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

"Have you managed to locate any of the local party's strongholds in the past six months?"

Miri Mitsui then changed the subject.

"More than 20 suspicious dens were identified."

As Kato spoke, he handed over a piece of paper; the handwriting was neat, and the list was densely packed—

Huang's Pharmacy!

There's an inn!

……

Pier Hotel!

Genuine Pawnshop!

……

Everything-in-One General Store!

Delicious dessert shop!

……

Excellent paper!

Anmin Daily News!

……

"Okay. Let's proceed in this order, one at a time, reporting each one."

Of course, if you manage to stumble upon two or three genuine hideouts within a radius of twenty-odd miles, you're already considered lucky—and you still need an insider to secretly guide you.

After all, the local party members are hidden deeper than gophers; they're so elusive that you can hardly catch a trace of them...

A week later, around 9 p.m.

"Mr. Li, something's been wrong lately. I keep feeling a chill down the back of my neck, like a snake is staring at me."

Ding Xiaoqi gripped the steering wheel, his voice tense.

"Huh? Is that really true?"

"Ah Gui, what about you? Do you feel the same way?"

Upon hearing the word "being watched," Li Wenguo felt a chill run down his spine and immediately turned to ask further questions.

"This... I... really didn't notice."

Ah Gui scratched the back of his head in the passenger seat, looking completely bewildered—he genuinely hadn't noticed anything, but he was also afraid that Ding Xiaoqi might have sensed something and ruined everything. "Then... is there anyone following us now?"

Before Li Wenguo could finish speaking, he whirled around and glanced out the rear window. A car could be faintly seen at the street corner in the distance.

Oops! !

Is someone really hanging there?

His heart skipped a beat, but he breathed a sigh of relief the next second—that was Haozi and his group, trailing behind from a distance, just to protect him.

Pshaw! You're just scaring yourself!

"Alright, call Wu Xiaogou and Xiao Jie over tomorrow morning. They'll secretly keep an eye on things for a few days and see who's trying to take advantage of me."

Li Wenguo gave the order decisively.

Wu Xiaogou and Xiao Jie are now seasoned veterans; if someone has a tail, it will never escape their eyes.

As for Wen San? He's already been tied down by Dong Haitang and is busy running errands and checking accounts for her, so he can't bother with this.

"Mr. Li, there's a girl up ahead being dragged into an alley by some thugs. Should we go around and take a look?"

Ding Xiaoqi suddenly lowered her voice.

"Mind your own business! It has nothing to do with us!"

Li Wenguo was already annoyed; he had no interest in getting involved in this mess.

"Hey pretty girl, wanna have some fun with us? We'll make you feel like you're floating on air!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I guarantee you'll be so happy you'll forget your own name!"

"Brother Chun, hurry up and drag him away! This skin is so soft and tender, it's making my bones melt!"

"Damn it, what's your hurry? You'll be last in line!"

Several men grinned maliciously as they dragged the woman into a dark, narrow alley.

"Let me go! Do you even know who I am?!"

"I'm a member of the Song family! My uncle is Song Qingzhi, the bank president!"

Her voice trembled, and her eyes were filled with panic.

"Ha! Who cares if your uncle is the King of Heaven!"

"Even if the Jade Emperor himself descended to earth, we'd still have to have our fill of fun today!"

"Even if your father is the emperor, we'll still rip off his dragon robe!"

The girl's face turned deathly pale, her body went limp, and she almost collapsed.

Just as her toes were about to step into the alley—

A car screeched to a halt, then abruptly reversed, blocking their path!

Li Wenguo glanced at her casually, but immediately recognized her: the girl being dragged was the pretty young lady at the bank counter, Song Qingzhi's niece.

"Stop the car! Back up immediately!"

Li Wenguo's voice deepened, his tone resolute.

Ding Xiaoqi slammed on the brakes, the car jolted, and then deftly shifted into reverse, the wheels rolling back over the gravel.

Li Wenguo rolled down the car window, glanced sideways at Song Caidie's ashen face, and lazily tossed out, "Beautiful lady, wanna hitch a ride? Want to go for a drive?"

"Help me! Please help me! I'm from the Song family—save me, and I'll reward you handsomely!"

Song Caidie recognized Li Wenguo's outline as somewhat familiar at a glance, but with her life hanging by a thread, she had no time to think about it and instinctively screamed for help.

"Hey kid, where are you from?"

A burly thug with a menacing face stepped forward, his voice low and menacing, "You dare to ruin my good time? Believe me or not, I'll take your iron shell off right here and now!"

He knew perfectly well that people who could afford a car were usually not to be trifled with. But what if he ran into someone who was all show and no substance?

