War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1604 Wait, can.

On a snowy night in the forest, Wei Ran took advantage of the night battle and used a method that was almost deceptive and deceived to scare away the Japanese devils.

However, he did not stop there. Instead, he skied and drove the devils around like he was driving pigs, occasionally firing a shot from all directions behind him, or making strange howls that would scare wolves, urging them to retreat faster.

After helping them march quickly for about 15 minutes, Wei Ran decisively let go, started walking back in circles, and unbuttoned his collar to release the heat accumulated in his body.

  As for the Japanese soldiers behind him who were busy running for their lives and covered in sweat

The enemy they are facing now is no longer Wei Ran, the K-series night combat veteran, but the low temperature in the vast forest and snowy plains.

Rushing back to the Japanese camp as quickly as possible, Wei Ran could see at a glance that they had retreated in a hurry indeed. Not only had the bonfire not yet been extinguished, but there were even several wounded Japanese soldiers who were still alive. As for the dead mules and the things on the sleds, they were scattered everywhere.

After a quick search, Wei Ran gained quite a lot. There were five or six Japanese backpacks alone. He even saw eight-round ammunition bags for grenade launchers on two wounded soldiers.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Wei Ran took out his anti-Japanese broadsword and quickly killed the Japanese soldiers who were breathing in less than breathing out. Then he took off the ammunition bags that he had taken a fancy to.

Although only 12 grenades were looted from the two Japanese soldiers, he was already very satisfied.

However, before he could continue looking for something useful, the sound of gunfire was faintly heard from the direction of the Japanese retreat!

Could it be that Big Beard Cui brought people here?

Wei Ran was stunned at first, then he was delighted. He picked up the grenade he had just seen, returned to the previous ambush position, picked up the grenade launcher, and immediately ran on his skis towards the direction where the Japanese were retreating to help.

  The Japs were busy escaping, so why didn't he need to join up with Big Beard Cui as soon as possible?

That not only means that they can get out of the forest, but also means that Zhao Jinyu's chances of survival have increased a lot. She may even have the chance to meet the legendary Commander Zhao!

Urged by these factors, Wei Ran, on his skis, ran faster and faster, and the intermittent sounds of gunfire became clearer and clearer.

"laugh!"

Wei Ran stopped on his skis next to a lying pine tree. After some observation, he went around to the back of the Japanese and set up his grenade launcher again.

"Tom!"

As soon as the first grenade was fired, Wei Ran picked up the second one and stuffed it into the barrel.

"boom!"

When the first round exploded, he had already pulled the trigger and fired the second round.

Five high-explosive bombs were fired in a row at such a dense rate of fire that the Japanese soldiers were immediately forced to give up the exchange of fire and, shouting in panic, randomly chose a direction and began to flee in a hurry.

"Is it Brother Cui?"

After firing two more grenades at the fleeing Japanese, Wei Ran asked loudly while hiding behind a tree.

"Is that Brother Wei?" After a moment, a greeting came from the other side.

  "Brother Hu?!" Wei Ran immediately recognized the other party's identity!

"It's really Brother Wei!"

Before he finished speaking, a candle light appeared behind a big tree not far away. Soon, Hu Bazhi ran out with an oil lamp in one hand and a machine gun in the other.

"Why are you here?"

Wei Ran asked in surprise. He thought it was Cui Da Huzi who was blocked by the Japanese just now.

"I heard some noise over here"

Hu Bazhi ran over and explained, "I also saw the bright shells fired by the Japanese, so I ran all the way here. Brother Wei, why are you alone? I heard from Sister Hongxia..."

“We’ll talk about the rest later.”

Wei Ran pointed to the bodies left by the Japanese not far away, and said as he ran over there, "Brother Jin Yu is injured. Let's go over there and see if there's anything we can do for him, and then hurry back."

"How is he injured?"

After Hu Bazhi asked, he ran in the knee-deep snow towards the direction where he had been hiding before.

'It's not going well'

While Wei Ran was explaining hurriedly, he quickly searched the surrounding Japs, then chopped off their heads with a knife and kicked them away.

He had just finished his work when Hu Bazhi came over riding on the big white mule.

Hu Bazhi just glanced at the headless corpses on the ground and didn't ask any more questions. He just took some useful captured items and weapons handed to him by Wei Ran and put them on the mule, then threw him a rope.

Needless to say, Hu Bazhi shouted at the mule to run in the direction Wei Ran pointed.

Hu Bazhi returned to the abandoned campsite as quickly as possible and was shocked by the scene in front of him. "Did you two do all this?"

