Chapter 26 Standing Out

  Yu Xin suddenly understood why someone would use Yamada Jiro's filthy thing to worship at Cuīyún An, this Buddhist sacred place. It turns out that Cuīyún An has such a humiliating history. It seems that this person and Yamada Jiro have an irreconcilable feud! He suddenly remembered the couplet on the plaque, took out his notebook, and handed it to Fang Zhengwu, "Old Fang, take a look at what this couplet means!"

  Fang Zhengwu took the book and looked at it, then raised his head in surprise: "How come you and Lu Principal are friends for so many years, but he didn't tell you that 'Mei Xiang Xia Ying' refers to his fiancée Mei Xia; while 'Lan Xing Hui Zhi' refers to his aunt and mother-in-law, Rui Hui?"

  Yu Xin Yuan really didn't know. Although in the "cowshed" and labor reform farm, he and Lu Si Xia talked about everything, even Lu Si Xia's name was changed from "Lu Si Xia" to "Lu Si Xia" because Yu Xin Yuan thought it sounded too feminine. But every time they mentioned family and the past, Lu Si Xia would fall silent and try to avoid the topic. He always thought it was Lu Si Xia's family background and rightist identity that made him unable to find a partner, until today, he finally found out that Lu Si Xia actually had an unmarried wife named Mei Xia!

  I suppose that's a heart-wrenching past that the knight doesn't want to recall? A beautiful yet sorrowful love story? Far from his mind, he thought.

  Fang Zhengwu saw the doubt in Yu Xin Yuan's eyes, and let out a deep sigh. "These past events should be told by Principal Lu himself," he said. "As an outsider, there are many things I shouldn't say... But since Principal Lu asked you to find me, I'll tell you about that humiliating history!"

  As Fang Zhengwu spoke,

  Time and space returned to July 11th, 1938. Leijiang Academy.

  That bloody day, that terrifying square.

  Under the scorching sun, the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

  A sea of people stood silently.

  Inoguchi Jiro had lived in Leigong for several months and knew that the people of Leigong were warm and gentle. He thought that under the bayonets of the Imperial Army, everything would be smooth sailing, but he did not expect to encounter such silent resistance as soon as he took office. If this was allowed to continue, where would the authority of the Great Japanese Imperial Army be? Where would the face of this young military officer be?

  His eyes were bloodshot, and he roared in a hoarse voice: "If no one comes forward to cooperate with the imperial army, then no one will be allowed to leave. Anyone who dares to escape from the scene will be killed without exception!"

  A machine gun stood upright with its muzzle wide open, staring fiercely at the crowd below.

  The bodies of those who were slaughtered still lay exposed in the scorching sun, quickly rotting and emitting an unbearable stench that attracted swarms of flies.

  The sun is high in the sky, and the scorching sun is like a fire. The devils are all hiding under the trees to escape the sweltering heat of summer, some drinking water, others eating their meals.

  The people below had not eaten or drunk, and were already starving. The entire playground was not a bit shaded, the crowd was crowded together, sweating profusely. Younger ones could only use their bodies to shade children and the elderly, many frail elderly and children under the multiple blows of heat, thirst and fright, could not hold on, and fell one after another in the playground.

  The sun is slowly setting in the west.

  More and more people fell down.

  Cries and wails occasionally rose from the crowd. Even several frail elderly people died on the spot under the impact of scorching heat, hunger, thirst and terror!

  Even so, the devils still wouldn't let the elderly, weak, sick and disabled in the crowd return home to rest.

  Even so, the crowd on the playground remained still.

  As descendants of Wang Xiang, the two characters "loyalty and filial piety" have been deeply ingrained in the blood and bones of Leijiang people since childhood, valuing reputation more than their own lives.

  This is a contest of will and perseverance!

  Inukawa Jirō is getting more and more frantic! He gripped his military sword tightly, pacing back and forth restlessly.

  Suddenly, a sharp voice came from the crowd: "I'm willing!"

  This voice was like a thunderclap, startling Rui Xuan so much that she jumped. She turned her head to look and it was actually her own sister, Rui Hui!

  She grasped Rui Hui's hand and said in a low, angry voice: "Rui Hui, you're crazy!"

  Rui Hui was already disheveled and tear-stained: "Sister, this mad dog is the one I took in, I've committed a great wrong! I can't watch as our fellow villagers fall one by one, we have to give the children a future, all the guilt should be borne by me!"

  Rui Xuan couldn't believe that her weak sister could burst out with such great power, but she knew that for a woman like Rui Hui, this journey would be a den of dragons and tigers, where death was preferable to life!

  But this stalemate is not a solution, Rui Xuan knew that once the beasts upstairs were thoroughly enraged, no one could predict what consequences would be produced. Someone had to make a sacrifice! Rui Xuan held back her tears and said, "Sister, I'll take good care of Xia'er!"

  Inugawa Jiro also let out a sigh of relief. Originally, his own promotion had caused jealousy among his colleagues, and if he couldn't even handle the situation as soon as he took office, he would be ridiculed by them and used as an excuse to attack him, and his future prospects might also come to an end.

  When Rui Hui appeared in front of "Haitai Jun", "Haitai Jun" was taken aback: "Is it you?"

  "It's me!" Rui Hui replied weakly.

  Although only one woman came up, it was good that someone was willing to cooperate with him. He carefully sized up the woman in front of him, who had a tired face and disheveled hair, but in Inukawa Jirō's eyes, she had a unique charm. Moreover, he knew that Rui was from a prestigious family in Lei Jiang, and her cooperation would have a strong demonstrative effect.

  "Then, in front of all the villagers, face the sun and bow your head, and declare that you are joining the 'Rai River Pacification Squad'!" Inukawa Jirō sternly ordered this woman who had once kindly taken him in.

  "Alright! I agree. But you have to agree to two conditions of mine as well!" Rui Hui said firmly.

  "Say it!" Inukawa Jirō responded.

  "Firstly, let 'Ci En Tang' collect these bodies and let them rest in peace as soon as possible!" Rui Hui proposed the first condition.

  "Alright!" Inukawa Jirō agreed in one breath. These corpses, for him, were also a kind of torture!

  "Then let these villagers go home!" Rui Hui added a second condition.

  "That must wait until you take the oath and formally join the 'Xuanfu Class'!" Inukawa Jirou's reply left no room for compromise.

  Ruihui turned her back to the citizens of the entire city, facing the blood-red paste flag under the setting sun, and slightly bowed her head. With a trembling voice, she said: "I, Wang Ruihui, volunteer to join the Pacification Team."

  Inukawa Jiro waved his hand and the devils around him sheathed their bayonets and retreated back to their units.

  A few exhausted old men came forward, gathered up the scattered limbs and bodies, lifted the corpses, and silently walked towards the cemetery outside the city.

  People who had not eaten or drunk anything, extremely frightened, supporting the elderly and carrying the young, in a low, sobbing voice, in the heavy dusk, slowly walked towards their respective homes.

  Rui Hui stood still, unmoving, letting the evening wind blow her disheveled hair, seeing off the villagers as they left, with tears all over her face, like a sculpture in the twilight.

  Inokawa Jirō secretly gazed at his former master, whose face was filled with despair and exhaustion, yet couldn't conceal her elegant demeanor; the tears on her face had a certain "pear blossom in the rain" charm.

  Inukawa Jirō leered with a lustful smile.