They can not only show off their power, but also perhaps extort money from others.

"I don't believe it." Li Wenguo shook his head, grinning, a smile that was sharp and piercing, like a knife's edge scraping against glass. "Give you a hundred lives? Not enough. A thousand? Still not enough. Even if you had ten thousand lives—would you dare touch my car?"

"You little brat, you're going to refuse a toast only to have to drink a forfeit, aren't you?!"

The man raised his voice, but his words sounded somewhat weak.

He had already realized that the other party was unyielding, putting on a brave face but actually feeling weak inside, and that the meat on his lips was about to cool down.

"Oh dear—since you've offered your face so readily, shouldn't I at least show some appreciation?"

"Come on, everyone, get down and stretch your muscles!"

Li Wenguo, appearing easygoing, was the first to push open the car door and jump out.

Ding Xiaoqi and Agui immediately followed, their steps crisp and swift.

He even stepped aside, grinning as he stared at the thug: "I'm giving you a huge favor today—the car will stay there, completely still. You can smash it all you want, I won't lift a finger to stop you."

The color drained from the man's face in an instant, and he froze on the spot.

The other thugs also hung their heads, shuffling their toes on the ground, too ashamed to lift their heads.

Anyone could tell this was a blatant insult—they didn't even consider you a threat.

"Hehe, sir, we were blind today, we admit defeat! We apologize, we'll leave right now, immediately!"

He forced a fawning smile, frantically winked at his brothers, and then turned to slip away.

As soon as Song Caidie broke free of her restraints, she shrank behind Li Wenguo in a few steps and clutched the hem of his clothes tightly.

"Wait—did I agree to leave?"

Li Wenguo shouted to stop them.

The group abruptly stopped, the leader forcing his neck to straighten: "What else do you want?"

—Anyway, it's only five or six steps away. If I really take off running, I can disappear into the alley in the blink of an eye.

"Didn't I tell you to smash the car? Before the car even made a sound, you've already run away—I just gave you that face, and you're throwing it away like it's nothing?"

"Sir, you're so magnanimous! We were blind to your greatness today. Why should someone as important as you stoop to the level of a few worthless creatures like us? Just pretend... just pretend it was a fart, okay?"

"You haven't even farted yet, what am I supposed to say?" Li Wenguo sneered.

"Hahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

Ding Xiaoqi and Agui slapped their thighs and laughed loudly, their laughter shaking the leaves of the plane trees along the roadside.

Even Song Caidie's tense shoulders relaxed, and she quietly looked up at Li Wenguo's back, feeling as at ease as if a piece of warm jade had been placed in her heart.

"Alright, alright, I've admitted my mistake, apologized, and forced a smile—run!"

Before he finished speaking, the man turned and ran, and the others gave chase, kicking up a cloud of dust with their shoes.

"Pah! A bunch of cowards! Who gave you permission to run away? Stop right there, go smash the car!"

Li Wenguo rebuked him sternly.

Ding Xiaoqi and A Gui drew their pistols with a "whoosh," the muzzles flashing coldly—since Master Li wasn't going to go easy on them, they shouldn't blame them for leaving no room for maneuver.

"Run another inch, and I'll shoot!"

"Halt! Take another step, and bullets don't have eyes!"

The two men strode closer, their dark gun barrels firmly clamped onto the backs of the necks.

But those men only glanced back once, and they were nearly scared out of their wits. Instead, they ran even more frantically, heading straight for the deep, narrow alley a hundred meters away—

Once you get inside, you can easily get rid of it by going around in circles.

Just as Ding Xiaoqi's index finger was about to pull the trigger, a black car sped from the end of the street and came to a smooth stop next to Li Wenguo's car.

"Mr. Li, what happened?"

The car window rolled down, and Haozi leaned out to ask.

"Stop those small fry up ahead!" Li Wenguo raised his arm and pointed to the alley entrance.

"Alright!"

Haozi floored the accelerator, and the car shot off like an arrow.

"Quick! We'll be safe once we're in the alley!"

The man was panting and shouting.

Just as they were about three steps from the alley entrance, a car suddenly appeared from the side and crashed into the alley entrance, blocking it completely.

"Go back."

The men stared intently at the dark gun barrels through the car window, their faces drained of color, even their lips turned pale. They staggered backward, stumbling and falling as they ran towards Li Wenguo and his group. "Run? Why aren't you running anymore?"

"Weren't you quite nimble on your feet? Why did you bring it back yourself?"

Li Wenguo glanced sideways at the group of men in front of him, their faces ashen and their foreheads dripping with cold sweat, and a sneer appeared on his lips.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

The group rushed up to him, their knees buckled, and before they could utter a single coherent word, they all knelt down on the ground.

