Courtyard House: A Start with Black Gold Swallowing 100,000 Silver Dollars

That's right—the spy chief who was eliminated from Yang Yuerong's house last time was the former captain; Li Wenguo allocated him some funds afterward, and now he has firmly secured his position as captain.

"Good! Act immediately! Thoroughly investigate all newcomers to Beijing recently, especially young women—detain them in batches at the police station detention center for five days straight, understand?"

Zhou Dahai's voice was as taut as a fully drawn bowstring.

This method may seem like searching for a needle in a haystack, but it is actually very effective.

If any group of people is imprisoned and the intelligence network at the base suddenly goes down, the inside will immediately issue a warning—that means Red Owl is among them.

After further sifting, the truth will surely come to light.

"yes!!!"

The three men readily accepted the order.

As soon as he stepped out of the Lixing Society gate, Hammer flew off to Li Wenguo to deliver the message.

Upon hearing this, a thought flashed through Li Wenguo's mind: his wife, He Shuting, was most likely that Red Owl!

That evening, he quietly made his way to the small villa in the embassy district.

Embassy grounds.

In the bedroom of the small villa.

Heavy breathing rose and fell, carrying the scorching air and making muffled thuds against the walls.

It took a long time for the situation to gradually calm down.

"Sir, what brings you here again today?"

He Shuting's voice trembled slightly, her breath was not yet even, and the end of her tone was as soft as if it had been soaked in honey.

He had just come last night. Usually, he would only show up every two or three days, or at least every day—but this time he came to her door one after another, which surprised her.

After all, he had many women at home and also had female confidantes outside. He always liked to say "spread the love equally among all his women," a phrase he used to say all the time.

"cigarette."

"oh!"

She sat up in response, the thin blanket sliding down and outlining a breathtaking arc.

She reached out and grabbed the cigarette case from the bedside table, took out a cigarette, gently put it between his lips, and then lit it with a match.

"I'm here to sound the alarm."

Li Wenguo, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, slowly exhaled a puff of white smoke before speaking in a drawn-out tone, deliberately lowering his voice to add a touch of menacing intent.

caveat?

What are you warning me about?

I didn't cross any lines or give anything away!

She raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of confusion. "Sir, Shu Ting didn't do anything. What's gotten into you, suddenly issuing a warning?"

Li Wenguo glanced at her sideways and was surprised to find that his wife wasn't lying down, but instead leaning against the headboard with her back ramrod straight. His gaze involuntarily drifted downwards—he paused for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he remained silent.

"Sir, please say something!"

He Shuting's tone turned serious, with three parts anger and seven parts coquettishness. She rolled over and burrowed into the quilt, only revealing her bright eyes.

"Ahem... You're the 'Red Owl'."

He cleared his throat, and as soon as he finished speaking, he rolled his eyes inwardly:

—Damn it!

—We've been married for three years!

—How can she still be so alluring?

—It's all because this woman was born with a beautiful face, and she was also very attractive and had a wonderful figure. It would be strange if she didn't attract attention!

Indeed, He Shuting was just over twenty when she married him, and now she's only twenty-four, the prime of her life. With skin like jade and eyes like autumn water, she's like a ray of light wherever she goes, bringing a touch of brightness to their otherwise drab and gloomy days.

"Sir, you... know everything?"

She slightly opened her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously tightening the corner of the blanket.

Only one day has passed, and the news has already reached his ears? Could it be—

"You haven't caught that 'rat' in your organization yet? You barely got the title of 'Red Owl' before intelligence flew into the desks of the Special Higher Police. Tsk, how lax."

Li Wenguo's words were sarcastic.

"This...this...the organization is conducting a thorough investigation."

A hint of embarrassment appeared on He Shuting's face.

The enemy's infiltration has been too intense lately, creating a gaping hole in their defenses.

Ultimately, this is precisely the time when the Special Higher Police are at their most rampant—with a dense network of claws and spies, and a net of eyes and ears, they are relentlessly targeting the CCP's Achilles' heel.

"I won't listen to explanations. We've already located 'Red Owl' in one area, and we've launched a city-wide manhunt. If he's caught, all those hidden intelligence hideouts will probably be unearthed one by one. By the way—"

He reached out and gently pulled her into his arms. "You're not going to run the errand yourself, are you?"

"No way! We sent Haozi already."

"Well, not completely confused."

