198: Chapter 198 Whose People Are They?

The June sunshine was just right.

When the vermilion gates were pushed open, they made a slight creaking sound from the wooden hinges.

Lin Ning stood by the door, also glancing inside with curiosity.

Then he stepped aside and turned back with a smile, "Come in, what are you standing there for?"

Wang Qiao was the first to rush in, and Jiang Yu followed closely with excited steps.

Just as Lin Ning was about to step in, his brow furrowed slightly. He glanced toward the entrance of the alleyway outside the door and tilted his head.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and come over here!" Wang Qiao shouted.

"Coming, coming!" Lin Ning walked quickly into the courtyard.

Wang Qiao stood on the bluestone bricks of the entrance passage, craning his neck to look around, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

"Holy shit..."

He couldn't find any other words.

Jiang Yu ran back to the Spirit Screen and looked at it in awe.

One look at the Spirit Screen told her it was an antique; the blue bricks were meticulously fitted, and in the center was a bas-relief of "Pine and Crane for Longevity." The lines were smooth, and the patina was mellow.

She reached out and touched it, her fingertips sliding along the crane's wings, her eyes curving into crescents.

Rounding the Spirit Screen, the courtyard suddenly opened up.

A thick pomegranate tree stood in the southeast corner of the courtyard, its canopy spreading half a patch of green shade. Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the leaves, scattering like crushed gold on the blue-brick ground. Under the tree were a stone table and stools, polished to a shine, clearly used often.

There were three main rooms with side rooms on the east and west. The doors and windows were new but made in the old style, with carved lattice panels. They had just been brushed with tung oil and glowed with a soft light.

There were two wing rooms each on the east and west, and a row of south-facing rooms opposite the main house—a perfectly tidy Siheyuan.

Jiang Yu took a few quick steps to the center of the courtyard, turned around, her eyes bright.

She looked back at Lin Ning, her voice clear and filled with surprise, "Lin Ning, this courtyard is so well-preserved!"

Lin Ning looked at her and couldn't help but chuckle, "Hehe."

Wang Qiao had already scurried to the door of the main room, peering inside while clicking his tongue in admiration. "This carving, this wood... how much must this cost? Lin Ning, be honest, did you save some big shot's life?"

Lin Ning rolled his eyes, "It's a spy's property confiscated by the Ministry of State Security."

"A spy's?" Wang Qiao's eyes brightened even more. "Then they definitely didn't skimp on the renovations! Let me see, let me see..."

He dashed into the main room again.

Lin Ning walked over to Jiang Yu's side.

Jiang Yu was looking up at the pomegranate tree. Sunlight fell on her face, and the shadows of her eyelashes trembled slightly on her cheekbones.

"How old is this tree?"

"Over a hundred years old, probably," Lin Ning said. "I checked online; it said the previous owner of this courtyard was an old Hanlin scholar, and he planted this tree himself."

"Wow~" Jiang Yu exclaimed in admiration.

Wang Qiao popped out of the main room and ran toward the east wing, shouting as he went, "Lin Zi, you stay in the main room! Leave the wing room for me to enjoy for a bit!"

Lin Ning ignored him, took Jiang Yu's hand, and pointed to the southeast corner.

"The courtyard is big enough. We can put up a grape trellis there to drink tea and enjoy the shade in summer. We'll place a feng shui vat in the middle and raise a few fish. That area on the west..."

Lin Ning pulled her toward the main room again. "Come on, let's look at every room. I want to make the east wing a study; help me see if that works. The middle of the main house is the living room, we'll make the east side the bedroom, and the west side can be for your cats or your study..."

Jiang Yu let him lead her, her eyes curved with a smile, beginning to imagine the decorations along with him.

Wang Qiao poked his head out from the west wing. Seeing their joined hands, he let out a strange cry, "Ooh, ooh, ooh..."

Lin Ning glared at him, "Get lost. Are you a hater? Have some tact!"

Wang Qiao telescoped back inside, his laughter echoing from the room.

Sunlight filtered through the window lattices, casting diamond-shaped shadows on the square brick floor. The rooms were already simply furnished; a few pieces of old furniture were wiped clean, and the air held a faint scent of wood.

Lin Ning was afraid Jiang Yu wouldn't like these old things, so he said, "The exterior just needs to keep its original flavor. We'll buy new furniture for the interior. We'll set it up however is most comfortable..."

He suddenly turned his head and glanced outside.

The main gate was still open. Outside was the alley, where someone was riding a tricycle past, the bell clinking.

