The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 490 Lies (Two Chapters Combined)

After climbing a section of the ancient Great Wall, Hu Biao first took a look at the surrounding environment.

Then he raised his wrist and glanced at the recent time; he found that without realizing it, it was already a little past three in the afternoon.

This represents their group, who set off from the birch forest below that cliff.

After only a few short rests, it took another eight hours to walk.

Now only 23 people remain in the column. How far have they traveled? Where are they now? Have they completely shaken off the Japanese soldiers behind them?
To be honest, Hu Biao knew nothing about any of the above.

However, he knew emotionally that by now, everyone had reached their physical and mental limits and needed to stop and rest.

He immediately raised his voice and started shouting:

"Attention everyone, if nothing unexpected happens, we're not leaving tonight; we'll stay here overnight."

Before the sound reached their ears, the exhausted crowd threw away the sticks, rifles, and canes they were using to support themselves.

They all collapsed to the ground, looking utterly exhausted.

Not to mention Van Gogh and Uncle Bo, who were responsible for carrying the seriously wounded AT along the way.

After they put down the makeshift stretcher, they lay down on the ground in a starfish shape, panting heavily, their chests heaving violently.

There wasn't even time to arrange security forces, or perhaps no one had the strength to do so.

Everyone sat or lay on the ground for more than ten minutes.

Once everyone seemed to have caught their breath, Hu Biao began issuing a series of orders: "Old Cao, Silent Hulu, you two go and keep watch around the area. I'll have someone come and replace you later."

Without delay, Van Gogh and Lao Yu got up and prepared to go on guard duty, one on each side.

However, as they walked, it was noticeable that their legs were trembling and their steps were unsteady.

Given their status as seasoned veterans and their formidable skills, it's surprising that they're in such a terrible state now.

This shows just how bad the situation has become, with only 23 people left in the team.

Hu Biao had no choice but to pretend he hadn't seen what was happening and continued to instruct, "Black Star, Xin Huo, Old Car, the three of you go and look for a water source nearby and fetch some water."

While we're at it, let's see if there are any houses nearby, maybe we can get some food, and also find out where we are.

At this command, Black Star and Xin Huo, who had one arm in a sling, immediately stood up, but Old Car did not react at all, looking at everyone with a blank expression.

Hu Biao then realized that the unlucky old car had been deafened by the explosion and couldn't hear his orders at all.

Just as they were about to switch to someone else to go fetch water with Black Star and Xin Huo, the two oldest children, Old Soldier and Fifteen, had already stood up, leaning on the broken battlements.

He volunteered, saying, "Commander Hu, let me and Fifteen go in place of Uncle Che."

The next second, the troupe members and the other children, including the trumpet player, also stood up and said:

"Commander Hu, we can also do something; since we're going to rest here tonight, shall we go and gather some firewood and dig up some wild vegetables?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Hu Biao nodded and said "Okay," seemingly oblivious to the fact that the children were completely exhausted.

It wasn't that Hu Biao was heartless or didn't cherish and care for these children.

The main reason is that Hu Biao could see from the journey that these children were very conflicted.

He was conflicted that even at this point, Hu Biao and his men were still on a mission with them; it was a mission of the Eighth Route Army, not the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

Even though Hu Biao repeatedly stated that going on this mission was their own wish and absolutely not because of these children, it was still impossible.

The veterans and other children still feel quite guilty.

Feeling that he was a burden to them, he wanted to do something for Hu Biao and the others.

Although they are young, due to their harsh living conditions, they are far more sensible than children of the same age in modern times.

Hu Biao agreed to their request because it was actually for the good of these children; it made them feel that they were not a burden and could even help with some things.

Little did they know that they were not a burden in the eyes of Hu Biao and the others.

Absolutely not, never will be.

Sure enough, when they saw that Hu Biao had agreed, the children's faces lit up with relieved smiles; except for Cao'er who stayed behind, the others strode off to get busy.

After they left, Hu Biao opened his mouth and continued:
"Annie, Cross, go dig out the smokeless stove, we—"

However, before he could finish a sentence, his stomach churned, and if he hadn't covered his mouth in time, he might have vomited on the spot.

This reaction wasn't due to a concussion he had suffered from the fall, which he hadn't yet recovered from.

Instead, he had just wanted to say "cook some wild vegetables to eat," but perhaps it was the raw shepherd's purse he had eaten last night that caused him severe physical discomfort.

Now, just thinking about eating wild vegetables makes me want to vomit.

In fact, it wasn't just Hu Biao who reacted so strongly. Based on the other veterans' understanding of Hu Biao, they would know what he was trying to say as soon as he started to say something.

The thought of eating wild vegetables made them all frown.

Just then, a series of loud bird calls came from the sky. Everyone looked up and saw that a flock of beautiful white spoonbills were flying overhead.

