Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

The entrance to Hongxing Middle School.

Yang Ruihua and Yu Li rushed to the school gate, both of them pale and with red and swollen eyes.

Yu Li was also carrying a cloth bag containing a few clothes and some dry food that she had hastily packed.

The security guard, sitting in the gatehouse, saw two women looking flustered trying to rush into the school and quickly came out to stop them.

"Hey, what are you doing? This is school grounds, you can't just walk in like that."

Yang Ruihua stamped her feet anxiously: "Sir, my name is Yang Ruihua. I'm here to see my two sons. There's an emergency at home!"

Yu Li quickly added, "Yes, yes, we're here to see Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang."

The security guard looked at them suspiciously.

Yang Ruihua looked to be in her fifties, wearing a faded blue cotton shirt, and her hair was somewhat messy.

Yu Li was in her early twenties, her face was haggard, but there was still a hint of delicate beauty in her eyes.

Neither of them seemed like bad people, but their panicked appearance made the old man suspicious.

"Wait," the old man said, turning to inform them.

Yang Ruihua and Yu Li stood at the school gate, looking around anxiously.

Yu Li gripped the strap of the cloth bag tightly, her fingers turning white from the force. Her husband had died; what would she do now?

Yang Ruihua kept rubbing her hands together, muttering something under her breath: "Honey, please don't let anything happen to you."

Not long after, two boys ran out of the school building.

Running ahead was Yan Jiefang, who bore a resemblance to Yan Bugui in his features, but with more youthful vigor.

Following behind was Yan Jiekuang, who was slightly shorter and looked more sturdy.

"Mom? Sister-in-law?"

Yan Jiefang ran to the door and saw his mother and sister-in-law's appearance. His heart sank. "What happened? What's wrong at home?"

Upon seeing her two sons, Yang Ruihua burst into tears again: "Jiefang... Jiekuang... your eldest brother... your eldest brother is dead..."

These words struck the two brothers like a heavy hammer. Although they didn't have a good relationship with their eldest brother, he was still their older brother.

Yan Jiefang froze, his eyes wide: "What? Mom, what did you say?"

Yan Jiekuang was also stunned, looking at Yu Li in disbelief: "Sister-in-law...is what Mom said true?"

Yu Li nodded, her eyes red-rimmed, her voice choked with emotion, "It's true... Jie Cheng... he's gone..."

"How...how could this be..." Yan Jiefang's voice trembled. "How...how did my brother die?"

Yang Ruihua wiped away her tears, her voice hoarse: "I don't know either... he... he just inexplicably got stuck on that crooked tree outside the yard... sob sob..."

Yu Li added, "It wasn't just my eldest brother... Jia Dongxu from the courtyard also died this morning, hanged from the same tree... Liu Guangtian was beaten to death by his father... and Bang Geng... Bang Geng was... was..."

She couldn't continue. Recalling the scene of the stick hitting the wall, her stomach churned.

Yan Jiefang pressed urgently, "What happened to Banggeng?"

"I was...I was inexplicably...killed by smashing something against the wall of Chief Li's house right in front of him..." Yang Ruihua said, trembling.

"What?!" the two brothers exclaimed simultaneously.

Passersby at the school gate heard the commotion and looked over curiously.

Yan Jiefang's face turned deathly pale, and his voice trembled: "Mom... explain yourself... what do you mean by 'smashing to death'?"

Yu Li covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face: "It's just...it's just that the stick flew out from somewhere...and hit the wall...my head...my head..."

She couldn't continue speaking, and she squatted on the ground and cried. It was terrifying.

Yang Ruihua took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "Jiefang, Jiekuang, listen to me, four people have died in the compound today. Jia Dongxu, Liu Guangtian, Banggeng, and your eldest brother..."

"Your dad said that something strange is going on in the compound right now... He told us to take you away quickly and not go back for the time being."

Yan Jiefang's mind was buzzing.

Four people died in one day?

My older brother hanged himself?

The stalk was hit and killed?

How...how is this possible?

The security guard, listening in the guardhouse, couldn't help but gasp. He pushed open the door and cautiously asked:

"Ma'am... is everything you're saying true?"

Yang Ruihua nodded, tears welling up in her eyes again: "Grandpa, how could I joke about my own son's death?"

The old man's expression changed, and he muttered to himself, "My God... this is terrifying... four people dying in one day... could it be that we've encountered something evil..."

These words were spoken softly, but the Yan family all heard them.

Yan Jiefang's heart sank.

Dirty stuff...

Could it be... could it really be true?