The structure of the courtyard ensured that the inside couldn't be seen from the outside, but...

His brow furrowed slightly.

Jiang Yu pulled him toward the side room. "Let's check out the bathroom and stuff, see if they've been renovated..."

Lin Ning turned back and followed her inside.

After half an hour, the three of them had finally given the place a thorough look, inside and out.

They sat on the stone stools in the courtyard, dreaming about how to decorate.

Lin Ning's gaze sharpened, his smile fading slightly, and he spoke in a natural tone, "Let's just take a general look for today. I'm a bit tired and want to go back and sleep for a while. Are you two heading back to the company?"

Jiang Yu turned to him, "I'll go back with you."

"No need." Lin Ning shook his head. "I'll just grab a taxi and go home to sleep. I'm not going anywhere else. You go ahead with your work."

Wang Qiao leaned in, "Right, you just got out of the hospital, you should rest well. You just had to drag us over to see; you're like a dog who can't keep a steamed bun overnight."

Lin Ning jokingly scolded him, and the three of them stood up to leave.

After locking the main gate, Lin Ning waved goodbye to Jiang Yu and the other, then got into a taxi to head home.

Once in the car, Lin Ning's expression turned somber.

Since his near-death experience, his Psychic Power and physical strength had been surging every day, and his senses had become more acute.

Just now, his senses had alerted him three times that something was wrong!

Yet, his Psychic Power hadn't managed to "catch" anything.

Ten minutes later.

"Driver, please stop at the mall by the road."

Lin Ning got out of the car and, without pausing, dove straight into the mall.

He didn't go upstairs after entering the main doors; instead, he started wandering around the first-floor lobby. He stood by a milk tea shop looking at the menu for a bit, then browsed a mobile phone showroom.

Then he suddenly turned around and walked out.

After leaving the mall, he hailed another taxi.

Fifteen minutes later, he got out at the entrance of Hopson One.

It was the weekend and dinner time, so it was crowded everywhere.

Lin Ning went up to the third floor, circled the children's clothing area, then came back down and headed to the first basement level.

He occasionally stopped to look at products or picked up a piece of clothing to check the tag.

But his Psychic Power was like spider silk fluttering in the air, constantly filtering through the people who were looking at him.

After his mid-journey stop, wandering the mall, taking another taxi, and entering another mall, he was certain—it wasn't an illusion; someone was tailing and spying on him.

The person spying on him was definitely an expert, at least more skilled than anyone who had followed him before.

Lin Ning walked into the food street on the first basement level.

The shops here were dense, the passages winding, divided into countless small alleys by snack stalls. It was noisy, with the smell of cooking fumes mixed together, and people everywhere holding food and milk tea.

That feeling of being watched suddenly became clear.

They were close!

To avoid losing him, the other party had indeed drawn closer!

Lin Ning slowed his pace, walked into a noodle shop, and stood at the counter looking at the menu.

His Psychic Power condensed into two threads, grasping those two lines of sight and following them back to their source.

Got them!

Two men, one in front and one behind, separated by seven or eight meters.

One was standing at the entrance of a milk tea shop, while the other was in front of a kebab stall, pretending to pick out skewers.

His Psychic Power landed on them like markers.

Hmm?

No malice.

The emotions fed back by his Psychic Power were very clear: no malice, it seemed they were just watching him and following him.

Lin Ning frowned and walked straight out of the noodle shop, heading deeper into the alley.

The two followed.

Lin Ning turned into an even narrower passage, with the back walls of small shops on both sides. At the end of the passage was a fork; left led to the restrooms, and right led to an exit for another part of the food street.

He didn't go right, nor did he enter the restroom.

He stopped at the fork and turned around.

He walked back.

The two men had already reached the middle of the passage and met him head-on in the narrow alley.

Lin Ning walked past them, brushing shoulders.

He didn't look at them.

But that one peripheral glance was enough.

Deep green — [Liu Yonghao, Ministry of State Security]

Deep green with gold flecks — [Zhang Haiqiao, Ministry of State Security]

Lin Ning was stunned for a moment.

Without stopping his pace, he returned to the first floor of the mall.

The Ministry of State Security might not necessarily be clean either.

Even if the other party was from the Ministry of State Security, their color wasn't red. Lin Ning still didn't relax completely; he found a blind spot and sat down facing the lobby.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Chen Zhi's number.

It rang twice before being picked up.

Lin Ning: "Brother Chen, someone is following me. They look like they're from the Ministry of State Security. Did you arrange this?"