Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

The clue was something Old Sun found after spending half a month squatting down.

After Old Man Tong's son was arrested, he remained tight-lipped for three days. On the morning of the fourth day, he suddenly confessed that his father might be hiding in a place called Heiyu on the outskirts of Beijing. That place is deep in the mountains; it used to be a mine, but it was abandoned twenty years ago, and the road to it is no longer there.

Yang Xiaobing spread the map on the table and circled a dot with a red pen.

"Heiyu. It's more than 40 li from here, all mountain roads, cars can't get in."

He Yuzhu leaned over for a look and pressed his finger on that spot.

"How long does it take to get there?"

"At least four hours."

How many people are there over there?

Yang Xiaobing shook his head.

"Old Sun said there were seven or eight. They're all old-timers who've been with the Tong family for decades, and they're armed."

He Yuzhu straightened up and walked out, but turned back at the door.

"Twenty. Old Lu will go with you. Tell the brothers that those guys have blood on their hands, so don't hold back. I want them alive, but the dead are fine too. Just one rule—"

He paused.

"Hey old man, don't riddle me with bullets. Keep him around for questioning."

Yang Xiaobing stood up.

"clear."

He Yuzhu had already pushed the door open and gone out when a voice drifted in from outside: "I'll stew some meat for you when I get back."

The day we went into the mountains, the sky was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Yang Xiaobing walked at the front, a machete in his hand, cutting down the vines blocking his path as he went. Behind him followed nineteen men: Zhao Tiezhu, Li Erniu, and Wang Shitou, all veterans who had trained for over half a year. No one spoke; only the rustling of their footsteps on the fallen leaves filled the air.

After walking for four hours, Zhao Tiezhu, who had scouted ahead, ran back.

"Captain, there's movement ahead."

Yang Xiaobing raised his hand, and everyone squatted down.

Zhao Tiezhu pointed to the grove of trees ahead.

"There was a shack halfway up the mountain, with smoke coming out. There were three people walking around, going back and forth."

Yang Xiaobing took out his binoculars from his pocket, crouched behind a rock, and looked in that direction.

The shack was small, made of wood, with a roof covered with tarpaulin. A pile of firewood sat by the door, one man was swinging an axe, and another squatted smoking. Further away, there was a cave, its entrance piled with sandbags and a machine gun mounted on it.

He put the binoculars down.

"Old Lu."

Old Lu crouched down as he approached.

"Do you see that cave?"

Old Lu glanced at it and nodded.

"Machine gun. We need to take it out first."

Yang Xiaobing thought for a moment.

"You take five men and go around to the left. I'll take the others and come up from the right. Once we reach the cave entrance, then you can make your move."

With a wave of his hand, Old Lu led his men and disappeared into the woods.

It was completely dark.

Yang Xiaobing lay prone behind a rock, staring at the cave. The lantern at the cave entrance had gone out, replaced by two dark figures huddled behind sandbags, occasionally moving slightly.

He gestured behind him.

Zhao Tiezhu led his men forward slowly, their footsteps barely making a sound as they trod on the fallen leaves.

When they reached within 30 meters of the cave entrance, a dark figure stood up and took two steps toward them.

Zhao Tiezhu stopped and remained motionless.

The man stood there for a few seconds, then unzipped his pants and began to urinate. After he finished, he yawned, turned around, and walked back.

Zhao Tiezhu continued to feel his way forward, his steps even lighter than before.

Twenty meters. Fifteen meters. Ten meters.

A shout suddenly came from inside the cave.

Yang Xiaobing's heart tightened, and before he could react, the machine gun at the cave entrance opened fire.

Da da da da—

Bullets swept through, sending sparks flying from the rocks. Zhao Tiezhu rolled to the side, taking cover behind a tree. Wang Shitou, behind him, was a fraction of a second slower, and a bullet grazed his shoulder. Wang Shitou groaned, clutching his shoulder as he fell to the ground, blood seeping from between his fingers.

