Chapter 11: The Disaster Strikes (Part Two)

  They were anxiously waiting for the autumn melon boat to turn back in the water when they suddenly heard gunshots.

  Lu Gang and Xiao Lin rushed out of the house at the same time, except for a few barks from the dog, the dark night around the lake was empty, and there seemed to be no unusual situation. The people in the house all came out to see what was going on, but they couldn't see any movement.

  Li Baochang called them back to the house after a while. They began to worry about Dean Duan and his party, not knowing what their situation was like, where they were hiding, whether they would be discovered by the devils, and what the gunshots just now were all about. At this time, everyone was like ants on a hot pot, anxious and didn't know what to do.

  Lu Shuigen said to Li Baochang, "I'm just waiting for Qiu Silan to come back soon. Once Xiao Lin and my son are transferred out of this field and sent to a safe place on the other side, I'll be at ease."

  Li Baochang looked a bit anxious: "It's really hard to say whether Commander Geng and his men can safely reach the other shore, isn't it said that the devils' motorboats from Yueyang have already blocked the waterway?"

  Lu Shuisheng was in a terrible mood: "Hua Mei has been killed by the devils, I have only one son and one daughter left, I don't want them to meet with any more disasters. If it's really like this, I'd rather not live anymore, follow Hua Mei to death."

  Li Baochang said he was a wooden fish brain, how could he have such an idea, and didn't it look like a man? He looked at Lu Gong and Xiao Lin who were busy on the side and said to Lu Shuisheng, don't do anything stupid, two children are still young, can't you just abandon them?

  Lu Gang and Xiao Lin were talking, not listening to what the elders were saying. Lu Gang said he missed his mother and wanted to go see her grave again, also wondering where Principal Duan and others were hiding? If they could find them, it would be good, and they could take a look at the movements of the devils outside. Lu Gang poked Xiao Lin, who understood, and took advantage of the elders' conversation to ignore them, Lu Gang took out one of his mother's clothes from his bag, and quietly led Xiao Lin out of the house. Lu Gang told Xiao Lin that he wanted to go find Principal Duan first and then go to his mother's grave, Xiao Lin said no problem, willing to accompany him.

  Taking advantage of the night, they walked slowly along the riverbank with their waists bent and careful steps. The sound of the water hitting the shore made a splashing noise that sounded desolate and terrifying to them tonight.

  Kobayashi pulled Lu Gan and whispered in his ear: "Gan Ge, look at the riverbank, it's so cold, they won't hide here, will they?"

  Lu Gan was speechless, and on the way, they encountered many corpses. Xiao Lin was so scared that he kept calling out "Gan Ge". Lu Gan's heart also tightened as he was called, but his mouth said: "Coward, don't make a sound." In fact, he was also terrified in his heart.

  Lu Gang said: "First, let's take a look and see if Principal Duan and the others are here." They searched for Principal Duan and the teachers among the bodies, but they were not there. They breathed a sigh of relief, Principal Duan and the others were still alive.

  Suddenly, Kobayashi found some black shadows on the embankment over there and said to Lu Gang: "Gang brother, what is that?" Lu Gang looked at the embankment and didn't know what it was either. It was vague and wasn't there during the day. He suggested going closer to take a look. After walking forward for a while, they saw some devils moving around on the riverbank.

  Kobayashi said: "Isn't that where the devils sleep?"

  "It should be."

  "Let's go back, Gun Brother, they have a lot of people and guns, we can't beat them." Little Lin pulled on Lu Gun's clothes.

  Lu Gan looked at the moving devils and calmly said to Xiao Lin: "If not, I'm afraid Principal Duan and the others are still alive. If we go further forward, we will be discovered by the devils. Let's go and see my mother." Xiao Lin naturally agreed, thinking that as long as they left the riverbank and those frightening corpses, it would be fine.

  "Perhaps Principal Duan and the others are in a fluster, if so, that would be for the best. We can then invite them into our boat. After autumn melon returns, let him take the teacher out on a boat." Lu Gong continued to say quietly.

  They bent down and headed towards Sun Huamei's grave. In the midst of the rape flowers in this land, three to five people were hiding, their arrival causing a small commotion. On that dark night, they couldn't see each other clearly, but judging from Lu Gong and Xiao Lin's appearance, they thought they had also come to take refuge, so they put their minds at ease. These people were outsiders, unfamiliar with the place. Xiao Lin asked in a low voice who knew where Principal Duan was? The response was that they didn't know Principal Duan. After placing their clothes on his mother's grave and paying their respects, Lu Gong told them it was too cold there, and when he suggested going to find a thatched hut in the village to take shelter from the wind, they followed his advice and headed towards the village along the river under the cover of darkness.

  Lu Gan and Kobayashi arrived at a hemp field, where there were even more people. They asked if anyone knew Principal Duan. An old man whispered to him that he didn't know who Principal Duan was, but he had seen someone wearing glasses being taken away by the devils along with a group of people. Lu Gan's heart skipped a beat. The old man continued, saying that they had heard gunshots at first and didn't dare to go out and see what happened. He also said that nobody knew what would happen tomorrow. During the day, he saw many people dying around him, and the tragic scene made his heart cold just by closing his eyes. Why were the devils so cruel? Along the way, they killed whoever they saw, raped women, and burned houses. What kind of karma was this? Some people who heard his words began to cry quietly.

  Lu Gang advised them to hide in the village, but they were unwilling, saying that it was all the same everywhere. The common people had no weapons and could only leave their hometown with their children and wives, and now they can only listen to fate.

  Lu Gang and Xiao Lin didn't say anything, just as they were about to leave the cornfield, they saw two devils walking towards them. The two of them quickly lay down.

  It turned out that after a long time, the devils guarding Principal Duan were getting a bit tired and stuffy, so they discussed and decided to take turns being on duty. Thus, four of them took turns punching in, two continued to stand guard, and two could move around freely.

  Lu Gang watched them strolling leisurely, and thought of his mother who died under their gunfire. His eyes emitted a hateful glow in the dark night. He thought to himself that he must take them down.

  "Kobayashi, do you have guts?"

  "Stick brother, what do you want to do?"

  "Get rid of the devils."

  "Brother Stick, what do you say we should do? If we start doing it and alert other devils, what then?"

  Lu Gang didn't know what to do at this time, and he lost the long-handled knife. He looked around at the people, old, weak, sick and disabled, and his heart was uncertain, fearing that this action would bring them harm. He said to Xiao Lin: "Let's see how they react first." Xiao Lin nodded.

  Just as the devils were about to reach the edge of their hemp field, they suddenly heard a voice coming from the dike, which was the sentry on the dike shouting something, and they turned back.

  Lu Gang and his men couldn't understand, watched the devils leave, felt a bit regretful, and cursed angrily: "Consider yourselves two lucky dog bastards."

  Kobayashi said: "Gangzi brother, let's go back. If our dads can't see us, they will be anxious."

  Lu Gang was worried about these people, he said: "No way, we still have to take them to the ridge, stay here, tomorrow when the sky brightens up, the devils will discover them." Just as they were about to retreat and enter the ground, he saw a house, the devils from earlier were walking towards it. He said: "Little Lin, look, Dean Duan and the others are probably locked in that broken house."

  Kobayashi followed Lu's gaze and said, "Yes, there are devils guarding it." Lu blinked and said, "Forget it, let's take them back to the village first." He and Kobayashi persuaded the outsiders and carefully led them around the devils' line of sight on the embankment towards the village. Unexpectedly, they met Li Baolang and Shuisheng who were searching for Lu and others halfway. Without scolding them, Li Baolang and Shuisheng quickly settled the outsiders, and Lu told his father that Principal Duan and others might be locked in a dilapidated house at the bottom of the embankment, with devils guarding outside.