He lightly pinched the back of her hand with his thumb and said, "Your superiors sent you to manage intelligence, but they probably didn't know anything about you at all."

"Dead mail boxes are always located in the most remote corners—the abandoned wellhead at the end of an alley, the brick seam under the stove in a teahouse, behind the faded shrine in the City God Temple… You, a noble lady who wears a cheongsam, high heels, and walks with a swagger, are just walking into the line of fire by frequenting those places every few days. If I really let you hide newspapers there, you'd be in the military police's interrogation room within thirty days."

"Sir, I swear, I will never set foot here again!"

Her voice was a little strained, and her fingertips were slightly cold.

Li Wenguo nodded, his expression softening.

After a pause, he asked again, "Do you recognize that 'Red Owl'?"

"I don't recognize him. The organization hasn't given a word, probably to protect me—if he gets arrested, he won't be able to name me."

As she answered, she secretly reached her hand towards his collar.

His eyes burned with passion, and my heart trembled.

Li Wenguo chuckled softly and took the opportunity to grab her wrist.

But a string was on edge in my heart:

—We must find out who 'Red Owl' is as soon as possible.

Otherwise, we'll always be on the defensive and vulnerable to attack.

"Major Mitsui, please find someone for us in Beiping."

Jingcun took out a photo from his pocket and handed it to Mitsui Miri, who was kneeling opposite him.

"Kagemura-kun, don't forget—you belong to the Kwantung Army's direct investigation team, and you and our Special Higher Police have always kept to yourselves."

Mitsui Miri's gaze remained fixed, unmoving, without even lifting a finger.

"Major Mitsui, you know exactly what we specialize in—finding people? That's your specialty. As for us? We only know how to check files and monitor radio waves. Serving the Empire as a whole, we should leverage each other's strengths; that's how it should be."

Jingcun smiled, his tone gentle yet firm.

"Mr. Jingcun, your move has crossed the line."

Her face suddenly darkened, and she said, slowly and deliberately, "The deeper the entanglement, the more likely the other side will be implicated and punished if one side collapses. Is this the kind of situation you really want to see?"

Jingcun was taken aback, then chuckled. "Alright, let's put it another way—consider it a deal: this time you help us find people, next time I'll owe you a favor. How about it?"

"make a deal!"

She raised the corners of her lips, and the coldness instantly melted away, leaving only a meaningful smile.

All the talk of involvement and risks is just empty rhetoric.

What truly matters are the tangible benefits.

She finally took the photo.

The woman in the painting has striking eyebrows, long hair tied back, and a plain cheongsam that accentuates her sharp shoulders. Her eyes are clear and sharp.

"This person is called Sai Honglian, nicknamed Sai Xishi. She is a local bully in Wang'er Mountain and holds the items we desperately need in her hands."

Jingcun lowered his voice as he introduced the situation.

"Oh, it's about the treasure map?"

She nodded.

"That's right!"

In the blink of an eye—

Mitsui Miri quickly contacted high-ranking municipal officials, and an order was sent directly to Director Niu Dali of the Jing Bureau: a citywide manhunt!

Arresting people is a job that ultimately has to be done by patrol officers.

They walked the streets and alleys every day, their feet becoming familiar with every lane and courtyard gate; no matter which new household moved in, no unfamiliar face, or which household had been closed for a long time and acted suspiciously, they could not escape their eyes—unless that person was truly like a ghost who never left their home.

Niu Dali, the clone, immediately dialed Li Wenguo's number.

He knew perfectly well that the real person was also casting a wide net throughout the city to find "Sai Xishi".

At this moment, Li Wenguo was curled up in the shadows deep in the narrow alley, his gaze fixed on a slender figure—she had just pulled out a roll of paper from a hidden compartment in the wall, which was the intelligence he had personally stuffed in.

The moment she turned to walk away, her profile came into view.

Huh?

This face... why does it look so familiar?

In a flash, he suddenly remembered—

Sai Xi Shi!

That female bandit leader from Wang'er Mountain!

After all, she was a beauty, and he had once pulled her out of the clutches of a gun and even casually patted her shoulder, which is why she left such a striking impression.

Li Wenguo's brows furrowed immediately.

The original plan was to have Wen San keep a close eye on her and pry out the map that might be hidden; but now he has transformed into an underground party comrade, and even a liaison officer who specially delivers intelligence for his wife.

Is this person still able to move?

Forcibly binding them would be too inappropriate; but leaving them unattended would delay important matters.

