Chapter 11

Dong Ku stood quietly, not stopping Huzi, who was shouting and stabbing Shan Kou Heng'er with all his might. He just stood there, letting Huzi vent his anger. He knew that a blood-soaked warrior's growth could not be hindered by lingering demons. These hunters were all good prospects.

Liu Zhong, Mazi, and the others, who were supporting Mengzi, also did not stop him. The hatred in their eyes showed that they too harbored a deep desire to kill the Japanese.

Liu Zhong stood beside Dong Ku, muttering, "Huzi saw the Japanese kill his mother and was about to molest Sulan. When Sulan resisted fiercely, the Japanese killed her... If it weren't for Erqi pulling Huzi away and escaping into the forest, Huzi would have..."

Dong Ku turned his head and saw the tears in Liu Zhong's eyes. He understood that Sulan and Liu Zhong must have had a lifelong commitment, though they were not yet married, as Huzi called him "Zhong Ge" instead of "brother-in-law."

After a few minutes of frenzied stabbing and screaming, Huzi collapsed on the snow, his eyes vacant, staring at the cold, mangled corpse. He muttered, "Mother, Huzi has avenged you... Sister... Huzi killed this... bastard with my own hands..."

Liu Zhong wiped his eyes, slowly squatted down, and put an arm around Huzi's thin shoulders, saying, "Huzi, your mother and sister can rest in peace now. Cry it out, it's not a disgrace."

As Liu Zhong spoke, Huzi leaned his head on Liu Zhong's shoulder and burst into tears, releasing the pain in his heart.

Dong Ku took a deep breath, calmed himself, and checked himself. He found that only his clothes at the ribs had been torn by shrapnel, without any skin or flesh injuries. Relieved, he turned to look at Shunzi and Mengzi, who were being supported. Mengzi seemed fine, with only a piece of flesh torn from his shoulder, and his face showed no significant change. However, Shunzi's face was ashen, clearly indicating a severe injury.

He stuck his command knife into the ground and walked over, asking, "Shunzi, where are you hurt?"

Shunzi, holding his left chest with his right hand, said with a grimace, "Big Brother Dong, a piece of metal broke one of my ribs, but it's outside my body, nothing serious."

"Phew..."

Hearing that the shrapnel had not entered his body, Dong Ku let out a long breath, relieved. In this icy and snowy environment, if the shrapnel had to be removed, even if it went smoothly, the frozen wound would not heal, which would be a big problem for Shunzi.

"Mazi, clean up those guys, we need to clear the area and leave as soon as possible."

"Okay!"

Mazi glanced at the sobbing Huzi and the nearby Liu Zhong, responded cheerfully, and ran over to collect items from the corpses, not feeling any resentment about being assigned the task.

Dong Ku turned back and asked, "Mengzi, can you walk?"

"I can, just a piece of flesh torn from my shoulder, it won't affect my walking," Mengzi said, gently moving his injured shoulder.

"Liu Hai and Sun Tao, go cut some branches for the sled, watch out for the Japanese, and come back quickly." After saying this, Dong Ku asked again, "Do you know what to cut?"

"Yes, Big Brother Dong, don't worry, we won't cut the wrong ones." Liu Hai said, and he and Sun Tao picked up their guns and ran towards the Black Wind Pass.

"Big Brother Dong..."

Huzi stood up, his voice choked with sobs.

"Huzi, well done! You must be ruthless when killing the Japanese!"

Dong Ku patted Huzi's shoulder in praise.

"Um!"

Hearing Dong Ku's praise, Huzi's eyes sparkled; after all, he was still a child, and a word from someone he admired pulled him out of his grief.

Dong Ku withdrew his hand from Huzi's shoulder and looked at Liu Zhong, saying, "Liu Zhong, you know this area well. Shunzi has a broken rib, and Dog Dan has a leg wound. They can't stay in the snow for too long; we need to find a place to settle them."

