Chapter Five

  The sound of water is still echoing in our ears, but we have already made our way through the dense forest. The path that people normally take, we dare not tread; instead, the ghostly star leads the way with a knife.

  The dog meat suddenly emitted a low growl that only occurs when encountering danger. Dead dead immediately turned back, and we followed suit. Behind us was the road cut out by the mourning star, but in fact it was immediately covered up by the rebounding branches and leaves, and nothing was left.

  "Go back."

  We rushed back desperately.

  That rope is still tied to the tree, and even the wet mark where the dog's body lay on the ground is still there, but our bridge is gone. We looked at each other, so unexpectedly that no one spoke up.

  He's dead, dead, let Dog Meat smell the broken rope. The rope was cut very neatly, it was clearly a knife cut. "Chase him," he ordered Dog Meat, then told us, "You can open fire. Make sure to kill him."

  The dog sniffed and suddenly rushed towards a direction in the forest, we loaded our guns and followed. This time the road was easier to walk than before, but there was still a path, and in our eyes it was really eerie.

  I chased after the shadows of the dead and the mourning star, they two chased after the shadow of dog meat, dog meat chased after a smell that we couldn't smell.

  The dragon was dissatisfied with carrying a machine gun and ran slowly. He turned around, stretched out his hand, and pulled out the dagger from my waist. "It seems like we're in a ghostly situation."

  "...the morale of the troops is shaken."

  The big gun of the dragon is no longer entangled with the branches, he immediately ran faster and said "it's a murder to silence" then he ran forward.

  It must be a small group of Japanese soldiers who are causing trouble, otherwise they would have been killed long ago. If this passage is discovered by the Japanese and they appear in the rear of Yu's division with impunity, everyone will be finished. We're like flies chasing after a fly swatter.

  The dog meat finally caught something and suddenly turned into a sprinting speed, following closely behind it. Although I said I could open fire, I still pulled out my bayonet with one hand. We all accelerated our pace, under the guidance of Da Lai's gesture, the two columns dispersed into a horizontal team, more than half of the people squeezed through the forest from the side. Da Lai charged forward and disappeared at the bend of that intestine-like path.

  I heard him fall down.

  I wildly brushed aside the branches that seemed to cling to me like a ghost, wanting to rush into the position where I could see him or cover him. I thought he was already dead. At this time, I saw a clearing in the woods, and Deadwood was lying on a corpse, staring blankly at the clearing. We emerged from the woods, from the entrance of the path, also staring blankly at the clearing.

  That corpse wasn't made by Dead or Alive. It was a skeleton wearing military uniform, which had just tripped over Dead or Alive. On the empty ground, there were rows of such skeletons, not scattered around, but lying neatly and quietly. Vines entwined their bodies, and wildflowers bloomed on them.

  The dog was sniffing at the other end of the empty lot, where a 79 dagger was stuck in the ground. It sniffed twice and let out two low growls - I could see that it had an expression of being wronged. Dead Dead walked over, pulled out the knife and took a sniff, immediately being overwhelmed by the pungent stench, his face twisted in disgust. As a Yunnan native, he didn't need to be told what it was, "It's stinky tofu. The dog's nose is going to be useless for a while."

  After landing, we finally recovered from the long lazy state and began searching separately. Not long after, they came back to report on the search results: "All clothes are here, but no weapons were found, not even a single bullet."

  We wouldn't be afraid of our colleagues' corpses, but we would feel a chill. The bean cakes and snake butts are busy inserting grass to worship.

  "Alright, alright, I've taken off my hat and knelt down. Fellow brothers, we're not here to fool around, we're here to do something. We're here to finish what you guys started with your lives but haven't completed yet. You understand things, you've seen more of the world than us, you know how many false things there are, but this isn't one of them. Please don't disturb us anymore, let us finish our task. Brother Long Wen Zhang, if he's not dead, will definitely come to bury your bones for you." Then he looked at us and said, "If you guys aren't dead either, it'll be the same."

  Some of us bowed, some knelt down, some reported their own names, and some muttered to themselves. We almost backed out of this empty space.

  I bowed and said, "I'm Meng Fan. I hope the spirits of my brothers will protect my parents' safety."

  I looked at everyone, and somewhat understood the idea of dying. Whether or not I believed in ghosts and gods, when I looked at dead people, it was with a gaze that was almost affectionate. Later on, I brought people to collect their remains.

  It's very quiet and serene here, but the way they died is one of the most miserable among soldiers. After traveling thousands of miles, sighing at the river, they finally gazed at their hometown across the river. Dying in formation was the last dignity left to them. I used to think I wanted to die like them, but now I'm sure I don't want to die this way. I said to the dead: "Thank you."

  Following the dead, we smeared our faces black and inserted branches into ourselves as if we were mountain goblins.

  We passed by the foot of Nantianmen and proceeded along the edge of the forest, so that we could retreat into the mountains if we were discovered. After confirming that the strange things that happened after crossing the river were caused by ghosts, he felt relieved, his eyes did not show any malice, and the ghosts in his heart were also kind. He was relieved, and we were also relieved, and we absolutely do not believe that Kang Ya and Ma will come to harm us.

  We advanced along the edge of the dense forest, hiding ourselves in the woods, and observing the South Tianmen Gate and the open spaces, fields, roads, and natural villages that we had left behind. They looked really beautiful from this perspective. We were no longer walking so hastily, stopping frequently to gaze at the South Tianmen Gate with binoculars.