  Shui Sheng nodded and said: "I hope they can get through this difficult time safely. I asked you, did you just go see your mother?"

  Lu Gang replied, "Mmm, I'm afraid Mother will be cold, so I sent her a piece of clothing to cover herself with. Now Mother won't be cold anymore. Father, in the past when people became immortals and ascended to heaven, others would send them some money or paper offerings. But today, no one did that for my mother."

  "Foolish child, it's rare that you're being filial. But at a time like this, who has the leisure to indulge in such things? Your mother and I only have you as our sole descendant, and your sister will eventually become someone else's daughter-in-law. This time, the devils have come to burn, kill, loot, and commit all sorts of evil - tomorrow is uncertain! Son, your father didn't let you join the army in the first place because we wanted you to carry on the Lu family line. We thought our home by the lake was a haven, but unexpectedly, your mother was killed by the devils' bombing today... I'll remember this debt, and you must too - no matter where we go or what happens, we must remember today's date."

  "Dad, I won't forget this deep hatred, rest assured." Lu Gong's eyes welled up with tears. He didn't know what his father meant by telling him so much today, was it just to remember the day his mother passed away? He looked at his dad and said: "Dad, as long as I'm alive, I'll avenge mom, kill one whenever I see one, until I've killed them all."

  "Son, you still don't understand what I mean. What I mean is that you must live on, for the Lu family, for me, and for your mother. Do you know? When Autumn Silk's boat arrives, you will go with them. If it doesn't come, no matter what happens tomorrow, you absolutely cannot act impulsively. Hide and survive this disaster. A gentleman seeks revenge in ten years' time, it's not late. Now is not the time for you to take revenge. The devils are currently powerful, and our national army has no power to turn things around. What use is it for us ordinary people to resist? Listen to me, no matter what happens, do not act rashly. You must be cautious and wait for opportunities. And you, Little Lin, Commander Geng also instructed you when he left, remember?"

  Father's tone sounded very serious, Lu Gong remembered his father's words in his heart. Xiao Lin nodded slightly as a response to Shui Sheng's words.

  "Damn it, you little devil! You're a thousand times more vicious than a beast, and yet you have the nerve to come here and cause trouble for no reason. Your mother's... turtle egg - all of you are just a bunch of bastards!"

  Lu Gang smiled after hearing Li Baochang's last sentence, and he said to his father: "Dad, don't worry, it's okay. We haven't been soldiers before, nor are we national army." He didn't know why his dad was being so nagging today, whether it was because his mom had passed away or if he was afraid of the devils. Anyway, no matter what, it was all for his own good, thinking about this made his eyes a little moist.

  "Uncle Lu, I wonder how Lu Wei and the others are doing?" Little Lin asked Lu Shuisheng anxiously. Lu Shuisheng beckoned to them: "You go take a look by the river and see if they've returned."

  Lu Gang and Xiao Lin ran to the riverbank, took a look around, but there was no movement. The ripples in the river were shimmering with white lines under the night sky, seeming calm, yet full of hidden dangers.

  The autumn silk melon struggled to support the boat, sending Geng and his party to that patch of reeds. They bid each other farewell, turned around, and rowed back. However, on their way back, they encountered a Japanese patrol boat cruising on the river.

  A beam of light enveloped him. The intense light made Qiuxigua unable to open his eyes, but he didn't care about that and rowed the boat with all his might. However, it was no match for the speedboat, which soon blocked their way.

  "Halt!" A devils' spawn said to him, gesturing with his hand: "So late at night, still rowing a boat on the river, what kind of person are you?"

  Qiu Si Gua didn't understand what they were saying, he just stared at them and the other Japanese soldiers, not speaking. The devils saw that he was ignoring them, so one of them pulled out a rifle and pointed it at Qiu Si Gua: "Get on board, quickly! If you don't hurry up, I'll shoot you dead!" Qiu Si Gua thought they wanted him to get on their motorboat, so he put down the oar and climbed aboard. Suddenly, with one swift motion, he grabbed hold of a devil who wasn't paying attention and jumped off the other side of the boat. A splash appeared on the surface of the river as Qiu Si Gua and the devil plunged into the water. The sudden turn of events shocked all the devils, and it wasn't until they came to their senses that they started firing shots into the river.

  After a burst of gunfire, they used hand grenades to blow up the boat, and Commander Geng and his men saw a blaze erupting on the river surface. At that moment, Lu Gang and Xiao Lin also saw the blaze. They were all worried about Qiu Si Gua.

  "What's that? Won't be the autumn melon boat getting blown up, will it, Pole Brother?" Little Lin said.

  "It must be, I reckon Autumn Silkworm should be on her way back by this time, unless..."

  "Isn't it the autumn silk melon that encountered the Japanese devils?" Xiao Lin didn't wait for Lu Gong to finish speaking and blurted out, but Lu Gong ignored him and ran towards the house.

  Actually, everyone in the house heard the explosion and was wondering what happened when Lu Gong and others rushed in anxiously.

  "Dad, it seems that the Autumn Silkworm's boat was blown up by the devils." Lu Gong said to his father in a uncertain tone. Shui Sheng heard this and said: "It's all over, an entire boat of people, what can we do now? The people are gone, the boat is gone too." Lu Gong thought for a moment and said: "Dad, judging from the time, I think Commander Geng and the others should not have been on the boat. The boat was probably blown up when Autumn Silkworm was on his way back."

  "It's good, it's good, Wei Mei Zi, Geng Ying Chang is fine. Uh-oh, what about Qiu Si Gua? Wasn't Qiu Si Gua on the boat and got blown up?" Shui Sheng started worrying about Qiu Si Gua again.

  Li Baochang furrowed his brow: "More harm than good."

  "Are we really going to wait for death here?"

  Li Baochang said, "Tomorrow's affairs can only be discussed tomorrow. Whether we live or die is up to fate! Let's go to sleep first." Shui Sheng said, "Amitabha, I hope Qiu Si Gua will be fine."

  A moment of silence, to be honest, they really didn't know what the situation would be like tomorrow, and they were uneasy in their hearts. Tomorrow would be a day of unknown fate. Thinking back to the bombing by enemy planes at dusk, thinking back to the thousands of people who died under cannonballs and butcher knives, who could sleep soundly?

  Suddenly, everyone in the house heard a series of urgent knocks on the door. Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and no one dared to open the door. Lu Shuizhen rushed to the front of the door ahead of Lu Gang and asked, "Who is it?"

  "It's me, Qiū Sī Guā." A voice came from outside the door.

  Shui Sheng hastily opened the door and saw Qi Si lying limp on the doorstep. They quickly lifted him onto the bed.

  In the midst of shouting, Akatsuki opened his eyes.

  Lu Gong asked Qiu Si Gua: "Have you encountered a ghost?"

  Qiu Si Gua nodded and told them: "After I sent them to that patch of reeds, I hurried back, but unexpectedly ran into those devils. Damn it, what bad luck!" Li Bao Chang brought over a set of clothes for him to change into. Qiu Si Gua took off his wet clothes and put on the new ones, drank some hot water, and finally caught his breath. Then he continued: "If I had known we would run into those damned things, I wouldn't have come out of the reeds at all. I was afraid of delaying you all, so I hurried back. But this time, I really saw what the devils look like. You all say they're ghosts, but why do they look just like us?" Qiu Si Gua said again: "What a close call! They spoke in a twisted language that I couldn't understand at all. One of the devils pointed his gun at me and forced me to get on their boat. Guess whether I got on or not?"

