The Little Demonic Cultivator in the Courtyard: Borrowing 100,000 Japanese Pirates to Heal

Three hours later, someone knocked on the door.

Three strokes, pause for one beat, then two more. It's Wang Xiaoyong.

Xu Jiande went to open the door. Wang Xiaoyong slipped in, slammed the door shut behind him, his movements as swift as a thief.

He wasn't wearing his puppet army uniform tonight; instead, he wore a drab gray short-sleeved shirt with the top button fastened, making him look even more like a street urchin than usual.

"Have you eaten?" Xu Jiande asked.

"I ate, no problem." Wang Xiaoyong walked to the table, poured himself a bowl of water, gulped down half of it, and then looked up at the person.

Are you leaving now?

"Yes," Xu Jiande said.

"Okay, how do you want me to cooperate?" Wang Xiaoyong asked.

Xu Jiande thought for a moment and said, "Before I leave, I need to clean up this part of Beijing so that no one can trace it back to Bai Ling, and I hope that Bai Ling's safety can be guaranteed."

Wang Xiaoyong pondered for a moment, then pulled over a bench and sat down.

"What are your plans to do?"

"Fake death." Xu Jiande sat down as well, lowering his voice even further. "If I leave, the Japanese will definitely investigate again. I'm the compound manager; disappearing without a trace is more troublesome than someone actually dying. It's better to let everyone think I'm dead. As long as I die openly, no one will investigate the rest."

Wang Xiaoyong stroked his chin, pondering for a long time.

"And how did you die?" he asked.

"My house was bombed as retaliation by the resistance fighters. Anyway, there are gunshots every day in Beijing these days, and I get bombed every day. It doesn't matter if I'm a traitorous dog," Xu Jiande said.

Wang Xiaoyong was stunned; he hadn't expected Xu Jiande to make such a suggestion.

He nodded and said, "That's a good excuse. You're the administrator, working for the Imperial Army. It's perfectly reasonable for the resistance fighters to bomb your house. Then I can spread the word that you died a horrible death, without even a proper burial. That way, no one will suspect anything else."

Bai Ling sat on the edge of the bed, remaining silent. Wang Xiaoyong glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Comrade Bai Ling, over here..."

"I am Xu Jiande's wife. My husband was killed in the bombing, so naturally I have to stay here to mourn." Bai Ling's voice was calm, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her. "I'm not going anywhere. Staying here is actually safer."

Wang Xiaoyong nodded.

He wanted to say something more, but seeing Bai Ling's expression, he swallowed his words and only asked Xu Jiande, "Was it you who arranged for the house to be blown up, or was it me?"

Xu Jiande thought for a moment and said, "I'll make the arrangements."

Next came the detailed planning. Ultimately, Xu Jiande, concerned for Bai Ling's safety, arranged for her to use a public restroom at night. This way, everything would be foolproof.

Bai Ling thought about it and agreed. The next step was to take concrete action.

That night, around 1 a.m., Bai Ling sat up in bed, dressed in the dark, quietly opened the door, went out of the courtyard, and headed towards the public toilet in the alley.

There was no one in the yard; the wind rustled the withered grass on the wall.

She glanced back; the house was dark, and she couldn't see anything. Then she lowered her head and quickly left the courtyard.

Xu Jiande stood at home, waiting for her to walk away, then went back to the bedroom and looked at a corpse.

This is the body of a traitor who was just killed by Xu Jiande and brought back. He was placed in the house.

He is now incredibly strong; he can easily scale a three-meter-high wall while carrying this corpse.

After a while, Xu Jiande retreated to the doorway, took a grenade from his waist, pulled the fuse, and threw it toward his own front door.

With a loud bang, the door panel was blown off, and wood chips and bricks flew everywhere.

Xu Jiande rushed into the house through the smoke and dust and threw the second grenade onto the bed.

The grenade exploded next to the body, the entire bed collapsed, and scraps of cloth, wood chips, and limbs were mixed together, with a burnt smell everywhere.

He stepped back and threw a third grenade.

This one was thrown into the inner room, and after it exploded, a fire broke out.

The three explosions woke up the entire courtyard.

Almost everyone was taken aback.

Afterwards, Xu Jiande ran to Yi Zhonghai's doorstep and threw a grenade.

Yi Zhonghai, who was about to open the door, was terrified when he found it blown open. He screamed, cried, and even peed himself in fear.

Xu Jiande went to Liu Haizhong's house again, threw another grenade, and then immediately climbed over the wall and left.

Meanwhile, Xu Jiande's own house had already started to catch fire, and with the wind blowing, it burned very quickly and extensively.

At this moment, He Daqing rushed out of the house and stood in the courtyard shouting, "What happened? What happened? Where did it explode?"

Then Xu Wude also ran out, pulling up his pants with one hand and holding a flashlight in the other, the beam of light swaying wildly.

When Bai Ling came out of the public toilet, she could see her house engulfed in flames in the distance.

She ran into the yard and saw that her house was on fire, with flames billowing out of the doors and windows and thick black smoke.

She stood in the courtyard, her hair disheveled, her voice high-pitched and hoarse: "Jiande! Jiande!"

Each shout was higher than the last.

He Daqing pulled her from behind and said, "Don't go over there, it's too late to get in."

Bai Ling ignored him and tried to rush forward, but was grabbed from both sides by Liu Shi and an older woman who rushed over and dragged her back.

Her legs went weak like noodles, and she collapsed to the ground, her eyes fixed on the fire, still calling out, "Jiande, my Jiande."

Seeing Bai Ling crying her heart out, He Daqing felt a pang of anxiety and risked his life to rush towards Xu Jiande's house.

As I rushed to the door, a wave of heat hit me, and flames shot out from inside the doors and windows, crackling and popping against the doorframe.

He took two steps back, shielded his face with his arm, and shouted, "Jiande! Jiande!"

There was no response from inside, only the sounds of burning wood and cracking tiles.

He Daqing tried to squeeze in, but Xu Wude grabbed him from behind, yelling, "Are you crazy! Going in through this fire is certain death!"

He Daqing stood at the doorway, his eyes stinging and watering from the smoke. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Fire! What are you all standing there for! Fire!"

There were quite a few people standing in the courtyard, but very few actually made a move.

Yi Zhonghai leaned against his doorframe, his crotch still wet, his face pale, his eyes fixed on the ball of fire.

Liu Haizhong stood on the steps. His door had been blown up by a grenade. He and his wife were squatting on the ground picking up pieces of wood, cursing under their breath.

Yan Bugui stood in the crowd, holding a broken washbasin, taking one step forward and two steps back. His glasses reflected the firelight, making it impossible to discern his expression.

Jia Zhangshi held Jia Dongxu tightly in her arms, muttering "What a sin, what a sin," while her eyes were fixed on the direction of Xu Jiande's house, as if trying to see something in the fire.

Xu Jiande is a traitor.

Of the residents in this courtyard, eight out of ten had either smiled at him, benefited from his kindness, or suffered his temper while he was alive.

He served as the courtyard manager, following the Japanese soldiers from house to house to check household registrations, and also watched Yi Zhonghai lead people to arrest neighbors.

Normally, no one dares to say a bad word about him; they all bow and scrape when they meet him.

Now that people are dead and the house is burned down, everyone's first reaction isn't to put out the fire, but to stand and watch. The fire is too big, and it's not even burning their own homes, so who would risk their life to save the dilapidated house of a traitor?

But fire doesn't discriminate.

If the fire in Xu Jiande's house isn't put out, he'll also be in danger; he has no choice but to hurry and try his best to put out the fire.