Chapter One: The Devils Have Entered the Village

  "Dong, dong, dong..." The quiet village was suddenly filled with the urgent sound of gongs being beaten. The militiamen in the village were beating drums and shouting from atop a collapsed wall: "Fellow villagers, evacuate quickly! The little devils are about to enter our village..."

  The village was suddenly in an uproar. Fortunately, the villagers were not facing this situation for the first time. The devils had come to the village many times before, so everyone had hidden their grain beforehand. As soon as the militia discovered that the devils had entered the village, everyone could immediately take cover in the mountains. The livestock couldn't be taken away, and the villagers didn't have time to worry about that either. With the little devils burning, killing, and looting in the village, who dared to stay at home for a moment longer? Before long, all the men, women, old, and young of the village ran towards the mountains.

  The little devils had just arrived at the village entrance when they saw the villagers being transferred to a distant mountain slope. The villagers went into the mountains, and even if there were ten times more little devils, they still couldn't find the villagers. The little devils knew that they couldn't catch up anymore, and the devilish squad leader was furious, shouting "Wah wah". Although he clearly knew that today would be another day with no gains, he didn't want to return empty-handed. So he ordered the devil soldiers and puppet troops to search house by house. Even if they couldn't find any grain, they would still take away all the chickens and ducks.

  The scene of chickens flying and dogs jumping is staged again. Which rural household doesn't raise two chickens? But are free-range chickens so easy to catch by strangers? A large rooster was chased by two little devils, and it pecked a piece of meat from the back of one of the little devils' hands.

  The "little devil" who was pecked by the chicken was furious. He didn't expect that as a proud soldier of the heavenly empire, he would be teased by a mere chicken. He took down his rifle from his back and was about to fire when another little devil stopped him. The little devil sneered: "The chicken is just that small, if you shoot it, there won't be any meat left! Haha..."

  "The little devil who was pecked at by 'what do you want' is furious and hard to dissipate."

  The little devil pointed at a pile of straw outside the courtyard and said with drooling mouth: "How about we roast a whole chicken?"

  "Haha......"

  Villager Lao Man Shu ignored everyone's advice, and when the two little devils set fire to the thatched cottage, Lao Man Shu quietly sneaked back into his own home.

  Lao Man Shu's wife had passed away early, and his son was conscripted by the Nationalist Party and died on the battlefield. When he lost hope in life, a man named Huo Yao Ge suddenly appeared in his courtyard, willing to acknowledge him as his adoptive father. Although this guy looked a bit silly, speaking in a way that no one could understand, for Lao Man Shu, it was good to have someone to rely on in his old age. After Lao Man Shu escaped to the mountains, he found that Huo Yao Ge had not followed him out. Only then did he remember that Huo Yao Ge was still sleeping. Lao Man Shu stood at the door and saw Huo Yao Ge sleeping soundly. A kind smile appeared on his thin face, and the stone in his heart was finally put down. He thought to himself, "The village has been turned upside down by the devils, but this Huo Yao Ge can still sleep so soundly, what a reckless guy!"

  Huoyao Ge was born in 1985 and is currently 26 years old. On this day, he went drinking with a few friends to celebrate the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and nuclear crisis of a certain country. As a result, he got drunk and woke up to find himself in Old Man Mǎn's courtyard. After confirming that he had inexplicably traveled back several decades and that there was no way for him to return, this guy couldn't help but laugh. He thought to himself that from now on, he wouldn't have to see his boss's face every day, or work the mechanical 9-to-5 job every day. And he wouldn't always hear his parents nagging in his ear: "Son, you're not getting any younger, hurry up and find a partner to get married! We're all waiting for grandkids!"

  Huoyao Ge is just an online alias for this guy. But Huoyao Ge thought to himself, "Isn't a name just a code? I wasn't born in this era anyway. And no one knows my real name. The name Huoyao Ge is so cool, whoever sees me has to call me 'bro', haha..."

  Lao Man Shu didn't think so. Where is there a father who calls his son "ge"? So Lao Man Shu removed the word "ge" and taught him about gunpowder.

  Lao Man Shu walked a few steps to Huo Yao's bed. Before he even called out to Huo Yao, Huo Yao suddenly sat up with a start. He felt around for his clothes by the bedside and muttered to himself: "I'm late, I'm late, this month's perfect attendance is gone again."

  "He's dreaming again." Old Man Mǎn was already used to Huǒyào Gē's reaction. He gently stroked Huǒyào Gē's head. What a kind and gentle old father he is.

  Huoyao Ge saw Lao Man Shu quickly return to reality. He thought: "If I were living in that era, it should be time for the afternoon shift now. It seems that years of living habits are really hard to change." Huoyao Ge let out a sigh and lay back down on the bed, wanting to sleep some more.

  Lao Man Shu didn't care about these things, now is the time of life and death. He pulled Huo Yao up with force and said anxiously: "Huo Yao, get up quickly, the Japanese devils are sweeping our village. If we don't leave now, we'll both be finished."

  "Japanese devils are sweeping the village?" Huoyao was somewhat startled, but then immediately remembered that this was an era when little devils were running amok in China. Realizing the severity of the situation, he knew he had to be careful not to lose his head. Huoyao quickly got dressed, faster than modern soldiers rushing to assemble for drills. In just a few swift movements, he had put on his clothes and socks.

  "Hurry up and follow me, we'll be safe once we're in the mountains." Old Man Mǎn urged, walking to the gate of the courtyard first and carefully sticking his head out to take a look at the movement outside.