  "No, you jumped into the water," said Kobayashi.

  "I went up, and as I was going up, I hugged a devil from the other side and jumped down. I don't know if that devil died or not. Later, I heard a dull sound in the water. I didn't care, I just kept swimming forward with my breath held until I floated to the surface. When I looked back, there was a fire on the river surface behind me. I thought, it's all over, my boat is gone." At this point, he burst into tears.

  "Everything is fine now, don't cry." Li Bao comforted him.

  "The boat is gone, how can I take you there?" Qiu Si Gua cried even more sorrowfully.

  "It's okay, it's okay, the boat is gone, but we're still alive." Shuǐshēng also comforted him and walked away. He was very annoyed in his heart, the loss of the boat meant that their livelihood was gone, mainly because he was worried about his son, his daughter had already left this place, relatively safe, but his son was still here, he could only pray for the blessing of heaven in his heart.

  The sky by the river gradually lit up with a hint of brightness, and the fine rain continued to fall without stopping.

  The principal Duan and others who didn't sleep all night were driven to the embankment by the devils as soon as it dawned. The scene in front of them stunned everyone: on the embankment slope near the river, seven or eight women's corpses were lying horizontally and vertically. Obviously, this was a heinous crime committed by the devils last night. Principal Duan saw Xi Dao walking towards him, and in anger, he pointed at him and scolded loudly: "You, you, are you still human?" His voice trembled with extreme indignation.

  Xī Dǎo came before Principal Duàn, smiling and saying: "Without these Chinese comfort women of yours, we soldiers of the Great Japanese Imperial Army would be a heap of loose sand. The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere of His Majesty the Emperor could not be realized. My soldiers must thank them, but cannot save them; it can only be thus."

  "Shameless scoundrels! What shared prosperity? It's simply the logic of beasts, we're living well here and you insist on using bayonets and cannons to brutalize us. Shared prosperity under the shadow of planes and cannons? Bah! You've humiliated Chinese women and still dare to spout such shameless nonsense. Truly, you've reached the pinnacle of shamelessness, it's nothing but bandit logic."

  As he listened, Xi Dao's face fell.

  Wang translated the words of Principal Duan, looking at Xishan's face had changed, not only worried about Principal Duan's safety. He secretly admired Principal Duan's courage, and at the same time, thinking that he had become a person next to the devils, in others' eyes was a traitor, being pointed at by people, his heart had an indescribable feeling. Thinking so much was useless, at this moment he only worried about Principal Duan's life and death, and couldn't help but sweat for him.

  In this case, Wang translated and reminded him saying: "Principal Duan, don't do this anymore, it's not good for you, do you know?" He didn't use Japanese but used the national language.

  "Damn you, you traitor, shame of the Chinese people! What face do you have to talk to me? Get out, I really want to strangle this dog bastard who has forgotten his ancestors!" Principal Duan was even more furious, making Wang's heart tighten with anxiety, not knowing what to say for the better.

  "What did you just say to Mr. Duan? What else did he say?"

  Wang hastily said: "I just told him to cooperate with the Imperial Army's actions, for the prosperity of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Mr. Duan also said that he would cooperate with the Great Japanese Imperial Army's actions."

  "Go ahead and dream." Principal Duan interrupted. He didn't know why the interpreter didn't translate his original words to Xishan, and he was puzzled in his heart.

  "Ashi." The islander, Xi, said to Principal Duan: "Alright, let's just forget what was said earlier. Honestly, your words really made me angry, but I don't want to argue with a non-military Chinese person. Anyone who can speak our Japanese language, as long as they are loyal to the Great Empire of Japan, I will not do anything to them." He turned and walked away.

  Wang Fan made a left and right swinging gesture with his hand, then followed. Principal Duan was very clear about the gesture, meaning he should not provoke Xi Dao again. Principal Duan looked at Wang Fan's back as he walked away, wondering what kind of person Wang Fan really was.

  At this time, a devil ran over and drove Principal Duan and his group to the edge of the tent. From the devil's words, Principal Duan understood that they were asked to be porters, and they had seized many things for Principal Duan and others to carry.

  Xī Dǎo received a telegram, according to aerial reconnaissance, large numbers of National Army troops who had not escaped were found in each field within the factory. This news made him extremely excited, and he ordered the entire team to assemble.

  "Having received the latest battle situation, all units take note. We are about to complete a most glorious mission. Here we have our powerful enemies. I command you to annihilate them completely, rather kill by mistake than let one suspicious person escape. Loyalty to the Emperor, prosperity of East Asia, no hesitation, charge towards the enemy."

  "Charge towards the enemy."

  Xī dǎo shǒu yī huì, xià dá le chū jī mìng lìng.

  Translation:

  Xi Island gave a wave of his hand and issued the order to attack.

  The principal was being pushed by the devils, carrying a pole with stolen food, following behind them as they walked forward in difficulty. He looked around and saw that there were devils on either side, making it impossible to run away. He silently followed the porters as they moved forward with the devils. Suddenly, one of the students lost his balance due to the heavy load on his back and fell into the ditch. Two devils rushed over and stabbed him repeatedly with their bayonets until he died in agony, bleeding profusely.

  The sudden carnage scene almost made Principal Duan's nerves collapse. He threw off the burden on his shoulder, picked up a carrying pole and ran down to the embankment. At this time, the crowd of porters was in chaos, the enemy's troops were in chaos, and Xishan ordered the troops to stop and sent a small team to investigate the scene.

  Rushing down to the embankment, Principal Duan had just raised the flat shovel in his hand to sweep at the devils when he was blocked by their long guns and then stabbed downwards, stabbing Principal Duan's calf. He immediately fell down, and the devils swarmed up and caught Principal Duan tightly.

  Principal Duan shouted: "A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated! I'll fight you to the end!" Struggling was of no use, he was dragged by the devils in front of Xi Dao. Xi Dao leaned forward on his horse, looking at Principal Duan with a furious expression, and laughed: "Is resistance useful? A group of sick men of East Asia!"

  "Come on, kill me, I'm not afraid of you. If you have the guts, come at me instead of harming them. They are all innocent people, students and teachers who are not guilty. But you beasts, you are the ones who are guilty, shameless invaders of our country, evil demons with no conscience! You are mentally deranged, spiritually diseased, and will be punished for your heinous crimes."

  After listening to Principal Duan's words, Wang closed his eyes and thought it was all over. He knew that Xi Island would not let Principal Duan go, and he prayed for Principal Duan in his heart.

  As expected, the smile on Xī Dǎo's face immediately turned into a fierce and ugly expression. He jumped off his horse and slapped Principal Duàn: "I see that you were educated in the Great Japanese Empire, otherwise I would have eliminated you long ago. But time and again, you dare to oppose our Imperial Army? You even dare to insult the Great Japanese Empire? Today you are dead for sure! Come, tie him up for me, I want to see how hard his skull is. I've heard that your country's method of slow slicing is very unique, I know it's a kind of death where one is cut slowly, knife by knife, and I will make you suffer the most painful death."

  The heavens have eyes, the earth bears witness, the river waters are a warning, and the people's voices are hanging in their throats.

  Xī Dǎo waved his hand, and the vicious devils dragged Principal Duān to the bottom of the embankment, tying him to a tree and stripping off his clothes with their bayonets. As they hacked at his muscles, one cut at a time, Principal Duān continued to curse loudly, refusing to beg for mercy. As he lost too much blood and endured extreme pain, he fainted away, still being ravaged by the devils, but completely unaware. Before long, he died, his head drooping down, his glasses falling onto the grass beside his feet.

