War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1644: The Light of the Flame
When the white light faded, Wei Ran unexpectedly found that he had not returned to the world he was familiar with, but was standing on a vast grassland.

This time, he was wearing a Mongolian robe, and the food-cutting knife that Hu Bazhi had given him was still hung on his waist.

Looking around, the most eye-catching things are the yurts scattered not far away.

Before taking another step, he tried to take out the Rollei twin-lens reflex camera from the metal book and checked it until he was sure that he could still take a few photos. Then he walked towards the yurts.

From a distance, a Mongolian Mastiff with a thick skeleton and a strong body, which was not tied with a leash at all, let out a low roar.

Wei Ran had no doubt that if he dared to take another step forward, the mastiff, which was no smaller than Belia, would pounce on him and bite him hard.

Fortunately, at this moment, the curtain of one of the yurts was lifted, and a woman in a Mongolian robe walked out.

"Aslang!"

The woman just shouted, and the mastiff that was roaring at Wei Ran the last second immediately quieted down, wagging its tail and sticking to the mistress's legs, looking at Wei Ran vigilantly with its eyes raised.

"Hello!" Wei Ran took the initiative to greet.

"Who are you looking for?"

As she spoke, the woman walked closer to Wei Ran, and the ferocious mastiff followed closely, then blatantly circled around Wei Ran and began to sniff around, as if it was ready to bite the crotch of Wei Ran if he didn't behave.

"I"

Wei Ran looked at the other person's face and said tentatively, "I don't know who I should look for. I..."

"You don't know either?" The woman who looked to be in her thirties or forties reacted, "Are you lost?"

"That's right"

After Wei Ran tried to touch the dog's head but was threatened by the dog, he raised his hands decisively and said, "Can I have a bowl of water?"

Hearing this, the woman hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Come in, Asleng!"

At her scolding, the ferocious mastiff lowered its head and kept a distance from Wei Ran, then moved closer to the mistress's legs again, putting on a fawning look.

Following the woman into the yurt, Wei Ran was stunned when he saw the layout inside.

The floor of this yurt was covered with woolen felt carpets. On either side of a table, a boy who looked about thirteen or fourteen years old and a girl who looked no more than ten years old were sitting opposite each other and playing chess seriously.

"sit down"

The woman invited Wei Ran to sit down at a long low table in the middle of the yurt. "Are you Chinese? How did you get here?"

"I'm lost"

Wei Ran answered absentmindedly, but his attention was on several things hanging not far away.

Those were two sabers and three box guns.

The two sabers were typical broad-bodied, thick-backed sabers used by the 8th Cavalry Division, but among the three box guns, one belonged to the Li brothers!
“Have a cup of milk tea”

As the woman spoke, she came over with an enamel kettle and a beautiful wooden bowl, and helped Wei Ran pour a bowl of milk tea.

"Are you Sister Zhao Jinlan?" Wei Ran asked tentatively.

"Kang Dang"

When she heard the name, the weather-beaten-faced older sister dropped half the pot of milk tea in her hand onto the wool felt blanket.

"Zhao Jinyu's third sister, the wife of Company Commander Ma Jintao, Zhao Jinlan, is it you?" Wei Ran asked in an increasingly affirmative tone.

"Yes, it's me." Zhao Jinlan looked at Wei Ran, "You are..."

Before Wei Ran could start to introduce himself, a shout came from outside the yurt, "Madam! I have brought back those horses that were lost!"

After this shout, the two little guys who were playing chess immediately cheered, "Grandpa Bai is back!" and then ran out of the yurt.

"Is it Lao Bai?" Wei Ran asked.

"You are Wei Ran!" Zhao Jinlan asked almost affirmatively.

"It's me. It's me."

Wei Ran nodded, "I am Wei Ran, and the young lady knows me."

"Brother Wei, please stop calling me Young Madam."

Zhao Jinlan waved her hands and said, "You are Jintao's brother, and you are also Jinyu's brother. You can call me sister-in-law or third sister."

"Then let's go to Third Sister." Wei Ran couldn't help but look at the weapons hanging on the wall again.

Seeing this, Zhao Jinlan was about to explain something, but she heard Lao Bai outside the yurt ask, "Madam, I heard from the young master that there are guests."

"Old Bai, come in. You're not a stranger. Look who's here." Zhao Jinlan greeted him politely without waiting for Old Bai to finish speaking.

After a moment, Old Bai, who looked much older, knocked on the door first, then bent down and went into the yurt.

"Wei Ran! Is it... is it you?!"

Lao Bai asked in disbelief, and at the same time ran over quickly, hugged Wei Ran's arm, and patted it nervously, "Good! Good! You are not hurt!"

"it's me"

Wei Ran hugged the other person enthusiastically, "We haven't seen each other for a few years."

