Bright Sword: This unit is really ruthless

"Why?" Mieko asked tremblingly.

Zhang Ling did not answer. He slowly retracted the dagger, turned and walked towards the fire of the explosion.

"Wait!" Mieko called him, "Where... where are you going?"

"Go back to my battlefield." Zhang Ling replied without turning his head, "Our war is not over yet."

Mieko stood there in a daze, watching Zhang Ling gradually disappear into the night. She didn't understand why this man would let her go, why he would choose to return to that dangerous battlefield.

Zhang Ling returned to the unit, only to find that the unit had been relocated. He became an isolated soldier, trapped in the enemy-occupied area. He walked aimlessly, hunger and fatigue constantly eroding his will.

Just when he was about to despair, he saw a dilapidated temple. He walked in and found an old monk living inside. The old monk took him in and gave him food and shelter.

Zhang Ling lived in the temple, helping the old monk with odd jobs every day and learning some Buddhist teachings from him. His originally irritable temper gradually calmed down, and the hatred in his heart gradually dissipated.

However, the gears of fate did not stop turning. One day, a group of Japanese soldiers came to the temple, searched the temple, and found Zhang Ling.

The leader was Ichiro Fujita.

"I didn't expect you to hide here." Ichiro Fujita looked at Zhang Ling with a cruel smile on his face. "It's really like searching for something without any effort, but now it's found without any effort."

Zhang Ling looked at Fujita Ichiro, his heart was calm. He had let go of his hatred, but he would not surrender.

"What do you want to do?" Zhang Ling asked calmly.

"What?" Fujita Ichiro laughed, "Of course I'm going to kill you and avenge my soldiers!"

"Come on then." Zhang Ling said lightly, he closed his eyes, as if he was ready to die.

At this moment, a figure suddenly rushed out and stood in front of Zhang Ling.

It’s Mieko.

"Father! Don't!" Mieko cried, "He...he is no longer an enemy!"

Ichiro Fujita was stunned. He looked at his daughter and didn't understand why she wanted to protect an Eighth Route Army soldier.

"Mieko, are you crazy?" Fujita Ichiro roared, "He is our enemy!"

"No! He is no longer an enemy!" Mieko insisted, "He has let go of his hatred, he has changed!"

Ichiro Fujita looked at his daughter's determined eyes and began to waver. He looked at Zhang Ling with doubts in his eyes.

"Have you...really changed?"

Zhang Ling slowly opened his eyes and looked at Ichiro Fujita with calmness in his eyes.

"Yes," he said calmly, "I have let go of my hatred."

The air suddenly froze, and everyone's eyes were focused on Zhang Ling. At this moment, there was a commotion outside the temple...

Zhang Ling stared at Mieko. The appearance of this island woman cast a fog over his originally clear revenge plan. Mieko had a pair of clear eyes like a mountain stream, which was completely different from the ferocious island devils in his impression. She shrank, her eyes full of fear, but with a hint of stubbornness that was not easily detected.

"Are you...the Eighth Route Army?" Mieko asked in not very fluent Chinese, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.

Zhang Ling did not answer, but held the dagger tightly in his hand. He could have killed her with one blow, just like he killed other islanders, cleanly and neatly. But for some reason, he hesitated.

“Don’t kill me…” Mieko seemed to sense Zhang Ling’s murderous intent and suddenly knelt on the ground, her frail body trembling slightly. “Please… I don’t want to stay in the barracks… I just want to go home…”

Her tears rolled down like beads from a broken string, and appeared particularly crystal clear under the light of the fire.

Zhang Ling was upset. He hated such weak crying, which reminded him of his family members who died tragically. But he couldn't stab with the dagger in his hand.

"Get up." Zhang Ling spat out two words coldly, but there was less murderous intent in his tone.

Mieko raised her head cautiously and looked at Zhang Ling with doubtful eyes.

"Take me to the barracks." Zhang Ling ordered.

Mieko was stunned for a moment, as if she couldn't believe her ears, "What?"

"I said, take me to the barracks!" Zhang Ling raised his tone and repeated impatiently.

Mieko bit her lip and finally nodded. She stood up tremblingly and walked towards the barracks with Zhang Ling.

The two of them were silent along the way. Zhang Ling was vigilantly observing the surrounding environment, and he never put down the dagger in his hand. Mieko lowered her head and followed Zhang Ling silently, secretly glancing at him from time to time.

Inside the barracks, the Japanese soldiers were in a panic because of the explosion of the arsenal. Zhang Ling used Mieko's identity to successfully avoid several patrols.

"Where is this place?" Zhang Ling asked, pointing to a heavily guarded building in front.

"That's... the general's office." Mieko replied in a low voice.

Zhang Ling's mind moved, and he suddenly had a bold idea. If he could capture the Japanese general, perhaps he could obtain more intelligence, and even use it as a bargaining chip to exchange for more Huaxia prisoners.

"Take me in." Zhang Ling said.

Mieko's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief, "No! It's too dangerous there!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhang Ling grabbed Mieko's arm and dragged her to the door of the general's office.

