Chapter 33 "I Love Japan; I Hate Japan!"

  Inside the barracks, snores filled the air.

  Zhou Guangren slept between Old Yang and Old Cao, the two men's snores rising and falling, Zhou Guangren tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. He sat up in annoyance, sinking into deep thought, with Liu Xiaoxi's voice echoing in his ears: "Big Brother Zhou, does your wound still hurt?"

  Zhou Guangren muttered in his heart: "Xiao Xi, what are you doing? Are you asleep? I don't know if I can see you again."

  At this time, in the guerrilla camp, the guerrillas were singing around the bonfire:

  “……

  We are all gods of guns, each bullet eliminating an enemy.

  We are all flying troops, no matter how high the mountain is and how deep the water is.

  In the dense forest, everywhere is arranged with comrades' campsites

  On that high mountain ridge, there are our countless good brothers.

  No food, no clothes, and yet enemies are delivered right to our doorstep.

  No guns, no cannons, the enemy will provide them for us.

  We grew up here, every inch of land is our own.

  No matter who wants to take it by force, we will fight him to the end!

  ……”

  Liu Xiaoxi sat beside the bonfire, poking at the flames with a branch, looking thoughtful.

  "Hey, Comrade Liu Xiaoxi, our favorite singer, what's wrong with you today? Why aren't you singing? Got something on your mind?" said Captain Guo jokingly.

  Liu Xiaoxi smiled awkwardly and said seriously: "Captain Guo, you said that after the war of resistance is won, will we fight with them?"

  "Who are they?" asked Captain Guo.

  Liu Xiaoxi: "Qin Pai Zhang, Zhou Dage and them."

  "Right, the War of Resistance against Japan has been won, but the civil war may be about to start. This is what I worry about most - brothers killing each other!"

  Liu Xiaoxi gazed at the bonfire, lost in deep thought...

  Zhou Guangren, feeling depressed, lay down on the bed and walked out of the camp, seeing Zhang Tie sitting alone under a tree in the distance, staring at the bright moon in the sky with a thoughtful expression.

  Zhou Guangren walked over to Shuazi's side and sat down, asking: "Shuazi, can't you sleep either?"

  "Ha ha, yeah, can't sleep."

  Zhou Guangren: "Is she thinking of my wife Dongmei?"

  "Right, who else can I think of."

  "When are you leaving?"

  "Let's leave as soon as it gets light."

  Zhou Guangren: "Dingzi Ge, you say loving someone, what's it all about?"

  "It doesn't matter where you are or how far apart you are, she misses you and thinks of you; and you also miss her and think of her."

  "What a wonderful feeling!"

  "Wait until you fall in love with someone, then you'll have this feeling."

  "He muttered to himself: 'I don't know if this counts as love.'"

  "If you truly love someone, even if it means dying for her, you'll be willing."

  Zhou Guangren nodded silently and sighed: "It's really a matter of life and death!"

  Dongmei sat alone in the courtyard, staring blankly at the bright moon in the sky.

  Changshan Niang gazed out at Dongmei in the courtyard through the window and sighed: "Dongmei, that child, is thinking of Zhuangzi again."

  Changshan's daughter-in-law said with a sarcastic tone: "Who knows who she is thinking of?"

  Changshan Niang: "How can you say that?"

  Changshan's daughter-in-law: "If she hadn't brought that Qin fellow home, Changshan wouldn't have died..."

  Changshan's daughter-in-law said, crying again: "Ever since the Japanese came, Changshan has changed. He doesn't care about farm work anymore and thinks of ways to get more reward money from the Japanese every day. This is also his fate."

  Changshan's daughter-in-law stopped crying and said discontentedly, "Mother, Changshan is no longer here, why are you still talking about him like that? Isn't he doing this because he's afraid of bringing trouble to our family? Who doesn't live for themselves?"

