Vanguards of the War of Resistance! Let's travel back in time together, classmates!

023 Blood Debts Must Be Amortized

On the ruins of Songshutun, Shangguan Yun and his companions looked around and saw a scene of utter devastation. The small village, with only a few dozen households and about two hundred people, had been almost entirely wiped out, with corpses everywhere and the air thick with the smoke of gunpowder.

Sister Zhu's eyes were red as she hid behind Brother Ban. Min Wenqian clenched his fists tightly, his eyes blazing with anger. Zhang Zhenfei was wailing while holding a corpse, and then ran to the side to pick up another corpse and shake it frantically.

Old Wang staggered as he leaned against the wall, then tilted his head back and spat out a mouthful of blood, his gray hair seemingly turning snow-white in an instant.

Aunt Wang fainted immediately. Brother Ban quickly ran over, carried her on his back, and placed her against a low wall. Zhu Yanping also came over to help.

Shangguan Yun's expression was solemn. He suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "This matter was caused by the four of us. We are sorry to everyone..."

As he spoke, he bowed deeply to the ground. "However, I, Shangguan Yun, hereby swear that as long as we have a breath left, we will make the enemy pay for their blood debt with blood and exchange their lives for lives..."

"Blood for blood, life for life..." the crowd roared in unison.

As they talked, the group gathered together, and Shangguan Yun said, "Uncle Wang, I wonder what your plans are for the future, Dafei, what about you...?"

Old Wang sighed, wiped his eyes, and said, "My second son does some small business in the county town, so I don't need to keep my tea stall open anymore. I'll just go to town to find him."

My daughter has been missing ever since she went to visit relatives in Haicheng last month. I wonder if something bad happened to her... Sigh...

You can go to Songjia Village on Longnan Mountain. The old village chief, Song Baichuan, is an old friend of mine. If you mention my name, he will definitely make proper arrangements for you...

Zhang Zhenfei said, "I need to bury them first. They are all my fellow villagers, and I can't let them lie exposed in the wilderness... What about you?"

Shangguan Yun glanced at the others, nodded, and said in a deep voice, "I want to go into the mountains, become a bandit, lead a team, and fight the Japanese..."

Just then, two people came running from a distance, crying as they ran, "Brother Dafei... Waaah... You're finally back, waaah... My dad, my mom... my sister are all dead... waaah..."

Uncle Wang sighed, "That boy's name is Liu Yong. His sister is Xiao Fei's fiancée. They were planning to get married in December, but alas... who knew..."

Zhang Zhenfei stared blankly. "Xiao Yong, stop talking... First, come with me to bury our fellow villagers. Xiao Wei, come and help." A boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, the same age as Liu Yong, named Gao Wei, was standing next to him.

The group of friends often went hunting in the mountains together. Last night, they caught a wild boar, and two of them stayed near the trap all night without returning. They unexpectedly escaped a disaster.

Shangguan Yun and others also helped. Sister Zhu vomited several times, unable to bear the cruel scene, and packed things up with Aunt Wang.

By the afternoon, almost everyone in the village had finished their burials. In the rush, the graves were hastily covered, and soon many new graves appeared on the fields and hillsides behind the village. Many of them were nameless because they had been burned beyond recognition.

As evening fell, everyone went their separate ways. Old Man Wang and his wife went directly to Zhuanghe County, while Zhang Zhenfei and the other two, after much deliberation, decided to follow Shangguan Yun into the mountains. Thus, the group of seven packed up and headed straight for the boundary bridge to the east.

Fifteen li to the east lies the boundary bridge. The group of seven strode forward, casting seven long shadows across the mountain path...

Two miles from the boundary bridge, there is a small pavilion on the south side of the road, called 'Shibali Pavilion', which is a famous scenic spot in the ancient Zhuanghe County.

Because of its high vantage point, expansive view, and beautiful scenery, it used to attract many tourists, but now it is a desolate place.

The reason is simple: in these chaotic times of war, who has the mind to travel and have fun?

Therefore, the only way to cross Nanping Mountain and reach Songjiazhai is through Jieqiao, which is guarded by Japanese soldiers. The rest of the way is through high mountains and dangerous roads, with wild beasts roaming the forests. There are no roads, and it would take several days to get to Songjiazhai.

It was getting late, so the group had no choice but to camp there and set off the next morning.

Fortunately, there is an ancient temple behind the Shibaliping Pavilion called Dayun Temple, which can be used for camping.

The temple buildings were all burned down at the end of the Qing Dynasty, leaving only ruins and a desolate scene.

The group chose a spacious and clean ruin of a main hall, tidied it up a bit, and set it up as a temporary camp.

Upon hearing about Shangguan Yun's achievements the day before, the three Zhang brothers' eyes lit up and their spirits lifted, no longer showing any signs of their previous dejection.

After eating some simple dry rations, everyone lay down on the ground to rest.

Shangguan Yun made an excuse to go out for a stroll and returned in the middle of the night with several weapons, saying that he had hidden them nearby the day before.

Everyone was excited, but Min Wenqian knew the truth and was secretly alarmed.

Shangguan Yun provided these people with basic weaponry: each of the three brothers had a pistol, three magazines, and three grenades.

Ban Ge and the others all had pistols. Shangguan Yun gave them some bullets and a few grenades. Even Sister Zhu has now been forced to become a soldier.

Everyone now has weapons and a certain level of firepower, but that's still a conservative estimate.

Because Shangguan Yun couldn't distribute the light and heavy machine guns to everyone; those things were too heavy and unsuitable for a desperate escape...

The young men fiddled with their weapons for a while, then went to sleep. Only Shangguan Yun remained with his eyes closed, meditating and contemplating what would happen tomorrow.

He knew that there must be Japanese checkpoints on the other side of the border bridge, and that after the commotion these past two days, the number of troops guarding it would definitely increase.

Therefore, meticulous planning and thorough preparation are essential to ensure everything goes smoothly...

Looking out over the vast sky, the stars are everywhere.

In turbulent times, the fireworks faded away;

The moon waxes and wanes, sometimes visible, sometimes hidden;

So-called relatives and friends, now scattered across the world;

How can I bear this? Tonight, the chill is unbearable! (From "The Sorrow of Parting")

A fleeting dream in a gentle land, a silent night;

Frost-covered flowers, white as snow; longing for you, three thousand thoughts.

Their love was as gentle and tender as water.

If we embrace now, the beautiful night will be too short;

Holding hands with your face is harder than climbing to heaven!

Springtime Lament

Shangguan Yun had a wonderful spring dream: a beauty in his arms, tender and sweet feelings, until the moment of passion...

"Shangguan...Shangguan, wake up..."

Suddenly, a bucket of cold water was poured over his head, and Shangguan Yun was filled with resentment...

"Li Deban, you son of a bitch, it's barely dawn, what are you yelling about...?"

"Uh, hehe... Sorry to disturb your sweet dreams, Shangguan..."

As he spoke, he glanced around furtively and whispered, "I found a beautiful woman in the pavilion below..."

Shangguan Yun was exasperated, thinking to himself, "Damn it, you've ruined all my beautiful girls."

"Alright, alright, as for how beautiful it is... go down and investigate, then come back and report..."

"Yes, sir... hehe..." Brother Ban scurried out.