"Ancestors, show your divine power!"

  Autumn 1941.

  Dongmei and Qin Zhiyong sat together in the cornfield outside the village, she was giggling "heh heh heh". Qin Zhiyong leaned his mouth towards Dongmei's face, Dongmei pushed away Qin Zhiyong's approaching mouth with her hand.

  "Dongmei smiled wryly: 'Zhiyong ge, I haven't even crossed the threshold yet, can't be like this.'"

  "What's there to be afraid of? No one is watching."

  "God is watching."

  Qin Zhiyong: "My dad and your dad have already agreed, after the new year they will let us get married."

  Qin Zhiyong tried to hug Dongmei again, but she pushed him away: "I said no, so it's not going to happen. If you keep making a fuss, I'll leave. My mother also told me to come back early and make rice balls."

  Qin Zhiyong lay down with a huff.

  "Dongmei: 'Good brother, don't be angry anymore, hurry back home, I'm scared.'"

  Qin Zhiyong: "What's there to be afraid of?"

  "Dongmei: 'My dad said the Japanese are almost here. I heard they're really bad, killing people, setting fires, stealing things, and even harming women...'"

  Qin Zhiyong sat up with a flip of his body and held Dongmei in his arms: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

  Dongmei leaned against Qin Zhiyong's shoulder, and from her bosom she took out the mandarin duck pouch she had embroidered herself and held it in front of Qin Zhiyong's eyes.

  Qin Zhiyong snatched the purse and exclaimed: "Is it a gift for me?"

  Dong Mei blushed and nodded slightly, Qin Zhiyong carefully tucked the purse into his bosom.

  "Will the Japanese really come?"

  Qin Zhiyong said carelessly, "Last time the Japanese lost out in Changsha, do they dare to come again? Even if they come, we're not afraid. Whoever comes, us ordinary people still have to farm and eat, get married and have children. In the future, we'll have a big bunch of kids, both boys and girls."

  Dongmei blushed and leaned into Qin Zhiyong's arms: "Giving birth to a child isn't like giving birth to piglets, how can they all come out in a bunch?"

  Qin Zhiyong smiled and was about to lean in towards Dongmei's face again, when Dongmei suddenly sat up straight, looking a bit flustered: "What if the Japanese came at this moment, what would we do?"

  Qin Zhiyong was somewhat disheartened, and he pointed to the Luo Dao River outside the cornfield: "See? If the Japanese really come, I'll carry you on my back and jump into the Luo Dao River, swimming and swimming until we reach the ocean. I've heard the ocean is vast!"

  Dongmei looked at Qin Zhiyong's pretended serious expression and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  At this moment, in Dongmei's courtyard, Dongmei's father and Zhīyǒng's father were each holding a wooden mallet, taking turns pounding the glutinous rice in the stone mortar.

  Dongmei was feeding the chickens and pigs while looking out of the courtyard gate: "Where has this girl run off to?"

  Dongmei's father smiled: "It must be with Zhīyǒng."

  Zhī Yǒng Diē had some worries: "After the New Year, let's hurry up and take care of their matters, who knows when the Japanese will attack."

  Dongmei's father was unconvinced: "The Japanese are also human, if he doesn't make sense, can't we just tolerate it? The Mongols came before, the Manchu people came before, what's the big deal now?"

  Zhīyǒng Diē nodded in agreement at the location.

  Old Winter Plum: "In these years, bandits and government soldiers have come no less often, but we common folk still farm and eat as usual?"

  Zhī Yǒng Diē replied in agreement: "Older brother is right."

  At this time, Zhiyong's daughter rushed into the yard.

  "Dongmei's mother hurriedly went up to greet her: 'Her aunt has arrived.'"

  Zhīyǒng niáng couldn't be bothered to greet Dongmei niáng, and hastily asked Zhīyǒng diē: "Father, where did Zhīyǒng run off to?"

  "What's wrong?"

  Zhi Yong Niang: "I heard from Wu Da Ye that the Central Army suffered a defeat and the Japanese have crossed the Xinwai River!"

  Zhī Yǒng Diē stopped what he was doing: "Then what's to be done?"

  Zhī Yǒng Niáng: "Let's hide our things first."

  Dongmei Niang: "Where to hide?"

  "Mountain village."

  Dongmei hesitated: "But how are we going to take these chickens and pigs away?"

  "They're fighting their own, what's it got to do with us ordinary people? I'm not leaving. There's fighting everywhere, and where can you escape to that's safer than here? The rice is almost ripe, who'd want to leave?"

  Suddenly, several crisp gunshots came from a distance.