"There's an ambush!"

Yang Xiaobing rushed out and fired a burst of bullets at the cave entrance with his submachine gun. Screams erupted from inside the cave, and the machine gun stopped.

Old Lu started making his move too. Gunshots came from the left, bang bang bang, then silence fell shortly after.

Several men rushed out from the shack, guns at their heels, and ran this way. Yang Xiaobing lay prone on the ground, aimed at the one in front, and shot him down with a single shot. The two behind him hid behind a tree and fired sniper shots outwards.

Zhao Tiezhu rushed over, dragged Wang Shitou behind him, tore open the first-aid kit, and pressed it against Wang's shoulder. Blood gushed out, warm, and smeared his hand.

"Stone! Stone!"

Wang Shitou opened his eyes and cursed under his breath.

"Damn it, that hurts so much! Be gentle!"

Zhao Tiezhu gritted his teeth and tightened the bandage, his voice trembling: "Shut up. I'll settle the score with you later."

Seeing that he could still curse, Zhao Tiezhu finally breathed a sigh of relief, his hands still trembling.

The gunfight lasted for about ten minutes.

Yang Xiaobing led his men to surround the cave entrance and threw two grenades inside. With two loud bangs, before the smoke had even cleared, he rushed inside.

Three people were lying in the cave; two were motionless, and one was groaning. Yang Xiaobing turned him over with his foot. He was a young man with blood flowing from his leg and a deathly pale face.

"Where's Old Man Tong?"

The man looked at him with fear in his eyes.

"They...they ran away from the back mountain..."

Yang Xiaobing turned and ran outside.

The back mountain was a dense forest, pitch black and nothing could be seen. He shone his flashlight and followed the footprints. After chasing for more than twenty minutes, a shout came from ahead.

"Stop! Run again or I'll shoot!"

It was Lao Lu's voice.

Yang Xiaobing ran over and saw Lao Lu pinning a man to the ground, his knee pressing against his back. The man's face was covered in mud, he was panting heavily, and his gray hair was a tangled mess.

Old Lu turned him over.

Old Man Tong.

He was over sixty years old, skin and bones, but his eyes were bright. He looked at Yang Xiaobing, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

"You still managed to find me."

Yang Xiaobing squatted down and took an oilcloth bag from his arms. Inside was a yellowed map covered with dense markings.

"What is this?"

Old Man Tong fell silent.

Yang Xiaobing put the map away and nodded to Lao Lu.

"Take him away. Drag the prisoner in that cave back too, don't let him die."

Back at camp, it was almost dawn.

He Yuzhu sat in the tent, looking at the map. Old Sun smoked beside him, the smoke obscuring his face.

"Can you understand it?"

He Yuzhu shook his head.

"We need to find someone who knows about this to take a look."

Old Sun stubbed out his cigarette.

"Old Man Tong confessed that there was another batch of gold buried in one place."

He Yuzhu raised his head.

"where?"

Old Sun was silent for two seconds.

"Siheyuan (courtyard house)".

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment.

Old Sun continued.

"He said that batch of things was brought out of the palace by the Manchus back then and hidden in a courtyard in Nanluoguxiang. He wouldn't say which one specifically, but said he would exchange his life for it."

He Yuzhu put down the map and remained silent for a long time.

Old Sun noticed that his expression was off.

"Commander?"

He Yuzhu ignored him, took out the cloth bag from his pocket, pulled out the yellowed house deed, and put it on the map.

No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

Old Sun leaned over for a look and was stunned.

"this……"

He Yuzhu put the property deed away, tucked it into his pocket, and patted it.

"Old Sun, do you believe in fate?"

Old Sun didn't respond.

He Yuzhu stood up and walked to the tent entrance. The sky outside was overcast and gloomy, making it hard to breathe.

"Courtyard houses," he said. "Why are there courtyard houses everywhere?"