A few dozen miles east of Wuming Village, there is Black Wind Mountain, which is steep and has only a narrow path leading to the top. Since ancient times, any place where one man can block a thousand men must have something going on, and Black Wind Mountain is no exception. Dozens of bandits gathered here and made their home, living in the gap between the Japanese-controlled area and the Eighth Route Army base, occasionally causing trouble to their neighbors and bullying the people, doing their job.
Luo Fugui is very tall and strong. He is 20 years old this year and is already 1.8 meters tall. He looks like a black iron tower. If you think he is a heroic man, you are wrong. He looks tall and strong, but he is very timid. He eats a lot because he is tall. After his parents died, he could not support himself. In order not to starve to death, he went to the mountains and became a bandit. The bandits were very happy to see his good figure and took him in without saying a word. However, they did not expect that this guy could do nothing except eating. He could make a half-grown child with a sickle chase him and jump off the cliff when he was given an old sleeve. In desperation, they could only send him to guard the narrow path into the mountain.
The Goat Path is worthy of its name. It has two cliffs with a winding path in the middle. The bandits dug a hidden hole on one side of the cliff, overlooking the entire path. This is the only route into the mountain and is of utmost importance. The bandits placed the only Czech machine gun in this hole and have been able to rest easy ever since.
The cave was not big, and could accommodate two people, but with a machine gun in the middle, it seemed cramped. Luo Fugui was tall and strong, and he had to hunch his head while sitting in the cave, which was very uncomfortable. The weather in early spring was still cold, especially now that it was night, and he couldn't light a fire. Although he put on two more sets of clothes, he was still shivering.
Listening to the mountain wind whistling in the cliffs outside the cave, Luo Fugui was full of grievances. I still didn't have enough for dinner today. I was cold and hungry in this cave for more than half a year. When will it end? Why did I come to the mountain? If I had known this would happen, I might as well work for the landlord. Damn it!
The person on duty with Luo Fugui was a small man, known as Skinny Monkey. This was also because of Luo Fugui's size, so only a small person could be assigned. The deeper the night, the colder it was. Skinny Monkey thought about the stove in the wooden house in the mountains and couldn't hold it any longer. He wiped his cold nose and said, "Luo Fugui, I have a stomachache. I have to go back to the mountains to check. You stay here first." After saying that, he climbed out of the cave.
"Damn it, you've had stomachache seven days out of ten. How come you didn't die from the pain?" Luo Fugui muttered in a naive voice.
"What the hell did you say?" The skinny monkey turned around and kicked Luo Fugui: "If you keep talking nonsense, I will kick you to death, you coward, believe it or not." He glanced at Luo Fugui and saw that he didn't mutter anymore, so he climbed out and went back to the mountain.
After the skinny monkey left, Luo Fugui kicked the machine gun away, curled up and lay down, and began to mutter again: "I fell to death on the way, you bastard, I burned you to death in the stove, you short-lived ghost, in the next life I will become a bastard, and I will never be reborn..."
The west wind was bright and the moon was shining, the cliffs were sharp as knives. It was already midnight, and the task of this campaign required multiple routes, long-distance raids, and surprise attacks. Looking at the dangerous terrain under the moonlight, the Japanese lieutenant hesitated whether to stop and rest first. After leaving Meixian County and traveling west for dozens of miles, it was estimated that they would reach the base of the Eighth Route Army tomorrow, so there was no need to rush.
The lieutenant who was leading the way came over to report the situation. There was a smell of fireworks in the night wind, which meant that there must be a base ahead.
The major arrived at the front of the team. On one side of the road were two cliffs, sandwiched by a winding path that extended to a black mountain under the moonlight. He spread out the map and turned on the flashlight, carefully checking that there shouldn't be a village here. The Eighth Route Army? Guerrillas
The major turned off the flashlight, folded up the map and put it away. No matter what was in the mountain, they couldn't miss it now that they were here. He ordered a squad of Japanese soldiers to scout along the path, and when they were just far enough away to be seen in the moonlight, he waved to the large group of soldiers with bayonets standing in front of them and followed them forward.
A dozen Japanese soldiers from the reconnaissance squad walked cautiously in the moonlight, holding bayonets. The moonlight was reflected on their helmets. From a distance, they looked like a dozen drifting will-o'-the-wisp fires, floating all the way towards Black Wind Mountain.
When passing a corner of a cliff, the Japanese soldiers who were leading the way suddenly stopped and hid on the spot. The major saw this scene in the moonlight and immediately raised his hand to signal. The main force behind also stopped immediately and looked ahead vigilantly.
Except for the mountain wind that was still howling, nothing happened. Why did the Japanese soldiers who were clearing the way stop? Because they heard some strange noises, coming from nowhere, like a humming sound, which seemed to turn into a whistle after a while, and then a strange sound of snapping, which appeared and disappeared from time to time, mixed with the whistling mountain wind and was not very clear, and it was impossible to determine the location.
After staying for a few minutes, nothing happened. Perhaps it was caused by the mountain wind blowing through the cliffs. The Japanese who were clearing the way finally decided to ignore the sound and continue moving forward.
When the major leading the team passed by here, he also heard the sound and finally understood why the reconnaissance team stopped here. After observing here for a while, he found a grand reason for himself: the ever-changing and mysterious nature can really create amazing works, and humans are so insignificant compared to nature.
Right above their heads, there was a hidden cave. Luo Fugui curled up inside, like a hibernating bear, dreaming about a wooden house, a stove, and warmth, sleeping soundly next to a machine gun...
Under the moonlight, there were several wooden houses scattered around, with smoke rising from the chimneys. The Japanese soldiers fanned out, divided into several teams, and each moved towards the target. Carefully pushing open the wooden door, the embers of the fire dimly illuminated the sleeping bandits on the bunk bed, tiptoed into the wooden house, raised the bayonet high, and then stabbed with all their strength...
Finally, a shrill howl was heard, breaking the silence, and then a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out, like a violent storm, carried by the mountain wind, echoing among the cliffs, and lasting for a long time.
Luo Fugui finally woke up and got up in a daze. He didn't know what was going on. Who was the boss leading the team to rob again? Oh? That's not right. It's not even daybreak yet? I'm still in the cave. How could there be gunshots? Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he climbed out of the cave and was stunned.
The wooden house on the mountain was enveloped in flames and burning fiercely. There seemed to be swaying human figures all over the mountain. Helmets and bayonets were swaying and passing through the flames. The fierce flames were blown by the mountain wind, and the ferocious flames rushed up to the night sky obliquely, illuminating the pale white between the cliffs.
Oh my god, when did these devils come? Oh my god, it's over, it's all over. Luo Fugui felt his legs go weak and it was a bit difficult to breathe. He couldn't help but retreat back into the cave, grabbing the machine gun and shrinking to the innermost corner. It was still very cold at night, but his forehead was sweating frequently. The machine gun and the solid cave wall could not bring Luo Fugui a sense of security.
He panted heavily for a while, finally suppressing his initial panic. He didn't care that his legs were still trembling. He dragged his gun and moved his tall body out of the cave. He stumbled onto the path and rushed to the west outside the mountain, disappearing in the moonlight...