"right"

Wei Ran didn't explain too much, just pointed in the direction of Zhao Jinyu, "I'll leave this to you, come find me over there later, I have to start a fire to warm him up."

"I'll come to you later!" Hu Bazhi agreed as he jumped off his horse.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Ran immediately dismantled several individual tents left behind by the retreating Japanese, picked up some unburned firewood and two Japanese helmets, and ran towards Zhao Jinyu on his skis.

Fortunately, when he returned here, the two big black horses were still leisurely digging through the snow and eating lichens, and the tent with a parachute cloth canopy was still intact.

Bending down and crawling into the tent, Wei Ran breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Jinyu was still alive. Although he was still unconscious, had a high fever and trembled from time to time, he was indeed alive.

Placing the two lunch boxes filled with charcoal next to Zhao Jinyu, Wei Ran quickly dismantled the parachute cloth that could barely block the wind, pieced together the thicker pieces of Japanese waterproof canvas he brought back, built a thicker tent around the tree, and lit a bonfire in the Japanese steel helmet.

After a while, the tent became warm, but Zhao Jinyu did not wake up.

  It would be nice if you could give me the medical kit.

Wei Ran sighed helplessly, took out his lunch box, filled it with some snow and some pine needles, and then threw a few Japanese candies into it.

When he boiled water to dissolve the sugar and put it on the snow to cool it down and finally poured it into Zhao Jinyu's stomach, Hu Bazhi also called on the big white mule, pulling a sled abandoned by the Japanese and various things that had just been picked up, and rushed over following the ski marks.

"What happened to him?" Hu Bazhi asked as he tied up the mule.

"He was shot and has been shaking." Wei Ran threw the lid of the lunch box aside. "I just gave him some sugar water. I don't know if he can wake up."

"I heard from sister Hongxia that you were following a bearded man named Cui? Where is he?" Hu Bazhi asked while tidying up the sled.

"Getting Lost"

Wei Ran sighed, "Brother Jin Yu probably knows what's going on, but we have to let him wake up first."

"Then don't delay."

Hu Bazhi said, "Hurry up and put him on the sled. Let's leave here overnight."

"Where are you going?" Wei Ran asked.

"It doesn't matter where we go, let's go back to Langcaozigou!" Hu Bazhi made a decision after a little hesitation. "I estimate that we can get back before dawn. There are many Japanese soldiers near the forest now. We can't wait until dawn to leave."

"Then let's go now!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran decisively picked up the unconscious Zhao Jinyu and placed him on the sled. At this time, the sled was covered with a thick layer of pine needles and sedge grass, and on the top there were a few mule skins that had obviously just been peeled off.

“Just ripped off”

Hu Bazhi said, "There's a sled over there. Let's harness a horse to the sled and take away everything we can."

“You’re pretty quick.”

While Wei Ran was admiring him, he carried Zhao Jinyu onto the sled, and Hu Bazhi immediately covered him with the cotton-padded jacket that he had just taken off the corpse and a thick wolfskin mattress.

After Wei Ran stuffed the reheated hot water bottle into Zhao Jinyu's arms, Hu Bazhi immediately shouted and started the sled driving.

"Brother Hu, what was the situation on Captain Zhao's side when you rushed back?" Wei Ran, who was following behind on horseback, asked curiously.

Looking at the other black horse following behind Wei Ran, Hu Bazhi sighed, lit his pipe and said, "When I ran back, the shack was empty."

"What did you say?" Wei Ran felt a chill in his heart.

“That shack is empty.”

Hu Bazhi said, "No one is left, not a single one."

"Where did you go?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

"do not know"

Hu Bazhi shook his head and sighed, "The snow was so heavy that it covered all the footprints. Not long after I arrived there, I heard gunshots all around. I just ran up a ridge on my mule when I saw the devils and bandits surrounding the cave."

"Then what?" Wei Ran continued to ask subconsciously.

"Later, the Japanese occupied the dugout and sent people to chase me following the mule tracks."

When Hu Bazhi said this, he smiled and described it with a certain amusement, "Before I ran away, I saw that the kang hole in the dugout seemed to have exploded, and the entire dugout seemed to have been blown off. Before the chimney collapsed, a large amount of black smoke was spewed out."

"So they escaped early?" Wei Ran was somewhat relieved.

“He must have escaped.”

Hu Bazhi said with lingering fear, "Captain Zhao did run away. I was in big trouble. The damn Japanese chased me for most of the night. I was almost caught by them."

