Chapter 214

Dawn light faint, the Siheyuan as usual waking in the haze. However, this seemingly ordinary morning was shattered by an earth-shattering piece of news—the deaf old lady in the rear courtyard who daily needed support, was hard of hearing and poor sight, turned out to be a long-hidden enemy spy chief 'Lao Mao', who had been secretly arrested last night by Li Ping'an and his men.

The news was like cold water flung into hot oil, instantly causing an uproar!

The first to hear the news and be scared witless was Liu Haizhong, who lived in the rear courtyard. He had only vaguely seen the deaf old lady being taken away the night before, thinking it was the neighborhood office or police substation handling some ordinary dispute; he never imagined it was such a major case! He stumbled and crawled to the central courtyard, his face ashen, tongue-tied: 'They… they took her away! The deaf old lady… is a spy! Chief Li… Chief Li personally arrested her!'

That shout, like a bolt from the blue, left the entire Siheyuan stunned.

"What? The deaf old lady is a spy!" Yan Bu Gui was brushing his teeth in the front courtyard; hearing this, he almost swallowed his toothpaste foam, his glasses sliding to the tip of his nose without him bothering to push them up, "No way? She… she's an old lady who staggers when she walks… how could she be a spy?"

His head buzzed; his first thought was not danger but dread—could those casual chats he'd had lately about factory workers…?

In the central courtyard, Jia Zhangshi was cursing while directing Qin Huairu to work; hearing the news, she first froze, then slapped her thigh and screamed: "Oh my heavens! A spy! Our courtyard actually harbors a spy! And an old fogey at that! How dangerous! I'm scared to death!"

She exaggeratedly patted her chest, but her eyes glittered with a mix of fear and schadenfreude, as if she had discovered something momentous, a topic to chew over for a long time.

Yi Zhonghai stood at his own door, face ashen, lips pressed tight, his fingers whitening on the enamel basin from the force of his grip. He was the person in the courtyard with the most complicated feelings.

On one hand, he feared for himself and the whole courtyard; on the other, he felt immense embarrassment and unease! The deaf old lady was the one he and the First Elder's wife had looked after most, and they had done so willingly; he had also nurtured a bit of a 'respect-the-elderly' image, but now… he had actually been serving an enemy spy chief for years? If this were investigated…

Xu Damao first shrank his neck in fright, then his eyes darted about; he lowered his voice to Liu Guangtian beside him: "My goodness! I really didn't see it coming! That old fogey hid himself deep! He usually acted like a living Bodhisattva, but turned out to be a Beauty Snake! Tsk tsk, Yi Zhonghai really fell into the mire this time—whether it's shit or not, it's still shit!"

The entire Siheyuan was completely in an uproar! Fear, dread, shock, suspicion, and rapidly spreading greed… all kinds of emotions intertwined and clashed; the little neighborly affection of the past proved no match for the massive impact and lure of profit.

However, the real storm had only just begun.

Just after nine in the morning, several green jeeps pulled up silently at the Siheyuan gate. A few middle-aged men in Zhongshan suits, stern-faced and sharp-eyed, stepped out; their credentials made the arriving Street Office Director Wang's face grim—these were comrades from the State Security Department.

They ignored the startled, curious, probing glances of the courtyard residents, went straight to Yi Zhonghai, the First Elder's wife, and those who had more contact with the deaf old lady—Liu Haizhong, Yan Bu Gui, and others—took them aside, and conducted a solemn and detailed interrogation.

The interrogation took place on the open ground of the central courtyard; although there were no soldiers with live ammunition, the solemn atmosphere and the interrogators' icy tone were more oppressive than any weapon.

"Comrade Yi Zhonghai, as the First Elder of the courtyard, you are mainly responsible for supporting the deaf old lady; please explain in detail when and why you began to take care of her."

"In your usual contact with her, have you noticed any abnormal behavior? For example, did she take special interest in factory affairs? With which outsiders did she have contact?"

"Has she ever stayed out late or made trips that seemed unreasonable to you?"

Each question, like icy needles, pierced Yi Zhonghai. His forehead beaded with cold sweat as he struggled to recall, to defend, to stress that he acted only out of goodwill, with no other motive. Yet he could not explain how an "ear‑blind, eye‑dim" old lady could carry out such dangerous activity under his nose without his noticing. As the First Elder, his prestige and credibility were now questioned like never before.

When questioned, Liu Haizhong was so frightened he could not speak coherently; he desperately tried to show loyalty, painting himself as a "model resident" constantly on high alert, even hinting that he had long sensed something off about the old lady, merely lacking evidence.

Yan Bu Gui was even more terrified, his soul seemingly leaving his body; he poured out everything he knew like beans spilling from a bamboo tube—including that the deaf old lady occasionally asked him about school and about cultural figures, and that he himself, to show off, had voluntarily mentioned some trivial factory rumors. He repeatedly stressed that he was absolutely innocent, merely an unwitting pawn.

The State Security Department personnel merely recorded calmly, offering no comment.

This interrogation was like an invisible cold wind sweeping every corner of the Siheyuan. Just moments ago, Jia Zhangshi, who had been eyeing the houses, now fell silent as a cicada in winter, hiding indoors and daring not to speak. Everyone realized this was far more than simply arresting a spy; the ensuing scrutiny and its repercussions would likely linger for a long time.

The gate of the Xi Kua Yuan remained shut, shutting out the clamor and panic outside.

Li Ping'an stood at the window, calmly watching everything unfold in the central courtyard. He knew this was a necessary procedure—to eliminate hidden dangers and vet personnel. He had a clear conscience and also believed the organization would uncover the truth.

Lin Xueqing stood beside him and whispered, "Now the courtyard should finally be completely quiet."

Li Ping'an nodded. Pulling out the "Lao Mao" nail—the deepest, most toxic one—was not only the bust of an enemy spy organization, but also a thorough cleansing of the courtyard's tangled relationship network and some people's dark thoughts.

The interrogation lasted nearly two hours before ending. The State Security Department staff left with thick notebooks, giving no conclusion, but the solemn atmosphere lingered.

Yi Zhonghai seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, stooping as he walked home, lost and dazed. Liu Haizhong was still reeling from fright, while Yan Bu Gui felt as if his bones had been pulled out, slumping limp in his chair.

The rear courtyard room that had originally belonged to the deaf old lady was now sealed with a conspicuous strip, like an ugly scar reminding people of the evil once hidden here. Those who coveted it could only keep that thought buried deep in their hearts, daring not to reveal even a hint.

Fear replaced greed, and dread washed away any sense of luck.

The Siheyuan fell into an eerie silence; the usual quarrels and bickering vanished, leaving only cautious watchfulness and an unspoken distance growing between people.

The sunshine remained bright, yet it seemed unable to penetrate the hearts of some, clouded over with gloom.

Li Ping'an pushed open the gate of the Xi Kua Yuan, stepped into the courtyard, and drew a deep breath of cool, clear air. He lifted his gaze to the crabapple tree that had weathered storms yet still stood firm; its branches against the blue sky looked especially clean and resilient.

After the storm, the place was a mess, yet it also brought an opportunity for a thorough cleanup. He knew that, in the days to come, the hearts of those in the courtyard would need more time to slowly heal and rebuild. But at least, the poisonous thorn hidden deepest had been pulled out by the roots.

And he would continue to stand guard here, like that silent crabapple tree, witnessing the passage of years and resisting wind and rain. True peace never comes from nowhere; it requires someone to hold a lamp in the darkness, to hone their vigilance in silence.