Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

"The Imperial City Guards dare to besiege the Celestial Master's Mansion! Stop right now!"

Gao Hu roared as he rode his tall horse, followed by about a hundred men.

Although these guards were not wearing armor, they were all carrying weapons and lined up in several rows on the street.

Lei Jing was about to lead his men away when he was blocked by him, and the two walked towards each other.

"Lord Lei, this is the residence of Lord Zhou Feng, the Heavenly Master Protector of the Nation, personally appointed by the Emperor. Do you have an imperial decree to lead this large-scale attack?"

Hearing Gao Hu's words, Lei Jing's eyes turned red, and he glared at him through gritted teeth: "So what if there's an imperial edict? So what if there isn't? Inspector Gao, are you going to fight me to the death?"

His reaction startled Gao Hu.

In his opinion, it would simply be a matter of him teaming up with Zhou Feng's men to scare away the Imperial City Guard, or to have a fight, and then both sides would back down.

Why is Lei Jing, this eunuch, suddenly acting like he's ready to fight to the death?

Upon closer inspection, Gao Hu immediately noticed the problem.

Although Lei Jing's group of several dozen people looked quite orderly, it was much smaller than the formation he had seen from his own watchtower!

Moreover, almost all of the people following Lei Jing were wounded, clearly remnants of a defeated army, including Lei Jing himself, who was covered in blood!

It's not hard to guess where those few people went.

This really surprised Gao Hu. No matter how hard he tried, he never imagined that after Zhou Feng transferred most of his men away, the people left behind in the Celestial Master's Mansion would still have such fighting power!

That's a bit of an exaggeration!

But this was quickly followed by waves of relief…

Fortunately, he acted decisively and brought his own troops to help the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Otherwise, if it had been any later, let alone providing timely help, there might not even have been a chance to add to someone's already good fortune.

"Lord Lei, you jest. I only came to lend a hand after hearing that some audacious bandits were attempting to storm the Celestial Master's Mansion. Lord Lei, has the Imperial City Guard already helped the Celestial Master's Mansion repel the bandits?"

Seeing the slightly mocking smile on Gao Hu's face, Lei Jing's lips twitched. Just as he was about to say something, he heard laughter behind him: "Hahaha, yes, Lord Gao is right!"

Chen Xiao led his men out of the Celestial Master's Mansion. Xiao Qinyan, who had just been pleading illness with the Emperor, stood openly beside him, looking at Lei Jing with a hint of mockery.

Who among those present didn't know what the Imperial City Guards were there for?

Everyone was just deliberately trying to disgust Lei Jing by echoing Gao Hu's words.

Lei Jing was naturally aware of these people's perverse tastes, but what had just happened inside the Celestial Master's Mansion was truly shocking.

Looking at the black metal pipes held by the group of people behind Chen Xiao, Lei Jing clicked his tongue in amazement.

Their actions were quite obvious. This must be the thing that attacked the Imperial Guards in the courtyard just now, otherwise they wouldn't have kept pointing that iron pipe at their side.

Now, standing before him was Gao Guancha, a powerful military figure, and behind him stood Chen Xiao, Zhou Feng's subordinate, and Xiao Qinyan, the head of the civil officials. Considering his purpose for coming and their positions, Lei Jing suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity.

Even without the Liao Dynasty's large-scale invasion of the south, Zhou Feng was probably still a man with ulterior motives.

"The victor is king, the loser is a bandit. Lord Chen, what do you want?"

After a long silence, Lei Jing finally managed to squeeze out these words through gritted teeth.

Chen Xiao slung the Type 95 rifle over his shoulder and tilted his head at him: "Lord Lei, you jest. Didn't you personally lead the attack on my Celestial Master's Mansion? What do you mean, 'what do we want'? We were just following orders to guard the Celestial Master's Mansion and doing our duty."

Lei Jing's lips twitched twice, but he didn't reply. He just stared intently at Chen Xiao.

The latter then sighed softly: "Lord Lei, please go ahead. How can I explain this matter to you? How should it be handled? We'll have to wait for our Celestial Master to return before we can make any decisions. I can't make that decision myself."

"Great! Excellent!"

Lei Jing sheathed his weapon at his waist. He had originally wanted to say something harsh, but after looking at the black tubes held by the group of people behind Chen Xiao, he swallowed his words.

Although he didn't know how that thing worked, one sound could cost a life—it was terrifying!

Lei Jing didn't want to put himself in danger because of a moment of verbal sparring.

This time, the Imperial City Guard was truly humiliated.

Hundreds of elite troops attacked a single guard from the Celestial Master's Mansion, yet they lost ninety percent of their men before even figuring out where the gate was.

"Let's go!"

With a resentful remark, Lei Jing turned to look at Gao Hu, who was still blocking the road. The latter stood there with a smile on his face: "Lord Lei, please take care. I won't see you off."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the guards behind him simultaneously moved aside to make way for Lei Jing.

Lei Jing, his face grim and teeth clenched, led his men away.

When they arrived, they were so eager that the sound of their horses' hooves could echo throughout Tokyo as they charged towards the Celestial Master's Mansion. Now, only a few dozen remaining soldiers, supporting each other, are retreating along Suzaku Avenue towards the Imperial Palace.

Some people were unharmed, but were frightened.

Some people were already seriously injured and lost consciousness on the way out, and could only be helped away by two people.

Once the Imperial City Guards had completely disappeared at the end of the long street, Gao Hu finally let out a long breath, turned to look at Chen Xiao and Xiao Qinyan, and cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Chen, Lord Xiao, I... am late."

"It's not too late! It's not too late at all!"

Chen Xiao smiled and patted Gao Hu on the shoulder, his tone very sincere: "Lord Gao's arrival is a timely help to our Celestial Master's Mansion. Please come in, let's talk inside!"

The three entered the courtyard of the Celestial Master's Mansion through the main gate. The main courtyard had just experienced a fierce battle where the enemy was trapped like a turtle in a jar. There were still many bloodstains on the ground that had not been wiped clean, and the air was filled with a faint smell of gunpowder.

Apart from the men who had just followed Chen Xiao out, everyone else was busy tidying up, carrying the corpses, wiping the floor tiles, and repairing the window panels.

In reality, the mess that left the courtyard in was entirely unrelated to the Imperial City Guard.

It was the first time for the ambushers to engage in formal combat, and some of them couldn't control their strength, pulling the triggers a bit too hard.

If we really have to make a connection, then we can only say that these ambushers dirtied Zhou Feng's yard with corpses and blood.

As Gao Hu walked through the courtyard, his gaze swept over the guards who were cleaning up the mess, and he secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.

To maintain such discipline and order after just finishing a tough battle, I wonder how Zhou Feng's men train their troops. I really want to learn from them.