  The next morning, Dongmei quietly walked out of the yard with a bundle, and Changshan's daughter-in-law watched her back through the window. She held Taiping and ran out of the house to the gate, seeing Dongmei walking towards the village entrance.

  At this time, Zhangshan's wife came out of the house and looked at Zhangshan's daughter-in-law: "What are you looking at?"

  "Nothing... nothing at all."

  Changshan's daughter-in-law handed Taiping over to Changshan's wife and hastily walked away.

  Changshan Niang: "Where are you going?"

  "Ah... it's Seventh Aunt looking for me, I'll go visit her for a bit."

  Changshan's daughter-in-law hastily walked out of the courtyard.

  Dongmei walked to the entrance of the cave, looked back cautiously, and then walked into the cave. She didn't know that Zhangshan's wife was quietly following behind her.

  Changshan's daughter-in-law hid behind the trees, saw Dongmei enter the cave, and then quietly took a few more steps forward, seeing Dongmei squatting in the dimly lit cave, using a cloth strip to bandage a man's wound.

  Japanese army outpost, Iwai squad headquarters.

  Kuroda reported to Iwai: "……This time in the Changsha battle, the morale of the soldiers in the unit was low, some people secretly kept enemy flyers, some spread anti-war speeches, and some were afraid of death. The problem with the supplementary soldiers is even more serious."

  Iwai was also worried: "What you said, I didn't know, did I? The quality of the soldiers is much worse than before. Not only are the supplementary soldiers a problem, but some of the old soldiers are also just going through the motions. From now on, any soldier who has problems will be severely punished and locked up first!"

  Kuroda: "Yes."

  Kuroda was about to bow and leave when Iwai suddenly remembered: "Hasn't Oshima been found yet?"

  Kuroda shook his head, and Iwai narrowed his eyes, staring at Kuroda: "Did he run away?"

  Kuroda's face changed: "Run away!"

  Iwai: "Right! Did Kojima become a deserter?"

  Kuroda panicked: "No---no---it's impossible, Kojima would never run away, maybe he slipped and fell down the mountain, or maybe he got lost."

  Iwai: "I've heard he often spreads anti-war sentiments among soldiers, you wouldn't know about that?"

  "He—He—" Kuroda grew more and more flustered:

  Iwai smiled slightly: "I know your friendship with Kojima, but according to military law, deserters are sentenced to death, and their families will not receive consolation from the state, you know that?"

  Kuroda nodded: "I know."

  Iwai thought for a moment and said, "Let's report it as missing first."

  Kuroda couldn't help but be moved to tears: "Yes!"

  Kuroda Kōtarō stepped out, his mind heavy as he walked out of the barracks. A soldier came running to report: "Report! There's a Chinese woman who wants to see the captain."

  Kuroda: "Where?"

  The soldier pointed outside the stronghold, and Kuroda looked over to see Nagayama's wife standing at the gate of the stronghold, gazing anxiously in this direction.

  Hei Tian walked towards Zhangshan's daughter-in-law.

  In the squad room, Iwai stood in front of the window and looked out through it. Nagayama's wife was standing in front of Kuroda, pointing at a distant mountain and saying something to him. Kuroda turned around and rushed back to the squad room...

  The sun rises from the east, and the rays of light shine obliquely on the stone wall of the cave. Xiaoguo is leaning against the stone wall eating a bun, and Dongmei is sitting beside him.

  The little island pointed in the direction of the rising sun and said to Dongmei with infinite nostalgia: "Over there, my home."

  "You... miss home?"

  "Think of my mother."

  Dongmei nodded, indicating she understood.

  Xiao Dao: "Your father and mother - what do you think?"

  Dongmei's eyes reddened, she lowered her head, after a while, she raised her head and said sorrowfully: "They're all dead! They were all killed by your imperial army!"

  The little island was stunned for a moment, slowly understanding, and sadly lowered its head.

  "Dongmei's voice trembled: 'All the villagers were burned to death in the ancestral hall...'"

