hadn't slept well again last night.

Jia Zhangshi hugged Jia Dongxu and huddled at the back of the crowd. She glanced at Xu Jiande, then quickly looked away.

In addition, four Japanese soldiers stood at the gate of the courtyard, their bayonets gleaming coldly in the morning light, their rifle butts pressed against the ground, standing ramrod straight.

Their gazes swept over everyone in the courtyard, as if they were taking inventory of something.

He Daqing came out of his house and limped into the courtyard.

His back injury hadn't fully healed, and he walked with a slight hunch. When he saw Xu Jiande, he nodded, his eyes filled with gratitude. Clearly, he remembered the two pounds of coarse grains from last night.

Once most of the people had arrived, Wang Xiaoyong stood in the middle, cleared his throat, and began to speak.

He said that the Imperial Army was attacked last night and a large number of resistance fighters appeared. The Imperial Army is doing its best to investigate.

Now everyone is required not only to actively report, but also to provide alibis, indicating where they were and what they were doing late last night, and who can vouch for them.

As soon as these words were spoken, a buzzing discussion immediately arose in the courtyard.

Some people whispered that they had indeed heard gunshots last night, while others were secretly surprised, not expecting that the resistance fighters were so powerful that they dared to fight even the Imperial Army.

But many people were also cursing the resistance fighters in their hearts.

If they hadn't caused trouble, why would the Japanese have come to search every day? We were already struggling to make ends meet, and now we're being dragged into this mess. If they were arrested as resistance fighters, that would be truly unjust.

It can only be said that human nature is complex, and some people hate those who resist.

But despite the criticism, the immediate problem still needs to be solved.

Proving that you slept at home last night sounds simple, but how do you prove it? You need an outsider to witness it.

But everyone is asleep in the middle of the night, who can testify for you? Spouses can testify for each other, but that doesn't count.

And who can prove this to those who are single, live alone, or have only elderly people or children at home?

Soon, people were brought out because they couldn't provide proof. These included Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and others.

Soon, the Japanese soldiers searched their house.

Of course, they didn't find anything. Then it was He Daqing's turn.

He Daqing began to sweat, his voice trembling slightly: "I...I have a witness, Xu Jiande can testify that I was at home last night."

Wang Xiaoyong turned to Xu Jiande: "How can you prove it?"

Xu Jiande remained calm and said in a composed tone, "My house was burgled last night."