Liu Zhong, only now remembering Shunzi and Dog Dan's injuries, did not answer Dong Ku but let go of Huzi and asked, "Shunzi, Mengzi, how are you?"

"Zhong Ge, I'm fine. Shunzi has a broken rib, and Liu Hai and the others are cutting branches for the sled," Mengzi said quickly.

"I'm fine, Zhong Ge," Shunzi said weakly, leaning on his gun.

Liu Zhong looked at Mengzi and then at Shunzi, seeing that they were temporarily fine, and turned back, bowing and saying, "Brother Dong Ku, there is a place. It's less than a day's journey from here. There's an Evenki tribe by the river that moved here in the autumn of the year before last. I've met their leader, Morigen, and been a guest there. Their yurt can be used for Shunzi and the others to recover."

"Evenki?"

Dong Ku was taken aback. He knew of this mountain-dwelling ethnic group, but how could there be Evenki here? Weren't they all in the Greater and Lesser Khingan Ranges? Could they have been driven here by the Japanese, or were they killed off?

After a brief moment of thought, Dong Ku said, "Liu Zhong, although all these Japanese are dead, we don't know if there are any follow-up search teams. We must leave as soon as possible."

"Brother Dong Ku, these Japanese destroyed our homes. You not only saved us but also avenged us. We won't thank you for such a great favor, just tell us what to do, and we'll follow you." Liu Zhong reaffirmed his stance, recalling the old leader's speculation.

"First, we need to clear the area and find some food. We'll leave here and take Shunzi and the others to the tribe." Dong Ku turned and looked at Sun Tao and Liu Hai, who had just entered the pass with a bundle of branches.

"Okay. Huzi, go help your brother Liu."

Liu Zhong patted Huzi, who responded...

When the group reached the top of the snow slope, they saw that Dog Dan and Shanzi were already guarding the large snow pit...

Sun Tao and Huzi threw the branches to Dog Dan and Shanzi and quickly started cutting a four to five-meter-long birch branch with their knives.

Dong Ku saw that Dog Dan had already collected the scattered backpacks and opened them, finding energy bars, rations, and some dried meat, which he passed around.

"Can... we eat this..."

Sun Tao hesitated as he took the energy bar from Dong Ku.

"Yes," Dong Ku nodded firmly. "The Japanese call this energy food. It's like rations, all for replenishing energy. These are their military rations."

"Oh!"

Huzi shouted after biting into the ration, "We didn't know what these were before and threw them away. They're quite sweet..."

Dong Ku couldn't help but laugh at Huzi's words. If he hadn't come from decades in the future, he wouldn't have dared to put these things in his mouth either.

With the high-calorie, high-energy foods like sugar, milk powder, and meat, the group quickly regained their energy, and even Dog Dan, Shanzi, and Shunzi looked better...

Seeing Huzi and Sun Tao lying on a coat, using a hook made from a gun barrel and a backpack strap to slide down the snow pit, Dong Ku suddenly understood what they were doing.

Sure enough, when Huzi pulled out a Type 38 rifle from the snow pit, Dong Ku's guess was confirmed. They were reenacting a scene from a book called "Wolf Totem," where they fished for yellow sheep in the snow, but the prey was the Japanese.

"It seems this isn't a Mongolian specialty!"

Watching the rifles and bodies being pulled out of the snow pit, Dong Ku couldn't help but marvel.

After more than an hour, the snow pit was surrounded by bodies, and after the two men confirmed there was nothing left in the pit, the salvage operation was complete.

"Zhong Ge, look!"

Huzi, who had been pulled back, excitedly raised his hand, showing a Japanese-made Nambu pistol, which glinted in the cold sunlight.

"This is a pistol, Huzi, give it to Big Brother Dong."

Seeing Huzi no longer sad, Liu Zhong smiled and said.

"Okay."

Huzi agreed, somewhat reluctantly, and handed the pistol to Dong Ku.

