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

Nagano Yokosei's counterattack was incredibly sharp! The sparks from the bullets ripped through the night sky like sharp blades, making it seem as if a meteor shower was falling on this area—anyone who touched it would die, and anyone who was hit would be injured!

The counterattack from the other side was equally swift and fierce. In an instant, gunfire erupted and bullets rained down from all sides! The two sides fought like two ancient ferocious beasts, each move a deadly strike, until death did not end the battle!

Seeing this, the six men from Mancang knew that the matter had been resolved, and quietly withdrew from the battlefield, retreating towards Yangjiazhuang.

That's right, the Japanese soldiers on both sides started fighting! From beginning to end, Mancang and his six men only launched one attack on each side! Then they withdrew and watched the performance from afar!

The person in charge of the iron mine was Nagano Yokoo. Ever since Mankura and the others escaped, he had been personally overseeing the iron mine and frequently came to inspect and guide its operations. However, since he was busy managing the affairs of the entire prefecture, after the iron mine became more established, he appointed Sato Nagako to manage all affairs of the iron mine, and he would regularly and irregularly check on and provide guidance.

That evening, Sato Nagako naturally noticed the gunfire near the iron mine and immediately ordered his soldiers to be on high alert, ready to strike at any moment. Since the last incident at the iron mine, the number of guards had doubled. To prepare for the impending crisis, Sato Nagako ordered all soldiers to be on high alert after dinner, ready to respond immediately to any threat to the iron mine!

They waited for several hours, and just when they thought the enemy's battle would not affect the iron mine, two grenades exploded in the iron mine's courtyard, causing several houses to collapse and leaving the courtyard in a mess.

That wasn't all. Immediately afterward, gunfire erupted, and several men from the ore pile charged and attacked the iron mine, seemingly intent on taking it over!

This was outrageous! Sato Nagako gave the order, and the entire army was to launch an attack, determined to cut down the invading enemy! And so the pursuit began!

Immediately afterward, as they chased the enemy out of the iron mine and searched the railway, intense gunfire erupted from the other side! They realized that the enemy had come prepared and was determined to take over the iron mine in one fell swoop!

Without a word, they started fighting! It was just a night battle, and the Imperial Japanese Army had never been afraid of anyone!

Thus, a fierce battle ensued, with both sides disregarding everything else and focusing solely on defeating the other!

The battle lasted for over half an hour before Nagano Yokoo realized something was wrong and fell into deep thought. The enemy only had nineteen men; how could they have unleashed such a fierce attack? Upon closer listening, he realized they were all equipped with Imperial Army gear and immediately ordered a ceasefire!

"Sato Nagato, is that you? What are you doing?" As soon as the fighting stopped, the other side also quieted down, and Nagano Yokosuke shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I am Sato Nagako! Who are you? Password!" Sato Nagako was puzzled when he heard the other party ask him in Japanese. Did the other party know him? That shouldn't be the case! He was just a lowly lieutenant. Even if he was in charge of the iron mine, it shouldn't be enough for the Chinese to take him so seriously!

"Baka! I am Nagano Yokosei!" Nagano Yokosei was furious when he heard that the other party was one of his own. It turned out that his own people had been fighting here for so long!

"Lieutenant Colonel? Password!" The other party clearly didn't believe him. They were fighting so fiercely just now, and you're just saying it now?

"Baka! On Mount Fuji, report back!" As the person in charge of the iron mine, he naturally knew the password and had no choice but to say it.

"Hey! Under the cherry blossom tree! Lieutenant Colonel, is that really you?" Sato Nagako was filled with mixed emotions. It turned out he'd ended up fighting with a Lieutenant Colonel! Why was a Lieutenant Colonel attacking the iron mine? Were you testing our defenses?

"Clap clap clap!"

His response was a series of slaps! Without a word, Nagano Yokosuke walked over and started slapping Sato Nagako until his mouth bled.

After some explanation, both sides realized they had been tricked and quickly organized a search for the rats. Unfortunately, they had already escaped!

……

"Hahaha, that's great! Those bastards and donkeys are fighting! What do you think their expressions will be when they realize what's going on?" Mangui laughed loudly.

"That's Bao Gong's face! This trick of luring wolves to drive away tigers is truly ingenious!"

"Beat them! I'll only feel better if I beat those damn bastards to death! This day has exhausted me, I just want to find a place to get a good night's sleep!"

"It's probably not possible now! Da Zhao and the others should be searching for us all over the mountains. Let's hurry back along the mountain path and make sure they don't run into the Japanese!" Man Cang said.

"Alright! Still can't sit still! Let's go!"

"Tiger, get the whistling going! They're definitely bringing dogs with them for the big move!"

"Dele!"

The group trekked through the mountains in the dark, occasionally letting out a loud whistle. When they met Da Zhao and his group, the first light of dawn was breaking. Before full daylight, they returned to the village and collapsed into bed, sleeping soundly until the sun was high in the sky!

……

In the ancient county town of Guya, Zhang Jingya and Zhou Xingge ate pancakes at a breakfast stall. They had been there for several days, inquiring about the whereabouts of the chest full of goods, but to no avail. They had learned about quite a few villages, but none of them were openly fighting against the Japanese!

"This is really strange! According to the letter, they should be heroes admired by everyone! Why has no one ever heard of such a person?" Zhou Xingge wondered.

"Heroes? Those two enthusiastic bystanders? You overestimate them! They might just be putting on an act, don't take them seriously! I suggest we just go back to Yudu and settle down, it's no good to keep drifting around like this!" Zhang Jingya said dismissively.

"No way! We're already here, wouldn't it be a waste of money if we didn't figure this out? With all our savings, we'd be living off our parents back in Yudu, wouldn't we? You're already in your late twenties, how can you bear to spend your parents' money?" Zhou Xingge advised.

“What can we do? We can’t find anyone and we’re almost out of money…” Zhang Jingya’s face was full of melancholy.

……

"Have you heard? The Japanese are in trouble again! I heard their rations being transported to the front lines have been intercepted! Many Japanese soldiers have died! Yesterday, so many Japanese soldiers left the city just to capture people!"

A few people gathered at the stall and started chatting about what had happened in the past two days.

"Good riddance! That's all grain that the people worked so hard to grow, how could it be given to the Japanese devils? Do you know who stole it?"

"How would we know? If you ask me, these guys are real men! So many Japanese soldiers were escorting grain, and they were all wiped out! It's so satisfying to hear about!"

"It's satisfying, but alerting the Japanese is going to be a huge blow for them! Haven't you seen how many Japanese soldiers went out yesterday and still haven't returned!"

"That's true! We mustn't let the Japanese capture them. It's not easy for such a group of heroes to emerge; we can't let the Japanese take advantage of them!"

"They definitely won't catch them! Knowing the Japanese way of doing things, if they were going to catch someone, they would have come back long ago! They'd probably parade them through the streets in a big way!"