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

Bai Ling didn't feel much pain this time. When the demonic energy seeped into her skin, she only felt a slight soreness, like a masseur's fingers kneading away nodules in her muscles.

That feeling of having my ribs crushed by a red-hot iron rod is completely gone.

Xu Jiande's palm slowly moved across her ribs, dissolving the last remaining bruises.

Bai Ling closed her eyes, but felt a little itchy and couldn't help but groan.

Then, remembering something, she felt a little shy.

Xu Jiande didn't say anything, but Jia Zhangshi next door overheard it and thought to herself, "In broad daylight, Xu Jiande and Bai Ling are really bold and incredibly audacious."

Everyone was terrified, yet they were still being affectionate in broad daylight. It's unbelievable.

As a result, Bai Ling only groaned twice and then fell silent. So much so that Madam Jia tried desperately to listen, but couldn't hear anything, and felt incredibly anxious.

This is truly speechless.

Meanwhile, on Xu Jiande's side...

Ten minutes later, Xu Jiande withdrew his hand. Bai Ling opened her eyes, looked down at her left rib, and saw that the swelling had gone down and the bruise had mostly faded. She moved her left arm, raised it, and stretched it back. The pain in her left rib was much less than before.

There was only a faint, sore feeling, like the soreness after a muscle strain.

Bai Ling finished dressing, looked at Xu Jiande, nodded and said it was basically done.

My admiration for Xu Jiande grew even stronger. In the occupied territories, getting injured was commonplace. Having a companion who knew martial arts and how to heal wounds was like having an extra life.

Unfortunately, Xu Jiande was not yet a comrade.

Next, we'll have lunch and then rest.

Xu Jiande came home quite late last night.

While Xu Jiande and Bai Ling were resting, the Japanese soldiers implemented targeted measures in response to the sneak attack they had suffered the previous night.

In the afternoon, a group of Japanese soldiers and puppet troops began posting notices in every alley. The notices were written in black ink on white paper with a brush, the handwriting was neat, and the wording was resolute.

The gist of the order is that, in order to strengthen security management and prevent infiltration by resistance elements, each courtyard should elect one or two courtyard managers to be responsible for managing the residents of the courtyard and to report any abnormal situations to the Imperial Army immediately.

Administrators were directly appointed by the Imperial Army, protected by the Imperial Army, and enjoyed preferential treatment including food rations. Residents who knew about such activities but failed to report them were punished the same as the resistance fighters.

Many residents, upon hearing the news, went outside and stared in disbelief at the notice on the wall.

Obviously, it's easy to guess why the Japanese did this: they were treating each courtyard house as a grid.

When Xu Jiande woke up, he saw the courtyard manager and felt that it was familiar. This was the old man system that would last for more than 20 years.

Of course, it's also possible that the later "grandpa system" was inspired by this courtyard manager system.

However, regardless of the circumstances, this will indeed greatly strengthen the supervision of all residents of Beijing.

Back inside, Bai Ling also heard the news.

Her expression was more serious than Xu Jiande's, because this was the kind of thing they feared most when working underground in the occupied areas.

Externally, there was oppressive pressure from the Japanese; internally, residents were monitoring each other.

The volunteer army had suffered many losses in this regard in the past, and many of their comrades and anti-Japanese fighters who were lying in wait were reported by villagers.

The later implementation of the Baojia system, in particular, restricted each village to a very specific location, causing huge losses to the volunteer army and making their activities increasingly difficult.

The famous General Yang sacrificed his life for this reason.

The two discussed it for a few minutes in the house and both felt that it would be best if the position of the courtyard manager fell into Xu Jiande's hands.

If it falls into the hands of outsiders, such as Yi Zhonghai or Liu Haizhong, Xu Jiande will eventually be discovered as he climbs over the wall every night to kill Japanese soldiers.

The administrator of this compound must be Xu Jiande.

Fortunately, Xu Jiande had an advantage: he was familiar with Wang Xiaoyong, who was one of his own.

That same evening, Xu Jiande took gifts and went to Wang Xiaoyong to ask for favors.

The so-called "backdoor" approach was for show; otherwise, people would be suspicious if Wang Xiaoyong helped Xu Jiande for no reason.