"Stop! Who are you?" the guard at the door shouted sternly.

Mieko was so scared that she was shaking all over and clutched Zhang Ling's sleeve tightly.

Zhang Ling took a deep breath and said in fluent Japanese: "I am a friend of Miss Mieko, and I have something important to discuss with the general."

The guard looked Zhang Ling up and down and asked suspiciously, "Where is your ID?"

Zhang Ling secretly thought that this was not good, as he did not forge the documents.

At this critical moment, Mieko suddenly said: "He is my friend, I guarantee that there is no problem with him!"

The guard hesitated for a moment, but finally let him pass.

Zhang Ling and Mieko entered the general's office.

In the office, a short and fat Japanese general with a fleshy face was sitting at his desk, looking at a document.

"Mieko? Why are you back?" The general raised his head and saw Mieko, with a hint of surprise on his face.

"Father, I have something important to tell you." Mieko said.

"What's the matter?" asked the general.

Mieko glanced at Zhang Ling, then took a deep breath and said, "Father, I have decided. I want to join the Eighth Route Army!"

The general stood up suddenly, the fat on his face trembling violently, "What did you say?!"

Zhang Ling took advantage of the opportunity and stabbed the general's throat with the dagger in his hand like lightning.

"Pfft!"

Blood gushed out, and the general stared at Zhang Ling and Mieko in disbelief. He never thought that he would die at the hands of his own daughter and an Eighth Route Army soldier.

Zhang Ling pulled out the dagger, looked coldly at the general's body, then turned to Mieko and said, "Let's go."

Mieko stood there in a daze, looking at the corpse on the ground, her eyes filled with fear and confusion.

"What are you still standing there for?" Zhang Ling urged impatiently, "Do you want to stay here and wait for death?"

Mieko finally came to her senses and quickly followed Zhang Ling's footsteps.

The two men left the general's office and ran out of the barracks.

However, just as they were about to escape from the barracks, they found that the gate of the barracks had been surrounded by Japanese soldiers...

Zhang Ling was stunned. He had never thought that he would meet an island woman in such a situation and in such a place. Mieko was equally surprised. She recognized the Eighth Route Army uniform on Zhang Ling. Fear flashed in her eyes, but she did not scream. She just bit her lower lip tightly and her body trembled slightly.

The night wind blew, picking up a few fallen leaves, which swirled between the two of them. This strange tranquility was broken by Zhang Ling.

"Who are you?" he asked in a cold tone, the dagger still tightly held in his hand.

Mieko did not answer, but just looked at him with a complicated look. In that look, there was fear, curiosity, and a hint of something that was hard to describe.

Zhang Ling frowned. He hated this look. It reminded him of the women in his hometown who were raped by the Japanese army. He raised the dagger and put it against Mieko's neck. "Tell me! Who are you? Why are you here?"

Mieko shuddered as the cold blade touched her skin. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said in a trembling voice: "My name is Mieko, I am..."

"I know you are the daughter of an officer on the island." Zhang Ling interrupted her, "Let me ask you, why are you here?"

Mieko opened her eyes and looked at Zhang Ling, with a hint of surprise in her eyes, "You...how did you know?"

Zhang Ling sneered, "Not only do I know who you are, I also know why you want to escape. You are tired of the war, and you want to go home, right?"

Mieko was silent. Zhang Ling's words touched her sore spot. She grew up in a military camp and was exposed to the cruelty of war. She witnessed too much death and destruction, and her heart was filled with fear and disgust.

"Do you want to live?" Zhang Ling suddenly asked.

Mieko was stunned for a moment, then nodded sharply.

"Then follow me." Zhang Ling retracted the dagger, turned around and walked into the darkness.

Mieko hesitated for a moment, but finally followed.

The two men walked in silence all the way through the woods, over the hillside, and towards the Eighth Route Army's base.

Along the way, Mieko secretly observed Zhang Ling and found that although this man looked cold and ruthless, he actually had a kind heart.

He would help her up when she was about to fall, give her water when she was thirsty, and comfort her when she was scared.

Mieko began to have a strange feeling towards Zhang Ling, which confused and scared her.

……

A few days later, Zhang Ling took Mieko back to the Eighth Route Army base.

Mieko's appearance caused a sensation, and the soldiers talked about her. Some said she was a spy, some said she was a deserter, and some said she was Zhang Ling's trophy.

Zhang Ling ignored the rumors. He arranged Mieko in a safe place and then went to report the situation to the team leader.

After listening to Zhang Ling's report, the team leader fell into deep thought.

"What are you going to do with her?" asked the captain.

Zhang Ling thought for a moment and said, "I want to send her back to the island."

The head of the regiment shook his head and said, "No, this is a war, we can't let the tiger go back to the mountains."

"Then..." Zhang Ling hesitated, "Then lock her up?"

The leader shook his head again, "No way, locking her up will only increase our burden."

"What should we do then?" Zhang Ling was somewhat helpless.

The head of the regiment hesitated for a moment and said, "How about this, let her stay in the base and let her work for us."