  Xiao Dao raised his head and looked at Dong Mei in horror: "The ancestral hall... is on fire..."

  A scene appeared before Xiao Dao's eyes: the ancestral hall of He Dong Village was burning in a big fire. Iwai took out a hand grenade, pulled out the safety pin, and knocked it heavily on Xiao Dao's helmet, handing it to him... Xiao Dao received the hand grenade, panicked and threw it into the ancestral hall, and immediately there were explosion sounds and screams coming from inside...

  Xiao Dao suddenly knelt down in front of Dong Mei and burst into tears.

  Dongmei pulled up Xiao Dao: "What's wrong with you? What's going on?"

  Kojima muttered in Japanese: "I did it! I'm the one who did it!"

  Dongmei: "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

  Xiao Dao raised his head, grasped Dong Mei's hand and sobbed uncontrollably.

  At this moment, Zhangzi was hurrying along the mountain path to Auntie's house when he seemed to hear a noise and hastily hid behind an earth mound by the side of the road.

  Iwai and Kuroda walked along the path with Japanese soldiers, Nagayama's wife leading the way in front. Tsubaki peeked out from behind a mound of earth, saw Nagayama's wife walking ahead, and couldn't help but be filled with doubts.

  After the Japanese troops had passed by, Zhang Tie slipped out from behind the earth mound and quietly followed them.

  In the cave, Xiaodao looked at Dongmei and said word by word: "The Imperial Army killed many Chinese people, sister, you saved me, why?"

  "You're different from them."

  The little island laughed nervously: "It's different - haha - it's different -"

  "It's different," said Dongmei very seriously.

  Xiao Dao calmed down, knelt down and bowed respectfully to Dong Mei: "Thank you!"

  He turned around, facing outside the cave, gazing far into the east with tears in his eyes: "I... love Japan; I... hate Japan!"

  Changshan's daughter-in-law led the Japanese soldiers to a thicket of trees outside the cave, pointing out the entrance to Iwai. Iwai waved his hand at the soldiers behind him, and they all crouched down, hiding in the thicket.

  Iwai drew his pistol, pulled the bolt back, and Nagayama's wife saw it, suddenly became afraid, Iwai gestured to her with the pistol, indicating that she should leave. Nagayama's wife was so scared that she ran quickly, not far from where she encountered Tsukamoto who had been following her.

  Dongzi blocked Zhangshan's daughter-in-law. Zhangshan's daughter-in-law was startled: "Dong---Dongzi!"

  "Big Brother's wife, where are you going?"

  "Me—I—haven't gone anywhere—"

  "Stop deceiving me, I've seen it all! Where did you take the devil?"

  Changshan's daughter-in-law became even more tense: "It was... it was Tai Jun who discovered it... it has nothing to do with me..."

  "Guizi: 'What did the devils discover?'"

  Changshan's daughter-in-law: "It was Dongmei - it was her own fault for being promiscuous - with your company commander..."

  Zhuāngzi was shocked and grabbed Zhangshan's wife's arm: "Dongmei? What's wrong with Dongmei?"

  In the cave, Dong Mei picked up her bundle and said to Xiao Dao: "Sister, let's go."

  Little Island: "Sister, when are you coming again?"

  Winter plum smiled: "I'll come back when it's dark."

  Xiao Dao reluctantly watched Dong Mei walk out of the cave.

  Dongmei walked out of the cave and headed down the mountain, when she suddenly discovered Japanese soldiers hiding in the bushes with their black helmets and shiny bayonets, and was shocked.

  Dongmei turned around and ran towards the mountain cave, shouting as she ran: "Run quickly! Run quickly!"

  Xiao Dao heard the shout and was startled, hurriedly running to the entrance of the cave, seeing Dong Mei rushing towards the entrance, in the distance, a thicket of trees, Iwai was aiming his gun.

  "Get down! Get down quickly!"