Dong Ku took it, fiddled with it for a moment, and then handed it back to Huzi. Before Huzi could speak, he also handed him the holster and the leather box with bullets. "Huzi, use this pistol for self-defense. It's yours now. I'll teach you how to use it on the way."

"Really? Great!"

Huzi was excited, holding the gun and playing with it lovingly.

Seeing Huzi's excitement and then looking at Dong Ku, Liu Zhong's eyes showed gratitude.

Dong Ku didn't notice Liu Zhong's gaze. His intention was that since Huzi was young, even if he learned grappling and combat, he wouldn't have the ability to protect himself in the short term. If he really wanted to form a team, giving Huzi a pistol for self-defense would help him grow.

After giving Huzi the pistol with the safety on and the magazine removed, Dong Ku turned and asked, "Liu Zhong, is there a place nearby to hide these machine guns and artillery?"

"Hide?"

Liu Zhong was surprised.

Mazi, holding a light machine gun, excitedly gestured, and when he heard Dong Ku say to hide the weapons, he asked, "Big Brother Dong, why hide these big guys? Using them to fight the Japanese would be awesome."

Dong Ku saw that everyone was puzzled and explained, "These machine guns and artillery are only useful on the battlefield. You won't need them for survival or hunting, so we need to hide them."

Liu Zhong understood. Dong Ku must have plans to form a team, which is why he wanted to hide the machine guns and artillery. He said without hesitation, "Yes, I have a cave on Dongdao Ridge that can fit two people. It's a bit far, about a day's journey, but it can hide these things."

Dong Ku shook his head. "A day is too long. Let's hide them in the snow nearby for now. We'll come back after settling Shunzi and the others."

"Okay, when we get there, I'll ask Morigen to borrow two horses to come back and hide these guns and artillery." Liu Zhong said, then turned and arranged, "Mazi, Sun Tao, you two, who are in good shape, move these to the side of the mountain and bury them in the snow. I'll help Huzi throw the Japanese bodies into the snow and cover them."

"Okay!"

Mazi, Sun Tao, and Liu Hai agreed, put on their snowshoes, and carried the heavy weapons to the side of the mountain...

After a busy session, they cleaned up the scene, each taking 300 bullets and four grenades, two guns each, and buried the rest in the snow on the side of the mountain.

Mazi used a sled to pull Dog Dan, Liu Hai pulled Shunzi, and Sun Tao supported Shanzi as they headed into the mountains.

On the way, Liu Zhong said, "Brother Dong Ku, if you form a team, we'll all follow you."

"Right! If Brother Dong Ku forms a team, we'll all follow you," Mazi said in a deep voice.

"Count me in."

Sun Tao, supporting Shanzi, echoed.

"Me too!"

"Me too..."

Seeing the eager looks on everyone's faces, Dong Ku said seriously, "Fighting the Japanese is very hard and can cost your life. Are you really ready to fight the Japanese?"

"Big Brother Dong, we've all faced death once. Our homes have been destroyed by the Japanese, and we have nothing left. Zhong Ge brought us together to fight the Japanese and avenge our families. We're not afraid of death, let alone hardship," Mazi said bluntly.

"Exactly," Shunzi added. "Big Brother Dong is so capable; with you leading us, we can definitely do it. My parents were killed by the Japanese, and I've already faced death once. Killing more Japanese is a bonus."

Seeing the admiring and trusting looks on everyone's faces, Dong Ku smiled and said, "We'll talk about it when we get there. If you want to fight the Japanese with me, it's simple, but you must pass my tests. Otherwise, you'll stay in the mountains with your guns to hunt..."

"Tests? What are tests? What kind of tests, Big Brother Dong?"

Huzi, walking beside Dong Ku, asked.

"I'm not afraid of death, let alone tests. Big Brother Dong, I'm with you..."

Mazi said in a deep voice.

"Exactly..."

The others echoed, and they continued their journey into the mountains...