Courtyard House: First, kill the hypocrites, leave none alive.

Old Sun hummed a little tune as he pushed open the creaking wooden door of the inn.

As dusk fell, he finished feeding the horses and was about to go back inside for a couple of drinks. Business had been good today; he'd made three deliveries and earned eight yuan. Although he kept thinking about the unfortunate siblings, Chen Feng and Chen Xiaoyu, life had to go on, didn't it?

He closed the door behind him, bolted it, and turned to walk back inside.

The cold, metallic touch suddenly pressed against my temple.

Old Sun froze, the little tune stuck in his throat.

"Don't move," a deep male voice sounded from behind. "Dare to shout, and I'll send you to meet the King of Hell right now."

Old Sun's legs went weak, and the hay basket in his hand fell to the ground, scattering hay all over the place.

"Hero, spare my life... spare my life..." his voice trembled. "I... I'm just a cart driver, I have no money..."

"I don't want your money," another voice rang out, younger and filled with hatred. "Old Sun, where is Chen Feng's sister?"

Old Sun's heart skipped a beat. Chen Xiaoyu? These two people are after that girl?

"I...I don't know..." Old Sun stammered. "I'm just a carriage driver, I don't know the Chen family..."

"Bullshit!" The gun barrel pressed forward against his temple. "Two months ago, Jia Dongxu hired you to transport a 'cargo,' a young girl, right? Where did you put her?"

Old Sun's face turned deathly pale. How could anyone else know about this? Jia Dongxu is dead, Yi Zhonghai is dead, logically speaking, besides Chen Feng and him, no third person should know about this...

"I...I just took the money, took her...I took her to the moat, and...and let her go..." Old Sun stammered. "Later...where did she go? I...I really don't know..."

"Which part of the moat?" the first voice pressed. "Be specific!"

"It was...it was just south, past the stone bridge..." Old Sun dared not hide the truth, "I put her down, and she...she walked south along the river, and then...after that, I really don't know..."

The room was deathly silent. Old Sun could hear his own heart pounding and the heavy breathing of the two people behind him.

"Brother, is what he said true?" the young voice asked.

"Most likely it's true," the older voice scoffed. "That old codger doesn't have the guts to lie."

Old Sun breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking he had escaped a calamity.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind and covered his mouth tightly.

Old Sun stared wide-eyed in terror, but before he could struggle, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

A cold dagger was plunged into his stomach.

"Uh..." Old Sun's muffled groan was muffled. He looked down and saw the hilt of the knife in a man's hand. In the last bit of daylight streaming in from the window, he could make out the man's face—a man in his forties, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and eyes full of hatred.

He recognized the face; he knew him from the neighborhood office. It was Director Wang's husband, surnamed Zhao, named Zhao Jianguo.

"Alright, you can die now," Zhao Jianguo said coldly, tightening his grip and twisting the dagger inside his stomach.

A wave of excruciating pain washed over him. Old Sun felt all his strength draining away rapidly, and his vision began to blur. The last thing he heard was a conversation between two people.

"Brother, can we find the place he mentioned?" a young voice asked—it was Wang Qiang, Director Wang's younger brother.

"Who cares?" Zhao Jianguo pulled out his dagger. Old Sun slumped to the ground, blood quickly spreading beneath him. "Anyway, Old Sun is dead, so it can be said that Chen Feng did it. As long as we spread the word that Old Sun revealed Chen Xiaoyu's whereabouts before he died, Chen Feng will definitely go to the moat to check. Then..."

"Then we'll be able to avenge my sister," Wang Qiang said with a hint of glee.

Old Sun lay on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were wide open, staring at the dimly lit ceiling, his consciousness growing increasingly blurred.

Karma...this is karma...

He took money from Jia Dongxu to help transport Chen Xiaoyu, and although he eventually softened and let her go, he still did something wrong. Now, karma has come back to haunt him.

Chen Feng... Xiao Yu...

In the last moments of his consciousness, Old Sun saw Chen Feng's cold eyes and Xiao Yu's pale face.

I'm so sorry... kids...

He closed his eyes.

---

Zhao Jianguo kicked Old Sun's corpse to confirm that he was completely dead before putting away the dagger.

"Clean it up," he told Wang Qiang, "make it look like a robbery and murder. Take all the money out of the house and make a mess of it."