"Mom," Yan Jiefang forced himself to calm down, "Where's Dad? How is he?"

Yang Ruihua shook her head: "Your dad...your dad has his plans. He told us to come find you first, and bring your sister with us, to stay in a hotel for three days. He said...this matter can be resolved in three days..."

"How do we solve this?" Yan Jiekuang asked anxiously.

"He didn't go into details," Yang Ruihua said. "He just told us not to go back to the courtyard house under any circumstances, and to see how things went in three days."

Yan Jiefang fell silent.

He knew best what kind of person his father, Yan Bugui, was—a shrewd shrewd businessman who never made a losing deal.

The fact that the father was willing to arrange for them to stay in a hotel meant he was willing to trade his life for the survival of the whole family.

This shows that the situation has become extremely serious.

"Mom," Yan Jiefang took a deep breath, "let's go pick up my little sister first."

Yan Jiekuang also realized: "Right, my little sister is still in elementary school."

Yang Ruihua nodded: "Let's go, hurry and pick up Jie Di."

Yu Li stood up from the ground, wiped away her tears, and asked in a trembling voice, "Mom...where...where should we stay first?"

"First, go to the neighborhood office to get a letter of introduction," Yang Ruihua said. "Then find a hotel far from the courtyard house. Your dad gave us some money, enough for us to stay for a few days."

The group hurriedly left the school gate.

Hongxing Primary School is not far from the middle school; it only takes about ten minutes to walk there.

On the way, Yan Jiefang asked about the situation in detail.

When he heard that his elder brother had been hanged from a tree and that Bang Geng had been "flying" out and smashed to death, his face grew paler and paler.

"Sister-in-law," Yan Jiefang looked at Yu Li, "Was there anything unusual in the yard before my brother... before he died?"

Yu Li thought for a moment and shook her head: "No... it's just... something happened in the yard yesterday, Lin Tian was beaten to death."

Later, Yi Zhonghai brought him back from the crematorium, and then things started to get unsettled in the courtyard...

"Lin Tian?" Yan Jiefang frowned. "That kid from the Lin family in the backyard?"

"Yes." Yu Li nodded. "That child is acting very strangely right now... Third Master says he's a 'major jinx'..."

"Third Master?" Yan Jiekuang asked. "Which Third Master?"

"A fortune teller who can see things," Yang Ruihua whispered. "Your dad and the others invited him... He said there's... a great calamity in the courtyard..."

A very bad omen?

These two words are like a heavy stone, pressing down on everyone's heart.

Arriving at the elementary school gate, I was just in time for school to let out.

Yan Zhaodi came out of the school gate with her schoolbag on her back. Seeing her mother, brother, and sister-in-law, she happily ran over:

"Mom! Eldest brother and sister-in-law! Second brother and third brother! Why are you all here?"

The little girl had two pigtails and an innocent smile on her face.

Yang Ruihua looked at her daughter, her nose tingled, and she almost cried again.

She forced herself to speak and patted her daughter's head: "Jie Di, come with Mom, we'll stay in a hotel for a few days."

"A hotel?" Yan Zhaodi's eyes lit up. "Why? Isn't home nice?"

"Something came up at home," Yan Jiefang interjected, trying to sound relaxed. "How about we go on a trip for a few days?"

"Great! Great!" Yan Zhaodi clapped her hands happily.

Looking at her sister-in-law's innocent face, Yu Li felt a pang of sadness.

She was unaware that her eldest brother was already dead, and that her father might be dying soon as well.

"Let's go," Yang Ruihua said. "Let's go to the neighborhood office first."

The group arrived at the subdistrict office, where Yang Ruihua explained the situation—there had been an accident at home, and they couldn't stay there temporarily; they needed a letter of introduction to stay in a hotel for a few days.

The clerk at the neighborhood office knew Yang Ruihua. When he heard that Yan Jiecheng had died, and that four people had died in one day, he was shocked. He quickly offered a few words of comfort and gave her a letter of introduction.

Although she had heard early in the morning that someone had died in the courtyard at No. 95, she didn't have the courage to go and see.

Holding the letter of introduction, Yang Ruihua and his family found a relatively inexpensive hotel that was a bit far away.

Two rooms were booked. Yang Ruihua, Yu Li, and Jie Di shared one room, while Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang shared the other.

Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang sat in another room, silent.

Yan Jiefang walked to the window, looking in the direction of courtyard house number 95, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

My older brother is dead...

Four people died in the hospital in one day...

Father is still inside...

Three days...

My father said it could be resolved in three days...

How to solve this?

A sense of foreboding welled up in Yan Jiefang's heart.

……