Chapter 7 Leaving the City (2)

  At this time, the situation on the street was even more terrible. Along the streets, wherever they went, there were Japanese bandits looting and setting fires everywhere, and even women were being molested in broad daylight, making the whole world cry out in horror, as if it had descended into hell. Liu Cuicui saw this and quickly covered Dezi's eyes.

  The grass head snake saw that the situation on the street had deteriorated a lot in just a short while, and feeling a bit guilty, he consulted with Cheng Ziqiang saying: "Qiangzi, I've also been a soldier before, can you give me one of your guns? I know how to use it."

  Cheng Ziqiang said: "I know you're capable, but these two guns together are worth over a hundred big dollars. I'm not willing to hand them over to you."

  The Grass Head Snake said with some annoyance: "At this time, you still mention that, petty ghost!" But the gun was someone else's, and they were unwilling to give it up, so he had no choice.

  With two guns to boost their morale, the crowd also picked up clubs and continued to absorb other fugitives along the way. Cheng Ziqiang arranged the strong men around him, while the women, children, and elderly were placed in the middle. If they were ambushed by the Japanese from behind, he would ignore them, but if they encountered the enemy head-on, they would fight their way out with clubs. As the group grew larger, the chances of being attacked decreased. However, just as they were about to exit the East Gate, a Japanese soldier saw their large numbers and fired a shot without aiming, hitting someone in the crowd. In an instant, everyone's eyes fell on Cheng Ziqiang, hoping he would retaliate with his gun. But Cheng Ziqiang didn't draw his gun; instead, he gave a low, stern order: "Hurry up! Keep up, don't scatter!" The tone was firm and brooked no argument. Although the others had grievances, they had no choice but to follow the group's accelerated pace while praying that the next shot wouldn't hit them. Meanwhile, Cheng Ziqiang handed over the leadership to Cao Tou She and slipped away to the side of the crowd.

  That little Japanese saw that shooting at the living targets was very interesting, so he chased after the troops and shot three more times, knocking down two civilians. Just as he was about to shoot for the fourth time, his gun jammed - this stupid thing had always been useless anyway. The little Japanese was fiddling with it when Cheng Ziguo suddenly swung his club and launched a surprise attack. Seeing that things were not going well, the little Japanese hastily dropped his gun and tried to draw his sword, but it was too late. He was knocked to the ground by Cheng Ziguo's club, his forehead caved in, and even if he didn't die, he would be a fool after being treated. The nearby Japanese saw their comrade at a disadvantage and immediately rushed over. Cheng Ziguo shouted loudly: "Brothers! The East City Gate is just ahead, those who want to survive, fight your way out!"

  At this time, it was indeed a case of "one call and a hundred responses". Everyone also thought that if they didn't fight desperately, they would probably lose their lives. So they let out a shout, encouraged each other to be brave, took the women and children with them, and waved the clubs in their hands at the nearby Japanese soldiers, rushing towards the city gate together. Cheng Ziqiang led several strong young men, running back and forth, sometimes opening the way in front, sometimes protecting the sides and rear. This was because everyone worked together in unity, and secondly, the Japanese had never encountered organized resistance before, so they were caught off guard. After rushing and fighting for over a thousand meters, surprisingly, most of them managed to rush out of Linhai City.

  After leaving the city, everyone ran wildly for a while. Seeing that no Japanese were following them, they all breathed a sigh of relief and sat down to rest.

  The grass-headed snake panted heavily, seeing that Cheng Ziqiang was still holding a stick and patrolling around. He took out a wrinkled cigarette and quietly approached him, pretending to ask for a light, saying: "At this moment, no one has thought of it yet, so I'll whisper to you, if I shout, you can't avoid being criticized."

  Cheng Ziqiang smiled slightly, pulled out a rather high-end lighter to light the grass snake's cigarette and said in a low voice: "You want to ask me why I didn't fire my gun just now."

  The grass head snake mouth humbly lowered its head and went into the fire.

  Cheng Ziqiang said: "We have only two guns, I'm not clear about the Japanese devils' situation, but it's definitely not just two guns, I'm afraid that as soon as this one gun goes out, there will be ten or a hundred guns firing back, and none of us will be able to get out."

  The grass head snake nodded and said: "You're not simple, you're not just a rich young master."

  Cheng Ziqiang said lightly: "About the same as you, I was a soldier for a few years." As he spoke, he wanted to put away the lighter, but Cao Tou She grabbed it and said: "This is a good thing, usually you don't take it out. You must have been an official before."

  Cheng Zi's wrist spun skillfully, and he cleverly escaped from Cao Tou She's grasp. He put away the lighter and said, "What kind of official are you? You're just sacrificing yourself for others. To be honest, it's been a comfortable and happy half year with all of you."