Wang Qiang nodded and began searching the room. He found more than thirty yuan under Old Sun's pillow, and also found a few tattered clothes and half a bottle of liquor in the cabinet.

"Brother, this isn't much money, just this much." Wang Qiang handed the money to Zhao Jianguo.

Zhao Jianguo took the money and counted it: "That's enough. Enough to create the illusion of a robbery and murder."

The two men ransacked the house, overturning tables, smashing teapots, and creating the appearance of a struggle. Then Zhao Jianguo squatted down, dipped Old Sun's hand in blood, and crookedly wrote half of the character "Chen" on the ground—it looked as if Old Sun had tried to write the murderer's name before he died, but died before he could finish.

"Will this work?" Wang Qiang asked uncertainly. "Can we trust the police?"

"Whether you believe it or not isn't important," Zhao Jianguo stood up, wiping the blood from his hands. "The important thing is that the news gets out. Those people in the black market have sharp ears. Old Sun is dead, and he left behind the name 'Chen,' so they'll definitely connect it to Chen Feng. Plus, we've spread the word that Old Sun revealed Chen Xiaoyu's whereabouts before he died..."

Wang Qiang understood: "Chen Feng will definitely go to the moat to check after hearing the news."

"Yes," Zhao Jianguo sneered, "We'll wait for him there then. We'll avenge Yulan."

Wang Yulan, that is, Director Wang. Two months ago, Chen Feng slit her throat and killed her at home. When Zhao Jianguo returned home, his wife's body was already cold. He has never forgotten this blood feud.

For the past two months, he outwardly went to work and lived his life as usual, but secretly he had been investigating everything about Chen Feng. He used all his connections to find out that Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai had hired someone to commit murder, that Old Sun had transported Chen Xiaoyu, and that Chen Feng was looking for his sister.

He knew that Chen Xiaoyu was Chen Feng's only weakness.

So he approached his brother-in-law, Wang Qiang—who drove for a transport company and knew all sorts of people. The two hit it off immediately and decided to set a trap to lure Chen Feng out.

Kill Old Sun, frame Chen Feng, and then spread news about Chen Xiaoyu. As long as Chen Feng hears the news, he will definitely go to the moat.

That was where he was buried.

"Brother, can we really take down Chen Feng?" Wang Qiang was still a little worried. "I heard that kid has killed almost twenty people. He's ruthless and has a gun..."

"We also have guns," Zhao Jianguo said, pulling a Type 54 pistol from his pocket, just like Chen Feng's. "I bought it on the black market for eighty yuan. We also have enough bullets."

He pulled out another gun and handed it to Wang Qiang: "This one's for you. Tomorrow night, we'll ambush them by the moat. If Chen Feng comes, just shoot him; don't leave any survivors."

Wang Qiang took the gun, his hand trembling slightly. He had never killed anyone in his life, but the thought of his sister's tragic death hardened his heart.

"Alright, let's avenge my sister."

The two checked the scene again to make sure there were no obvious flaws before quietly leaving the inn.

Night had fallen, and the streets were deserted. Zhao Jianguo and Wang Qiang parted ways, agreeing to meet at a teahouse in the west of the city the next day at noon to discuss the specific ambush plan.

---

In the courtyard of Tofu Alley, Chen Feng was cleaning his gun in front of a kerosene lamp.

He had just found some things in the basement of the small courtyard—not things Wang Scarface had hidden, but things left behind by an earlier owner. Several old books, some tools, and a box of damp bullets, all unusable.

But he discovered a hidden compartment in the corner, inside which lay a Japanese military sword. The blade was well-preserved; although there were some rust marks, it remained sharp. The scabbard was made of wood and decorated with cherry blossom patterns.

Chen Feng drew his military knife and examined it closely under the lamplight. The blade gleamed coldly, reflecting his stern face.

This knife can be used to kill.

As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a noise outside.

Very light footsteps echoed in the alley. Not just one person, at least two.

Chen Feng immediately blew out the kerosene lamp, walked to the window in the dark, and looked out through the hole in the window paper.

The alley was pitch black, with only a faint light shining from a window of a house in the distance. Two figures were walking slowly and cautiously from the alley entrance, glancing left and right as they went.

It wasn't the police. The police wouldn't act so suspiciously.

They weren't Wang Scarface's men either. Those people knew the rules and wouldn't come to their boss's place so casually.

Who could it be?

