Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Don't touch my parents!

He then crept along the wall and silently crept to the back of the guard post, his footsteps as light as a cat's, without even disturbing the withered grass at the base of the wall.

He took a deep breath, focused his mind to the extreme again, and concentrated intently on controlling the movement of the corpse—the trajectory of the corpse's movement appeared in his mind, like a puppet on a string.

The nine lifeless bodies fell one after another with dull thuds onto the cold ground, some crashing against the guard post wall with a muffled "thud".

The snow-covered ground was battered and bruised, and the sunken snow pits quickly filled with a layer of pale red water. The naked bodies were piled up crookedly, like discarded rag dolls.

The faint light reflected from the snow shone down on the pile of pale bodies, making their skin appear bluish-white under the snowlight, which was so dazzling that it was hard to look directly at them.

In the dim light, the pile of naked corpses looked particularly glaring, like a bunch of peeled radishes, making it hard to look directly at them. Even He Yuzhu felt a chill in his heart.

The silent scene before us seems to be telling a heavy and cruel indictment—indicting the absurdity of this world, indicting the brutality of the invaders, and indicting the accomplices of these traitors.

He Yuzhu suddenly changed direction and, without hesitation, took off running as fast as he could, the soles of his shoes slapping against the snow with a "shush-shush" sound that was particularly clear in the quiet night.

He sprinted forward with rapid, quick steps, the wind whistling in his ears as if cheering him on, or urging him to flee this bloody place.

After traversing two deep and narrow alleys, he finally arrived at the hiding place he had chosen beforehand.

He swiftly pushed the slightly worn bicycle out from a hidden corner, and with clean, nimble movements, flipped himself over and steadily straddled the seat.

Immediately, he mustered all his strength and pedaled hard, speeding off towards Nanluoguxiang.

He dared not step onto those wide and bright main roads, for fear of attracting unnecessary attention.

Because Japanese soldiers often patrolled those main roads in formation, making the area as secure as an iron barrel.

Occasionally, the roar of military trucks could be heard as they roared past, their cargo compartments crammed with fully armed soldiers.

Such a perilous environment is far too dangerous; the slightest mistake could expose one's whereabouts.

After nearly an hour of arduous cycling, his back was soaked with sweat, and he was breathing heavily, almost unable to catch his breath.

The familiar courtyard gate at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang finally came into clear view.

He Yuzhu quickly braked and steadied the bicycle, gently leaning it against the side of the courtyard wall.

He moved the old wooden ladder from the corner of the wall and set it up steadily at the base of the wall.

He then used both hands and feet to climb the ladder and nimbly flipped into the yard.

He didn't even bother to put the wooden ladder back in its place, leaving it leaning against the wall unattended.

The whole night of running around and being tense had already drained him of all his strength and energy.

At this moment, he had almost no strength left to even lift his arm, and he just hoped to collapse and rest immediately.

He lowered his pace and tiptoed toward the side room where he was staying.

A lingering warmth remained in the room, like a pair of gentle hands soothing the mind, exuding a reassuring temperature.

Although the flames in the furnace had become as weak as beans, they were not completely extinguished and were still radiating residual warmth.

By the flickering, dim light of the furnace, he began to carefully examine his entire body, inch by inch.

Fortunately, there was no bloodstain on the clothes, and they looked clean and normal.

He slowly unbuttoned his coat and took it off bit by bit.

Then they took off their hats, untied their scarves, and removed their dusty cotton shoes one by one.

The clothes were laid out one by one and carefully arranged next to the fire to dry.

Once everything was in place, he gently lifted a corner of the blanket and slowly curled up inside.

The moment he closed his eyes, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion instantly engulfed him.

Almost in the blink of an eye, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Zhu Zi! Get up! What time is it? Still lazing around in your warm bed!"

A series of urgent knocks, accompanied by He Daqing's loud shouts, suddenly burst into the silent room from outside.

The sound was like a heavy hammer striking a drum, slamming into the eardrums and making one's heart tremble.

He Yuzhu felt as if his eyelids were weighed down by a thousand-pound boulder, and he didn't even have the strength to lift them.

My whole body felt so sore and weak, as if every bone in my body had fallen apart.

Last night's harrowing ordeal had almost drained him of all his energy.

"Father, I'm getting up now!" he replied in a hoarse, strained voice.

The last words were still tinged with a lingering, heavy drowsiness, like sticky cotton soaked in water.

He reluctantly struggled to sit up from his warm, cozy bed, his movements as slow and sluggish as if he had rusted.

A biting chill immediately swept over him, enveloping him completely.

He was so cold that he shivered uncontrollably, and his shoulders shook.

He was shivering as he frantically put on his clothes.

Before putting on his clothes, he made sure to check every part of his body carefully once again.

He examined every nook and cranny, from the cuffs and front to the trouser legs, over and over again.

Only after confirming that there was no trace of suspicious blood left did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Japanese wolfhounds have an incredibly keen sense of smell, making them more than ten times more cunning and dangerous than ordinary dogs.

If you were to accidentally get covered in blood and become a target, the consequences would be unimaginable.

By then, the endless stream of troubles will likely leave people overwhelmed and unable to cope.

He crouched down, picked up an iron rod, and gently poked open the furnace door.

Two shiny black coal nuggets were added to the furnace, making the fire crackle and burn brightly again.

Then I picked up a ladle, scooped up some warm water, and carefully washed my face and rinsed my mouth.

Suddenly I remembered that I should brush my teeth and clean my mouth properly to avoid leaving an unpleasant odor.

I searched high and low in the house, but I couldn't find the toothbrush anywhere.

In those turbulent years of war and chaos, toothbrushes were rare and precious items.

It was only sold in foreign firms and Japanese trading companies; ordinary people would never see it.

He gently rubbed his stiff cheeks and stepped into the main room.

He Daqing was holding a small spoon and carefully feeding He Yushui thin rice porridge.

The little girl sucked on the spoon with great effort, her rosy cheeks scrunched up, looking just like a freshly steamed bun.

Chen Shuxiang leaned weakly against the headboard, her face still as white as a sheet of Xuan paper.

Judging from the current situation, it seems that her milk is still not flowing smoothly.

Breakfast was a thin corn porridge, served with a small dish of crisp, green mustard greens.