But what Hu Biao and his men saw now was only the tempting scene of them being roasted over a fire and stewed in a pot.

On instinct, Uncle Bo, Hu Biao, Mo Shuiyan and others picked up their Type 38 rifles, ready to take the opportunity to shoot down a few.

Just then, a startled cry rang in my ears:
"Stop! Don't fire! Do you want to attract the Japanese soldiers here?"

Upon hearing this, the group realized that they had been so hungry that they had forgotten that firing a gun might give them away.

He immediately released his finger from the trigger as if it were a hot potato, breaking out in a cold sweat from the fright.

Even so, he still stared longingly at the plump white spoonbills in the sky until they flew away completely before lowering his head, his eyes full of regret and pity.

After a half-minute silence, Uncle Bo couldn't help but say:
"How about we talk about cooking wild vegetables later? I've received wilderness survival training from the military, so I can make some simple traps."

So I might as well wait and see what happens when I set up some traps.

"Let's see if we can catch some rabbits, pheasants, or even just some mountain rats. Stewing them with wild vegetables would be so delicious!"

"Let's do it this way," Hu Biao decided.

"Let's go together. There's strength in numbers, and the more traps we set, the greater the chance of a successful hunt."

The crippled Mo Shuiyan, even with the help of his crutches, managed to stand up. In order to get a few bites of meat, he even went so far as to rub his armpits raw from the crutches.

And so, apart from the seriously wounded AT who was unable to move, and Grass whose eyes were damaged by the smoke, everyone else got up and left to go about their own business...

*******
Amidst a series of coughing fits, AT, lying on the ground, began coughing in a tractor-like manner once again.

The coughing is probably because when he tumbled down the cliff this morning, his ribs were broken and his lungs were also damaged.

There's no way to avoid it! His lungs are a bit strange; whenever that part is injured, it's bound to be affected.

Fortunately, AT is quite familiar with this kind of situation where coughing is like a tractor.

But what was unfamiliar to him, or rather, what felt both strange and heartwarming, was that during this violent coughing fit, he actually received comfort and care from someone.

That was Cao'er, whose eyes had been damaged by the poisonous gas. Ever since AT protected her and helped her roll off the cliff, she felt increasingly close to Uncle Ai, who had always been very kind to her.

While everyone else went about their business, Cao'er stayed by AT's side. Upon hearing AT cough, she immediately reached out and carefully touched his head and face, soothingly saying:

"Uncle, are you in a lot of pain?"
Don't worry, I heard from the veterans that the doctors in the hospital are really good; as soon as we finish our mission and break out, we'll have them treat your wounds first when we get to the hospital.

"After you're healed, you can treat my eyes."

Upon hearing this, AT took a deep breath and then stared at the grass.

They were looking at it so intently, as if they could never get enough of it, as if they wanted to etch the image of the grass into their hearts and never forget it.

AT's unusual reaction stemmed from a difficult decision he had just made:

Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was away, he wanted to end his own life so as not to drag the team down.

Perhaps without him as a burden, Hu Biao and the others could complete that damn mission, and most importantly, Cao'er and the others could survive.

After this separation, AT knew that he might never have the chance to see this angelic child again, which is why he acted so strangely before taking action.

After staring for a full five minutes, AT finally looked away.

Then, he prepared to tell a lie. Although he had told many lies throughout his life, this one was definitely the most benevolent one.

Everything was for the sake of the child, Cao'er, so that his suicide wouldn't have any negative consequences.

With difficulty, he reached out a hand and pulled out the last small piece of chocolate and a piece of hard candy from his inner pocket.

After wiping the bloodstains off the outer packaging with the hem of his clothes, he handed it to Cao'er.

He said gently, "Cough cough, Cao'er! Uncle is very tired and wants to take a nap and rest. You sit here quietly by yourself and don't disturb Uncle, okay?"

Here are two more sugar grass seeds. Eat one when you miss your mother.

Upon hearing this, Cao'er obediently replied as always, "Okay, Uncle, Cao'er won't bother you."

Then, she opened the wrapper of the fruit hard candy, picked up the candy inside, and groped her way to AT's mouth, saying:
"Uncle, have a piece of candy before you rest. Candy is so sweet, it will make your body feel less sore."

When AT saw the candy being offered to his lips, he instinctively wanted to refuse, but when he saw the expectant little expression on Cao'er's face, his heart softened.

The refusal that was on the tip of my tongue involuntarily turned into:

"Let's eat together, Cao'er, and we can each have half; if Cao'er agrees, Uncle will be angry."

After saying that, he took the candy, bit off a small half with a 'crunch', and then stuffed the rest into Cao'er's mouth.

Then, as the candy melted in his saliva and was swallowed down his throat, AT could swear it was the sweetest and most delicious half-candy he had ever eaten in his life.

