Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Chapter 466 The Eve of the Storm

at the same time.

No one was asleep in the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

The Yan family.

Aunt Yang Ruihua sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), wearing a patched cotton-padded jacket, her eyes fixed on the direction of the door.

Whenever there was any rustling or noise outside the door, she would instinctively straighten up and listen intently for a while.

This was repeated countless times.

"Honey, it's been so long, why haven't Jie Cheng and the others come back yet? Hongxing Police Station is only a ten-minute walk away, it's been almost an hour and a half, could it be..."

She didn't say aloud, "I hope we won't run into anything dirty."

Yan Bugui sat on the bench, his brows furrowed, his eyes fixed on the newspaper, but his gaze was unfocused, and he wasn't actually reading it.

Upon hearing Yang Ruihua's voice, he raised his eyelids, looked over the newspaper, and glanced at the old clock on the wall.

Nearly two hours have passed since the three sons left home.

A mile is a short distance, and it takes about twenty minutes to go back and forth.

Even if you go to the police station to make a statement and explain the situation, an hour is more than enough.

It's definitely not right that they haven't returned after two hours.

But he didn't voice these concerns.

Telling them will only increase their worries.

Yan Bugui put down his newspaper and said in as calm a tone as possible, "It's probably because it's cold outside late at night that they're walking slowly."

"We should be there by now."

Yang Ruihua's voice carried an unease, with a slight upward inflection at the end, as if he were asking Yan Bugui, or talking to himself.

"Jiecheng is usually the most efficient person in handling things. Although Jiefang is impulsive, he is not a person without a sense of propriety."

Even if they were dawdling, and Jie Kuang is a slow walker with short legs, it shouldn't have taken them two hours.

"Oh, don't worry about it."

Yan Bugui waved his hand, his tone carrying a hint of impatience, but this impatience was clearly feigned, used to mask his own unease.

"What could possibly happen to three grown men? They're not three-year-olds. They know the way, and the police can find them."

"Perhaps when we got there, the police asked very detailed questions, which delayed us."

Yang Ruihua fell silent, her body trembling slightly. Then she laughed self-deprecatingly and shook her head: "I was just scaring myself."

"you do not say."

Yan Bugui echoed, but his eyes still unconsciously glanced towards the door.

"They'll be back soon, and they'll definitely be complaining about being cold and hungry. You'll have to get up and heat up their food. You should take a nap now so you won't be tired later."

Yang Ruihua hummed in response, but her body remained motionless, still gazing towards the door.

The room fell silent.

Yan Bugui put down the newspaper, his thoughts drifting away. Now his three sons had gone to the police station again.

A sudden, ominous premonition welled up in his heart; the feeling came abruptly, without any warning.

I couldn't help but recall the moment before my three sons left home.

Yan Bugui hesitated for a moment.

Just a second of hesitation.

He should have stopped them.

They should be made to wait until dawn.

You should go with them.

should……

The three figures disappeared into the night.

That was the last time Yan Bugui saw his three sons.

he does not know.

At this moment, he only felt a little uncomfortable and inexplicably irritable.

He attributed it to the many things that happened that night, to his old habits recurring, and to the cold weather.

"Honey, do you think... something might have happened to them?"

Yang Ruihua finally couldn't sit still any longer; he was feeling very flustered.

"What could possibly happen?"

Yan Bugui raised his voice by half an octave to suppress his unease, "These days may not be peaceful, but can three grown-up people just vanish into thin air? Don't overthink it, just rest."

After being yelled at like that, Yang Ruihua dared not ask any more questions.

But her hands, resting on her knees, were trembling slightly, her fingers twisted together.

I dared not speak again.

But the seed of unease in her heart had already quietly sprouted.

She stared intently at the doorway, her eyes unblinking, as if waiting for something, or perhaps afraid of something.

Yan Bugui turned the newspaper over and pretended to look at the words on it, but he didn't understand a single word.

He kept listening for any sounds outside the yard, but he heard nothing.

Only the sound of the wind.

Only the sound of a heartbeat could be heard.

Time passed by, second by second.

Tick.

Yang Ruihua began to recall the events of the evening, while her three sons whispered among themselves in the room.

She couldn't hear what they were saying.

Then the head of the household called them to call the police. When they were about to leave...

She also asked, "Call the police? Call what police?"

Yan Jiecheng simply said, "Mom, don't ask anymore. Just stay inside and take good care of your little sister. We'll talk to you when we get back."

Then the three sons left.

Let's talk about it when they get back.

But they haven't come back yet.

The reason she wasn't allowed to take care of Jie Di was because Bang Geng's death was so tragic, and they were afraid it would frighten them.

Yang Ruihua suddenly felt very cold, so cold that she shivered and wrapped her cotton-padded coat even tighter.

But the chill didn't come from the outside, but from the bottom of my heart.

"Honey, our three sons... they can't... they can't really be in trouble, can they?"

Yan Bugui put down the newspaper.

This time, he didn't refute, showed no impatience, and didn't try to cover anything up with a louder voice.

He remained silent for a very, very long time.

Then he said, "It'll be alright."

His voice was very soft, as if he were trying to persuade Yang Ruihua, or perhaps he was trying to persuade himself.

But his hands, which had corrected countless assignments, were trembling. People were dying one after another in the courtyard, and his three sons had not returned for so long. How could he not be worried?

Outside the courtyard, far, far away, the sound of footsteps suddenly came.

This is not a journey undertaken by one person alone.

It was the footsteps of three people.

They are walking towards the courtyard house.

Getting closer.

It's getting clearer and clearer.

Yang Ruihua suddenly looked up, her eyes lighting up for a moment, as if she had grasped at some hope: "Have they come back?"

Yan Bugui listened intently for a moment, and it was indeed the footsteps of three people. He was delighted and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The sound of heartbeats and footsteps overlapped.

faster and faster.

It got louder and louder.

It's good that you're alright, really.