  "What about others?" Firework Brother walked up to Old Man Mǎn and asked in a low voice.

  "They all hid in the mountains. If I hadn't remembered that you were taking a nap, I wouldn't have run back either. The drumming was so loud earlier, how could you sleep through it?" Old Man Mǎn asked curiously.

  Firework brother scratched his head awkwardly, grinning foolishly. He thought to himself, "In my day, how could we sleep peacefully in broad daylight?" It seems like I've gotten used to it. Looks like if I don't treat Old Man Uncle better from now on, I'll really owe him an apology.

  Lao Man Shu and Huo Yao Ge turned a corner, just in time to run into the little devil squad leader leading two Japanese soldiers walking this way. Lao Man Shu pulled Huo Yao Ge and ran. The little devil squad leader also saw them, hastily commanding the two Japanese soldiers: "Quickly go catch them, must be alive. Can't let them escape, make them hand over all the grain."

  Japanese soldiers were chasing and shouting at them, occasionally firing two shots at them.

  Lao Man Shu was getting on in years, and long-term malnutrition had left his body as thin as a stick. He hadn't run far when Lao Man Shu let out a cry of "Ah!" and fell to the ground. A bullet had shot through Lao Man Shu's abdomen from behind his back.

  Firecracker Brother ran ahead of the two, saw Old Man Mǎn fall down and hurriedly ran back. In a flurry, he said: "Old man, get up quickly. If you're caught by those little Japanese devils, it won't be fun."

  Lao Man Shu turned back in a panic and saw that the little devil was already very close. He hastily shouted to Huo Yao Ge: "Huo Yao, run quickly, don't worry about me."

  Huo Yao Ge carried Lao Man Shu on his shoulders and laughed: "If I leave the old man alone here, I will be struck by lightning."

  Lao Man Shu's eyes were filled with tears as he said comfortingly, "Son, this way neither of us can escape. Quickly put your father down and you go save yourself. Father won't blame you."

  "What's the big deal? My legs are much longer than those short-legged guys, how can they possibly catch up with me?" Turning his head to look at Old Man Mǎn's expression, Huǒyào Gē exaggeratedly said in surprise: "You're already an old man, why are you still crying? Old fellow, just stay put and be at ease. I'm a cat, nine lives. The person who wants my life hasn't been born yet."

  "Ah..." Old Man Mǎn's face was streaming with tears. Although Huǒyào Gē had never called him "Dad" before, but Old Man Mǎn was already satisfied.

  Firecracker Brother hadn't run far when he found that the village's Japanese soldiers and puppet troops had all come out upon hearing the gunshot, and now they had Firecracker Brother and Old Man Full surrounded. Firecracker Brother couldn't help but put down Old Man Full, dryly laughing: "Old man, we're surrounded, this time we really can't escape."

  Lao Man Shu stood there with difficulty, his right hand covering his abdomen. Fresh blood flowed out from between his fingers. Trembling in pain, he said: "This is what happens when you don't listen to old people's words, the consequences are right before your eyes. You're too late to regret now. It seems that today we'll be traveling together on the road to the Yellow Springs."

  Lao Man Shu's body swayed twice, and with a "thud" he fell to the ground. After two difficult coughs, fresh blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. It wasn't until then that Huo Yao Ge saw that Lao Man Shu was injured. He knelt down beside Lao Man Shu, and tears immediately welled up in his eyes. This was after all Huo Yao Ge's only relative in this world. Huo Yao Ge cried out in grief: "Uncle, uncle, how are you? You can't die! Your son hasn't even had a chance to take care of you yet!"

  Lao Man Shu heard Huo Yao calling him "dry father" and smiled contentedly, saying: "Huo Yao, you are Father's good son. Dry father is already satisfied. You must live a good life..."

  Huoyao Ge picked up the nearly unconscious Lao Man Shu, muttering to himself: "Godfather, you won't have any problems, I'll take you to find a doctor right away. We will all survive..."

  The devils and puppet troops surrounded Huoyao Ge, the two brothers were in the middle, all holding guns aiming at them. Huoyao Ge spun around twice on the spot but couldn't see an exit.

  The short and stout little devil team leader finally panted into the encirclement. Walked to Huoyao Ge's side, with a furious slap in the face, Huoyao Ge saw stars. Scolded: "Ba ge ya lu."

  Huoyao Ge seemed to have seen a lifeline. He nodded and bowed, flattering the little devil captain with a pitiful expression: "Ta Jun, please save my father-in-law, I'll do whatever you want me to do, please...".

  The little devil captain didn't pay attention to Huoyao Ge's pleading, and said in stiff Chinese: "Your food, know, have."

  Huoyao Ge smiled and said: "Yes, yes. You quickly save my adoptive father. I'll give you all the food."

  "Yo Xi" devil squad leader sneered.

  A bullet shot into Lao Man's head from his forehead with a "crack".

  Lao Man Shu left with a smile on his face, a mix of happiness and reluctance.

  "Ah......" Firework Brother roared wildly, Firework Brother went mad, Firework Brother became stupid. Firework Brother ignited.

  "Haha......" The Japanese soldiers and puppet troops burst into laughter, the little Japanese squad leader laughed wildly.

  A gun was pressed against Huoyao Ge's forehead, and the Japanese squad leader said with a smile: "Yours, take us to find food. Mine, I won't kill you."