Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Liu Fuguo's sharp, hawk-like gaze slowly swept across the shocked, bewildered, greedy, jealous, gloating, and thoughtful faces. His voice carried a heavy, invisible pressure as he said, word by word, "Master Yi's money was hidden in an extremely secluded place in his house, a place only he and his wife knew about! To find the place so precisely, to unlock it without leaving a single trace, and to steal such a large sum of money! This is definitely not something an ordinary petty thief could do!"

He paused deliberately, emphasizing his words, which struck everyone like a hammer blow. "This could very well be someone living in our compound! It's the work of an 'insider' familiar with Master Yi's family situation, even his habits! Think about it, has anyone acted differently in the past six months? Report any clues! Now, we're giving this 'insider' one last chance! Step forward and confess! Strive for leniency! If we find out..."

His icy gaze, like a searchlight, slowly swept across the room again, lingering a few seconds longer on the faces of several key suspects. "The law is merciless! Get ready to be shot!"

"It wasn't me! I had no idea your family was rich!" "Five thousand three hundred? I've never even seen three hundred yuan!" "Exactly! Who's so heartless! Stealing so much money! Aren't they afraid of being childless?" "Sir, think again. Has anyone been coming to your house lately? Or inquiring about your family?" "Yes! Especially in the last six months! Who has come?"

The murmurs rose again, but this time they were mostly driven by a desire to distance oneself and speculation about others. Panic and suspicion spread rapidly through the crowd like a poisonous fog.

"Wei Chen!" Liu Fuguo suddenly called out, his gaze sharp and precise, locking onto Wei Chen standing in the front row. "You're an experienced security officer at the steel mill! And you're Master Yi's neighbor! Recently, especially in the last six months, have you noticed anything unusual near Master Yi's house? Like suspicious strangers loitering around? Or..."

He paused, his gaze sharpening. "Is anyone in the court behaving strangely? Or, what are your thoughts on this case?"

Swish!

In an instant, all eyes, like searchlights, focused on Wei Chen! The air seemed to freeze. Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, Yan Bugui, Liu Haizhong, Jia Zhangshi, Qin Huairu... countless gazes, filled with scrutiny, curiosity, suspicion, and even schadenfreude, were fixed on him and the quiet Big Yellow dog at his feet.

Wei Chen remained calm, as still as a deep well. Meeting Liu Fuguo's scrutinizing gaze, he shook his head slightly, his voice clear and steady, carrying distinctly to everyone in the quiet courtyard: "Chief Liu, thank you for your trust. I'm usually quite busy with work; the security department at the steel mill has heavy responsibilities, so I don't spend much time at home. My interactions with the old man's family are just ordinary neighborly relations, visiting each other during holidays. In the last six months..."

He specifically emphasized the time frame, saying, "I didn't notice anything particularly unusual near the old man's house. As for suspicious people..." He glanced around at the neighbors with their varied expressions, his tone calm, "Our compound is recognized as a model of civilized living by the neighborhood committee. The neighbors are all old acquaintances who have known each other for many years, and it's normal for them to visit each other regularly. I haven't noticed any particularly suspicious or unfamiliar faces lingering for extended periods."

"Oh? Is that so?" Liu Fuguo stared intently into Wei Chen's eyes, as if trying to pierce through the calm facade and catch the slightest hint of panic or evasion. "Didn't you notice anything unusual? For example... who is particularly 'concerned' about Master Yi's family? Or, who has suddenly become 'generous' lately?" He spoke meaningfully, his gaze sweeping across the crowd, especially lingering on a few people who were usually quite strapped for cash.

"I didn't find anything." Wei Chen looked back at him frankly, his eyes clear and calm, without the slightest ripple. "The old man is a cautious person, and we outsiders don't know much about his family situation. As for being wealthy..." A very faint, almost imperceptible smile seemed to flicker across the corner of his mouth. "These days, no one has it easy. If they have any money, they hide it and use it to buy food. You can't tell from the surface." He skillfully steered the conversation toward a more general topic.

Dahuang felt countless focused gazes, but only slightly adjusted its squatting posture, getting closer to Wei Chen's trouser leg, and made a very low, soothing purr in its throat, as if to say: Master is calm, there is no need to be nervous.

Liu Fuguo stared intently at Wei Chen for a few seconds. His eyes were so calm, so serene, that Liu couldn't find a single flaw. He could only temporarily look away and turn to the others: "What about the others? Has anyone seen or heard anything? Like any unusual noises in the middle of the night? Or, in the past six months, has anyone seen Master Yi open that kang (heated brick bed) hole?"

Below came another buzz of discussion, denials, and vague speculation: "I really didn't see it..." "The old man hid it so well, who would know there was money in the kang (heated brick bed)? Even a god couldn't guess!" "Maybe it's a flying thief from outside? I heard some thieves can 'shrink bones'!" "Five thousand three... my goodness... that's enough to be executed several times over..." "Could it be... an inside job?" A very small, malicious mutter came from the corner, but it was immediately drowned out by the louder discussion.

