Hu Yi looked at the worn-out shoes on the man's feet and reluctantly put down his bayonet. He didn't even bother to ask if he had found the wrong person. He turned around and walked out of the house, with a gloomy face and a low voice, "Go after the one just now, quickly."
Just after leaving the yard, they heard two gunshots from the village entrance. The group rushed towards the village entrance. When they ran around the corner, they saw the guide and Xiao Hongying and the other three lying dead on the ground.
When Li Youcai saw Hu Yi coming, he couldn't help but say, "I was so scared. I bumped into him. If he runs away, I'm done for."
Hu Yi ignored Li Youcai's words. He glanced at Xiao Hongying from head to toe, then lowered his head to look at the corpse.
Ma Liang rolled his eyes at Li Youcai and said, "You said his name was Liu Tuzi, so of course we thought he was a bald man. How could we suspect that he had hair? He pointed it out to someone else right in front of us."
"It's my fault. I forgot to explain it clearly." Li Youcai smiled at Ma Liang embarrassedly, and then said to Hu Yi: "You can handle the rest by yourselves. I will accompany you here, Commander Hu, we will meet again later."
"Wait." Hu Yi stopped Li Youcai who was about to leave and said, "Now that we have appeared and the guns have been fired, what do you think will be the reaction of the surrounding people?"
Li Youcai thought for a moment and replied, "Don't worry, there must be someone who reported the news. There is a Hekou Camp not far to the southeast. It is the closest stronghold to here. It must be there that received the news first."
"Hekou Camp? How many troops are there?"
"Well... there are a few Japanese instructors and security forces... almost a battalion."
Hu Yi nodded: "It's none of your business."
Li Youcai turned his head and gave Xiao Hongying a sunny smile, then turned around and left.
Shi Cheng came to the side of the corpse, bent down and carefully looked at the two gunshot wounds. He couldn't help but pick up the Mauser pistol in his hand and took a look. He asked Ma Liang in surprise: "What kind of gun was this shot with? Why does it look more powerful than the Mauser pistol?"
"The girl has a pistol in her hand, and this is how she beats people."
"A gun?" Shi Cheng was even more puzzled. He had heard that a gun was much inferior to a box gun. How could it be possible...
Hu Yi briefly considered that there were only a few Japanese instructors in the Hekou Camp, so no matter how many puppet troops there were, it was worth going to see. It was impossible to attack the Hekou Camp, so it would not be a bad idea to conduct reconnaissance and understand the situation in advance. Of course, if it was convenient, it would not be a bad idea to harass them.
After throwing the body into the ditch, the 9th squad set out again, following the path to the southeast to the Hekou Camp. Considering the possibility of running into the puppet troops coming out of the camp, Hu Yi specifically told Ma Liang, who was scouting the way, to be alert, increase the distance between himself and the team, and be mentally prepared to meet the enemy.
When Class 9 was halfway through its journey, some enthusiastic people arrived at Hekouying, explained the situation and received their reward money. Then, a Japanese instructor led a company of puppet soldiers out of the stronghold and rushed to the scene of the incident.
Before the two groups of people heading in opposite directions met, Hu Yi stopped the Ninth Squad and had them hide on the side of the road, intending to wait for the other side to pass by before moving forward boldly.
A few dozen meters away from the path, Xiao Hongying, hiding behind the bushes, squinted her eyes in the midday sun and tore at the grass leaves in her hands out of boredom.
Hu Yi looked at the two listless braids beside him and whispered, "Girl."
"Um."
"Can you please stop tearing the leaves? If you do, it won't be hidden anymore and we'll have to move to another place."
"I don't care."
"You are not allowed to like Su Yushi anymore. Do you hear me?"
Hu Yi took a deep breath and looked through the bushes again to see the path under the sun.
"I don't like her anymore, so you are not allowed to like her either."
"Hey, can you say something?"
"Actually, she and I were strangers." Hu Yi still looked at Xiaolu motionlessly and answered in a low voice thoughtfully.
Xiao Hongying blinked her big eyes and thought seriously for a while, but still couldn't figure out what this sentence meant. She couldn't help but wanted to raise her little body to ask again, but was suddenly pressed down by Hu Yi's big hand.
At the far end of the path, human figures appeared faintly, and gradually they became clear to be two rows of people, followed by the sound of chaotic running.
Hu Yi focused and watched carefully. The one leading the team in front was a Japanese soldier. According to what Li Youcai said, he must be the instructor. Behind him followed two columns of about a hundred people, a company of puppet troops. They must have received the news and rushed to the scene of the accident from Hekouying.
Xiao Hongying was also watching, absent-mindedly at first, but then she slowly widened her eyes without blinking, stared at the Japanese leader with her mouth slightly open, and her little neck slowly twisted as the target moved on the path.
She was so engrossed in watching it that she couldn't understand why it could run on its own? Why didn't it need a push? It couldn't be an animal. It didn't have a mouth, so it couldn't eat grass. Besides, it must have two wheels, so why didn't it fall over? This was a big shock.
The puppet army ran away and gradually disappeared from sight. Hu Yi stood up from behind the bushes with his rifle, checked the situation, and waved to the nearby people. Ma Liang and others immediately stood up and left their hiding place, ready to set off again.
Hu Yi looked down at Xiao Hongying who was still lying at his feet and said, "Girl, what are you daydreaming about? Let's go."
"Fox, what is that?"
"Which one?"
"What is that thing the Japanese are riding? Why is it running away by itself?" Xiao Hongying tilted her head, her beautiful big eyes revealing a rare innocence. She foolishly waited for Hu Yi to give her an answer.
"That's... a bicycle."
Hu Yi had been stationed in the city and knew about bicycles, but he had never touched one and didn't know how to ride one.
This was the first time that Xiao Hongying had seen a bicycle. This child's hobbies were a little different, and she particularly loved those strange and eccentric things. This chance encounter with a bicycle attracted her deeply. The shiny metallic luster, the simple and bright structure, and the lightness of the wind made this unrestrained girl fall in love at first sight.
So, she half sat on the ground, curled her legs to the side in grievance, and tried to raise her head so that her braids hung down like a tail. Her big eyes instantly became extremely clear and pure, shining with angelic hope. She said softly, "Fox."
Hu Yi was almost unable to stand by the sweet call, and was speechless. There was no need for the little girl to say anything more, everything was written on her innocent and lovely face. She wanted a bicycle.
It was strange that at this moment, Hu Yi seemed to have completely forgotten where he was, and completely forgotten that he should use his soldier's heart to calmly think about the problem. He just felt as if his heart was suddenly filled with something, and for the first time he found that his heart could still be slightly warm, this feeling was indescribable.
It turns out that pampering others can also make you feel happy...