Newborn 1927

The Tie brothers and the others escaped the village, running a long way before stopping to sit down heavily on the ground once they were sure it was safe. All six of them felt like they had narrowly escaped death, a wave of fear washing over them. Tie Dan couldn't help but ask, "Brother, why is there no sound from the west end of the village? Could something have happened to them?" Tie Chui replied, "Logically, that shouldn't be the case. Maybe we should go check the west side! Things aren't going to be peaceful on the east side of the village for now."

The six rested for a while and then detoured to the west side of the village. Before they could even enter, gunfire erupted, and Yan Donglai and his group came running out. They went to meet them. They met up, squatted down, and recounted their experiences. Tiechui said, "We're already few in number; if we split up, we'll be even fewer. If anything happens to us, we won't even have anyone to provide backup. Let's stick together!" Yan Donglai agreed, "We still need to split up, but we can't be one in the east and one in the west. We can have one in front and one behind. The one in front moves, and the one behind provides cover. If the soldiers chase after us, the one behind can provide backup." Tiechui thought for a moment and said, "That works too. You've just fought a bit; now it's our turn to have another fight." Yan Donglai didn't argue, saying, "Alright, go ahead and do your thing. We'll keep watch on your retreat."

Once things calmed down in the village again, the Tie brothers led their men to infiltrate it once more, this time choosing to enter from the nearest western side. There were no more sentries outside the village. Tie Chui quietly approached a courtyard where soldiers lived, while Yan Donglai and Gui Liqiu followed nearby, providing cover. Tie Chui didn't choose to enter through the gate, but instead prepared to scale the wall. The wall was only about a meter high; he had Tie Dan crouch down to form a human ladder for him, while the others stood guard with their guns. As Tie Dan slowly stood up, Tie Chui cautiously peered over the wall, searching for a suitable foothold.

When Tiechui saw the scene in the courtyard, he was taken aback. Several men were crouching against the wall, each holding a gun and intently staring at the gate. One of them seemed to sense the movement, glanced up, and immediately locked eyes with Tiechui. The soldier yelled, turned, took two steps back, and fired a shot at Tiechui. Tiechui reacted quickly, ducking down and leaping off Tiedan's shoulder, landing heavily on his backside. The gunshot rang out, missing its mark, but startling everyone. Tiechui didn't immediately stand up; instead, he pulled a grenade from his waist. He unscrewed the cap, pulled the pin, and seeing the grenade hissing and sparking, threw it into the courtyard without hesitation. Then, Tiechui shouted, "Ambush! Run!" He scrambled to his feet and ran. The others, having heard the gunshot, realized what was happening and quickly followed. The sound of grenades exploding soon came from the courtyard. It was unclear whether anyone was hit.

Before Tiechui and his men had gone far, the courtyard gate opened, and a squad of soldiers rushed out, lining up at the gate and firing at them. Tiechui glanced back and quickly shouted, "Turn around!" He turned and ran into a side alley, some distance from Yan Donglai's rendezvous point, and in the opposite direction. They had just entered the alley when gunfire erupted behind them. Tiechui peeked back and saw about a dozen soldiers chasing after them. The first few pointed their guns at the alley entrance, while the others cocked their rifles as they walked. Tiechui knew that going out now was a death sentence. So he urged his men to move forward quickly. Fortunately, it wasn't a dead end, and they didn't encounter any other soldiers at the other end. When the soldiers reached the alley entrance, Tiechui and his men had just turned and left. The soldiers then split into two groups, one pursuing them relentlessly, the other running alongside.

Soon, the pursuing soldiers arrived near Yan Donglai and his group's hiding place, where the pursuers were already on high alert. As the soldiers approached, the pursuers drew their pistols and opened fire. Two soldiers were hit on the spot, and the others quickly retreated for cover. Not far away, another group of soldiers emerged in pursuit. Knowing they couldn't linger, Yan Donglai quickly called the others to run towards the Tie brothers. Tiechui, while running, tried to catch up with Yan Donglai and his group. Hearing the gunfire, he turned and fired two shots, slowing down the pursuers' pace. The soldiers, outnumbered after splitting up, dared not pursue too closely. By the time the pursuers caught up, Yan Donglai and Tiechui had already reunited and were running towards the edge of the village. The soldiers reached the edge of the village and saw that it was dark outside, with more than ten blurry figures running in the distance. They dared not pursue any further, firing shot after shot at the figures in the distance, venting their anger.