"Then you came back?" Wei Ran asked.

"Of course, I didn't know where to go. After getting rid of the Japanese, I simply went back to Langcaozigou."

Hu Bazhi said, "I had just arrived there and hadn't even entered when I heard from sister Hongxia that you guys had just left. I chased after you without taking a break, and was even chased by bandits who had surrendered to the Japanese."

Hearing this, Wei Ran was somewhat relieved. He had roughly guessed that Captain Zhao had probably made preparations for the transfer when he ambushed the group of devils in the Temple of the God of Wealth. He could almost vaguely feel that Captain Zhao was probably trying to use the enemy's strength to force Cao the shopkeeper to fight the devils before hibernating.

The purpose of doing this is probably because Captain Zhao has already realized that the location of their camp is known by Manager Cao.

"What's going on with you?" Hu Bazhi asked.

“It’s a long story.”

Wei Ran sighed and recounted everything that had happened before.

By the time he finished telling his story, the two of them had just returned to the abandoned Japanese camp.

Not daring to delay too much, the two of them picked out the things they needed and some mule meat and loaded them onto the other two sleds, let the two black horses lead them, and left here in the wind and snow.

Compared with the pursuit and blockade during the day, the march in the dark at night was unexpectedly smooth. Along the way, not to mention the Japanese, puppet troops and bandits, we didn't even encounter a wolf.

Being careful and cautious along the way, Hu Bazhi and Wei Ran returned to Langcaozigou before dawn.

Before they could even knock on the door, the iron gate that was almost completely covered with snow was opened from the inside - the person who opened it was the little girl named Yang Shiyi.

"Where's Miss Hongxia?"

While Wei Ran was speaking, he and Zhao Jinyu had already worked together to lift the still unconscious Zhao Jinyu with a piece of knotted horsehide.

When she saw Zhao Jinyu, Yang Shiyi's delicate but dirty face panicked for a moment. She quickly led them inside with the oil lamp in her hand, whispering, "We take turns guarding the door. They are sleeping inside."

"Tell them to get up and move all the things in." Hu Bazhi said.

"OK!"

Yang Shiyi agreed to Hu Bazhi's arrangement and also quickened her pace.

Before they could carry Zhao Jinyu in, Miss Hongxia, who heard the noise, ran out holding the flower-mouthed lute in one hand, "What's going on? Why is Brother Jinyu..."

"I'll explain it later," Wei Ran said, "Let's move the things outside in first."

Upon hearing this, Miss Hongxia immediately put the gun back into her arms, called the Sun sisters who had just crawled out of the mine, and followed Yang Shiyi who was holding an oil lamp and walked out.

After moving Zhao Jinyu into the "inner room" of the mine tunnel, Wei Ran first checked his physical condition, and then greeted Tian Xiaohu, who was also recuperating here and had woken up after hearing the noise.

"What's wrong with you?" Tian Xiaohu frowned and asked, "Things."

"I met the devil"

Wei Ran responded while checking the other party's wound, "Brother Cui took the things away. I don't know whether he delivered them to the commander."

"You don't know?" The expression on Tian Xiaohu's too young face had become extremely serious.

"I separated from them and led the devils away"

Wei Ran recounted their experience again and also checked the wounds of Tian Xiaohu and the other two injured people.

Fortunately, both Tian Xiaohu and the other two people seem to be in good condition, especially the two injured, who have at least regained consciousness.

While he was busy, Hu Bazhi had already run out and helped Hongxia and others move the spoils they brought back into the mine one by one, and carefully camouflaged the outside of the mine.

“That’s probably what happened.”

Wei Ran, who had already returned to Zhao Jinyu's side, helped him take off his boots while speaking. Needless to say, the Sun sisters had already added a few pieces of firewood to the mud stove next to them, which seemed to have been built not long ago, and poured a bowl of boiling hot mule meat soup with oil floating on it for Wei Ran and Hu Bazhi.

"Can he survive?" asked Tian Xiaohu, who was leaning against the wall.

"can"

Wei Ran gave an extremely confident answer. Upon hearing this, everyone hiding in the mine tunnel breathed a sigh of relief.

After changing the dressings on the wounds on Zhao Jinyu's body, Wei Ran took off his own sandals and threw them next to the clay stove to dry. He then sat down cross-legged with bare feet, picked up the bowl of still scalding hot soup and took a sip.

"What should we do next?" Hu Bazhi asked, looking up.

Unfortunately, after this question was raised, even the acting squad leader Tian Xiaohu was at a loss.