  Dongmei's father was also getting anxious, putting down the wooden hammer in his hand: "Why haven't these two kids come back yet!"

  Four people rushed out of the courtyard in a flurry.

  Qin Zhiyong stood on the dirt road outside the cornfield, gazing towards the end of the road.

  In the distance, a group of National Army soldiers who had retreated from the front line were running hastily along the dirt road, among whom there were many wounded soldiers on crutches.

  Qin Zhiyong was so frightened that he quickly hid back in the cornfield, Dongmei rushed into Qin Zhiyong's arms, and the two watched as the defeated soldiers ran past on the dirt road.

  Winter plum: "Is... isn't it the Japanese who have arrived?"

  Qin Zhiyong tried his best to conceal the turmoil in his heart: "Perhaps..."

  "Dongmei's voice was trembling: 'Zhiyong ge, I'm scared.'"

  Qin Zhiyong pretended to be calm: "Don't, don't be afraid, I'm here."

  In front of the ancestral hall in the village.

  Zhī Yǒng Diē Niáng, Dōng Méi Diē Niáng and the villagers watched as the defeated soldiers ran past them.

  Dongmei asked anxiously: "Where have these two kids gone?"

  Four people were frantically searching around and loudly calling out their children's names.

  The clan leader, Old Master Wu, grabbed hold of a wounded soldier leaning on a crutch: "Commander, how far are the Japanese from us now?"

  The wounded soldier broke free from Wu Da Ye's hand: "Speak up! Hurry and escape! Run as far as you can!"

  The wounded soldier finished speaking and hobbled away on his crutch.

  The villagers surrounded Old Man Wu.

  Zhī Yǒng Diē: "Wǔ Dà Yé, what do you think we should do? Should we hide in the mountains?"

  The villagers all quieted down and looked at Old Man Five together.

  The old man glanced at all the men and women, young and old in the village, sighed and said: "It's probably too late..."

  Several more shots were heard outside the village, and the villagers became even more panicked, looking out of the village in all directions.

  Outside the village, on a dirt road, a fleeing soldier threw a rifle with a bayonet into a cornfield by the side of the road. The gun fell right in front of Qin Zhiyong, who picked it up and said with feigned nonchalance: "Hey! Picked up a foreign thing! Maybe I can exchange it for some big ocean shells."

  At this time, several wounded soldiers hobbled and limped over from the dirt road.

  Qin Zhiyong pulled the bolt back and raised it again to take aim.

  At this time, a gunshot suddenly rang out in the distance. Qin Zhiyong hastily threw away the gun in his hand as if he had been scalded, and Dongmei was also frightened and cried out in surprise.

  Several more shots rang out immediately after.

  Bullets whizzed over the villagers' heads, and they trampled each other like frightened sheep, scattering in all directions...

  The old man shouted loudly: "Don't be chaotic! Don't be chaotic!"

  The gunfire is getting closer and closer.

  Several wounded soldiers ran past on the dirt road outside the village.

  A wounded soldier turned his head and shouted loudly: "Devils! The devils are catching up!"

  Dongmei rushed into Qin Zhiyong's arms, trembling with fear.

  The wounded soldiers fled in all directions.

  On the bumpy dirt road, a group of Japanese soldiers with shiny black helmets and bayonets shining with white light gradually appeared on the horizon. The squadron leader, Iwai, rode his horse, pulled out his pistol and shot at the fleeing wounded soldiers. Two wounded soldiers fell to the ground, he then drew his sword, chased after another wounded soldier on horseback, and struck him down with a swing of his blade.

  Other Japanese soldiers also fired at will at the fleeing wounded and defeated soldiers, and many National Army soldiers fell down after being shot.

  Iwai put away his gun and waved his military sword at the soldiers behind him, shouting "Advance!"

  Iwai rushed into the village with his soldiers.

  A Japanese soldier bayoneted a wounded man who was desperately crawling on the ground.

  The wounded soldier who had been stabbed rolled down from the dirt road, all the way to the cornfield, where Qin Zhiyong and Dongmei gazed at him in horror through the gaps between the corn stalks.

  The wounded soldier's mouth was wide open, with blood bubbles bursting out of his mouth, his body twisting and turning, staring at Qin Zhiyong and Dongmei in the cornfield.

  Dongmei let out a cry of surprise, and Qin Zhiyong hastily covered her mouth tightly with his hand. The Japanese soldier seemed to have heard something and looked around suspiciously towards the cornfield.