Chen Feng gripped the military knife in his hand tightly, and reached for the gun at his waist with his other hand.

The two men stopped at the entrance of the courtyard. One of them whispered something, the other nodded, and then they began to climb over the wall.

They were clumsy and not professionals. One of them almost fell while climbing the wall, but was caught by his companion.

Chen Feng retreated behind the door of the main room and held his breath.

The courtyard wall wasn't high, and the two men quickly climbed over. Their landing made a slight sound, exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

The two stood in the courtyard for a while, seemingly adjusting to the darkness. Then, they walked towards the main house.

Chen Feng could hear their breathing; it was heavy and tense.

The door was gently pushed open. A figure peeked in, holding a flashlight, but didn't turn it on.

"Is anyone there?" the man asked in a low voice.

Chen Feng did not answer.

The man waited a few seconds, then slowly walked in. Another man followed behind.

Both of them entered the main room, and Chen Feng counted his steps—three steps, four steps, five steps…

It's now!

He suddenly emerged from behind the door, his military knife held against one man's neck, while his other hand pressed a gun against the back of another man's head.

"Don't move!" Chen Feng whispered. "Move or die!"

The two were so frightened that they froze, and the flashlight fell to the ground with a "thud".

"Hero, spare my life... spare my life..." the man with a knife to his neck stammered, "We... we're just here to find someone..."

"Who are you looking for?" Chen Feng asked coldly.

"Looking for...looking for Wang Dali's brother..." another man said. "We're Scarface's men. We heard...we heard Big Steel lives here..."

Chen Feng's heart skipped a beat. Wang Scarface's men? How did they find this place?

He released the knife from the man's neck, but the gun was still pressed against the other man's head: "Turn around, slowly."

The two slowly turned around. Although the kerosene lamp was out, moonlight streamed in through the window, making their faces barely visible.

They were two young men, in their early twenties, looking terrified. Chen Feng remembered them; he had seen them in the warehouse last night, standing at the back of the crowd, not particularly noticeable.

"How did you find this place?" Chen Feng asked, his voice still icy.

"It was...it was Skinny Monkey who said it," one of the shorter guys said. "He said Big Steel might be staying with Scarface, and he sent us...to check it out and, by the way, to deliver a message..."

"What news?"

"Old Sun is dead."

Chen Feng's pupils contracted: "When? How did he die?"

"It's all over the black market tonight," another tall man continued, "that he was stabbed to death in a roadside inn. Before he died, he wrote the character 'Chen' on the ground in his blood, but he died before he could finish writing it. Now everyone in the underworld is saying that Chen Feng did it."

Chen Feng's hand tightened. Old Sun was dead? Killed? And he left behind the character "Chen"?

No, something's not right.

If he killed him, wouldn't he know? If he didn't kill him, then who was it? Why frame him?

"Anything else?" Chen Feng pressed. "That's all?"

"And...there's more," the short man hesitated for a moment, "some people say that before Old Sun died, he revealed the whereabouts of Chen Feng's sister. She's by the moat, the exact location is unknown, but it's definitely nearby."

Chen Feng's heart skipped a beat.

Is the light rain by the moat? That's what Old Sun said before he died.

Is that possible? Two months ago, Old Sun let Xiaoyu go, right by the moat. If Xiaoyu hasn't gone far and has been hiding nearby, then it's possible.

But why did it have to come out now of all times? Why was Old Sun killed right after he revealed this news? And why was the character "Chen" left behind, pointing to him?

This looks too much like a trap.

Chen Feng stared at the two young men: "Who leaked this news?"

"I don't know," the tall man shook his head. "News travels fast in the black market, and it's hard to find the source. But... but everyone believes it because Old Sun is indeed dead, and there was indeed the character 'Chen' at the scene."

"Scarface's men are all talking about it," the short guy added, "Some say they're going to get revenge on Chen Feng, while others say they're going to find Chen Xiaoyu first and use her as bait..."

Chen Feng understood. This was a scheme to kill two birds with one stone.

They killed Old Sun and framed him, thus enraging Scarface Wang's men. At the same time, they spread news about Xiao Yu, luring him to the moat.

If he went, he would face two dangers—Wang Scarface's men would want to kill him for revenge, and the person who set the trap was also waiting for him there.

Well thought out.

"Brother Da Gang, what do you think..." the tall man asked cautiously, "What should we do? We need to avenge Scarface, but what about Chen Xiaoyu..."

