Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty

In the cave, Fan Shitian shined a flashlight on his watch, it was ten past ten.Lihua sits with her back against a stone, holding the orphan Awen in her arms.The boy slept soundly, the best he hadn't slept in days.She lets him sleep in her arms, warm and safe, the baby cuddled close to her.Every time the child moved a little, she would naturally caress his back and pat him lightly.She still vaguely remembered how she comforted Ah Zhao when Ah Zhao was young. The time has come.We'd better meet up with them.Fan Shitian said in a low voice.Don't know what they are doing down there. Lihua wants to shake the child awake.But he only moved once, and hugged Lihua even tighter.

Awen!Awen!she cried.Wake up, we're leaving. She finally sat up straight and let Ah Wen slide to the ground. Turn on the flashlight.I can't see it at all.Ewha said. She helped Awen to sit up.He was still in dreamland, not knowing where he was.He heard Fan Shitian's voice: Ah Wen, stand up.We've got to join up with the others and set off. Awen stood up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. They heard voices below.There are no stars in the sky.It was foggy.When the people who were not asleep saw Fan Shitian's flashlight coming through the thick bushes, there was a murmur. Fan Shitian illuminated everyone with a flashlight.Some were lying down, some were squatting with their arms around their knees, Yi Su fell asleep on his side, with one arm stretched out, letting Xiao Ya'er use it as a pillow, sleeping next to her.Mr. Duan was awake.The same goes for Ah Xue, Zhang Fu and others, all waiting silently and nervously for Cai Shan to come back.

Ten minutes later, Cai Shan came back.He left Ah Zhao alone at the foot of the mountain to watch.The situation was fine, and they set off at once.It was a night so dark that you couldn't see your fingers.Only a few see better than others.They had to walk slowly, step by step, and finally found the road. In the night, the road showed a gray curve. Once on the road, they are more visible.Darkness also brings them a sense of security, and it is easy to hide when they encounter danger.Once again, Ah Xue held Xiao Ya'er firmly, Mr. Duan was walking in the middle of the road, James and Esu were on both sides of him.

They walked quickly up the uphill road to the north, and then turned into a mountain road that led to the village. Suddenly, Ah Zhao whispered in the darkness: I am here. did you see anything Look, there's a light over there, that's the patrol station.The lights are still on, shall we wait a while? The patrol stood below the road, a few hundred feet away from them. Did you see the patrolmen come back? Yes, about a quarter of an hour ago, two people walked in.They turned on the lights and I saw them take the guns off their shoulders.They have a dog. Are there only two of them?

Two people and a dog. This is a small patrol station, with only two soldiers on duty day and night, monitoring the road from Wutong Mountain in the north.Much smaller than the armed patrol station on the other side of the hill near the border area. How far down is this road?Fan Shitian asked Cai Shan. Not too far away, they could hear footsteps on the road.Trouble with so many of us, they must have heard our footsteps. You said, you saw a dog?Fan Shitian asked. Yes.Ah Zhao replied. Dogs can smell us from a hundred feet away.Mao Peng said that he had just joined them.We have to take risks.They have telephone communication with the patrol center.We can't risk them finding us too soon.

So what do you think? Women and children stay here, hiding.A few of us went down to catch them off guard.If we had a way, we wouldn't have to shoot. Mao Peng, James, Fan Shitian, and another newcomer named Lao Ding went down from both sides to surround the patrol station, trying to make no noise as much as possible.Ah Zhao stood on the road, and if the two soldiers didn't come out by themselves, he would try to lure them out by using a trick to lure them out. Fan Shitian and James went down from one side, while Mao Peng and Lao Ding went around from the other side.Lao Ding is a fisherman in the Hailufeng area. He is muscular and strong.He volunteered, eager to try his hand.

There are windows all around the patrol station.The door is closed.A gravel path from the gate leads to the road above.They spread out the gravel, hunched down, and moved quietly along the grass and mud.The light in the house slanted out from the window. Fan Shitian stopped. He saw two soldiers playing cards, wearing only shirts and hats on the chairs beside them.Holding the small iron box in his hand, he watched Lao Ding and Mao Peng come down from the other side. Fan Shitian was less than twenty feet away from the small house. Among the two people on the opposite side, one kicked a stone and made a slight sound.