  Qin Zhiyong and Dongmei crouched in the cornfield, staring with terrified eyes through the gaps between the corn stalks at the approaching Japanese soldiers. The two were so scared that they quickly buried their heads deep down, and the sound of "whooshing" from the Japanese soldiers' big leather boots trampling on the sorghum stalks grew louder and closer to their ears.

  The Japanese soldier walked up to the wounded soldier who was still struggling, and stabbed him twice with his bayonet. The wounded soldier slowly stopped struggling. The Japanese soldier kicked the corpse of the wounded soldier twice, wiped his bloody bayonet on the wounded soldier's clothes, looked around the cornfield for a while, and then chased after his comrades.

  As the sound of Japanese soldiers' footsteps faded away, Qin Zhiyong gently released his hand covering Dongmei's mouth. The two slowly lifted their heads and watched as the Japanese soldier disappeared into the distance, both letting out a sigh of relief.

  At this time, the sound of horseshoes came from afar, and the two men's hearts were lifted to their throats again. They hurriedly looked into the distance, and several Japanese cavalrymen were riding proudly on the dirt road.

  At this time, a small boat was drifting down the river with the current, and the boatman stood on the boat, rowing desperately.

  Several Japanese cavalrymen reined in their horses. Kuroda, riding on horseback, raised his Type 38 rifle and aimed at the boatman, firing a shot that hit him and sent him tumbling into the river. The small boat spun around in the water before drifting downstream.

  "A Japanese soldier flattered: 'General Cao's marksmanship is still the best!'"

  Kuroda stroked his chin stubble and sneered: "You'd better practice well, there will be many live targets."

  Kuroda and several Japanese soldiers continued to gallop towards the village.

  In the cornfield, Qin Zhiyong hugged Dongmei, and the two of them shivered together.

  "Winter plum suddenly pointed in the direction of the village and shouted: "Fire——fire——""

  Qin Zhiyong turned his head to look, and the village was filled with thick smoke and flames shooting into the sky. He couldn't help but be shocked and pale, and he quickly pulled Dongmei out of the cornfield and ran towards the village without caring about anything else.

  In the village, Japanese soldiers holding torches were setting fires everywhere, villagers were fleeing in all directions, chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep were running wildly...

  Zhī Yǒng Diē Niáng and Dōng Méi Diē Niáng cried out their children's names.

  At the village entrance, two Japanese soldiers were chasing a girl. The girl ran and cried out: "Mother! Save me!"

  Qin Zhiyong hastily hugged Dongmei and lay down on a mound of earth.

  Japanese soldiers caught up with the girl, pinned her to the ground and ripped off her clothes while laughing.

  Dongmei Niang heard the girl's cry and thought it was Dongmei, so she rushed up: "Dongmei——"

  A Japanese soldier saw Dongmei pounce on him and stabbed her with his bayonet. Dongmei let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground.

  Dongmei's father rushed over to fight the Japanese soldier, another Japanese soldier shot and stabbed Dongmei's father, who cursed "Bastard" before falling down. The two Japanese soldiers pounced on the girl...

  On the mound, Qin Zhiyong tightly covered Dongmei's mouth, and tears flowed from her eyes...

  In the village, two wounded National Army soldiers who could not escape hid behind a large tree and threw out their last hand grenade, killing several Japanese soldiers who were setting fires. Kuroda and several other Japanese soldiers fired at once, and the two National Army soldiers were hit and sacrificed.

  Iwai gazed at the corpses of Japanese soldiers who had been blown to death, and his face turned red with rage. He pointed at the villagers and ordered Kuroda: "Drive them all into the shrine!"

  "Ah! Lieutenant Commander!"

  Kuroda saw some villagers trembling with fear around the fifth master, so he rushed into the crowd and grabbed the fifth master, pulling him towards the ancestral hall.

  Kuroda shouted at the other villagers in Chinese: "All of you, over here!"

  The clever and brave parents and villagers all followed quietly behind, like sheep being driven into the temple by Japanese soldiers.

  Japanese soldiers closed the gate of the temple. Inside the temple, villagers gathered in front of the main hall in a state of panic.

  The Fifth Master looked up at the ancestral tablet in the main hall, parted the crowd, and rushed to the front of the tablet. With a "thud", he knelt down on the ground, his old tears streaming down: "Ancestors, please show your spirit..."

  The villagers also knelt down behind him, crying and begging: "Ancestor! Quickly show your spirit! Quickly show your spirit......"

  Suddenly, bundles of firewood and burning straw were thrown into the crowd of people kneeling in the temple courtyard, causing the villagers to panic and scatter, with cries and wails filling the temple.

  Japanese soldiers threw torches and burning straw into the temple one after another.

