I used the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to fight the Japanese.

Meanwhile, in that unnamed cave, Hu Zi and Man Xiang had returned. The Japanese soldiers had been lured away by them, and now everyone could finally catch their breath and rest for a while.

"Uncle Cang! Do you know where this is? You'd never guess!" Tiger said, gulping down a can of food in a few bites.

"Huh? Where?" Mancang was also very curious. He had been so focused on escaping and occasionally firing a couple of shots to attract the Japanese soldiers that he hadn't paid any attention to where he had ended up. Now that Mancang was saying this, he must have discovered something!

"Iron mine! Shaojialing Iron Mine! Just now, in an open area outside, I saw a railway track leading deep into the valley not far away. It's the railway for the iron mine!" Hu Zi said excitedly.

They escaped from this iron mine more than three months ago, and now, after all this time, they've ended up back near it. After fighting the Japanese and robbing traitors, they've finally found a foothold in Tianma Village. It's quite a story!

"I heard the iron mine reopened later..." Mancang murmured softly.

"Yes! Not long after we came out, the Japanese arrested a lot more people and they're still mining! It's a pity for those who were arrested; it's really uncertain whether they'll come out alive..." Tiger felt a surge of relief when he mentioned this. If they hadn't succeeded in starting the uprising with Master Cang, they don't know how long they would have had to stay in the mine!

"Do you think if we lure those Japanese soldiers to the iron mine, they'll start fighting?" Mancang didn't have time for sentimentality; they were currently surrounded by Japanese soldiers and had to escape for their lives!

"Huh? This works?...They're our own people!..." Tiger stared wide-eyed at Mancang in disbelief. This idea was too audacious!

"It definitely won't work during the day, but it might be different at night!" The more Mancang thought about it, the more he felt it was feasible, and this idea wouldn't leave his mind!

"Huh?...Cangwa, isn't this too dangerous?"

"That's right! If things go wrong, we'll be like rats caught in a bellows, suffering from both sides!"

"We don't have enough people..."

The men tensed up when they heard that this man had such a bold idea. They had already taken a risk by harassing the Japanese and drawing them away from Huluzui all morning; was it too far-fetched to expect them to fight amongst themselves?

"Everyone, take a break and calm down before we talk again!" Mancang said, seeing everyone's concern. There are definitely risks, but it's not like it's completely impossible to trade!

……

Mancang and his men rested in the cave, while the Japanese soldiers grew increasingly agitated in the mountains. Nagano Yokosuke led his men in pursuit for a considerable distance, only to discover they had lost them! Even worse, they hadn't been bombed for over two hours! In other words, they had been led around the mountain by the nose the whole time!

"Baka yarou! Stop right there!" Nagano Yoko was furious. First, Sato Toyohiro was killed, and then he was led around in the deep mountains for most of the day! When did a bunch of lowly people become so powerful?

"Reporting to Lieutenant Colonel, we have searched the surrounding area but found no trace of the enemy. Shall we continue the pursuit?" the soldier inquired.

"..." Nagano Yoko was filled with regret. The other party must have had some ulterior motive in trying to lure them away!

Oh no! It's that flour! The other side must have gone to great lengths to lure them into the deep mountains to avoid revealing its location! That means the flour is still inside the gourd!

It's all that damned Sato Toyohiro's fault! It was his misleading guidance that led me astray! With the war at hand, everything must give way to the war effort; that flour must not fall into the hands of the lowly people! Finding the flour and sending it to the front lines as quickly as possible is the most important thing right now!

"Go back! Back to Huluzui! Hurry!" These old Japanese devils broke out in a cold sweat after realizing this! Hopefully, it's not too late!

"Huh?...Yes, sir!" Although the soldier didn't understand, he didn't dare to say anything more when he saw the other party's angry face, and quickly agreed to pass on the order.

After a half-day chase, they were already quite far from Huluzui, and it would probably be midnight before they could get back. They could only hope it wasn't too late!

……

The Japanese soldiers, suddenly realizing their mistake, returned to the vicinity of the cave where Mancang and the others were hiding. It was already evening, and in their haste to continue their journey, they naturally wouldn't stop to rest. They hurriedly passed through the area and continued towards Huluzui.

By this time, the six brothers in the cave had slept soundly all afternoon and eaten several cans of food, regaining their previous vigor and energy.

"Uncle Cang! The Japanese are back! Judging from their hurried manner, they must have discovered our purpose!" Tiger, who was on duty at the cave entrance, understood that the Japanese had come back by intelligence and were in a hurry to go back and find the lost flour!

"What do we do? We don't even know if Da Zhao and the others have finished transferring the flour!" Manxiang asked.

"That's hard to say! So many things have to be moved over mountains and valleys. Even if we ask the villagers for help, we might not be able to move them all," Qingshui said worriedly.

“What I’m most worried about is that if the Japanese soldiers follow the flour that has fallen along the way to find the village, that would be terrible!…” Qingquan said.

"what?……"

Upon hearing Qingquan's words, everyone felt a pang of anxiety. The village was their last refuge; if the Japanese devils targeted it, the villagers would be homeless!

"Attack! Lure the Japanese to the iron mine! It doesn't matter whether we succeed or not, as long as they don't discover the village, it's worth the risk!" Mancang said in a deep voice.

"Great! It was worth it for the sake of the village!"

"Yes! For the village!"

The group had some reservations before, but now that they heard the Japanese might follow the clues to find the village, they were all unsettled!

"Alright! Check the weapons and prepare for battle! We'll have to put in a lot more effort to get the Japanese to turn back this time!" Man Cang said in a deep voice.

"No problem! None of the brothers are afraid to die!" Tiger replied.

"It's not that bad. We'll do this later..." Mancang had been thinking about this all afternoon, and now he shared his thoughts.

……

By this time, Nagano Yoko and his men had already passed through the area where the cave was located and were rushing towards Huluzui'er. The Japanese soldiers, who had spent the whole day in pursuit, were also exhausted and took out canned food to eat as they walked.

Just then, the familiar explosion sounded again from behind!

"boom!"

"boom!"

The Japanese soldiers who were eating quickly dropped their cans of food and raised their guns in alert!

"Baka! It's them again! Fire mortars back!" Nagano Yokoki hated these lowly Chinese bastards. He was already preparing to return, so why were they still nagging him? Did they really think the Imperial Japanese Army was made of clay?!

"Boom boom boom!"

The sound of the cannon rang out and the entire mountain trembled!

But after the artillery fire, neither side made any further moves. The Japanese were trying to confirm whether the other side would continue to harass them, because getting back to Huluzui to retrieve the flour was the most important thing right now!