The dog jumped up and barked once or twice.The guard stopped the card game and listened. Fan Shitian opened the iron box and faced the window.From where he was standing, he saw the dog suddenly go limp and lay on the ground, uttering intermittent, faint moans.The two pawns dropped their cards, puzzled by the dog's strange behavior. Among the four of them, the two with guns were in the back, covering the people in front.Fan Shitian and James had now entered the hut and hid in a corner. There was a sound of a chair being pushed away.A guard stood up, drew his gun, and gestured to the dog to lead the way, but the dog only grunted in protest and would not move.

As soon as the door opened, there was a silent struggle.The rifle fell to the ground.Immediately afterwards, Lao Ding stabbed a soldier in the abdomen, and the soldier fell down. Another soldier rushed outside the house vigilantly, raised his rifle in a shooting position, and asked into the night outside: Who is it?His voice betrayed the fear inside him. Before he could finish his words, James had already jumped up from behind, and with a catch technique, he tightly clasped his neck.Not long after, his limbs drooped limply and he collapsed on the ground. The dog, lazily, barked once or twice reluctantly.Fan Shitian pushed open the door.The dog opened its mouth and bared its teeth, half howling, half whining, trying to pounce on it.However, it seemed to have been paralyzed, and immediately fell to the ground again.Fan Shitian hit the dog on the head with a big wooden stick, and the dog became silent.Lao Ding stabbed the dog's throat with a knife still stained with blood.

All this happened in an instant.At this time, Ah Zhao also hurried down from the road.The light from the open door revealed two corpses lying crossed. What do we do now?Ah Zhao said loudly. No one answered.James is searching the house.Mao Peng cut the telephone line.Dog blood was all over the place. Be careful not to step on it.Fan Shitian said to Ah Zhao. I really don't want that.Ah Zhao looked at the dog and said. What do you not want? The poor dog. come over.Mao Peng said.Help me get the body in.Don't make it too loud. Are they dead?James asked.The body had been dragged into the house.

Dead, yes. James squatted down, felt the pulse of the two soldiers, and listened for any sounds.There is no doubt that they are all dead. He asked Fan Shitian what time it is now.Fan Shitian replied: 11:35. James got up and said, "It's all right here, except take these two rifles and walk quickly. There is a washbasin and a pot of water on the tea table.Mao Peng pointed and asked Lao Ding to wash his hands and remove the blood on his clothes and the knees of his trousers. Ah Zhao poured himself a cup of hot tea. Hey, does anyone want some tea?The taste is not bad! Mao Peng methodically checked everything in the house.There is a notebook with daily notes and some phone numbers.There was also a half-written letter from one of the soldiers to his wife in Shandong.The envelope was written and stamped.He also found a pen and a small notebook on a soldier.There are several business cards and a photo of a woman and a child in the notebook.James found a bag of fried rice. Poor guy, these soldiers only have fried rice to eat.Look at the shoes they are wearing, the soles are almost coming off. This is the first time I've been cruel enough to kill someone.thought James.Although he was stationed in South Korea with the United Nations troops, it was already a year after the armistice. As an intelligence officer, he lived a calm life.Naturally, this was not the first time he had seen a corpse.He clenched his fists tightly, feeling that his palms were wet and cold. Give me the letter he wrote to his wife.He said: I will send it to Hong Kong for him.He didn't say that he would send a little money. Everything is ready.The women and children behind saw the figure moving quietly in the hut, and walked up slowly.James had two raincoats and two blankets and was about to walk out of the house with them. Give me the raincoat and blanket.Mao Peng said. Do you want it?I think raincoats are just right for women. I am the commander.You should report to me what you got first.If you want to give the raincoats to the women, take them. James gave Mauben two blankets, and they took two rifles, put out the lights, and locked the door from the outside. I don't think anyone heard us.Mao Peng said: They will not find the body within a day or two. They walked silently onto the main road, where Cai Shan and others were waiting to join them. Along the way, James seldom spoke.Yi Su snuggled up to him in the dark and asked him, he said: I killed someone tonight.He was reluctant to elaborate.