  The cries from inside the shrine made the Japanese soldier, Shōjima, who was holding a torch, hesitate. Kuroda saw this and quickly walked over to snatch the torch from Shōjima's hand and threw it into the shrine.

  The couplet on the gate pillar of the ancestral hall "benevolent, moral, courteous, frugal, yielding, benevolent, righteous, polite, wise and faithful" was burning in the big fire.

  Iwai pointed at the couplet with his military sword, sneering: "This nation of Shina is weak because of these few words, haha!"

  The other soldiers also burst out laughing.

  Inside the temple. Torches and burning straw fell into the crowd, on the roof, the temple caught fire. The villagers shouted and cried...

  The Fifth Grandfather hid behind the ancestral tablet and looked at the tragic scene in front of him, wanting to cry but having no tears.

  Zhī yǒng diē niáng hé yī xiē quán shēn rán zhe dà huǒ de cūn mín bù gòu yí qiè de chōng chū sì táng dà mén.

  Translation:

  The brave father and mother, along with some villagers whose bodies were engulfed in flames, rushed out of the temple gate without regard for their own lives.

  A seven or eight-year-old boy ran out of the temple gate crying and shouting, and Xiao Dao subconsciously took a few steps back with his gun.

  Iwai saw the frantic look on Kojima and scolded: "Kojima! Fire!"

  The little island hesitated and raised his gun, but he didn't pull the trigger for a long time.

  Kuroda walked forward and pushed open the small island, grumbling: "Let your Eastern brother handle the killing."

  Kuroda fired his gun at the little boy and other villagers who rushed out. Other soldiers also opened fire, and the little boy, Zhī Yǒng's parents, and other villagers fell in a pool of blood.

  Kojima looked at Kuroda in surprise, and at that moment, Chiyokichi's father stood up covered in blood and rushed towards Kojima. Kojima involuntarily stepped back, and Kuroda drew his sword and chased after Chiyokichi's father from behind, cutting off his head with one slash. The blood spouting from the neck splattered all over Kojima's face.

  Iwai burst out laughing at Kuroda: "You and that little island guy really grew up together?"

  Kuroda: "He... has been timid since he was a child..."

  Iwai's eyes were fixed on Kojima: "Kojima!"

  Kojima hastily ran up to Iwai and stood at attention, saluting him.

  Iwai took a hand grenade from his belt, pulled out the safety pin, and violently knocked it against the steel helmet of the small island, stuffed it into the small island's hand, and pointed to the burning shrine: "Throw it in!"

  Xiao Dao hastily took over the hand grenade and threw it into the temple, where an explosion and screams immediately followed.

  Iwai nodded in satisfaction.

  The couplet on the gate pillar of the ancestral hall "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith" is burning in the big fire...

  A Japanese soldier's bayonet with a rising sun flag tied to it fluttered in the thick smoke, with four blood-red characters on the flag: "Wu Yun Chang Jiou".

  Rolling thick smoke drifted away into the air...

  Qin Zhiyong and Dongmei lay on the earth slope at the village entrance, witnessing the miserable death of their parents and villagers. The two hugged each other and wailed, crying out for their parents.

  Qin Zhiyong suddenly stopped crying, his eyes blazing with anger. He stood up and ran wildly towards the cornfield.

  Dongmei also stopped crying: "Zhiyong ge..."

  She seemed to have realized something and hurriedly got up to chase after Qin Zhiyong.

  Qin Zhiyong rushed into the cornfield, picked up the gun and ran back. Dongmei, who was chasing closely behind, grabbed Qin Zhiyong around the waist and cried: "Brother Zhiyong, you can't go! They'll kill you too!"

  Qin Zhiyong roared: "Let me go! I'll fight it out with them!"

  Dongmei tried to grab the gun from Qin Zhiyong's hand, and during the struggle, Qin Zhiyong accidentally pulled the trigger. The gun went off, and both of them were startled, standing there in a daze.

  Suddenly, the sound of horseshoes came from the village entrance, and the two of them hurriedly looked towards the village entrance. They saw four Japanese soldiers on horseback riding towards this side, Qin Zhiyong pulled Dongmei to run away.

  In an instant, Kuroda and three Japanese soldiers on horseback caught up with the two. The four horses surrounded Qin Zhiyong and Dongmei, forming a circle around them. Qin Zhiyong held his gun to protect Dongmei, but the dust kicked up by the horses' hooves blinded his eyes, and all he could hear was the mocking laughter of the Japanese soldiers.