"Sir! It's all our fault today! We were blinded by greed to dare lay a finger on Miss Song! Please, have mercy and spare our lives! We promise we'll never do it again!"

The man in the lead had his forehead pressed to the ground, his voice trembling and out of tune.

"Yes, yes, yes! Spare me, sir!"

"I'll never do it again! I really won't!"

The others also rushed to kowtow, their voices trembling, their foreheads pressed tightly against the ground, as if afraid that if they were even a fraction of a second slower, they would lose their heads.

"You've messed with Miss Song—my sworn sister." Li Wenguo, hands in his suit pockets, looked down at her calmly, his tone unhurried. "If I let you go so easily, how will I ever face anyone in the underworld again?"

I'll kowtow until the ground blew out of my body! I just beg to be spared!

The man suddenly bent down, his forehead slamming onto the ground with a thud, and blood immediately seeped from his forehead.

"Quickly kowtow! Quickly kowtow!"

The remaining few, no longer caring about decorum, followed suit, banging their heads against the ground with a series of dull, grating sounds.

"Tsk, their bones are softer than paper."

A hint of disdain flashed across Li Wenguo's lips. He then stepped to the side, turned to Song Caidie, and his tone instantly softened: "Miss Song, you decide what to do with them. It's up to you."

"Huh? I...I..."

Song Caidie stared, her mouth agape, her palms sweating, her mind blank. She had been so protected by her family since childhood that she had never even experienced an argument, let alone this scene before her—her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest, and all she wanted to do was run inside and hide.

In her panic, she could only stammer, "You...you decide."

"Okay, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

After all, she is Song Qingzhi's niece. She helped him smooth things over, and there will be many opportunities to use her in the future.

"Please get in the car first."

He reached out and lightly touched the car door to signal her to avoid the blood splattering behind her.

After Song Caidie was settled and the car door was closed, Li Wenguo whispered to Ding Xiaoqi, "Her limbs are all crippled. Drag her to the police station entrance and dump her there."

He had no intention of showing any mercy. Letting this kind of scum go only to target weaker girls; it's better to get rid of him sooner rather than later. The fewer of them there are, the fewer menaces there will be.

As soon as the car drove away from the alley entrance, Song Caidie heard several short, loud explosions behind her. She froze, turned to look at him, and asked in a tight voice, "You...you killed them?"

"Me? Ha." Li Wenguo straightened his back, his fingertips slowly smoothing out the wrinkles on his suit sleeves, his demeanor as composed as if he had just finished afternoon tea. "I am a gentleman, I never use knives or guns."

"But there were clearly gunshots just now!" she frowned, disbelieving.

"Oh, let them each get shot in one of their limbs." He said casually, as if he were talking about what to eat for dinner.

"Four shots? All in the hands and feet?" She gasped.

"It's better than a quick death—it won't kill you, but you'll suffer and won't even be able to hold a bowl properly afterward."

Seeing him nod casually, she felt a chill run down her spine: This is no gentleman! He's clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing!

She never imagined that after those people were left on the steps of the police station, bleeding profusely and ignored, they would probably not survive until dawn.

"Oh, I see—you're just a canary raised in a glass case, your feathers have never been exposed to the elements, that's why you're so easily startled."

This is how pure, innocent girls who have never been exposed to the dark side of the world always react.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Try saying 'canary' again!" she snapped, her cheeks flushing red.

She understood the term "greenhouse" and could tell that "canary" was an insult implying she was spoiled, but how could she remain calm about something like having her limbs broken?

"I have a question for you." Li Wenguo looked at her with a smile.

"You...you ask." Her ears burned from being stared at, and she looked away.

"With your looks, don't a few toads usually try to take advantage of you?"

"So what if we have it?"

"So...did they all 'suddenly' disappear?"

She froze, her lips parted slightly, and then she suddenly remembered—

Near the old house in Jinling, at that intersection, three thugs used to squat behind the pancake stall every day, winking at her, whistling, and making a fuss, so annoying that she had to take a detour. But on the third day, the stall was gone, and the thugs were gone too.

And that mahjong parlor—the man guarding the door always grinned foolishly whenever she passed by, swearing all the while. Less than two days later, the shutter door was pulled up and never opened again.

Even the men who pursued her almost all disappeared completely within three days, like dust blown away by the wind.

I didn’t think anything of it before, but now that I think about it carefully, all the things that happened together seem strange—how could they all be coincidences?

Could it be that their disappearance was actually caused by their family?

Could it be... that they really wiped them out without a trace?

Song Caidie felt a chill run down her spine, a coldness shooting straight to the top of her head.