  He handed me the telescope and I knew he wanted me to look at the reverse slope of Nantianmen. The reverse slope of Nantianmen in the telescope was more terrifying than the familiar front slope, because the fortifications on this side were not as well hidden as those on the front slope. They extended downwards with a huge tree as their axis, forming two regular semicircles. The Japanese soldiers on the front slope were like ghosts, flashing by and disappearing instantly, while those on this side were lazy and scattered. Although I couldn't see clearly with this old telescope, I could imagine that those little dots of people were not much stronger than ours on Jiqislope.

  I returned the telescope to Tadokoro, "It's clear now, Takeuchi is always on the move."

  He was somewhat puzzled, "Strange, why build the reverse slope so sturdy? Thicker skin and iron buttocks."

  "It's like a golden soup, isn't it? The cauldron is round, of course." I said. He stared at me with a deadpan expression because he wanted an answer, not some shapeless joke. I turned serious, "I think it's the bridgehead fortress. Even if we retreat to the west bank, they can still occupy the mountain and invade the highway."

  "American reconnaissance planes think so too. Those flying in the sky can be lazy, we running below, our lives are to be cherished by ourselves. Look at those two fortresses, they can hit anywhere except the highway."

  "Takeuchi is studying civil engineering, he's diligent and doesn't want to be idle," I said. He glared at me again, so I simply said, "I don't know."

  "You should go up and take a look," he said.

  I was startled and asked, "What brings you here?"

  Dead dead some absent-mindedness, "...... What did I come here for?"

  I could only bitterly smile, "My parents are probably from a past life. Whatever. From the moment you opened your mouth, I never believed you."

  "Are you living just because you don't want to die? Who does something for only one reason?"

  I don't believe it, "Forget it, you." When it comes to oneself, who will be persuaded by your grand reasoning?

  He muttered to himself, "Well, we'll see about that." Then he continued to gaze at the south gate's reverse slope. Now it wouldn't be easy to go up, but I knew it had already become his heart's desire. I walked away a few steps, waiting for him. For someone who was prone to acting on their own and might end up in military court again, "we'll see about that" were indeed fitting words. I made a small bet with myself: if he stepped out with his left foot first, things wouldn't end well for him. He turned around and followed the squad that had already walked far away, and I smiled - he had stepped out with his right foot.

  The west coast does not give the impression of being heavily fortified, if the Japanese had that capability they would have crossed the river long ago. The impression it gives is desolation, every natural village we passed seemed uninhabited, with fields left to waste. This made us bolder, and we even walked along the edge of the forest. We silently passed through several overgrown artillery emplacements. We had retreated on this path before, and the artillery pieces that we had destroyed and abandoned in the bushes were like monuments to shame. The lead soldier suddenly fell behind, rushing to the edge of the forest to kneel and kowtow, we didn't bother him. After hastily kowtowing several times, he tightened the pack on his back, especially the remains of his brother, and caught up with us.

  Everyone knows it's not easy, but no one thought it would be a sad journey, this is a sad place. We've abandoned too much, every abandonment is a debt, we come to our hometown like thieves, looking at the powdered limbs and broken arms.

  Suddenly, he made a gesture and we all crouched down, shrinking into the woods. But the threat was not from outside the woods as we had thought, it came from within. We scanned the woods with great vigilance, where many creatures were making rustling sounds. They were numerous, huddled in the depths of the dense forest. We peeked at them, they also peeked at us, and when they found themselves being peeked at, they quickly retreated deep into the woods, causing a huge commotion.

  The dragon was messing with the bean pancake, "If you have something to say, go ahead and say it yourself! Don't whisper in my ear!" The bean pancake that was squatting next to the dragon suddenly fell in front of Dala Dala. In his small eyes, even the worthless Dala Dala seemed like a huge official. In my memory, he and Dala Dala had never exchanged any words before. He muttered to himself: "This... this is not right."

  "What's wrong?" asked Didi.

  The bean cake pointed with a farmer's skilled finger at the fields outside the forest, "All the land is deserted. This piece of land has been cultivated by someone."

  After being reminded by him, we also noticed that this field is different from others. The crops are neat and lush, which is a wonder in the eyes of a real farmer, not a lazy ghost who can't tell the difference between five grains.

  Die die die! He waved his hand at those creatures that had escaped into the depths of the forest, "Catch them back."

  This was an effortless job. Through the foliage, we heard those silent creatures fall more often than they ran. They didn't run fast either, so we had to track them at a slow jog. Soon we cornered several of the creatures against the cliff face, and more fled into the forest at dusk, which we didn't plan to pursue. We simply leveled our submachine guns at the few creatures we had cornered, who - or I should say it - seemed to be the indigenous people here.

  Hao no longer held the gun in a pretentious manner, but instead subconsciously felt around for one of the many pockets on his body. The dragon dropped its gun and started rubbing its face, squatting down to mutter curses. The rest of us were like wooden statues, just as stiff as the people we were facing.

  Years later when I saw the photos of Auschwitz concentration camp, my only feeling was that I had no feelings because they were just photos and I had already seen people living like this.

  They had tattered rags hanging from their bodies, with bony frames exposed through the gaps. Each of them was the same color as the earth, and I couldn't tell their gender apart. What left the deepest impression on me were their eyes - hunger seemed to have shrunk all their limbs, leaving only long hair and bright eyes.

  "We're an expeditionary force."

  "Yunnan dialect again, 'Dianxi Expeditionary Army, our own people.'"

  Those figures made of hair and tattered cloth huddled down, kneeling in a posture, murmurs and sobs came from under the hair and tattered cloth, "My own people, my own people, my own people." They could no longer stand up, our previous pursuit had exhausted all their strength.