Chapter Nineteen: The Master and Disciple Meet Again

  Xiao Liu Zi took a look at the familiar scenery on the shore and had the boat docked.

  Xiao Liu Zi said that after landing, they would only need to walk a few more miles to reach the New Fourth Army's location. Upon hearing this, everyone became excited. Xiao Ke pulled Lu Gang's hand and jumped up, Lu Gang felt embarrassed but didn't shake off Xiao Ke's hand, letting her pull him along, as these people all knew about Xiao Ke and his relationship with Lu Gang. Little Lin saw them like this and shouted happily, running to the side of Shan Lao Hu and Hou Zi who were sleeping together with their heads tilted, and kicked at them with his foot: "Quickly take a look! Gang Ge and Xiao Ke are holding hands!" Shan Lao Hu immediately woke up from his sleep, rubbing his sleepy eyes and saying: "What's all the commotion about? I still want to sleep for a while."

  The river wind blew, blowing up Xiao Ke's hair, her face was red, and her heart was pounding. Once the girl's heart is open, as long as the person she loves is by her side, she feels like there's nothing to worry about. She tightly held Lu Zhuo's hand, feeling happy all over.

  The young man on the boat, under Xiao Lin's lead, was making a ruckus, Xiao Lin went to separate their hands, Xiao Ke felt it and let go of Lu Zhuang's hand wanting to hit Xiao Lin, but Xiao Lin laughed and jumped onto the shore before the boat even stopped.

  The mountain tiger asked Xiao Liu Zi: "Don't you want the boat anymore?"

  Xiao Liu Zi: "Are you carrying it on your back or dragging it? You have to be able to carry and drag, all these guns and bullets are for you to carry."

  "What a pity." Jiang Ya Zi muttered. Xiao Liu Zi said, "It's okay, just wait for a while and call a few soldiers to pull the boat into the woods to hide it. There are many boats in the woods. By nightfall, some fishing boats will be placed there."

  The monkey ran silently onto the ship and searched around, everyone didn't know what he was looking for. After a while, they saw him carrying out a pile of Japanese clothes from the cabin.

  Lu Gan said to the monkey, "You're not bad, you still remember these things." The monkey responded with pride, "Of course, if I didn't know them, others wouldn't call me a monkey. Take these things, we don't have clothes on us, when we get to the New Fourth Army, we'll wear these."

  "That old man will beat you like a ghost every day. He sees you once and beats you once." The mountain tiger was about to slap the monkey's back of the head again, but this time the monkey dodged quickly and ran away.

  Chatting and laughing, walking and stopping along the way, after eating the enemy's canned food at noon, they walked for more than half a day. Along the way, they complained about Little Liu not even knowing the route, saying it was only a few miles away. How many miles is this "few" miles? Xiao Lin asked Little Liu, and he just said "almost there, almost there", follow me. The monkey saw that climbing the mountain was a bit difficult for the tiger, and said: "Third Grandpa, do you want me to carry you?" The tiger agreed, but just as he was about to get on, the monkey ran away. How could he carry him? He himself was still carrying the enemy's military uniform.

  The boys burst out laughing. The mountain tiger said, "Monkey, stand still for me and watch how I'll deal with you."

  Dusk has arrived. The sun in the west slowly sets behind them into the river, with the distant water being dyed red by the sunset, like rippling blood.

  "Halt." A loud shout startled the group of people and they stopped in their tracks.

  A young man in a gray cloth robe jumped out from the grass beside them, his gun trained on them: "Put down your guns."

  "Hey, hey, I don't even recognize you anymore? Put down the gun, Zhang Shun." Little Liuzi yelled at the man.

  "Ah, it's you." The man put down his gun: "With this getup of yours, all black and dark, the lighting is poor, how could I have recognized it was you?"

  "Hurry up and call someone to pick us up, I'm almost out of energy." said Xiao Liu Zi.

  "Long queue, got rich, either guns or people, are they doing human trafficking business or arms business?" Zhang Shun joked with Xiaoliuzi.

  Xiao Liu Zi: "Are you looking for a beating? I'm not here to control you, are you getting too big for your britches? Zhang Shun, be more honest in the future, got it? They're all heroes who fought against the devils. You say, how many devils have you beaten? All you know is to talk smoothly every day. Let me tell you, they're now part of the New Fourth Army, and you need to show them respect."