Although the soldiers' bullets didn't hit anyone, the constant whistling past was still quite frightening. Yan Donglai and his men ran a long way before stopping and crouching down to rest, feeling completely safe. Tiechui said, "These soldiers aren't sleeping inside; they're lying in ambush in the yard. They're setting a trap for us. I almost fell for it." Gui Liqiu laughed, "Last time, if it weren't for a little mishap with Lao Yan, we would have all gone inside and slit our own throats. They wouldn't dare sleep then." Tiechui said, "It seems we've thoroughly angered the soldiers. We're afraid things will get tough from here." Yan Donglai interjected, "It's alright. Didn't Brother Yang say he doesn't care about the results, as long as we keep them from sleeping?"

After resting for a while, the group returned to the small mountain village. The village had returned to tranquility, but tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful. This time, Yan Donglai and Gui Liqiu led the operation, with the Tie brothers providing cover. They had just reached the village entrance when a figure emerged from the darkness. Yan Donglai and Gui Liqiu were both startled. Although they couldn't make out the face clearly, they could tell it wasn't a soldier. His thin, hunched figure indicated he was undoubtedly a local villager. Yan Donglai and his companions immediately stopped, cautiously observing their surroundings. The man approached and whispered, "Are you the heroes of Yang'er Mountain?" Yan Donglai didn't answer, but instead asked, "Who are you? What do you want?" The man said, "The officials have just switched houses with the villagers and are no longer living in their original places. Heroes, if you want to fight the soldiers, we can't stop you, but please don't hurt our villagers. We beg you!" He clasped his hands in a gesture of respect as he spoke. Yan Donglai frowned, cursing inwardly, and asked, "Do you know which houses they live in?" The man replied, "I can't tell you, or my whole family will be in trouble." Just then, a gunshot rang out, a bullet hitting nearby, its target unclear. The man jumped in fright and ran. Yan Donglai and the others quickly slipped into the darkness.

Soon, a squad of soldiers rushed out of a house in the distance, each aiming their guns. Yan Donglai couldn't help but curse and quickly told everyone to run. The soldiers gave chase, firing as they ran, but they missed, as the distance was considerable. Yan Donglai and his men quickly passed the hiding place of the Tie brothers. Seeing that there were more than twenty soldiers, Tiechui ordered everyone to hide and not expose themselves. Then, he took out a grenade, gestured for Tiedan to take one, and unscrewed the cap. They had originally been given three grenades, and had already used one, which made him realize that sometimes grenades were more effective than guns.

The soldiers, focused on chasing Yan Donglai and his men, didn't notice the people hiding in the alleyway and ran straight towards them. Tiechui and Tiedan emerged from the shadows and threw grenades at the soldiers. The two tall, strong men threw the grenades ahead of the soldiers. Two explosions followed, and those who ran fast were right in the blast radius. Those behind, even if not hit, were terrified and scrambled to get out of the way. Crucially, they didn't even know where the grenades had come from.

Yan Donglai and the others heard the explosion behind them, but only glanced back before continuing to run. The soldiers were already lagging behind, and this delay widened the gap even further, as they watched helplessly as those ahead disappeared into the night.

After throwing the grenades, Iron Hammer and his men turned and disappeared into the alley, intending to exit through the front. They had walked this path before and knew it led to the right place. When they reached the end of the alley, they glanced out and saw a group of soldiers running towards them. Iron Hammer and his men quickly retreated, thankfully undetected. How familiar this situation was! Only this time, they weren't completely exposed. Iron Hammer knew they couldn't fight the soldiers head-on, so they had to find a place to hide. The alley they were in was surrounded by houses that weren't civilian dwellings, but rather a row of shacks—some used for storing miscellaneous items, some for livestock, and others as outhouses. They quickly discovered an unlocked door; the latch was secured only with a wooden stick to prevent the door from being blown open by the wind. They quickly opened the door and hid inside. There was nothing else inside, just a large, dark object lying horizontally to one side. Even though Iron Hammer and his men were considered brave, they still felt a chill. It was no wonder the house was unlocked; anyone seeing a coffin inside would give way.