After listening to Xu Jiande's idea, Wang Xiaoyong remained silent for a while, then nodded and said he would take care of it.

Having spent these days in the puppet army, he had some influence with the Japanese soldiers in charge of appointing administrators, so recommending a candidate wouldn't be difficult.

This is ridiculous. Those who are afraid of death want to become traitors, and resistance fighters also want to become traitors.

The next morning, the Japanese posted another notice, stating that more than 3,200 courtyard managers had been selected in the Shangcheng District, and that Xu Jiande and Yi Zhonghai were the courtyard managers for the courtyard at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

Xu Jiande was the first administrator, and Yi Zhonghai was the second administrator.

Seeing Xu Jiande and Yi Zhonghai become courtyard managers, many people felt envious and jealous.

How can I not be envious?

The courtyard administrators were under the protection of the Imperial Army and enjoyed preferential treatment in terms of food rations.

These two points alone are equivalent to having an extra life in this occupied city that is about to be filled with starving corpses.

Ordinary residents lived in constant fear, never knowing when the Japanese would drag them out of bed. Food was also scarce, while the administrators not only lived peacefully but also received an extra ration.

Standing at her own door, Jia Zhangshi looked at Xu Jiande's name on the notice from afar, her face contorted with grimaces.

That damned bastard, why does he get to have all the good things?

First, a beautiful wife appeared out of nowhere, and now he's become an administrator. Is this world some kind of back door specially opened for him?

She spat on the ground, muttering "a dog relying on its master's power," but her voice was so low that only she could hear it.

The taste of Xu Jiande's slap was still fresh on her face; she dared not provoke that scoundrel again.

Yan Bugui stood at the edge of the crowd, pushed up his nearsighted glasses with a crack on the bridge of his nose, and stared at the notice for a long time.

He was a teacher, literate, and read the notice from beginning to end. He was utterly disappointed to find that he couldn't be a traitor.

Looking at the names of Xu Jiande and Yi Zhonghai, he felt a mix of emotions: envy, jealousy, and a vague, inexplicable impulse. He regretted not giving them gifts.

As the saying goes, you can't catch a wolf without risking your wife.

Liu Haizhong was not in the crowd.

Xu Jiande was in high spirits upon becoming the courtyard manager. He took twenty catties of coarse grain to the shop and asked Aji to sell the grain, saying that he had something to do that day.

Of course, he didn't tell Aji anything specific about the happy occasion.

After Xu Jiande returned to the courtyard, he and Yi Zhonghai followed Wang Xiaoyong to a nearby auditorium to listen to the Japanese soldiers give a speech.

The auditorium is rather small, with a seating capacity of only five or six hundred people.

There are more than 2,000 courtyard administrators in total, but not all of them can sit inside; they have to be divided into batches.

Xu Jiande was one of the first 500 people to enter.

After entering and sitting in the auditorium, he looked around and saw that almost everyone was both nervous and happy.

A moment later, the door on the side of the main stage opened, and several Japanese officers filed in. The one at the front was a colonel, whose three stars on his epaulets gleamed coldly under the green light.

Xu Jiande recognized the insignia on the uniform; it was the rank of colonel.

This colonel, named Oda Ichirin, was about forty years old. He was not tall, but had broad shoulders. His face was clean-shaven, and there was an old scar on his chin that stretched from the corner of his mouth to his ear, looking like it had been cut by a razor blade.

He stood on the main stage, glanced at the crowd below, and then spoke.

They were speaking Japanese.

His tone was not high, but his speech was slow, and he pronounced each syllable clearly.

A translator stood beside him, dressed in civilian clothes and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, translating each paragraph as the colonel finished speaking.

The gist of it is that everyone present has been carefully selected by the Imperial Army and is the most important courtyard administrator in the Upper City. Serving as an administrator is both serving the Imperial Army and bringing benefits to your own families. This is a favor from the Imperial Army and an honor for you all, and so on.

Then he began to paint a picture of the future, saying that the Imperial Army came to Great Xia for common prosperity, and that the courtyard managers were the foundation of the new order. He said that if each courtyard was well managed, the city of Sijiu would be stable and prosperous.

Some people in the audience began to nod, and the tension on some faces slowly turned into anticipation.