  Kuroda dismounted his horse and approached Qin Zhiyong with a Type 38 rifle, while Qin Zhiyong shielded Dongmei behind him and nervously pointed his gun at Kuroda as he drew closer.

  Kuroda made a tactical preparation motion with his bayonet towards Qin Zhiyong, while the other three Japanese soldiers sat on their horses watching with interest.

  Kuroda let out a loud shout and charged at Qin Zhiyong with his bayonet, but Qin Zhiyong quickly used his rifle to block the attack. However, Kuroda suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing Qin Zhiyong to stumble backward, almost falling over. This brought about a burst of laughter from Kuroda and three Japanese soldiers.

  Kuroda took advantage of Qin Zhiyong's momentary loss of balance and quickly knocked the rifle out of his hands. Qin Zhiyong was left flailing about, helpless. Kuroda gestured for Qin Zhiyong to pick up his rifle, but Qin Zhiyong was too humiliated and angry to do so.

  Eventually, he had no choice but to bend down and retrieve his rifle, pointing the bayonet at Kuroda. As he used his rifle to defend against Kuroda, he also used his body to shield Dongmei. When Qin Zhiyong turned his head to glance at Dongmei, Kuroda seized the opportunity to knock the rifle out of his hands once again.

  Kuroda and three Japanese soldiers all burst out laughing.

  Kuroda saw Dongmei hiding behind Qin Zhiyong, he stretched out his thick hand and waved at Dongmei, saying in poor Chinese: "Hey, come here, quickly, he can't protect you."

  Qin Zhiyong pulled up Dongmei's hand and ran away. Hei Tian sneered, calmly raised his gun, took aim and fired.

  A gunshot rang out, and Qin Zhiyong fell to the ground with a bullet wound in his shoulder. His body rolled down the slope of the dirt road into the Luo Dao River, where the other three Japanese soldiers fired their guns at him. A crimson blood gushed up from the river.

  Dongmei knelt on the ground and cried out towards the river: "Zhiyong ge... Zhiyong ge..."

  Three Japanese soldiers urged their horses to approach Dongmei, Dongmei got up and ran wildly, the three Japanese soldiers laughed and used their horses to block Dongmei's way, Dongmei was exhausted and collapsed to the ground.

  Hei Tian hung the Type 38 rifle in his hand on the saddle and walked towards Dong Mei with a loud laugh.

  Dongmei climbed up again and ran towards the river, while the other three Japanese soldiers urged their horses forward, laughing and blocking Dongmei's way. Dongmei collapsed to the ground once more.

  Suddenly, a crisp gunshot, a Japanese soldier riding on horseback fell off the horse. At this moment, in the cornfield, the barrel of a Hanyang-made rifle protruded from the gap between the corn stalks, with wisps of white smoke drifting from the muzzle.

  Kuroda was shocked, he hastily lay down on the ground, looking for the direction of the gunshot. Several rifles protruded from the corn stalks, followed by two more gunshots, and another two Japanese soldiers were shot off their horses. Kuroda picked up his rifle and fired randomly into the cornfield, then jumped onto a horse and ran away.

  In the cornfield, Lu Baochang shouted: "Duanzi! Take him down!"

  Duanzi took the Han Yang rifle and ran out of the cornfield, aiming at Hei Tian's back and firing, but missed Hei Tian. Hei Tian galloped away in a panic. Duanzi looked at Hei Tian's distant figure and sighed regretfully. He ran to Dongmei, who was paralyzed on the ground, picked her up, and was about to run back into the cornfield when a wounded Japanese soldier struggled to get up, raised his gun with one hand, and fired at Duanzi. Duanzi was shot in the leg and fell to the ground, and Dongmei was also thrown to the ground. The Japanese soldier was about to pull the trigger again when Lu Baochang hastily raised his shotgun and killed the dying Japanese soldier.

  Two more people rushed out of the cornfield, one helped Dongmei up and the other carried Shuangzi on his back, quickly running back into the cornfield.

  In the cornfield, Lu Baochang and several team members surrounded him.

  Lu Baochang anxiously asked Duanzi: "Duanzi, how is it?"

  The old man muttered: "I won't die."

  Lu Baochang took a look at Dongmei who had already fainted and said to everyone: "Quickly retreat, the devils will arrive soon."

  This militia of folk anti-Japanese self-defense disappeared quickly into the depths of the cornfield under the cover of night.

  Under the moonlight, a small boat was drifting with the current in the river. Suddenly, a large hand stretched out of the water and grabbed the side of the boat. Then, a dark figure struggled to climb into the boat. The small boat slowly floated downstream, drifting further and further away...