Chapter 7: The Weeping Thunder (Part 2)

  The desperate ghost soldiers had no intention of sparing the pile of firewood, and several ghost soldiers raised their bayonet-tipped rifles, which were stained with fresh blood, and approached the firewood. Just at this moment, a gray figure suddenly shot out from one corner of the firewood like lightning.

  Bang! Bang! Bang......

  Several crisp gunshots rang out, and a gorgeous blood flower suddenly burst forth in mid-air. In the midst of a mournful scream, that gray figure heavily crashed to the ground.

  A gray shadow, with five or six bullets embedded in its body, had lost its attacking ability and fell down in front of the woodpile. It was a wolf, the one that had grown up with Lei Zheng in the same den, drinking the milk of the same she-wolf! Fresh blood kept flowing out of its wounds, but at this moment, it still faced those ghostly soldiers, vainly baring its teeth stained with blood, and weakly raised its claws that had once been sharp but now had no killing power.

  Several ghost soldiers stared at the beast that suddenly appeared, their footsteps stopped together, they looked at each other and slowly left. One of them was still hiding in a woodpile with a wolf, how could there be another person hidden? In the whole village, there were so many people who could let them catch, all the women in the village, it was impossible for every one of them to be like these two mother-daughter, crazy enough to make their hearts surge with a chill.

  If only one-third, no, even just one-tenth or one-hundredth of the Chinese people could achieve this, how would they be able to stand so proudly and do as they please on this vast land?

  Tears kept flowing from Lei Zheng's eyes, his fingernails had dug deep into his palms, leaving bloody marks, but he didn't make a sound because his mother was watching him! His mother hoped he could live well, he absolutely couldn't die in front of her, and even more so, he couldn't let her die with her eyes open!

  Lei Zhen sat stupidly in the woodpile, sitting stupidly beside his second sister, the only relative he had left in this world. He stared blankly through the gaps in the woodpile at the corpses of his mother and older sister, and at the wolf that lay in a pool of blood, yet still struggled to open its eyes and move its body.

  It wasn't until the sky had completely darkened, and in this desolate mountain village, some figures appeared wandering around like zombies, and until mournful wails echoed through the air above the entire village, that Lei Zheng and Er Jie were certain that those ghostly soldiers...had left!

  The daughter and the big sister's cold corpses lay on the ground, while not far away, a pile of rubble was still emitting wisps of white smoke. Those few walls that had been burned into red bricks proved that this place was once a warm home filled with hope and future, although it was already in ruins.

  Looking at the girls and young wives who grew up together in the big villages, sitting stupidly in the ruins with tattered clothes, obviously still not waking up from the blow of being ravaged by beasts. Lei Zheng's second sister's eyes, which were already filled with sadness, flashed a strong sense of disdain. She examined the wolf that had been shot through several times, its body bearing holes, and shook her head silently. However, she still found some herbs, chewed them up, and applied them to the wounds, then tore open her own clothes, tightly binding strips of cloth around the wolf's body.

  The second sister found another iron shovel and buried the eldest sister and mother in the place where their father was sleeping. After finishing these things, the second sister's gaze fell on Lei Zhen again, and she asked softly: "Are you hungry?"

  Lei Zhen silently shook his head.

  Lei Zhen really didn't know how his second sister managed to find another intact egg. She used half a broken iron pan and that pile of dry firewood to fry up an oily and salty omelette.

  "Eat it quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

  Looking at the steamed egg in half a metal pan, still emitting a strong fragrance, looking at this food that he had enjoyed for a long time with an air of righteousness, Lei Zhen pushed it back to his second sister's face for the first time. "I'm not hungry, you have it, Second Sister."

  Second sister's hand fell on Lei Zhen's head, she gently stroked Lei Zhen's short and hard hair that was like a thorn bush, softly saying: "When mother was around, only you could eat the steamed egg with pickled mustard greens. Now that mother is gone, just as soon as mother left, second sister snatched your steamed egg with pickled mustard greens to eat. Do you think mother would feel at ease seeing all of this from heaven?"

  The steamed egg was pushed in front of Lei Zhen again. Second sister said softly: "Eat, for mother's happiness, just eat."

  Lei Zheng stared blankly at the steaming hot omelette in front of him, and under his second sister's gentle gaze, he finally took a half-iron pan. When he tore off a small piece of omelette with his own hands and put it into his mouth, savoring this familiar taste, big drops of tears rolled down Lei Zheng's face, falling into the iron pan, making a "sizzling" sound. Lei Zheng ate slowly, thinking slowly, recalling every detail of his fourteen-year life, reflecting on what he had thought was right, that this was the way to live and behave.