  Xishi Island riding a horse, cold as frost, saw Wang Fan's translation with his head down, as if speaking to him or muttering to himself: "Isn't it written in the book that 36,000 knives are needed? Why did the principal die all at once?"

  "He's dead," the devil reported to Xī Dǎo. Xī Dǎo said with a sneer, "You see, this is what happens when you don't show respect to the Great Japanese Imperial Army. I don't want to see anything like this happen again. We will not be polite to those who resist the imperial army. You, tell them." He turned to face Wang Fānyì and said. At that moment, Wang Fānyì's eyes were already moist, and he was taking off his glasses to wipe away tears, which Xī Dǎo saw and asked him what was wrong. He replied that a moth had flown into his eye earlier.

  Wang finished translating and struggled to hold back his emotions. He truly felt the heroic spirit of Principal Duan, and his heart was shocked. Silently, he wished Principal Duan a safe journey.

  Xi Island waved his hand: "Advance." The devils surrounded the mound with a fierce killing intent.

  At the same time, the devils stationed on Cao Cao Street simultaneously launched a dragnet-style encirclement of the factory village, with some coming from the waterway and others from land, brutally killing their way to the factory village.

  A Japanese reconnaissance plane circled in the sky above the sandbars. From a bird's-eye view, there were many people in each sandbar, some in the hemp fields, some on the muddy roads, and some on the docks by the river, waiting for ships to appear, mixed with large numbers of National Army troops who had not had time to cross the river, the scene was very chaotic. The pilot reported the situation on the ground back to various Japanese troops and then flew away.

  The arrival of the enemy plane brought chaos to the people on the ground, fearing that it would drop bombs. They only felt at ease after seeing it fly away. Lu Gang and others who got up early also saw it, and they still had lingering fears after experiencing the horror of aerial bombing.

  Lu Gong's father wrote on a wooden board: The tomb of Lu's wife Sun Hua's younger sister.

  "Li Baochang, there are many people on the dock over there, in a state of utter chaos. The National Army is also there, robbing ordinary people's clothes. They can't even fight against the devils, but they're good at looting. However, one officer-looking person tried to stop them, but couldn't. Even firing guns didn't work." Gong Qiu arrived with his wife and child.

  Li Baochang: "Is there a boat at that dock?"

  "No, where did you get that from? Yesterday afternoon, several thousand government troops passed by. There are still 4 or 5 thousand people who haven't left." said Gong Qiu.

  Shuǐ Shēng said to Lǐ Bǎo Cháng, he wanted to go to Sūn Huā Mèi's grave again and talk to her. Lú Gǒng wanted to follow him, but Lú Shuǐ Shēng stopped him, saying, "Let your father go alone to accompany her. You stay here and listen to Uncle Lǐ, understand?"

  Jian Shui Sheng took a step forward, and Qiu Si Gua also wanted to go, but was held back by Li Bao Chang: "You don't have to go, follow me to take a look at some places to see if there are any hiding caves that can hide people, find one and come tell me."

  Gong Qiu took advantage of their conversation to follow Lu Shuisheng to the grave. Lu Gong asked Li Baolang, what were he and Xiao Lin doing? Li Baolang said that no matter what, they shouldn't do anything, just follow him, don't go anywhere, just wait here for Shuisheng to come back. He said he wanted to go to the dock to see what the situation was, told them that if the devils came, there was a cellar in this room where they could temporarily hide, and after taking them to see that place, he hurriedly left.

  Shuǐ Shēng and his companions arrived at the riverside where Sun Huā Mèi was buried. Shuǐ Shēng knelt down, placing a wooden board in front of the grave, tears streaming down: "Huā Mèi, my dear sister-in-law, you died such a miserable death, why did this have to happen? We had no grudge against the Japanese, so why did they have to harm us and separate us from each other? Huā Mèi, I just can't swallow this, do you know that?"

  Gong Qiu knelt beside Sun Huamei's grave, sobbing and saying: "Sister, I've come to visit you. You're living well over there, aren't you? One day I'll go join you again and we can chat and talk. Since I couldn't find any incense, I'll use these rape flowers as a substitute instead, sister." After finishing speaking, he plucked a bunch of rape flowers and inserted them into Sun Huamei's grave.

  Their movements were discovered by Nishijima on horseback, who signaled the troops to halt and called over Matsuo to send a small detachment to clear out the area.

  "Command, divide into two routes and advance in combat formation, coordinating with the naval unit to prepare for battle against the enemy at the dock and inside the fort."

  "What about these porters?" Matsumoto asked Nishijima.

  "They're all Chinese pigs to me. Wait, I like using knives, bullets are too expensive."

  Matsuo understood his intention, turned around and rushed to the back of the troops on horseback, pointing at the group of porters and shouting at the devils: "They are all national army, I order you, fix bayonets, charge towards the enemy."

  Before these ordinary people could understand what was happening, the devils' gleaming bayonets were already chasing after them, stabbing. In an instant, one by one, fresh lives fell into a pool of blood.

  Xī Dǎo led a team of devils towards Gāngzi's direction, while another team under the leadership of his assistant rushed towards the riverbank.

  When Shuǐ Shēng and Gōng Qiū were about to return to the dike, a group of devils suddenly appeared in front of them. Looking at the ferocious devils, they stopped in their tracks, standing there without any fear. The ferocious devils in front of them stirred up their indignation. Just as they were about to raise their guns and shoot, Lú Shuǐshēng and Gōng Qiū rushed forward with lightning speed. Shuǐshēng, filled with hatred, swung his fists at the devils with all his might, and the devils fell to the ground without making a sound. Gōng Qiū grabbed one of the devils and choked him by the throat. Another devil rushed up and struck Gōng Qiū's head with the butt of his gun, knocking him unconscious. Shuǐshēng saw this and let out a loud cry as he rushed towards the devils. When the devils came to their senses, they stood in a row, pulled the triggers, and Shuǐshēng fell to the ground after being shot.

  The devils yelled and rushed up, stabbing Lu Shui and Gong Qiu in a mess before leaving.

  Shuǐ Shēng woke up from the ground, his body still with several knife wounds, blood flowing profusely. He endured the intense pain and crawled towards Sūn Huā's grave, smiling as he said: "Huāzi, I've come, I've avenged you, I'm here to accompany you..." His head tilted to one side, dead beside Sūn Huā's grave.

  In the drizzle, Gong Qiu, who had been knocked unconscious, opened his eyes and stood up, trembling all over. He saw the dead Lu Shuisheng and wanted to hold him in his arms, but he was powerless. His body and hands were covered with wounds. Blood gushed out, and in this chilly May rape flower field, it looked particularly striking. The fresh blood that flowed out soaked into the broken rape flowers, spreading along the roots towards the ground, as if crying out to the sky and the earth about the tragic beauty of life's decline.

  On the grave, those few stalks of rape flowers that had just been inserted were still standing upright, proudly blooming with golden light in the cold morning, and seemed to be telling the story of life's vitality and resilience in the wind, rain, and blood, never giving up.

  Gong Qiu let out a long sigh in grief and indignation. By this time, the devils had already gone far away. He covered his belly and walked towards the riverbank, not knowing whether he should go tell Lu Gong that his father had been killed by the devils. As he stumbled along the riverside, his footsteps gradually became lighter, leaving a long trail of blood behind him. Eventually, due to exhaustion, he fell headfirst into the water and never got up again.

  Lu Gong and Xiao Lin came to the cellar, tried it out inside, and found that it could hold four or five people. They cleaned up things inside and moved some miscellaneous items outside, greatly expanding the cellar.

  Lu Gan was thinking of Lu Wei. Xiao Lin said that they should be relatively safe in the reeds, nothing would happen. Besides, Geng Yingchang and others were there, so there's no need to worry.