  Dongmei ran to the entrance of the cave, and suddenly a gunshot rang out. Dongmei was hit by a bullet and fell to the ground.

  Iwai slowly lowered his handgun.

  Duanzi heard the gunshot, his face suddenly changed, he violently pushed open Changshan's wife, and ran forward like a madman. Changshan's wife hesitated for a moment, also closely followed behind him.

  Xiao Dao ran out of the cave and rushed towards Dong Mei, crying and shouting: "Sister——"

  Kojima picked up Dongmei and burst into tears. Iwai and Kuroda rushed to the front of the cave with soldiers, recognized Kojima, and were all shocked.

  Kuroda hugged Kojima tightly and exclaimed in surprise: "It's Kojima! Kojima! You're still alive!"

  Kojima lifted his head and glared at Kuroda, who was shocked: "Kojima, it's me, I'm Kuroda! What's wrong with you? You... are you lost? Tell me quickly! Are you lost? That's right, you must be!"

  Duanzi and Zhang Shans wife crouched behind a mound of earth, slowly poking their heads out to gaze in the direction of the cave.

  Kuroda was still shouting at Kojima: "Kojima, speak up! Are you lost? Speak!"

  Kojima suddenly pushed away Kuroda, stood up, turned around and ran. Iwai, who had been getting impatient for some time, couldn't help but get furious: "Bastard! Catch him!"

  Several soldiers rushed up to grab Xiao Dao, pinning him to the ground. Xiao Dao struggled and cursed loudly in Chinese: "Jap...ese... devils! Jap...ese... devils! Jap...ese... devils!"

  Changshan's daughter-in-law recognized the little island and exclaimed in surprise: "It's him..."

  Several Japanese soldiers tied up Xiaodao with ropes. Xiaodao struggled and rushed towards Dongmei, who was lying at the entrance of the cave, crying out: "Sister——"

  Duanzi and Zhangshan's daughter-in-law also saw Dongmei lying at the entrance of the cave. Duanzi exclaimed: "Dongmei——"

  Duanzi wanted to rush up, but was tightly held back by Zhang Shan's wife, who begged bitterly: "Brother, you can't go, if you go, you'll lose your life!"

  Duanzi raised his fist and roared at Zhangshan's wife: "Let go!"

  Changshan's daughter-in-law cried: "Brother, even if you beat me to death, I won't let go. I've already wronged Dongmei, and I don't want to harm you again!"

  The bricklayer slowly lowered his fist.

  Iwai walked into the cave and saw half a rice ball on the ground. He looked at Dongmei lying outside the entrance of the cave, very puzzled.

  Duanzi and Zhangshan's daughter-in-law watched as the Japanese soldiers took Xiaodao away, walking down the mountain until they disappeared into the distance. Duanzi then ran towards the cave entrance, with Zhangshan's daughter-in-law close behind him.

  Dongzi ran to the entrance of the cave, picked up Dongmei and cried out: "Dongmei——Dongmei——"

  Changshan's daughter-in-law stood stupidly on one side, her face full of regret.

  Dongmei slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at Zhuizi: "Zhiyong ge..."

  Dongmei's head tilted to one side, her eyes gradually dimming, staring blankly into the distance.

  The little boy cried as he helped her close her eyes.

  Qin Zhiyong sat under a big tree outside the camp, holding the mandarin duck pouch that Dongmei had given him. He suddenly stood up, as if he felt something, gazing into the distance, silently muttering to himself: "Dongmei, are you doing well? Still can't forget you..."

  Zhou Guangren rushed over in a flurry, and Qin Zhiyong hastily stuffed the purse into his pocket.

  Zhou Guangren panted and said: "Paichang, you quickly go take a look at Old Huang!"

  "What's wrong?"

  Zhou Guangren dragged Qin Zhiyong away: "Don't ask anymore, someone will be killed soon!"

  "What's going on?"

  Zhou Guangren pulled Qin Zhiyong and said while walking: "In the past few days, Old Huang has been absent-minded, always holding a knife and making random gestures."