  Second sister gazed at Lei Zhen with such gentleness, she could clearly feel that her brother, after experiencing such a sudden change, was rapidly maturing and growing like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. A hint of relief flashed in Second Sister's eyes as she suddenly asked: "Little Brother, what do you plan to do from now on?"

  Lei Zhen looked up at his last relative in this world, also the last person who cared about him most. He fell silent for a while before answering: "I want to be with Er Jie, I want to take care of Er Jie for my whole life!"

  No!

  "Second sister said in a low voice: 'You can't stay in this village. You have to go out, you are the only man in the family, you must avenge your mother and elder sister!'"

  Lei Zheng vigorously shook his head, he couldn't bear to leave Er Jie, and even more so, he didn't dare to leave Er Jie!

  Looking at Lei Zhen's appearance, Er Jie let out a soft sigh. She didn't say anything else, she just stretched out her hand and gently stroked Lei Zhen's face. Her strokes were so careful, so serious, and carried an unspeakable piety. It was as if she wanted to use her own hands to copy down Lei Zhen's appearance, his personality, his voice, his sorrow, and his joy, in a way that belonged to herself, and store them in her eternal memory.

  "Sister is forcing you to go out and avenge Mother and Big Sister, isn't it too difficult for you?" Second sister said in a low voice: "Actually, you are just a child who is not even fourteen years old yet."

  Lei Zhen stared blankly at his second sister, unsure why she seemed to be getting farther away from him despite sitting right in front of him. A growing sense of unease and foreboding settled in his heart. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, his second sister suddenly turned her head towards a dark corner and shouted, "Who?"

  Lei Zhen subconsciously turned his head quickly, but in that direction, there was nothing but darkness. Just as Lei Zhen was still searching around, he suddenly heard a faint rustling sound and the suppressed moan from Er Jie. When Lei Zhen turned his head back, his eyelids were instantly split open by himself!

  Lei Zhen opened his eyes, which were already covered with a layer of bloody mist, and suddenly let out a desperate cry: "Second sister..."

  It was that half of the iron pot that Lei Zhenjian had used to cook the last lotus seed egg, now deeply embedded in Er Jie's chest. Er Jie's hands were tightly grasping the half of the iron pot with sharp edges, her face turned pale in an instant, she stared at her brother who was no longer human-like at this moment, in her eyes, apart from reluctance, there was only a deep sense of regret.

  "Little brother... you know, I thought the biggest mistake I made was when you were one month old, putting a toy gun made of corn stalk on the kang. Now I'm glad I did that... If you're really destined to pick up a gun and be a soldier this lifetime, then use the gun in your hand to kill the enemy soldiers and avenge your mother and sister!"

  Second sister fell into Lei Zhen's arms, the intense pain made her stretch out her hand and grab tightly onto Lei Zhen's collar. She took a deep breath, using all her strength to shout: "I don't want you to stay with me, I want you to leave this place! I want you to avenge Mother and Big Sister, for our entire village! I want you to think about how Mother and Big Sister died every day in your heart. I want you to remember it for me, avenge! Avenge! Avenge! Avenge! Avenge! Avenge! Avenge! Lei Zhen, did you hear?! Lei Zhen, tell me, can you do it?! Lei Zhen, tell me, can you wipe out those ghost soldiers? Can you make Mother and Big Sister, even in death, happy for saving you?!"

  Looking at his second sister who was as weak as a strand of silk, listening to her last words that she left behind with all her might, Lei Zheng nodded desperately. What else could he do now except nod?

  When the second sister, Lei Zhen, the last relative in this world, also lay in his arms and slowly closed her eyes, a heart-piercing, extreme, crazy, sorrowful, and mournful howl rose up, just like a mortally wounded wolf that still let out a long howl on a cold winter night under the bright moon. The heartbreaking wail instantly tore through the dark, vast, sorrowful, desperate, and unfair sky, shooting straight towards the boundless blue vault!

  The three siblings of the Lei family, who inherited their mother's bloodline, were originally crazy!

  Young Master: My article is not a YY article, nor is it a transmigration article. In order to be true to history, I often write a lot and then have to rewrite, so it's impossible for me to churn out N chapters in one day and say please vote for me. What I want to say is that if you like it, are moved by it, and recognize my efforts, please vote for me and support me in the rankings, thank you everyone.