  The 52nd Division encountered scattered resistance from the National Army on its way, but was defeated by soldiers led by Western Island. They surrounded the entire dock and embankment respectively.

  The boats approaching the dock were initially thought to be their own, until they saw the Japanese flag, and then they scrambled around like headless flies. Even the National Army lost its military dignity, mixed among the chaotic crowd of refugees, some ran while taking off their uniforms and throwing them on the road, some didn't even want their guns and threw them into ponds or ditches, some ran towards empty houses in the village, some ran towards the forest, some ran towards the hemp fields and vegetable fields.

  A vast expanse of river in front of me, and the refugees on the entire scene are like ants on a hot pot.

  The devils on the yacht opened fire, the machine guns of the devils on the embankment also fired, under the cannon fire and bullets, smoke filled the air, the river water splashed everywhere, mud flew about, flesh and blood flew horizontally, refugees and soldiers alike were crying out for their parents, running wildly in all directions to find a place to hide, wishing they had a hole to crawl into.

  The sound of cannons and gunfire shocked Geng Yingchang and Lu Wei in the reeds. Lu Wei was so anxious that she cried, tightly grasping Geng Yingchang's hand, asking if her brother and father would be okay. Geng Yingchang comforted her, saying to his comrades that they shouldn't have come here, they could still fight the devils back there.

  In the midst of gunfire, Li Baolang and Qi Sigu hugged their heads and mixed in with the crowd to run towards the inner embankment.

  The intense gunfire shocked Lu Gong and Xiao Lin, who ran out of the door just in time to bump into Lai Tou, whom they hadn't seen for a long time. Lu Gong was taken aback and said, "You weren't killed by Hong Jie?"

  Kobayashi rushed up to fight Baldy, but Baldy dodged away.

  The disheveled and flustered bald man, seeing it was Lu Gang, hastily said: "I'm lucky. Let me tell you, a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, that one shot I will eventually find you to settle the score. Today I don't have time to bother with you. The little devils are coming, I must escape." He ran off limping. After running a few steps, he turned back and said to Lu Gang: "You all should run quickly too, I just came from another village, many people died there, the devils are really fierce, killing people and setting fires. It's so tragic, I won't tell you anymore, later when the devils come and capture you, kill you, I won't be able to avenge this one shot."

  "You think you want to fight? Get out of here quickly, scram! Last time I shouldn't have let you run away, I should've handed you over to Hong Jie and had her shoot you dead." Lu Gang raised his fist.

  Kobayashi: "Get out of here, or else every time I see you, I'll beat you up until that leg of yours is broken too."

  The bald head didn't leave, but instead came to Lu's face and said with a guilty conscience, "Last time we robbed that ship, it was really reckless, fortunately no one died." He also said this was his conscience awakening. Lu said his conscience had gone astray long ago, causing so many people to be implicated.

  He still said "conscience found" and ran away with a punch.

  Lu Gong and Xiao Lin listened to Lai Tou's words, looking at each other in dismay, never expecting Lai Tou to make a 180-degree turn.

  Just as they couldn't think of anything else, Li Baolang and Qiu Siguang rushed over, pulling Lu Gong to ask if his father and Gong Qiu were back yet? Lu Gong shook his head and said not yet.

  "Dad, have the devils invaded?" Little Lin asked with a slightly tense expression.

  "Yes, quickly, go and bring your father back. This guy is still crying at this time. The dead cannot be brought back to life by crying. You all hurry up and go."

  Lu Gang ran towards his mother's grave as soon as he heard it. Xiao Lin followed closely behind him, ignoring Li Baochang's shouts.

  It's too late, it's too late, everything is too late. The devils have entered the village. Xī Dǎo rode on horseback and waved his hand, and the devils quickly ran to each house in groups of three or five. Many houses were already empty, locked up, and their owners had fled upon hearing that the devils had arrived. Some hid in their own cellars, some ran into the forest, and some hid in the hemp fields. In short, wherever they could hide, they ran there. Among these fleeing crowds were many officers and soldiers from the 73rd Army, a retreat of over 10,000 people. Nearly half of them had not escaped to safe areas and were quickly cut off by the devils. Despite this, some soldiers persisted in resisting, conducting small-scale blocking battles and confrontations, but ultimately failed due to being outnumbered, scattered morale, and insufficient ammunition. Some were killed, while others fled in disarray, mingling with the fleeing crowds.

  Lu Gang and Xiao Lin ran into the devils, five devils surrounded them, looking at the fierce devils, looking at the flashing bayonets, they surrendered. At the same time, they also saw that Lai Tou had been brought over by the devils, Lai Tou said goodbye to Lu Gang, saw many people in the surrounding houses and vegetable fields, felt unsafe and turned back. He changed his mind and decided to return to the field where the devils killed people, thinking that after the devils finished killing people, they would definitely come this way, thinking of this made him shudder. No, I have to leave here. However, just as he walked out from behind the house, a devil caught one of them red-handed.

  One after another, many villagers and some refugees who did not have time to escape were herded by the devils to a spacious threshing ground. Lu Gang and Xiao Lin did not find their father and Qiu Si Gua in the crowd, and they came to Xi Dao Island without dismounting his horse, laughing and asking: "Are you all local people? Locals stand on the left, non-locals stand on the right."

  The crowd was silent, and Wang translated Xishan's words again, he didn't know why Xishan wanted to do this.

  After hearing Wang's translation, the crowd began to stir and followed Nishijima's words. The people standing on the left were actually only Lu Gang, Xiao Lin, and Lai Tou.

  Xī dǎo duì zhe yòu biān de rén qún huī yī huī yòu shǒu, guǐ zi men xiàng è láng bān duān zhe shàng le cì dāo de sān bā dà gài pū xiàng le yòu biān de rén qún, dùn shí xuè shuǐ sì jiǎo, chǎn jiào dié qǐ, yǒu de bèi cì dǎo dì dì tòng kǔ de dà jiào zhe mà le rì běn guǐ zi hòu yòu bèi guǐ zi bǔ le jǐ dāo, yǒu de yào pǎo kāi qù de, què bèi wéi zài wài miàn de guǐ zi cì dǎo dì dì, yǒu jǐ gè chōng chū le bāo wéi quān de rén bèi guǐ zi shè sǎ zài ní wū de shuǐ tán biān huò cài dì lǐ……

  Wang Fan closed his eyes, Lu Gang and the others stared blankly at this bloody scene, also frightened, hugging their heads and squatting on the ground, not daring to look, the miserable cries in their ears made them dare not speak, no one dared to make a sound. Lai Tou was so scared that he urinated, his crotch was wet and soggy. Xiao Lin's whole body trembled with fear.

  The cries stopped, the gunfire stopped, but the rain in the sky did not stop, and it was much heavier than before.

  Xī Dǎo called Lài Tóu over, he saw Lài Tóu walking with a limp, suspected him of being a National Army soldier, and ordered the devils to roll up his pants. He jumped off the horse, used his hand to touch the gunshot scar on Lài Tóu's leg, and pinched it hard with his fingers, causing Lài Tóu to cry out in pain. The bullet from last time was still inside.

  "Ba Ge, are you from the National Army?"

  "No, I am not a Nationalist soldier." After hearing Wang's translation, the bandit leader shook his head repeatedly, saying it wasn't him, and was sweating profusely.

  "Are they National Army?" Xī Dǎo asked Lài Tóu again, pointing at Lú Gāng and Xiǎo Lín.

  "They're not, they're from the village on the other side of the river. I know them, they're professional fishermen. They still go to school in Xihai." Wang translated this word for word to Xi Dao.