  "Happy my ass!" Cao Tou She sneered: "Where do you have the comfort of being a young master? Besides, you never go to the martial arts arena to show off, and all day long you're stiff-faced, I don't see where you're happy."

  At this point, the two men exchanged a smile.

  Liu Cuicui was uneasy, seeing the two men whispering to each other, and led Xiao Dezhi over to ask: "Qiang Ge, now that we're out of the city, what do we do next?"

  "Let's take refuge with relatives and friends for a few days, if the situation hasn't settled down after a few days, it's best to go inside the pass." Cheng Ziqiang sighed.

  "It's that serious?" Cao Tou She and Liu Cui Cui were both skeptical. Although this time the Japanese have made a big fuss, according to past experience, it should eventually calm down.

  "I hope I'm wrong." Cheng Ziqiang shook his head and said "I should have left earlier."

  Most people have finished their rest, and they are also afraid that the Japanese will catch up with them. They are preparing to scatter and seek refuge with relatives and friends. Cheng Zi Qiang specially reminded everyone: There are also Japanese immigrants in the farms and small towns outside the city. It's better for everyone to travel in groups along the way. Everyone did so, and they all left in groups.

  Liu Cuicui wanted to return to her mother's home for a few days, but the road was not safe for a widow and an orphan, so she asked Cheng Ziqiang to escort her. Coincidentally, Xiao Shunzi, the little snakehead, had nowhere to go either, so he followed along as well.

  After walking for over ten miles, Xiaodezi turned his head and looked back, suddenly pointing with his hand and saying: "Mom! Look!" Everyone followed Xiaodezi's finger and looked, and in the direction of Linhai City, smoke was billowing into the sky, obviously a big fire had broken out. It seemed that this time the Japanese had gone too far, actually setting fire to the city. The few people were relieved that they had escaped early. Not daring to delay any further, they added oil and continued on their way.

  By dusk, Liu Cuicui and Xiao Dezhi were really exhausted. They had no choice but to find a deserted broken house by the roadside to take a rest. Cao Tou She and Xiao Shunzi went to the nearby field and brought back a lot of old corn stalks, lit a fire, roasted them, and shared them with everyone to eat.

  Cheng Zi Qiang ate some roasted corn and felt a bit thirsty, just as he was about to find something to drink, he suddenly heard the sound of troops marching in the distance. He rushed out to take a look and indeed saw a group of soldiers wearing gray uniforms approaching from afar.

  This is also the case with Cao Tou She and others, who have come out to take a look. Xiao Shunzi gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "Hmph, Feng Shuai has sent troops, now those Japanese devils will be in trouble."

  As the troops walked in, Cao Tou She smiled and said: "It's the 17th Division's troops. They're not great at fighting, but they should be able to handle those rioting Japanese devils."

  Xiao Shunzi asked: "How did you know it was the 17th Division?"

  The Grass Head Snake said: "In those days, I was a seventeen-year-old."

  Liu Cuicui was meticulous and saw that Cheng Ziqiang had been expressionless since he met the troops earlier, so she asked: "Brother Qiang, what's wrong?"

  She asked this, and Cao Tou Snake and Xiao Shunzi also found that Cheng Ziqiang's expression was not right. Xiao Shunzi was excited at this time, so he said to Cheng Ziqiang: "Kuli Qiang! What's wrong with you? After the 17th division captures the Japanese devils, we will still go to work in the city. Dahu Niur saved Sai Guifei, and we will let her sing for us at the Tanghui meeting. The local area will be taken care of by Cui Jie."

  Cao Tou She stretched out his hand and patted Xiao Shunzi's back of the head, laughing and scolding: "You little brat, you were scared to death at that time, now you're showing off."

  But all this joking and laughing couldn't melt Cheng Ziqiang's expression, he paused for a moment before saying to Liu Cuicui and the others: "Let's hurry up and get going, Cui Jie, after you return to your mother's house, don't just stay at home, find people to gather information about what's happening outside, if anything is off, go back to Guannei."

  Xiao Shunzi quickly said: "What are you talking about, Kuli Qiang? If I had to say, we'll just find a place nearby to stay for now. Once things are settled, we can go back to the city."

  Caotou She, after all, was a seasoned veteran. He poked Cheng Ziqiang and asked, "What's wrong? You feel something is off?"

  Cheng Zi Qiang forced a smile and said, "It's not that something is off, it's just that things have gotten out of hand. Forget it, we can't make sense of this in just a sentence or two, let's just hurry up and get going."

  Cao Tou Shei nodded and threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, saying: "You're right, being cautious is never wrong. Let's go."

  Liu Cuicui now regards Cheng Ziqiang as her own man, and naturally obeys his words unconditionally. Xiao Shunzi feels a bit uncomfortable in his heart, but since everyone is leaving, he doesn't have the courage to stay behind alone, so he can only grumble and follow along.