  "They're still wet behind the ears. Look at this girl's face, so pale and tender, she can join the New Fourth Army? I think it's better for her to be a landlord's concubine and live a life of luxury." Zhang Shun started bragging again.

  This finally enraged Lu Gong, who rushed up and pinned Zhang Shun to the ground with a few swift moves. All that was left of Zhang Shun was his cries for "Little Liu". Little Liu ignored him and said to Lu Gong, "You can do whatever you want, I didn't see anything. You guys didn't see it either, did you?" After finishing speaking, he led the group forward, while Xiao Ke stayed behind with Lu Gong. Lu Gong quickly disassembled his rifle and threw it in front of Zhang Shun, then pulled Xiao Ke to catch up with Little Liu. When Little Liu saw a soldier walking towards them, he knew it was time for the shift change. He turned around and shouted at Zhang Shun, "Zhang Shun, shift change! Hurry back and run, tell Old Yang we're back!"

  Zhang Shun responded with a "yes", handed over his post and rushed forward past them.

  Xiao Liu Zi looked at his back and said to Lu Gong: "Don't blame him, he's just a smooth talker, but his heart is actually honest. He's also from Hunan, Changde, grew up by the Li River, seems like he has an extraordinary talent for water, people say he's Zhang Shun, the White Eel of the Three Kingdoms."

  "Is it strong enough to compare with my brother's?" said Kobayashi.

  "Kobayashi, what's with you always coming up with something?" Lu Gong said.

  "I don't believe he can surpass you." Little Lin said discontentedly.

  "How did you know I can beat him?" Lu Gang asked Xiao Lin in a low voice: "You haven't even tried, let me tell you Xiao Lin, be more careful with your words in the future."

  Kobayashi fell silent. The monkey chimed in, "Gunner brother, when are we going to challenge him?" The mountain tiger following behind heard the monkey's words and slapped the back of his head with a "slap", saying: "Get out of the way, which general goes out first? Jiang Xiazi, aren't you good at swimming? You try his patience one day, then tell our master if Zhang Shun is really a useless waste."

  Jiang Erzi agreed.

  Lu Gong thought that Shan Laohu was quite wise, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He had thought that Shan Laohu was just a martial artist, but he didn't expect him to say something so wise. Lu Gong laughed and asked Shan Laohu: "Are these your words? Did you think of them yourself?" Shan Laohu couldn't understand what Lu Gong meant: "Master, did I say something wrong?"

  "That's right, well said." Xiao Ke jumped in and spoke on behalf of Lu Gong: "Gongzi, isn't that so?"

  Lu Gang looked at Xiao Ke and said: "It is, but it isn't. It's right, but it's not." Leaving Xiao Ke bewildered, unsure of what he meant.

  The monkey said, "No way! You can't decide, my master has the final say. My Third Master is intelligent and brave, not a reckless person. Third Master, isn't that right?"

  "Get out of the way, I'm talking to my master. What are you butting in for?" The mountain tiger wanted to hit the monkey's back of the head again, and the monkey ran away with his military uniform, saying: "From now on, you're not allowed to hit my back of the head, only Xiao Jie is allowed to." This time, Xiao Ke got angry, she chased after the monkey, who tripped and fell to the ground. Xiao Ke didn't go to hit him, but instead pulled him up from the ground and took some of his military uniform. She asked the monkey what Lu Gang had said earlier meant. The monkey told her that Master is really formidable, he gave face to San Ye, he won't let Jiang Paozi go, believe it or not, my master will take action himself. Xiao Ke didn't believe him, and the monkey said "You don't believe it, fine, I do."

  These people all laughed happily. Kobayashi said to Lu Gang, "Gang brother, look at Xiao Ke, he's so good, he knows how to help the monkey carry clothes, I can't carry it anymore, can you help me carry two?"

  Lu Gong's body also had several guns, preparing to receive them. At that time, Xiaoliu heard and hurriedly took a gun from Xiaolin's hand and put it on his shoulder. He also had some on him. Bozhidao wanted to help Shan Laohu, but Shan Laohu didn't allow it, saying that Bozhidao himself wasn't lacking in things either.

  The sky has fallen, and darkness is gradually closing in around me.

  At this time, a dozen or so shadows ran out of the hazy night sky. They were all New Fourth Army soldiers who came to pick up Xiaoliuzi and the others. The leader was Zhang Shun. The boat was lifted into the forest.