Iron Hammer and his companions didn't want to linger and wanted to leave as soon as possible. However, the village was becoming increasingly noisy, filled with shouts and cries. Driven by curiosity, Iron Hammer and his group left the coffin hut and peered into the alleyways. Soldiers were driving away the villagers, most of whom were disheveled, seemingly just out of bed. The soldiers didn't care about appearances; men and women, old and young, were all herded into an open space in the center of the village. Seeing that the soldiers hadn't noticed them, Iron Hammer couldn't resist sneaking over.

A middle-aged man who looked like an officer walked up to the villagers and shouted, "Do you know why I'm kicking you out in the middle of the night? Because some of you are colluding with bandits!" The villagers immediately erupted in chaos, each trying to prove their innocence. The officer roared, "Enough! I don't care who's colluding with bandits or not. From now on, you're all going home, but no men are allowed inside. Don't blame me for being ruthless! The elderly, children, and women can go inside to sleep, but the men have to stand guard outside. Our men will also stay in your homes. Heh heh, if anything happens in any of your homes, causing casualties among us, then that man is colluding with bandits. I'll kill your whole family!" These words terrified the villagers, who hurriedly begged for mercy, some even kneeling down to plead. But it was no use. The officers and soldiers were determined to do it, and they didn't care about the feelings of ordinary people. They assigned soldiers to escort the women, children, and elderly from each family home and then moved in themselves, leaving the adult men outside to guard the houses.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Tiechui, Tiedan, and the others quietly slipped out and ran into Yan Donglai and his group outside the village. They knew Tiechui and his men hadn't left the village yet and had been waiting outside. Tiechui explained the situation in the village, which enraged the villagers, who cursed the soldiers for their lack of morality. Tiechui added, "Things are getting complicated. Some villagers just saved our lives; we can't ignore their fate. But if we don't continue causing trouble, what will we say to Brother Yang?" Yan Donglai looked up at the moon and said, "We've had our turn causing trouble, and now there's a new situation. Why don't we go back?" Everyone agreed and retreated to their temporary camp.

Yang Jiefang hadn't slept. He realized then that commanding battles was incredibly mentally taxing; he wanted to sleep but dared not, for a mistake in command would mean the loss of his brothers-in-arms. After listening to Tiechui and the others' report, he said, "You've considered things very carefully. Regardless of whether the villagers saved our brothers' lives, we cannot harm those innocent civilians. You've worked hard; go and rest! It's our squad's turn next." Yan Donglai and the others said nothing more and went to rest.

Yang Jiefang had Sun Zhiyong and Hou Fei gather everyone together. He first explained the situation in the village to them, then said, "First, we must adhere to one principle: we only attack the soldiers, not the innocent civilians. But if we don't continue causing trouble, it will confirm that the villagers are colluding with bandits. Who knows how the soldiers will deal with these villagers tomorrow? So, I must continue causing trouble, to make the soldiers think we have nothing to do with the villagers." Sun Zhiyong and the others frowned, finding the situation difficult. Yang Jiefang continued, "Next, we will continue to harass the village in small groups. Fire into the air when you see villagers, but don't actually hurt them. Leave at least two groups outside the village to provide backup, in case the soldiers launch a counterattack." Everyone understood and nodded in agreement.

Sun Zhiyong said, "Brother Yang, we already know how to fight, so you don't need to go. Get some rest!" Hou Fei chimed in, "Yeah, we've all had a nap. You haven't slept a wink, how can that be? There's another battle to fight tomorrow, and you'll have to command." Yang Jiefang laughed, "I'll hold on, I'm fine. If I don't go, our group will be short one person, how can that be?" "I'll take your place," Zheng Sandao said, having walked over at some point. "You guys came to rescue us. You fight all day and then fight all night, and I just stand by and watch, it doesn't feel right. Brother Yang, you really should get some sleep, rest up, and then command again tomorrow. Let me fill in and cause some trouble!" Hou Fei immediately agreed, saying, "I think that's a good idea. Brother Zheng is quite skilled, he'll definitely be fine with us." Yang Jiefang thought about it and agreed, letting Sun Zhiyong lead the team. He was indeed tired and lay down on the pile of weeds to sleep.