Jia Zhangshi couldn't hold back any longer. Greed and resentment made her lose her mind. Her voice, neither too loud nor too soft, carried a strong sense of bitterness and regret, clearly rang out: "Serves you right for losing it! Hiding so much money without even helping us poor neighbors... All you do is lecture people all day! If it were me... oh dear..." Before she could finish speaking, Qin Huairu next to her pinched her arm hard, almost forcefully, and she shut her mouth in a huff, but the expression on her face was as if she were the one who had lost the five thousand three.

Xu Damao also came to his senses, crossed his arms, and in his signature raspy voice, loudly and sarcastically retorted, "Hey! Uncle, you're truly a master of disguise! Making a fortune in silence! You always teach us to be hardworking and frugal, to unite and help each other, to help those in need, and yet you've been hiding a mountain of gold in the stove hole? Well, I wonder which 'heroic thief' in the yard has gotten the better deal? Tsk tsk,"

His words were laced with obvious sarcasm and a desire to kick someone when they're down, eliciting a suppressed chuckle and many more ambiguous glances. Yi Zhonghai's face instantly turned from deathly pale to a deep purplish-red, his body trembling like a leaf in the wind, his lips quivering, yet he couldn't utter a single word; humiliation and despair almost consumed him.

Liu Fuguo and Wu Zhengmin questioned him repeatedly, even having the dazed Yi Zhonghai describe the exact location of the hidden money and the appearance of the box in detail, hoping to evoke the memory of a witness.

But the result was disheartening. The incident spanned six months, and the scene had been thoroughly searched by Yi Zhonghai himself, leaving no trace of value. The so-called "psychological offensive" and "deception" proved pale and powerless in the face of the enormous financial impact and the complex and unpredictable nature of human nature, instead exacerbating the suspicion and panic within the hospital.

"Master Yi," Liu Fuguo looked at Yi Zhonghai, whose face was ashen, whose eyes had completely lost their luster, and who seemed to have aged twenty years in an instant, his tone filled with deep helplessness and a hint of cold, businesslike indifference, "We understand the situation. This case... has been going on for too long, the scene has been severely damaged, clues are extremely scarce, and the difficulty of solving it... is very high."

He carefully chose his words, "We will immediately open a case and investigate, organizing a crack team to track down the perpetrators! We will notify you of any progress as soon as possible. You and your spouse should also calm down and think carefully about whether any unusual people have come to your home in the past six months? Or, have you... inadvertently revealed where the money is hidden?"

Yi Zhonghai stood there blankly, his lips trembling violently, and a hoarse, bellowing sound came from his throat, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He knew that Liu Fuguo's words, while leaving room for maneuver, essentially declared that the hope of recovering the money was extremely slim. Half a lifetime's savings, the very foundation upon which he relied for survival and the confidence to control others, had vanished silently and without a trace!

It was as if a hand from the underworld had erased it out of thin air! Yi Zhonghai felt a surge of sweet and metallic taste rush to his throat, the flavor as intense as molten iron, instantly blocking his breathing.

Suddenly, the scene before my eyes was swallowed up by boundless darkness. The last remaining images in my vision—Liu Fuguo's serious face, Jia Zhangshi's sharp, trembling lips, and countless faces with different expressions in the courtyard—spun and twisted rapidly like a canvas splashed with thick ink, eventually fading into utter nothingness.

My body felt as if all my muscles and bones had been instantly removed, and I fell softly backward, my heavy head tilting back uncontrollably.

"Old Yi!" "An old man!" "Quick! Help him up!"

A scream exploded like thunder in the deathly silent courtyard! The young police officer who was closest reacted with lightning speed. Almost instinctively, he supported Yi Zhonghai's limp upper body from both sides the moment he completely lost his footing.

The heaviness in their arms and the icy touch of Yi Zhonghai's rapidly cooling body sent a chill down their spines. The older woman let out a piercing, distorted wail, lunging forward like a mother animal protecting her cubs. She clung to Yi Zhonghai's arm with all her might, her withered fingers digging deep into the flesh beneath his cotton-padded jacket, leaving crescent-shaped white marks from the excessive force.

Sha Zhu, who was nearby, rushed forward and, together with Jia Dongxu, who was also stunned by the turn of events, hurriedly helped support Yi Zhonghai's heavy lower body to prevent him from falling completely to the ground.

"Pinch the philtrum! Quickly pinch the philtrum!" Liu Fuguo shouted sternly, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority and a hint of barely perceptible anxiety. Wu Zhengmin immediately extended his thumb, pressed his knuckle against the philtrum point under Yi Zhonghai's nose, and pinched it hard, his knuckle turning white from the force.