"Let's wait until Brother Jinyu wakes up."

Tian Xiaohu suppressed his confusion and said, it is true that he is the acting squad leader, but he is only sixteen or seventeen years old after all.

In fact, not to mention him, even the two wounded soldiers who were older than him were confused and could not see the way forward.

"Are you hungry?"

It was Miss Hongxia who broke the silence, "Shall I get you something to eat?"

"Excuse me, sister Hongxia"

Wei Ran spoke first. He was indeed hungry, and everyone really needed something to divert their attention and pessimistic emotions.

"What's the trouble?"

As Miss Hongxia spoke, she had already found a few Japanese lunch boxes and filled each of them with stewed, soft and boneless mule meat.

While he and Hu Bazhi were guarding the clay stove and gnawing on the meat, Tian Xiaohu and the other two wounded looked at each other, looking worriedly at the clay stove that was emitting flames, secretly looking for a way out for everyone.

In contrast, Miss Hongxia and Sister Sun were not idle at all, and they did not have so many worries at all. After leaving the task of taking care of the wounded to the youngest Yang Shiyi, the three sisters carried oil lamps and went out to take care of the three hardworking animals.

"Brother Wei," Tian Xiaohu suddenly said, "where is the map we found on the young master of the Cao family?"

"here I am"

As Wei Ran spoke, he wiped his hands on his trousers, took out a map from his arms, unfolded it and spread it on Tian Xiaohu's legs.

"Go and see if Brother Jinyu has any letter to Commander Zhao," Tian Xiaohu said. At the same time, Yang Shiyi lit a kerosene lamp and handed it over.

"I'll go right away"

Wei Ran wiped his hands again, walked to Zhao Jinyu's side and squatted down.

However, this time, before he could put his hand into Zhao Jinyu's arms, the latter reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"You..." Zhao Jinyu glanced at Wei Ran, slowly loosened his hand, and asked weakly, "I'm not dead?"

“I won’t die anytime soon”

Wei Ran moved aside and pointed at Tian Xiaohu, whose face was illuminated by the oil lamp not far away. "We are back to Langcaozigou again. Squad Leader Xiaohu asked me to see if your brother has the letter he wrote to the commander."

“Not here.”

Zhao Jinyu shook her head weakly, then said, "It's in Brother Cui's hands."

"Where is the flag of Guerrilla Team 1?" asked Tian Xiaohu.

"In Me"

Zhao Jinyu subconsciously touched her chest, and then asked in panic, "Nine Dragon Belt, my Nine Dragons."

"It's not lost. It's here."

As Wei Ran spoke, he picked up the Nine Dragon Belt that was burning with Zhao Jinyu's blood from the side.

"The first one on the right"

While Zhao Jinyu was speaking, Yang Shiyi had already walked carefully to his side, carrying a bowl of rice porridge cooked with meat broth.

"Let him lie down, don't let him get up." Wei Ran reminded.

Yang Shiyi nodded when she heard that, and sat down next to Zhao Jinyu. She scooped up a spoonful of thick rice porridge with a small Japanese spoon, puffed up her cheeks to cool it down, and then carefully brought it to Zhao Jinyu's mouth.

While the other party was drinking porridge, Wei Ran also found the small flag from the ammunition bag on the far right of the Kowloon Belt in his hand.

When he saw the flag, Tian Xiaohu breathed a sigh of relief, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "Brother Jin Yu, have you seen Commander Zhao?"

"no"

Zhao Jinyu dodged the spoon that was brought to her mouth and said with all her might, "Brother Wei led the Japanese away, and I wanted to go and help, so I separated from Brother Cui. I... I don't know Brother Cui's situation either."

After Zhao Jinyu finished speaking, the mine fell silent again.

"Wait a minute," Tian Xiaohu said, "wait and see if Brother Cui can come back."

"What if it doesn't work?" Hu Bazhi couldn't help but ask.

"call!"

Tian Xiaohu did not answer this question, but blew out the oil lamp, making the still warm mine cave even darker and more depressing.

"Can we still fight the devils?"

Yang Shiyi, who was feeding Zhao Jinyu by the clay stove, asked in a low voice.

"can"

Wei Ran, Tian Xiaohu, the two wounded men, Hu Bazhi, Zhao Jinyu, and even Miss Hongxia who happened to be walking back from outside with a bundle of firewood, all gave hateful answers in unison.

"Not only that, we have to drive them all away before we're done!" Zhao Jinyu also muttered to himself while holding his breath.