  Xi Dao grunted and said, "Then what's with the gunshot wound?"

  Lai Tou glanced at Lu Gang and Xiao Lin, then said it was an accident during a hunting trip when someone else had mistakenly shot him.

  Xi Dao's face turned red with rage, "I hate liars the most! Hunting can leave such scars? You're clearly from the National Army, aren't you?"

  The bald man's face turned red with rage, and he gritted his teeth, saying: "I wanted to join the National Army, but they didn't want me. If I were really in the National Army, I wouldn't be standing here having a useless conversation with you." The interpreter did not translate accurately, telling Xī Dǎo that the bald man was not actually in the National Army. However, Xī Dǎo saw the anger on the bald man's face and could not tolerate his fury. With a swift swing of the knife in his hand, the bald man let out a cry and fell to the ground, with a bright red bloodstain on his belly. The blood slowly seeped through his skin. Lú Gāng ignored the devils' attempts to stop him and rushed to the bald man's side, embracing him. The bald man looked at Lú Gāng with difficulty and smiled, saying: "I was wrong to avenge you, do you know that? I should have died, but dying in front of these devils is unbearable." Lú Gāng understood his meaning and nodded. The bald man's body convulsed, his intestines spilled out, and he died.

  Xī Dǎo saw Lú Gān's furious expression, walked to Lú Gān's front, grabbed his hand, looked at it, put it down, then lifted up his jacket and looked at his shoulder, stared at him for a few seconds, let go of him, came to Xiǎo Lín's front and repeated the same actions as before, then mounted his horse without saying a word. He told Wáng Fān Yì: "Let them lead the way since they are local."

  On the road, Wang translator cautiously asked why they had to do this. Xī Dǎo told him that outsiders, they were refugees who came here, and it was possible that some of them were KMT soldiers, even if some were not, they had helped them before, which was also something the Great Japanese Empire could not tolerate. Wang translator felt a chill after hearing his words, he worried about Lú Gāng and Xiao Lin's fate ahead. When he asked Xī Dǎo how to deal with these two people, Xī Dǎo glanced at Wang translator and said lightly: "This is not your concern. Oh, what use are these thatched cottages, they're so ugly. Come on, burn them all down for me. At that time, our Great Japanese Empire will turn this place into a new oasis, build many Japanese buildings, and realize the grand blueprint of His Majesty's Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere."

  At that moment, the devils passed by, and the houses were burning. The raging fire filled the sky. Lu Gang cursed fiercely: "Bastards, a group of bastards! One day I will kill you bastards!"

  "What is he saying?" Xī Dǎo asked Wáng Fānyì.

  "He said it was a huge fire."

  He heard it with a scornful laugh and said: "These stupid numb Chinese pigs."

  "I'm so nervous," said Little Lin as he walked along.

  "I was even more nervous than you, when he looked into my eyes, I really wanted to kill him, do you know? I really wanted to kill him." Lu Gong said in a low voice, his hatred could be heard in his tone.

  "I didn't think, I dare not think, now I just miss my dad and your dad. Where are my dad and your dad? At this time, we haven't seen them either, who knows what's going on?"

  "Maybe it's hidden."

  "They're setting fires all along the way, won't they burn down our house?" Little Lin asked worriedly.

  "You're such a blockhead! They weren't even inside the house." Lu Gang knocked Xiao Lin on the back of his head.

  "What are you doing?" Xī Dǎo saw it and asked hastily on horseback.

  Wang Fan was listening to their conversation, and Xidao was also listening but couldn't understand, so he asked Wang Fan. Wang Fan glossed over the situation and told Xidao that they were just playing around and arguing with each other. Xidao smiled. Suddenly, he ordered the Japanese cavalry to advance into some vegetable fields. Wherever they went, people ran in all directions, and the devils laughed maniacally on horseback, slashing at the fleeing crowds with their swords. Wherever the horses reached, heads fell to the ground, blood splattered everywhere, and it was a horrific sight, brutal to the extreme.

  Along the way, the devils would set fire to any houses they came across. Some people inside were afraid of the flames and ran out, only to be stabbed by the devils with a knife. Most of those who were stabbed were elderly people who did not want to leave their homeland.

  The devils passed by the burned house, and the last two devils in the team suddenly saw two women running out of it. They stared blankly, ignoring the fact that the team was still moving forward, and simultaneously slapped the two comrades in front of them, pointing to the two women who were running towards the back of the house. The two devils in front understood, left the team and chased after them, catching up. Two devils threw their guns to the other two devils, each holding one, turned into an unburned room, put them on the ground, ignoring their cries and tears, tore off their pants, just as the slightly older middle-aged woman spoke up, shouting: "Let my daughter go, she's only 12 years old!" They didn't understand her words, took off their pants and pounced on them, amidst the laughter of obscenity, the devils brutally raped them.

  Looking at the four girls lying on the ground, the four devils smiled comfortably and stabbed their guns into their private parts and bellies, and the mother and daughter were killed in the oilseed rape field. Then they ran quickly to catch up with the troops.

  The Western Island, which was advancing forward, received an air report and found a large number of enemies ahead.

  "Specific location?" asked Xī Dǎo.

  "In the willow forest one thousand meters ahead."

  "Asia, full speed ahead." With a crack of the whip, he charged forward. As soon as Xī Dǎo heard that the enemy was right in front of him, his head became excited and he forgot everything, forgot Lú Gāng and Xiǎo Lín, with one command, he urged his horse forward, and the troops behind him followed closely, rushing forward.

  Wang translated to live horse head, to Lu Gong and Xiao Lin said, run quickly, can run far. Then ride horse gallop away.

  They listened and stood by the side of the road, watching the devils rush past them quickly. After hearing Wang's translation, they didn't know what to do. They didn't understand who Wang was. Yang had said that Wang Jingwei was a puppet government, some of his people became the devil's henchmen, traitors, and even the devil's translator was a traitor, serving only the devils, specializing in harming the common people, were big bad guys who assisted the evil. But today, looking at this Wang translator, he didn't seem like a bad guy or a traitor.

  It doesn't matter if they're confused or don't understand, they can't be allowed to think too much. At this time, Lu Gang and the others saw four devils running over.

  Just then, the mother and daughter were exhausted and couldn't keep up with the team that was advancing at full speed. As they passed by Lu Gang and others, they were panting one after another. Seeing them fall behind, Lu Gang plucked up his courage. He gave Xiao Lin a signal, regardless of whether Xiao Lin understood or not. He followed the ghost's back and ran forward. Xiao Lin didn't know what Lu Gang meant, but seeing him run forward, he followed suit.

  He caught up with Lu Gong, and after Lu Gong whispered something in his ear, Xiao Lin saw a tree stump of moderate size beside him, picked it up, grasped it in his hand, and put it behind his back. He followed closely behind the enemy's back with Lu Gong.

  The four devils gradually moved further and further away from each other. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lu Gong rushed forward, a fierce tiger descending the mountain, and with one swift motion, broke the neck of the last devil from behind. Xiao Lin dragged the devil to the side of a manure pit and threw him in, gun and all. When he came out, within twenty meters, he discovered another devil's corpse, which he also dragged to the edge of a pond and threw in. After finishing these tasks, when looking forward, Lu Gong was following behind the third devil, who turned his head around, perhaps to see if his companion was following behind. Just as he felt something was off behind him and was about to raise his gun to shoot, it was too late. Lu Gong had already closed in on him, not giving him a chance. With one swift motion, he kicked out with his leg, striking the devil's head, which instantly fell silent onto the muddy road. Xiao Lin was stunned, dazed for a moment before rushing over to drag him into the nearby rape field.