Chen Feng remained silent for a moment. He quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.

Who set this up? The police? Unlikely; the police don't need to go through all that trouble to arrest people. Wang Scarface's enemies? Possibly, but why involve Xiaoyu?

Unless... the person who set this up knows that he cares most about his sister and wants to use Xiaoyu to lure him out.

So, who hates him the most, and who knows that Xiaoyu is his weakness?

Those people in the courtyard? Possibly, but they're barely able to protect themselves right now, so they probably wouldn't have the guts.

A former associate of Yi Zhonghai? That's also possible.

Or... a new enemy?

Chen Feng recalled the people he had killed: Qin Huairu, Jia Dongxu, Yi Zhonghai, Director Wang…

Director Wang's family! Yes, Director Wang has a husband and a younger brother. They must hate him to the core.

If it was a setup by them, then everything makes sense—they killed Old Sun and framed him, angered Scarface Wang's men, and at the same time spread the news about Xiao Yu to lure him to the moat. Then, in the ensuing three-way battle, they could either reap the benefits or kill him in the chaos.

"Go back and tell Skinny Monkey," Chen Feng decided, "that I know. Revenge must be taken, but not now. I'll handle things. You all hold your positions and wait for my news."

"But...but the brothers are all angry," the short man said hesitantly, "I'm afraid I won't be able to control them..."

"We have to suppress it, even if we can't," Chen Feng said coldly. "Anyone who doesn't listen can come find me. My brother's business is now under my control."

The two were intimidated by his imposing manner and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, we'll go back and deliver the message right away."

"Also," Chen Feng added, "send some men to keep watch along the moat, but don't alert them. See if any suspicious people are lying in ambush there. Notify me immediately if anything happens."

"clear!"

The two left and climbed over the wall to escape.

Chen Feng stood motionless in the dark main room for a long time.

Old Sun is dead. That soft-hearted old man was ultimately dragged into this mess and lost his life.

Xiaoyu's message might be true, or it might be false. But in any case, he had to confirm it.

There's definitely an ambush along the moat. But he has to go.

However, we cannot go recklessly.

Chen Feng went back into the inner room and relit the kerosene lamp. He took out the portrait of Xiaoyu from his pocket and looked at it for a long time.

"Xiaoyu, if you are really there, your brother will definitely find you."

He put away the portrait and began to prepare.

I checked the Type 54 pistol; the magazine was full. I also checked the Mauser C96; the spare magazine was full. I loaded the revolver and put it in the holster on my leg.

He wiped the military knife clean and put it in the leather sheath on his back—he found it in the small villa, and it was just the right size.

Then he changed his clothes. He couldn't wear the black leather jacket anymore; it was too conspicuous. He put on one of Wang Scarface's old cotton-padded jackets, which was dusty and inconspicuous. He also found a tattered hat to wear.

Finally, he smeared some coal dust on his face to make himself look more like an ordinary laborer.

Everything is ready.

Chen Feng blew out the lamp and walked out of the main room. He didn't climb over the wall, but went out through the front door—he had changed the lock and was using his own key.

The alley was quiet; there wasn't a soul in sight.

He strode out of Tofu Alley and disappeared into the night.

He had to go to the moat. But he wouldn't go according to the schemer's plan.

He wants to turn the tables and switch the roles of hunter and prey.

The night was deep, and Beijing resembled a sleeping giant.

Within the veins of this behemoth, a bloody hunt is about to begin.

As Chen Feng walked towards the moat, a complete plan had already been outlined in his mind.

The first step is observation. First, observe the situation from a distance to confirm the location and number of those lying in ambush.

The second step is elimination. If there aren't many ambushers, take them out one by one. If there are many, create chaos to lure them away.

The third step is to find her. If Xiaoyu is indeed nearby, search for her amidst the chaos.

The fourth step is evacuation. Regardless of whether the body has been found or not, one should not linger.

If we're lucky, we can not only find out Xiaoyu's whereabouts, but also find out who set up the scheme and solve the problem at the same time.

If you're unlucky...

Chen Feng touched the gun at his waist. He would fight his way out.

He quickened his pace.

The moat is getting closer and closer.

What awaits him there—a trap or hope?

he does not know.

But he knew that this was the path he had to take.

Blood debts must be repaid in blood.

Not a single one can be left alive.