  They arrived at the destination. When Xiaoliuzi shouted loudly "Old Yang, Old Yang", two people came out of the house. The tall and thin one in front had a belt tied around his waist, making him look particularly slender, looking like he couldn't withstand the wind. He was several years older than Lu Gang and the others, looking mature and capable. The other one was Nian Gan Shi, with a round face, high cheekbones, wide nose bridge, squinting eyes, and short and chubby body. Xiaolin whispered to Lu Gang, "Can such people be part of the New Fourth Army? I'm afraid they can't even carry a gun." Lu Gang told him not to speak nonsense.

  "Where's Old Yang?" Little Liuzi was about to enter. Zhou Zidan said that Old Yang wasn't there, he had gone to his hometown and would be back soon. He asked Little Liuzi why he came back today and what was the matter with bringing so many people?

  Xiao Ke listened and said, "We are here to join the New Fourth Army."

  "We're here looking for Teacher Yang." Lu Gong said with a smile.

  They all vied with each other in speaking.

  At the noisy moment, a voice came from behind: "Today Langge has so many people, where is it so noisy? Zidan, are you arguing with these folks again? They took you as a traitor again. Hahaha."

  "No, it's Xiaoliu who has come back." Zhou Zidan walked down from under the eaves.

  Lu Gang and Xiao Lin heard a familiar voice, turned around to take a look, and it was indeed their beloved teacher Yang. They shouted "Teacher Yang!" Teacher Yang was also taken aback, really hadn't expected to see the two of them here.

  Lu Gang and Xiao Lin's tears welled up in their eyes at the same time. Teacher Yang saw this and jokingly said with a smile: "What's going on here? I don't need to cry either, haha. Are you guys acting like men?" He didn't know why Lu Gang and the others were crying, nor did he know about the tragic event that had occurred after he left Nanzhou. After finishing speaking, he looked at one person then another, and upon seeing Xiao Ke, he called over Xiaoliu and asked what was going on. Xiaoliu said: "I'm starving, I'll slowly report to you after I eat my fill, it's not clear for the time being." Old Yang heard this and said: "I don't have time to accompany you today, I want to chat with these two kids for a bit." He then asked Xiao Ke: "Are you really here to join the New Fourth Army?" Xiao Ke nodded at him. Old Yang didn't say anything else, turned around and told Ni Jiaomin: "Tell the kitchen to kill that chicken and improve our food a bit. It's been a long time since I've seen my students, let's comfort them."

  Ni Gan Shi was about to leave when Zhou Zidan stopped him and asked him to wait. He pulled Old Yang aside and said, "This won't do, that chicken was bought for Shunzi to eat, she's not feeling well and needs nourishment. Hey, Old Yang, where's the commissar? Didn't he come back with you?"

  "She left, there are some women comrades' affairs to deal with, I'll be back tomorrow after finishing the business. Zidan, don't bother, hurry up and go, these kids must be hungry." Old Yang said softly to Zhou Zidan.

  The monkey heard that there was chicken to eat and was delighted: "Third Master, there's chicken to eat. When eating chicken, you should be a bit more civilized, with so many people and only one chicken." Just as the mountain tiger was about to hit him on the back of the head, the monkey had already run far away, causing the people around to burst out laughing.

  Old Yang asked Lu Gong: "Are these all your friends?" Lu Gong then introduced each of them to Teacher Yang. When introducing Xiao Ke, the monkey chimed in: "She's Brother Gong's girlfriend." This really hit a sore spot for Mountain Old Tiger. Lu Gong looked at Teacher Yang and said: "He just likes to talk nonsense."

  Mr. Yang didn't say anything, he just looked at them and laughed meaningfully for a long time.

  After dinner, the sky completely darkened, and the insects in the surrounding wilderness chirped endlessly. A gentle rural breeze blew in, adding a hint of chill.

  Under the oil lamp, Lu Gang said with tears that this time the devils had swept through their village, killing many people. His mother was killed by the devils, his father and sister were missing. Xiao Lin's father was also beaten to death by the devils, and Duan Principal, Duan Qingman, and Huang Teacher were all murdered by the devils.

  Mr. Yang listened with gritted teeth, his eyes flashing with indignation, while Xiao Lin beside him was on the verge of tears, sobbing as he added a few words, saying that the leader of the devils was a man named Xishan. Mr. Yang heard this and slammed his fist on the table: "That beastly Xishan has finally come, blood debts must be repaid with blood."