  Qin Zhiyong and Zhou Guangren hastily walked towards the barracks together.

  In the barracks, Old Yang and Old Cao sat upright on the edge of the bed board, looking at Huang Xintian with a somewhat drunken expression.

  Huang Xintian held a shiny hunting knife in his hand, pointing and gesturing as he spoke to the two men: "...... Old Yang, Old Cao, what do you think of me, old Huang?"

  Lao Yang and Lao Cao looked at each other blankly, unsure of how to respond.

  "Speak up! Say what you think! You two usually have a lot to say, why are you mute now? What's the truth about me, Old Huang? Tell me quickly!"

  Huang Xintian said, wielding his knife in front of the two of them again. Old Yang hastily nodded repeatedly: "Good! Very good! Very good!"

  Old Cao also nodded repeatedly, looking at Old Yang: "Great! Great! People - great!"

  Old Yang looked at Old Cao: "Good man! Good man."

  Old Cao echoed: "Good man!"

  "Good man?"

  Old Yang and Old Cao chimed in unison: "Good guy!"

  Huang Xintian suddenly grabbed the small clay Buddha from the Buddhist altar and slammed it to the ground, shattering it into pieces. Old Yang and Old Cao were both startled and trembled with fear.

  Old Huang roared: "From now on, I, Old Huang, will no longer be a good person! I want to be a bad person! A bad person!"

  Old Yang and Old Cao hastily chimed in: "Being a bad person is good, being a bad person is good, let's be bad people."

  Huang Xintian's knife flashed before their eyes, and the two of them were so frightened that they kept retreating backwards.

  Old Yang said in a soft and gentle voice: "Old Huang, Old Huang brother, be careful with this knife, move it back a bit, easy to accidentally hurt someone, hehe."

  "Was it an accident? Yes, an accident. Old Yang, should I kill that devil?"

  Old Yang: "Kill them! Of course kill them! All devils should be killed!"

  Huang Xintian: "He saved that child, I killed him, it was me who killed him, but this has nothing to do with me!"

  Old Yang and Old Cao chimed in unison: "Not your fault, not your fault."

  Huang Xintian picked up Old Yang's wine gourd from the table and took several big gulps, making Old Yang wince in pain.

  Huang Xintian threw the wine gourd onto the bed, Old Yang hurriedly picked it up and shook it. At this time, Qin Zhiyong and Zhou Guangren walked into the camp, both standing there staring at Huang Xintian.

  Huang Xintian continued to shout frantically: "From now on, old Huang will never make any more mistakes! All Japanese devils should die! They all deserve to die!"

  Old Yang and Old Cao exclaimed in unison: "Despicable! They all deserve to die!"

  Huang Xintian: "I want to catch them all, tie each of them to a tree, and cut their flesh one knife at a time! One knife at a time!"

  Huang Xintian's knife flashed back and forth in front of the two, Old Yang changed the subject: "Old Huang, you...you said that all things have spirits, is...what's going on? I...I forgot again."

  Old Cao begged Old Yang: "Shut up quickly, why are you bringing up this pot and that pot!"

  Huang Xintian walked towards Old Yang with a knife in hand: "What did you say? Say it again."

  Old Yang knew he had misspoken and stuttered: "Ol-ol Huang, Xin-xin Tian brothers, c-calm down..."

  Huang Xintian: "All things have spirits? Yes! All things have spirits! Everything has spirits! But those damn Japanese devils don't count! Don't count!"

  Old Cao nodded in agreement: "Right! Doesn't count, doesn't count!"

  Old Yang nodded in agreement: "It shouldn't count, it definitely doesn't count!"

  "Look! Look at this empty dormitory! So many brothers, so many good brothers haven't come back!" Suddenly seeing Qin Zhiyong standing beside him, "Squad leader, it's just us few left."

  Everyone silently cast their eyes on the empty bed...