Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

"We didn't leave, we just stayed at a guesthouse far away from the courtyard house. We met Uncle San and his group on the way."

"My third uncle has urgent news for me. He asked me to tell you and my second aunt that the Red Star Guesthouse is no longer safe, and that you should take Jie Di and my second aunt and leave immediately."

Upon hearing the words "Red Star Guesthouse is not safe," Yang Ruihua panicked, pulled off the latch, and opened the door.

Lin Tian stood at the door, wearing a dark gray padded jacket and black cloth shoes. He was as thin and small as usual.

He looked up at Yang Ruihua, his breathing slightly rapid, as if he had just run over from somewhere.

His bright black eyes revealed a sense of anxiety; he looked every bit the child rushing to deliver a message.

"Come in and speak."

Yang Ruihua stepped aside to let him into the house, then peeked out and looked down the corridor. It was empty; there wasn't a soul in sight.

"My boss... what did Third Uncle tell you to say?"

"Third Uncle said the Red Star Guesthouse is no longer safe, because of... that thing..."

"That thing probably already knows you live here. Third Uncle told you to take Jie Di and leave quickly, take the side roads, not the main roads, and go to Uncle Jiu's place to find them."

Yang Ruihua's eyes widened.

Uncle Nine.

This child knows Uncle Jiu.

Even Uncle Jiu, the head of the family, told this child, so it must be true... no, it's not true, it's that they really met this child and asked him to deliver a message.

Her mind raced: the family members went to find Uncle Nine, and Uncle Nine might have said something to them on the way.

Or perhaps they found out something had followed them after they arrived at Uncle Nine's place, so they sent Lin Tian to deliver a message.

The child is panting heavily; he must have traveled a long way.

She hadn't considered the other possibility at all.

"Take the back path? Which back path?"

"It's the alley behind the guesthouse. Walk straight through it, turn left at the end, and after walking a little further you'll see a big locust tree."

There's a small path there; you can find them if you follow it.

The third uncle said there's something watching over the main road, so you absolutely mustn't walk on it.

Yang Ruihua stood up, walked to the window, and peeked out from behind a corner of the curtain.

Lin Tian suddenly realized and said, "Right, where's Second Aunt? Where is she? Why isn't she at the guesthouse?"

"My second aunt went out to make a phone call."

"Okay, I'll go out and look for her. I must let her know."

Lin Tian started to walk towards the door, but then turned back, his little face full of seriousness:

"Third Aunt, you two hurry up and get ready to go. I'll go find Second Aunt first, and we'll meet under our big locust tree."

After saying that, he opened the door and ran out.

Yang Ruihua chased after him to the door, wanting to say, "Slow down," but Lin Tian had already disappeared from the corridor.

All that could be heard from the stairwell was a series of hurried footsteps that were getting farther and farther away.

Yang Ruihua closed the door and began packing her things. Actually, there wasn't much to pack, as she hadn't brought much from the courtyard house to begin with.

She wrapped Yan Jiedi's little cotton-padded jacket tightly, and then took off her own scarf and wrapped it around her daughter's neck, as the scarf was too big.

It wrapped around Yan Jiedi's neck three times, covering half of her face.

Infected by her mother's anxiety, Yan Jiedi stood obediently and let her wrap her up, asking softly, "Mommy, where are we going?"

"Go find your father."

Yang Ruihua picked up the blue cloth bundle containing a change of clothes and dry food, slung it over his shoulder, and held Yan Jiedi's small hand tightly with his other hand.

"Follow your mother and don't make a sound."

He pulled Yan Jiedi downstairs quickly.

The receptionist was dozing off at her desk when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She looked up and rubbed her eyes.

Seeing Yang Ruihua carrying a bundle and leading the child hurriedly out, someone called out curiously:

"Where are you going?"

Yang Ruihua continued walking without turning her head, tossing out, "Something came up, I'll be back later."

The receptionist muttered, "What kind of person is he? If he doesn't want to talk, then he doesn't have to."

Yang Ruihua led Yan Jiedi around to the back of the guesthouse, where there was indeed a narrow alley.

At the entrance of the alley, there were several old wooden boxes and a stack of broken bricks, and a faded slogan was pasted on the wall.

The alley was very narrow; two people could barely walk side by side through it. On both sides were the back walls of old residential buildings.

"Mom, I'm scared."

Yan Jiedi gripped her mother's hand tightly.

"Don't be afraid, Mom is here."

Yang Ruihua comforted her.

Unbeknownst to her, a faint black shadow was silently following them from behind.

You little punk, you think you can run away?

The alleyway went deeper and deeper.

Yan Jiedi asked softly, "Mom, how much further?"

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon."

Yang Ruihua responded without turning her head, her steps quickening, unaware of how much further she had to go.

All I know is that Lin Tian told me to turn left at the end of the path, walk a little further until I see the big locust tree, and then wait for them.

However, a person was standing at the end of the alley.

Yang Ruihua suddenly stopped, and Yan Jiedi, unable to stop in time, bumped into her leg.

"Xiao Tian?"

Yang Ruihua breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to greet Yan Jiedi, asking, "What are you doing here? Did you inform Second Aunt?"

He was only halfway through his sentence.

Yang Ruihua's gaze fell on the axe dripping blood in Lin Tian's hand, and he suddenly realized something.

Lin Tian said kindly, "Third Aunt, Jie Di, are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated?"

Yang Ruihua pulled Yan Jiedi behind her, shielding her daughter with her own body. Her hands were trembling, but she still tried her best to remain calm.

"You're not Lin Tian. Who are you? Why did you lure us out?"

Lin Tian grinned and said, "Third Aunt, if I'm not Lin Tian, ​​then who am I? Don't guess wildly, I am Lin Tian, ​​and everyone in the courtyard... I killed them all."

What?

Yang Ruihua was terrified.

Jia Dongxu, Liu Guangfu, Liu Guangtian, Banggeng, Yan Jiecheng, Yan Jiefang, Yan Jiekuang, Xu Damao, deaf old lady.

Nine people have already been identified (she knows this).

She got it.

They never escaped anyone's sight.

From the very beginning, from the moment Jia Dongxu died last night, all of them have been living under the watchful eyes of this eight-year-old child, like mice hiding from a cat's paws.

They went to find Third Master, they went to find Ninth Uncle, they went to get reinforcements... He knew all of this.

Lin Tian didn't stop anything because he simply didn't care.

He's playing.

Playing around...

"Lin Tian..."

Yang Ruihua pleaded in terror, "I beg you... please spare my daughter... you and Jie Di grew up together."

Do you remember how you played hopscotch together and shared candy in front of the back building?

"Playing the emotional card?"

Lin Tian thought about it seriously for a moment and then shook his head. "That would require me to have feelings for it."

He took another step forward, shifting his grip on the axe to a more comfortable position.

Yang Ruihua shielded Yan Jiedi tightly behind her, using her own body to separate her daughter from the blood-dripping axe, and pleaded:

"Kill me if you want, don't kill my daughter. She's only seven years old, she hasn't done anything wrong, she doesn't know anything..."

Lin Tian said sincerely, "Don't worry, Third Aunt."

"I'm a man of principle; I never kill women or children, and I mean what I say."

...