Zhao Zuo pushed open the courtyard gate. There were three houses within. Two were already occupied; only the house on the right had an iron lock on its door, indicating the courtyard was meant for three residents.
The courtyard was a few hundred square meters in size. To the left was a bamboo grove of about forty square meters. The tallest stalks reached about thirty-four meters high, while the shortest were just three or four meters. The soil beneath the grove was slightly raised, and here and there, bamboo shoots were just starting to break the surface.
On the opposite side of the yard was a small pond about ten meters in diameter, where a few golden koi swam. Beside the pond stood a stone table and chairs, along with an open space containing a heavy stone roller and iron rods as thick as a fist, clearly for physical training.