  The ghost in front only rushed forward and didn't look back at all. The team in front ran too fast, his legs were getting weak, after running for a while, he saw him kneeling down to the ground with no strength, weakly calling out "wait for me". He fell face down on the muddy road. Who could hear it? The footsteps of the ghost team covered up his voice.

  Lu Gang picked him up with one hand, and he saw that the Japanese soldier was terrified. He was a young boy, small in stature, Lu Gang couldn't bear to hit him, his fist stopped in mid-air, the Japanese soldier seemed to have come to, wanted to call out for help, but was knocked unconscious by a tree stump swung by Xiao Lin who had rushed over.

  This place was right in front of Li Bao's uncle's house, where the flames were soaring into the sky. Xiao Lin rushed in and didn't care about the Japanese devil who had been knocked unconscious, he charged into the house. Lu Gan dared not shout loudly for Xiao Lin, as the Japanese devils led by Xi Dao were still ahead. He alone dragged the Japanese devil into the house, later discovering that the rifle was still on the road, so he went back to pick it up and returned inside.

  The fire inside wasn't fierce, so Lu Zhuang directly went to the cellar. Li Baolang and Qiu Sigu were both there, while Xiao Lin was talking to his father. Lu Zhuang asked Li Baolang: "Has my dad not returned yet?"

  Li Baochang also said in confusion: "No, I don't know where your dad is hiding either."

  "What can be done about this? No, I have to go find." Lu Gong was anxious.

  "Wait a minute, didn't you see your mother and then encounter the devils, and then cross the river with Uncle Gong and others to return to the village?" Li Baichang guessed.

  "Li Baochang, Li Baochang, devils, devils." Out to see the situation, Qi Si Gua ran in and saw the devil dragged in by Lu Gong.

  "Ah, devils, devils are coming, quick, hide in the cellar." Li Baolang said.

  "No, it's a ghostly corpse." said Qiū Sīguā.

  "Corpse? Ghost's?" Li Baolang stared at Lu Gang and Xiao Lin: "Was it you who did it?"

  Lu Gan and Kobayashi nodded. Kobayashi said they killed four devils. It's really true, Lu Gan is really awesome.

  "Hurry, Autumn Silkworm, hurry and drag him in to hide. This isn't a place to stay for long, we have to leave. While the devils are still in this field, we must return to our own village. Maybe there aren't any devils there, let's go, hurry up, maybe you can meet your dad and Uncle Gong there."

  After hiding the devils' corpses, everyone walked out of the house and ran towards their own village. Along the way, Xiaolin told them with a flying brow and colorful expression about the place where the devils killed by Lu Gang were hidden, and everyone felt very relieved after hearing it. Li Baolang said that they had finally avenged Sun Huamei, and they would go to her grave to take a look later.

  Qiu Si Gua told Li Bao Chang that he was going to pee, Lu Gong said you have a lot of things on your mind, it's best to hurry up, or the devils will see you and cut off your penis. Everyone laughed at this, Qiu Si Gua ignored them and went behind a ruined house with remaining fire to urinate.

  However, things coincided, and just as Autumn Silkworm was urinating, they arrived near Lujing Village and encountered more than 20 devils. Some of them were carrying baskets with goods looted from Lujing Village, including cured meat, smoked fish, pumpkins, and squash. Others were holding live chickens or leading a cow. Lujing recognized the cow as his own, and another devil was driving a pig. They couldn't hide anymore, and the devils spotted them. The devils shouted at them in an unintelligible language, and one of them ran up to gesture for them to carry baskets. Li Baolong understood. He also gestured, indicating that they couldn't do it because they had other things to attend to. However, the devils didn't care and cocked their guns, aiming at them. Lujing was about to charge forward, but Li Baolong held him back and smiled at the devils, saying, "Don't worry, don't worry, we'll help you carry it." The three of them took over the devils' baskets.

  Qiu Si Gua saw them and quickly hid, until they passed in front of him under the supervision of the devils, then quietly ran away in the opposite direction.

  Qiu Si Gua ran for a while before suddenly stopping and slapping his forehead. He cursed himself, wondering if he was still human. If he ran away, what would Li Bao Chang and Lu Gang think of him? They would scold him as a coward. Was this the way to treat fellow villagers? This was too unrighteous! The Japanese devils had taken them away, who knows how they would be treated? Ah, no, Lu Gangzi killed the Japanese devil, if asked, he would suspect them, didn't they only have one road to death? He tilted his head and suddenly saw a tombstone standing upright in the oilseed rape field. He ran up to it and was shocked by what he saw: Shui Sheng was lying on top of the grave. The person hadn't died yet, but Qiu Si Gua's heart had turned cold. He sat down on the ground with a thud, wiping away tears. No, I have to go back. He knelt in front of Shui Sheng and said: "Lu Dage, Lu Gangzi is in danger, bless them for me, wait until I come back and find you a safe place." He turned around and ran towards the village, arriving at Li Bao Chang's brother-in-law's house. He remembered something and went inside to the hiding place of the gun, finding it there. Suddenly, he heard a noise from the woodshed, and when he went to look, the Japanese devil who had been knocked unconscious woke up. Not giving the devil time to get up from the ground, he raised his gun and stabbed him repeatedly, blood splashing all over his face. He wiped his hand and dragged the devil's corpse out of the house.

  At the same time that Autumn Silkworm killed the devils, Lu Gang and others arrived at a forest on the west island with their burdens, and were shocked by the tragic scene before them. The forest was filled with corpses everywhere, densely packed, obviously freshly killed by the devils, and some devils were still stabbing at the bodies. Suddenly, a soldier jumped out from among the corpses, and this person was Han Xiao Cheng. He saw him fiercely hug a devil, very skillfully lower the bayonet on the gun tip, then made a fierce thrust, instantly stabbing the devil's belly with a straight shot. The several devils not far away from him saw it, raised their guns and fired at him. He fell down, still holding that blood-stained knife in his hand.

  Luo Gang, who had put down his burden, saw this tragic and majestic scene. His mouth trembling with excitement, he whispered to Xiao Lin: "Did you see that? Director Han is a real hero."

  He didn't know why Han Xiao Cheng was still here, hadn't he left with the captain? Han Xiao Cheng hadn't crossed the river, he had to wait for Geng Zi Tang. The captain could only follow him on his own. He saw that the dock was too chaotic and stayed there to maintain order, missing the opportunity to meet with Geng Ying Zhang who was leading Li Bao Chang's group towards Ganzi.

  "Brother Stick, you too." Little Lin said without thinking.

  "Be careful what you say. Look, that traitor who translates for the devils is staring at us, I always thought he was a bit suspicious." Lu Gong glanced sideways at Wang Translator next to Xishan.

  The Japanese devil carrying a chicken came over, gesturing with his hands and shouting. Li Baochang and the others didn't understand him. At this time, Wang Translator walked over and told them to let Lu Gang kill the chicken. Lu Gang shook his head repeatedly, saying he was afraid of seeing blood. Li Baochang said to Wang Translator: "I'll do it." He took Lu Gang and Xiao Lin with him.

  At this time, Xī Dǎo strolled over and saw them, smiling at Lú Gāng and Xiǎo Lín saying: "I thought you guys ran away, turns out you're helping our Imperial Army pick things up, huh?"

  "Report to Lieutenant, these chickens are specially prepared for you." The devil said.

  "No need, give it to the wounded soldiers to eat." Xī Dǎo came to the edge of the basket and took a look inside, then said: "I heard that China's rural cured meat and fish are very authentic and fragrant. Let these Japanese people make them all and have everyone try some. Wang translated, 'Tonight we'll have beef, to reward the brave warriors who fight for the holy war.'"