After thinking for a moment, he decided: He wouldn't be stingy with people, but he would get the money.

The debt of gratitude for saving my life is still there, so asking for a map isn't unreasonable.

He then beckoned to someone in the shadows, and Ding Xiaoqi and Agui immediately emerged.

"Mr. Li, be careful! This woman is ruthless!"

Ding Xiaoqi rubbed his drooping left arm while grimacing, and reminded him in a muffled voice that his nose was bruised, his mouth was split, and half of his face was swollen and shiny.

Li Wenguo glanced at A Gui—who also had a nosebleed that hadn't dried, bruises around his eyes, and blood trickling from his forehead.

Then look at Sai Xishi, with a gun pointed at her lower back, her back taut and straight, her eyes sharp as knives, scraping at him inch by inch.

Rewind ten minutes—

Ding Xiaoqi and Agui were ordered to stop Sai Xishi, and they stood brazenly in the middle of the road.

"Miss, my master requests your presence. Please come."

Ding Xiaoqi thought her smile was quite amiable.

Before she could finish speaking, Sai Xishi suddenly launched an attack!

She was convinced she'd been exposed; the two men in front of her were spies, and taking them back would mean torture and forced confessions. Rather than wait to be beaten, she decided to break their arms and legs first!

Fortunately, Ding Xiaoqi and Agui were no pushovers. Although they suffered a loss due to their hasty response, Ding Xiaoqi managed to withstand an elbow strike and protect Agui as he drew his gun, thus subduing him—at the cost of dislocating his left arm on the spot.

So when Li Wenguo arrived, this was the disheveled state he saw.

"Handcuff her and put her in the car. Binzi and Daye will be here soon. You two go to the hospital for emergency treatment first."

He speaks quickly but steadily.

This place is busy with people coming and going; standing here for too long will attract attention.

Sai Xishi's hands were tied behind her back, the gleaming silver handcuffs snapped shut, and she was pushed and shoved into the car.

After the car slowly started moving, Li Wenguo turned to the side and said calmly, "Don't worry, I don't mean to make things difficult for you. I just want to talk to you face to face. I'll release you after we've finished talking."

Who are you?

She finally spoke, her voice cold and hard.

She had been silent the whole way because she could tell that this group of people didn't look like spies—they weren't wearing Zhongshan suits or black top hats; instead, they were dressed in white shirts with black suits, black trousers, and leather shoes, making them look more like a group of menacing thugs.

"You'd better not ask who we are. But there's something I can mention—do you remember a year or two ago? It's been too long, I can't quite recall… Anyway, it was that night, you were dressed in black…"

Sai Xishi's pupils contracted sharply, and she abruptly looked up to stare at him.

"You were shot in the chest, and you managed to say 'Help me' before collapsing. I had someone rush you to Dr. Ke's for emergency treatment that night. Now, do you remember who I am?"

Li Wenguo's lips curled into a slight smile.

"So... it was you who saved me."

She nodded, but her tone remained tense.

The fact that they could find the secret compartment where she retrieved intelligence meant that the other party had been watching her for a long time; since they knew what she was doing, they naturally understood her identity—either a member of the underground Communist Party or a Japanese spy.

Who knows what will happen to her next?

After all, the other party's origins are unknown. What if they are secretly colluding with the Kuomintang and intend to use her as bait?

"Okay, just keep this in mind. We'll talk about it all when we get there."

After Li Wenguo finished speaking, he leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and looked relaxed but not at ease.

Before long, the car turned into a quiet courtyard with blue bricks and gray tiles, swaying bamboo shadows, and even the wind seemed to slow its pace.

"Since we're going to talk openly, why don't we take off these handcuffs first?"

The room was simple and clean, with only the two of them sitting opposite each other. Sai Xishi spoke in a calm tone, but her eyes were like the sharp edge of a frost-quenched blade, devoid of fire, yet making her all the more formidable.

Li Wenguo simply shook his head, his movements swift and decisive.

Are you kidding me!

She took down Ding Xiaoqi and A Gui with a single move—and those two were no pushovers. If the handcuffs were loosened, she could easily subdue him, or even steal the car and escape. Where would he go to complain then?

As for stuffing them into the space? He can't act rashly at all—he himself doesn't even know that place well. If he rashly takes people in and something goes wrong, who can bear the responsibility?

Let's stabilize the situation first and negotiate the terms.