A squad of Japanese soldiers died because of their trust in the sergeant, their determination to obey orders, their contempt for their opponents, and the empty courtyard with no shelter. Or maybe they were used to killing docile and ignorant Chinese and slaughtering sheep, so they didn't believe there would be wolves on this land, and thus suffered retribution.
The devils are fierce, well-trained, and proud; the puppet soldiers are mean, just making up the numbers, and are looked down upon. In certain circumstances, the most difficult ones are not the devils, but the puppet soldiers. No matter how fierce you are, you have to show your strength to your opponent, but being mean can make your opponent unable to do anything.
The shouting outside the gate indicated that the enemy would not come in blindly, and also indicated that there was no hope of survival.
Hu Yi, who was kneeling in the darkness, finally slowly put down the rifle in his hand, tilted his head, and asked the darkness behind him: "How are you?"
"It's okay." Su Qing answered calmly in the darkness.
Hu Yi exhaled, then sat on the ground and began to search for gauze in his bag. He could have lied down and shot, which would have been safer, but he didn't do that because the woman was curled up just behind him. If he lay down, she would be exposed. Hu Yi also knew that the Japanese's rifle would definitely shoot through him at such a close distance, and it would still hit the woman. Knowing this, he had to block it.
After Hu Yi started shooting continuously, the unprepared Japanese soldiers hastily fired several shots back at the dark door in the yard. Three of the shots barely hit Hu Yi, causing scratches and bleeding.
Hu Yi couldn't see Su Qing clearly in the dark, but Su Qing could see Hu Yi's figure with the contrast of light from the door. He was wrapping himself with gauze.
"You—are injured!" Su Qing spoke softly, hesitantly.
"No." In Hu Yi's opinion, this could not be called an injury. If this was considered an injury, then Hu Yi could not afford it.
Su Qing fell silent, quietly looking at the figure in the darkness. At this moment, there was no motivation to continue hating him. No matter what, both of them would die, die in this moonlit night. When the sun rises tomorrow, perhaps the two of them will have turned into two stiff corpses in the yard, or into two piles of ashes in the house. No matter what he had done, no matter why he came here, it didn't matter now.
After a moment of silence, Su Qing spoke again softly: "Do you want me to forgive you?"
Hu Yi suddenly stopped what he was doing, turned his head and stared blankly at the silhouette of the woman in the darkness without saying a word.
"If you want me to forgive you, then promise me one thing." Su Qing's tone was unusually calm: "Kill me!"
Hu Yi's dark figure froze in the darkness. He had been on the brink of life and death several times, fighting desperately in the flames, and trying to break out in the smoke. He had always responded with a numb heart. But at this moment, Su Qing's words were like a sharp blade that pierced Hu Yi's heart, making Hu Yi feel an indescribable pain. He finally realized that there was still blood in his heart that was still beating.
After a long silence, Hu Yi finally spoke in a low voice with a firm tone that left no room for doubt: "I don't need your forgiveness because I don't regret it! You won't die because I'm not dead yet!"
In Su Qing's quiet silence, Hu Yi turned back and decisively tied the gauze around the wound. You have to break through, only by breaking through can you survive, at least there is a chance to survive, at least there is a chance for her to survive, at least I hope she can survive.
Hu Yi knew very well that as long as he rushed out of this yard, he would face dozens of guns from all directions. Even under the moonlight, he would eventually be shot into a sieve. Hu Yi decided that if he wanted to break out, he would rush out from the corner of the front and side walls. Hu Yi still had five grenades. He took them out of his bag one by one and put them into his open pockets. Before climbing over the wall, Hu Yi would throw them out of the side wall from far to near, making the side wall a fire vacuum, and then climb out of the corner of the wall, try to live a little longer, delay the fire outside the gate, and cover Su Qing to climb out of the side wall of the house and flee to the back of the house. Hu Yi had to try to stay alive for a little longer outside the corner of the wall, so that Su Qing would have more chances to escape alive. Even so, it was unknown whether Su Qing could rush out alive, but this was the only feasible plan to break out, and the result could only be decided by fate.
Hu Yi filled the rifle's chamber with bullets in the dark and fastened the bayonet on the muzzle. Hu Yi had two Mauser pistols, one of which was empty just now. He took out the other and handed it to Su Qing in the dark: "Take this gun. There are 20 bullets in the gun. Remember to count them when you shoot next time."
In the darkness, Su Qing was touched by the gun and caught it with his hand, but he did not understand Hu Yi's intention.
Then I heard Hu Yi continue to whisper: "We are going to leave the house soon. You go to the wall by the window and hide there. Move quietly so you can't be discovered. After you hear five explosions outside the wall, you climb out by stepping on the debris at the base of the wall, and then rush to the back of the house. No matter what happens, don't stop. Remember! Don't stop!"
Su Qing was stunned. It turned out that Hu Yi wanted to break out. Although he didn't know how to fight, Su Qing was not stupid enough to not understand the situation. He couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "But, the enemies outside the gate and on the other side..."
"I think there are the most enemies outside the gate. I will try to lead them away. But as for the enemies behind the house, you have to rely on yourself. Run fast and don't stop." Hu Yi's breakout plan is to survive from death, using Hu Yi's death to exchange Su Qing's life. Su Qing has to face two key problems. One is the hasty shooting of a few enemies behind the house. Hu Yi thinks Su Qing has a chance to avoid it by running sideways; the other problem is the pursuit of the enemies she will face later, which is the least optimistic. Su Qing is a woman. With her running speed and physical strength, the chance of getting rid of it is too small. At least this is the only chance, and the result can only be left to fate.
Hu Yi said that they wanted to lure away the enemies outside the gate. Su Qing couldn't figure out how to lure them away, so he asked Hu Yi again: "How do you lure them away?"
Hu Yi didn't say anything else. Although Su Qing couldn't see Hu Yi's face clearly in the dark and couldn't hear his voice, he intuitively felt that Hu Yi seemed to be smiling.
Hu Yi did smile, smiling in the darkness.
In the military that has experienced the flames of war, there is often a proverb: It is better to see an old soldier crying than to see an old soldier laughing. When facing a tough battle, veterans who have been through many battles often cry and make a scene in front of their superiors, bargaining and unwilling to execute orders; but this is nothing, the battle will still be fought as it should be. However, if you see an old soldier laughing before a crisis, it is bad, because this is the old soldier's resignation because he sees no hope for life.
Su Qing wouldn't understand this, she thought her feelings were wrong.
Hu Yi smiled as he looked at the vague outline in the darkness, but it seemed so clear. The lips, the eyes, the pupils were all in Hu Yi's bright heart, like the moon. Hu Yi did not answer again, but turned around quietly, bent down, and began to move gently toward the door...