  Wang nodded and cursed in his heart: "Die after eating!"

  At this time, a little devil squad leader ran over, looking very anxious: "Report to Lieutenant Colonel, we have four soldiers missing."

  "When?"

  "They were missing when we counted just now, don't know when they disappeared."

  "What's going on?"

  "I don't know."

  "Eight Gua." Xī Dǎo's mouth was twisted in anger: "Go find him for me, if he's dead I want to see the corpse, if he's alive I want to see the person."

  From their tone of conversation, Lu Gan subconsciously sensed that the devil had lost something, trying his best to control his tense mood, and Xiao Lin was busy with each other, and it was inevitable that they were drumming in their hearts. Meanwhile, Wang translator heard their conversation, glanced at Lu Gan and followed Xishan back into a tent.

  The squad leader shouted and called on the team members to search everywhere. In front of a house, they saw Autumn Silkworm covered in blood. He was holding a wooden stick, sitting on the ground, facing the Japanese corpse, and hitting it with all his might, muttering to himself: "Lu Dage, Hua Saozi, I will avenge you, avenge you." When the devils surrounded him, he kept charging at them, laughing foolishly, pointing at them, and scolding them as small devils who were not human, but turtles in the river and stinky insects on the ground. The squad leader saw this scene and was so angry that his nose was crooked, not because of Autumn Silkworm's curses, which he couldn't understand since they were in Chinese, but because of the corpse lying on the ground wearing a Japanese military uniform, with blood and flesh blurred together. He went up and stabbed Autumn Silkworm's right shoulder with a bayonet, causing the wooden stick to fall to the ground. Immediately after, some other devils wanted to stab him again, but the squad leader stopped them, wanting to hand Autumn Silkworm over to Xidao for handling. The devils swarmed up and dragged Autumn Silkworm in front of Xidao. Autumn Silkworm's appearance shocked Li Baolong and Lu Gan Xiaolin, who thought he had escaped from the tiger's mouth, but ended up like this, especially with the bloodstains on his body, which left them puzzled, yet they didn't dare to speak out.

  Xī Dǎo listened to the squad leader's report, his face sank, and his eyes stared at the autumn melon on the ground with a fierce light. But when he saw the autumn melon's thin figure, he couldn't believe that the Chinese person in front of him could kill four Japanese imperial soldiers.

  The squad leader said he saw it himself.

  "Was it really you who killed our people alone?" Xī Dǎo drew out his knife and pressed it against Qiū Sī Guā's chest, while Lú Gàng and Xiǎo Lín, who were cooking and cutting meat, became somewhat anxious, but were calmed down by Lǐ Bǎo Cháng's gaze.

  When Wang translated the words of Xi Dao to Qiu Si Gua, he laughed and said: "Yes, that's right, I did it alone. It was really enjoyable, I thought you little devils were really ghosts transformed into humans? But you're just a lump of meat, a rotten lump of flesh that can't even withstand a blow. Let me tell you, don't ask anymore, these four devils were all killed by me. You killed my fellow villagers, burned our houses, how could I not kill you in return? Fine, I was driven out of my hometown of Hua Rong for no reason and brought here, but you still won't let us common people live, so when I fell into your hands, I didn't plan on living anymore. Killing one is enough to make up for it, killing two is a bonus, and killing four is even more profitable! How's that? Hahaha!"

  Xī Dǎo looked at Wang Fānyì, and Wang Fānyì simply told him that the four Japanese people were killed by him, and he admitted it. He also said that he was not a local person, but an escaped prisoner from Huá Róng.

  Lu Gong understood the meaning of Qiu Si Gua, his words were telling them not to recognize him. Li Bao Chang and Xiao Lin also understood, their hearts ached like a knife twisting but had no choice.

  Xī dǎo réng rán bù xìn, wèn qiū sī guā nà xiē bèi shā de shì bīng dōu cáng zài nǎ lǐ le?

  Translation:

  Xi Island still didn't believe it and asked Autumn Silkgourd where the soldiers who were killed were hidden.

  Qiu Si Gua listened to Wang's translated message and then spoke clearly and in detail.

  Qiu Si Gua couldn't bear to tell Lu Gong that his father had died in the oilseed rape field, fearing that upon hearing of his father's death, Lu Gong would become impulsive and their lives would be lost because of his words. To protect them, Qiu Si Gua thought it was necessary to restrain her emotions even more.

  Xi Island listened and immediately went to find it according to what Autumn Silkgourd said, and indeed found it.

  Xī Dǎo looked at the corpses on the ground, his eyes closed tightly in anger, his teeth clenched, revealing a ferocious expression. Suddenly, he raised his left hand and slapped the hilt of the military sword held by his right hand, causing the sharp blade to pierce Qiū Sī Guā's chest. In an instant, blood spurted out, and Qiū Sī Guā died.

  Li Baochang, Lu Gong and Xiao Lin saw the fallen body of Qiu Si Gua, tears streaming down their faces.

  Xī dǎo zǒu le, wáng fānyì lái dào lú gàng tāmen miànqián, qīng shēng de shuō: "zhǎo yīgè dìfang bǎ tā mái le ba. Wǒ xiǎng tā zuì duō zhǐ néng shā yīgè guǐzi, nǐmen cái shì shā guǐzi de rén."

  The three people were shocked by this sentence and felt that Wang was not a bad person. They calmed down slightly in their hearts.

  When the devils were having lunch, they dug a hole in a nearby wasteland and buried the autumn melon. The three of them endured their grief without speaking a word. In Lu Gang's heart, the devils owed too much blood debt, he wanted to retaliate with tooth for tooth. He thought of his father, not knowing his whereabouts, his heart was always entangled, not knowing whether his father was dead or alive, he silently wished that his father was in a safe place.

  After lunch, Commander Xi ordered all troops to conduct another thorough search, including every corner, front and back of houses, vegetable fields, hemp fields, cellars, not letting go of even a single ant.

  A new round of slaughter has begun.

  A group of devils rushed into the cornfield and vegetable field, where a large number of refugees and local villagers were still hiding. The devils stabbed at them with bayonets like wolves, and people cried out to heaven and earth, cursing the devils in a chorus of voices rising and falling. Some who ran fast and escaped far away were also knocked down by the devils' Type 38 rifles.

  A group of devils rushed to the back of the house and found that the entrance to the cellar was just a few hand grenades thrown in, amidst the explosion, the wailing voices of the refugees who were blown up rose one after another. Some people saw the cellar next door being bombed and hurriedly ran out of the hiding cellar, only to be caught by the devils. About twenty people were tied up with ropes under the devils' brutal whips and bayonets, while the women were herded into a house that had not been burned down, where they would be used to satisfy their beastly desires that night. The men were bound together with a rope and then taken to the riverbank, where one devil tied the end of the rope to a motorboat moored by the river. When these people realized what was happening and struggled desperately, it was too late. They were dragged into the water. Instantly, the devils' laughter and the cries of the refugees being dragged into the water echoed across the entire river surface. Before long, the whole group of people were towed in circles on the water by the motorboat until they returned to the shore, where not a single person was left alive after the ropes were untied.

  There was also a group of middle-aged and elderly men who were captured by the devils, one by one tied to trees in the forest by the river for some new soldiers who had just entered China to practice stabbing. It was extremely cruel and made people's hair stand on end. Of course, Lu Gang and his family didn't know that they were arranged to help the devils make dinner in a room. The cow from Lu Gang's house wasn't killed with a knife, but shot dead with a gun. Lu Gang saw it with his own eyes and remembered it in his heart, hating it so much that his teeth itched and his gums crackled.