It wasn't just his body, which was starving to the extreme, that was desperately craving the word "sugar."

More importantly, this half-piece of candy contained Cao'er's heartfelt sentiment, which made AT, an old father, feel inexplicably elated.

For a moment, the pain in my body seemed to have lessened considerably.

Regarding the decision and action to commit suicide, the last bit of resentment in my heart subsided, leaving only an indescribable sense of peace.

The tiny piece of candy melted completely in AT's mouth in no time. After savoring the delicious taste, AT said:
"Alright, Grass, Uncle is going to rest now. Remember not to disturb him."

The grass, with half a piece of candy in its mouth, nodded vigorously because it was reluctant to speak.

AT pulled out a multi-functional dagger from a leather sheath on his thigh, cut off a large piece of his clothes, rolled it into a ball, and forcefully stuffed it into his mouth.

This was done simply to prevent Cao'er from hearing the screams she would make as she committed suicide.

Then, he pressed the dagger against his chest, which was somewhat sunken due to several broken ribs, and with a forceful thrust, plunged the knife into his heart.

"I really want to have another daughter, and it would be even better if she were as well-behaved as Cao'er." These were all AT's thoughts before she lost all consciousness...

About twenty minutes later, Hu Biao and his group, who had gone to set up the trap, returned cursing and swearing.

They had set up at least a hundred traps in the vicinity, but whether they would catch any prey in the end was anyone's guess.

Uncle Bo also told them to be prepared to gain nothing and not to have too high expectations.

The thought of working so hard only to end up with nothing made them complain all the way back.

When they returned to the place where they planned to spend the night, which was a section of a dilapidated ancient city wall, they could see Cao'er's small figure standing up from a distance.

She put her finger to her lips, making a gesture to close her mouth, and only then did they close their mouths.

As they got closer, Cao'er spoke in a deliberately lowered voice: "Commander Hu, please keep your voices down a bit. Uncle Ai is tired and said he needs to rest."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Bo muttered a complaint in a low voice, only audible to those around him:

"AT really did spoil Cao'er for nothing. He's always wanted a daughter, hasn't he? Why don't he just take it one step at a time and adopt Cao'er as his goddaughter?"

"That's nonsense. Cao'er is from the 30s generation, and AT is from the 90s generation. There's a 60-year age difference between them. Doesn't that completely mess up the generational hierarchy?"

Mr. Nanze, who was standing nearby, offered a different perspective.

Regardless of their opinions, seeing how good the relationship between Cao'er and AT was, they were generally in a good mood.

This continued until they took a few more steps forward.

They saw AT lying on a makeshift stretcher, his mouth stuffed with a large wad of clothing, one hand clutching a dagger plunged into his heart; he had been dead for a while.

Annie abruptly covered her mouth, and as she suppressed her gasp, her eyes uncontrollably reddened.

The situation wasn't much better for the others.

The reason for this was that, given the scene before them and Cao'er's explanation, with their intelligence, they could easily guess what had happened:
To avoid becoming a burden to everyone, AT committed suicide.

The claim that she wanted to rest properly and not be disturbed was merely a white lie told to Cao'er.

That's why Hu Biao started communicating with everyone through his eyes, because he was going to lead everyone in telling a lie, a lie that would make AT's lie seem more real and wouldn't be exposed quickly.

After adjusting his emotions and making his voice sound normal, he then...

Then he spoke softly, "Grass! We just found two fellow villagers passing by on the other side of the mountain. They are willing to take Uncle AT home to hide him and help him recover from his injuries."

However, the villagers are also facing difficulties and it's inconvenient for them to hide too many people, so you and we can't go with them.

Besides, your Uncle AT is sleeping soundly right now, so let's not wake him. How about we just carry him to those two fellow villagers?

"Okay!" Cao'er bit her lip first, her expression clearly showing some reluctance.

However, perhaps thinking that her uncle wouldn't have to go through so much trouble, she smiled and readily agreed.

Then, she waved at AT's corpse and whispered:
"Goodbye, Uncle. You must come to see me after the Japanese devils finish their mopping-up operation. By then, my eyes will be healed, and I can finally see what you look like."

Then, Uncle Bo and Hu Biao took action and carried AT's body away.

After carrying him for two or three hundred meters, they found a sunny hillside, and with both of them working together, they threw him into a clump of bushes.

Then it was all over. Five cigarettes were lit, one for each of the two survivors, and three were placed in front of the bushes; this was considered the completion of AT's funeral.

What else? They don't even have the strength to dig a hole and bury AT.

Besides! In the heat of battle, everyone in the transmigrator team is treated equally, no matter where they are killed or thrown away... This is a tradition within the transmigrator team...

(End of this chapter)