Chapter 6: The Weeping Thunder (Part 1)

  What Zhang Dage said was a good story, but also very strange and scary. However, things like the Oriental people, the sun flag, and the knife that had been opened with light and gone down with incantations to cut ghosts, these things seemed to be very distant for the villagers who had lived here generation after generation, and no one would take it to heart.

  Even if Lei Zhen heard someone shouting "The devils are coming!", he still took it as a joke. The devils, each carrying an iron pot smaller than a pancake on their backs, even if they were looting food, wouldn't bother with this small mountain village where not even birds would shit?

  With a hint of skepticism, Lei Zhen crawled to the window and gazed out into the distance. A white flag with a large circular sun emblem in the center suddenly pierced his eyes. The heads were not as exaggerated as Zhang Ge described, but every single one of them had a small "iron pot" on their back - the ghost soldiers. Lei Zhen rubbed his eyes frantically until he finally dared to believe that the ghost soldiers had indeed arrived, those who were human by day and ghosts by night had really come!

  Bang!

  A crisp gunshot rang out in the ranks of the ghost soldiers, and while running, an alarm was sounded. Xiaodong, a childhood friend who had grown up with Lei Zheng, fell to the ground with a thud. Looking at the blood spouting out from Xiaodong's back like a fountain, Lei Zheng was truly stunned. Weren't these ghost soldiers supposed to be human during the day and ghosts only at night? Now that it was midday, still broad daylight, how did they turn into ghosts?!

  "Run quickly, the ghost soldiers are coming!"

  In the midst of frantic screams, all the men, women and children in the village rushed out together, but when they ran to the back of the village, everyone was stunned, because at the back of the village there was also a sun flag waving in the wind, they had been surrounded by ghost soldiers.

  "What's wrong with you? Can't you quickly find a place to hide?"

  At this most critical moment, the one who was most concerned about Lei Zhen was still his mother! Lei Zhen's mother grabbed her son and took him to a pile of dry firewood, without saying a word, she pressed Lei Zhen into the firewood pile. Seeing that there was still room in the firewood pile, she also pressed Lei Zhen's second sister beside him. Then, leading Lei Zhen's eldest sister, they covered Lei Zhen and his second sister with a large pile of firewood.

  "Remember, no matter what happens, you mustn't come out. Er Ya, help your mother take care of your little brother!"

  When they finished all this and left the last reminder, Lei Zhen's mother prepared to take her sister to find another safe hiding place. Only then did they discover that they were surrounded by more than a dozen ghost soldiers. The bayonets installed on more than a dozen rifles emitted a cold, eerie glow in the sunlight, while the sinister smiles on the faces of the ghost soldiers made Lei Zhen's mother's heart sink to the bottom in an instant.

  Crouched tightly beside his second sister, hiding in the dry and hot haystack that emitted a rotten smell, Lei Zheng uncomfortably twisted his neck. At this moment, he suddenly heard from not far away the sound of fabric being torn apart, followed by the angry roar of his mother, like an injured mother leopard: "Don't touch my daughter!"

  When Lei Zheng thought of every possible way and finally saw what was happening outside through the gaps between the hay, his whole body suddenly became icy cold.

  That mother who searched for him in the mountains with his two sisters for seventeen or eighteen days, that mother who doted on him and loved him the most, would think of ways to cook a hard-boiled egg for him every day. That mother who even at the most critical moment thought of him first and looked for a safe place for him, now stood with her arms open, blocking the way between his elder sister and several ghostly soldiers. And on that mother's chest, six or seven gleaming daggers were inserted! Fresh blood seeped out from the grooves on those daggers, already dyeing that mother's clothes red.

  Lei Zheng's mother, at this moment, still had a hint of a triumphant smile on her face, because in her mouth, she was biting a piece of flesh, and on her ten fingers, there were bloodstains. Those ghostly soldiers who stabbed the dagger into her chest all had more or less bloodstains on their faces. One of them, wearing black leather boots, holding a long, narrow military knife, covered his neck where Lei Zheng's mother had bitten off a piece of flesh, and was standing there, gasping in pain. His mouth kept shouting a phrase: "Bage! Bage! Bage..."

  Lei Zheng wanted to let out a loud cry, but he found himself unable to make a sound. At this most critical moment, Lei Zheng's second sister stretched out her hand and tightly covered his mouth! The one who let out a cry was the eldest sister, whose collar had been torn apart, but was snatched back from the ghost soldier by her mother and firmly protected behind her: "Mother!!!!!!"

  Several daggers were withdrawn at the same time, and several streams of blood spurted out from Mother's body. As she swayed unsteadily, Elder Sister rushed over and tightly hugged Mother. Elder Sister frantically tried to press down on Mother's wounds, but there were so many wounds on her body, all bleeding, and Elder Sister only had two hands, how could she possibly cover them all?!

  "Big sister..."

  Lei Zheng's mother knew she was going to die, and she could clearly feel her life force rapidly draining from her body with the fresh blood gushing out of her wound. The unprecedented weakness thoroughly knocked her down. She lay in her daughter's arms, staring blankly at the sky above her head, as if she had already seen the man who had left her more than a decade ago standing on a white cloud that was hanging at the edge of the sky, looking so pure and yet so vague and formless, slowly stretching out his right hand to her.

  "Are you saying I'm being unfair?"

  The daughter clung tightly to her mother, shaking her head desperately.

  Mother is biased, of course mother is biased. Otherwise, why would she still leave the hope of survival to her son even at the last moment?

  But she also loves her daughter, otherwise how could she have allowed several knives to stab into her body for the sake of her own daughter?

  Looking at the one who gave birth to her, raised her, and left too many emotions for her brother, but ultimately left her life for her mother, tears burst out of her elder sister's eyes. Lei Zheng's mother turned her head, weakly looking at those pairs of yellow leather boots slowly approaching them, she said softly: "Elder sister... remember, you are a daughter of a clean and honest family, even if you die, you must leave with a clear conscience! Do... you understand?!"

  The older sister gritted her teeth and nodded vigorously, and when she raised her head, the intense hatred in her eyes instantly stung everyone's eyes. Just as all the ghost soldiers' footsteps involuntarily slowed down slightly, Leizhen's older sister suddenly jumped up and threw herself at several ghost soldiers who were raising their rifles, using all her strength to crash into them. Caught off guard, several ghost soldiers widened their eyes and stared at Leizhen's older sister as she rushed towards them like a moth to flame, allowing several bayonets to pierce her body simultaneously.

  Right after that, they only felt a burning sensation on their faces. Looking at the bloodstains they had just clawed out of several ghostly soldiers' faces, Lei Zheng's older sister's face revealed a smile so similar to her mother's, yet so proud and free-spirited. Lei Zheng's older sister, hanging from the bayonets of several ghostly soldiers, slowly closed her eyes, leaving behind her final words in this mortal world: "Mother, your daughter is unfilial, I'll go ahead first!"

  As soon as the dagger was withdrawn, Big Sister's body heavily fell to the ground without any buffer. Lei Zheng's mother lay on the ground, looking at her daughter who had fallen beside her and no longer showed any signs of life. Almost at the same time, she also stopped breathing.

  Even in death, Lei Zheng's mother did not close her eyes! Her gaze still fell on that pile of dry firewood that held all her hopes and emotions. Her eyes were wide open, as if she was protesting the injustice of this world to heaven, and also hoping to see her son and daughter with her own eyes, and escape this disaster alive.