"But we haven't seen each other for a few years! How did you find this place?!" Lao Bai asked almost subconsciously.

"I asked around and finally found you," Wei Ran answered vaguely.

"Old Bai, Brother Wei, please sit down and talk. I'll get you some wine and food." Zhao Jinlan greeted.

"Sister San, stop working," Wei Ran said quickly, "Let's sit down and talk."

"It's okay, you guys chat first." Zhao Jinlan said as she stepped out of the yurt.

"Old Bai, why are you here?" Wei Ran turned his head and asked.

"Ugh!"

Lao Bai patted his thigh and explained with a sigh, "In 46, the old man of the Ma family was forced to death by the grain-collecting allergy party. Without the old man's support, the young lady's life in the Ma family was difficult, so she simply took the young master and my little grandson and fled to Mongolia on the car of the Yang family caravan."

"Why are you here?" Wei Ran asked puzzled.

"The young lady's cousin's husband's house is right here."

Lao Bai lowered his voice slightly, "Life is a bit hard here, but at least we are away from the war, and we have Manager Yang to take care of us, so we can still make a living."

"You... aren't planning to go back?" Wei Ran asked with difficulty.

"Home is gone"

Lao Bai sighed, "My son and daughter-in-law are gone, and my young mistress's husband's family doesn't recognize her as an extinct family. Where can I go back?

At least here she has her cousin and shopkeeper Yang to help her, so it is convenient for her to move around."

"Yes, yes"

Wei Ran was startled, walked to the weapons hanging on the felt wall and changed the subject, asking, "What are these?"

"The two sabers belong to Captain Ma and Jin Yu, and the three box guns are the relics of the three brothers of the Zhao family."

Lao Bai followed and explained, "Captain Ma's saber was found by Guard Han on the battlefield beside the Shaying River. Captain Ma's body was sent back to the Ma family's ancestral tomb for burial. This saber is a souvenir left for the young lady."

"What about the rest?" Wei Ran asked.

"Jin Yu's saber and the inscribed box gun were personally delivered to Madam by an Anti-Japanese Allied Forces soldier after the Japanese surrendered."

"Where is that soldier?" Wei Ran asked almost subconsciously.

"Gone"

Lao Bai sighed, "I heard from Shopkeeper Yang that the soldier named Qiu died when he followed the People's Liberation Army to fight in Siping in the summer of 47."

Still didn't survive?
Wei Ran sighed helplessly, looked at the two little guys who ran in, changed the subject and asked, "What are the names of these two children?"

"The young master's name is Ma Pingchuan, which was given to him by the company commander when he was still alive."

Old Bai hugged the two children lovingly and introduced them, "My little granddaughter is called Bai Qingai. It was the name Li Wangchuan gave her back then." Just as he finished the introduction, the curtain of the yurt was opened again. Zhao Jinlan, who was standing outside the door, smiled and said, "Brother Wei, look who's here?"

Hearing this, Wei Ran's heart moved, and he immediately got up and went out of the tent. Then he saw a carriage pulled by two horses coming from a distance.

Before the carriage stopped completely, a boy and a girl, who looked about seven or eight years old, jumped off the carriage nimbly, shouted "Auntie" in a crisp voice and threw themselves into Zhao Jinlan's arms.

He could clearly see that the two children each had a rhino horn plate about the size of a matchbox and a mahjong tile hanging around their necks. He even knew clearly that the two plates must have been engraved with the names "Zhao Guangfu" and "Zhao Youhua" respectively.

Just as he was staring at the two little guys, a woman with a very imposing look jumped down from the carriage.

"Shiyi?" Wei Ran recognized the other person immediately.

"You are Brother Wei?!" Yang Shiyi looked at Wei Ran in surprise, "Why are you here?"

After saying this, Yang Shiyi's eyes were already red, and she tried hard not to let herself cry.

"I came to see if you were doing well."

Wei Ran said at a loss, "Shiyi, Third Sister, I'm sorry that I couldn't save Jin Yu back then."

"It's not your fault, it's not your fault."

Shiyi finished saying this with difficulty, but she had already covered her mouth with her hands, trying hard not to cry out.

"Come in and chat," Zhao Jinlan sighed and greeted, "Come in and chat, Brother Wei just arrived."

"Third sister, Shiyi, and Lao Bai."

Wei Ran took off the camera hanging around his neck as he spoke, "How about letting me take a few photos first? A group photo."

“Yes, it’s time to take a picture.”

Yang Shiyi was the first to speak while trying to wipe away her tears, "We need to take a few good pictures."

"Where do we shoot?" Zhao Jinlan asked.

"Right here, just in front of the yurt."

While adjusting the camera, Wei Ran asked, "Shiyi, are those two children called Guangfu and Youhua?"

"right"

Shiyi nodded, trying to calm down and answered, "They are twins. The brother is called Guangfu and the sister is called Youhua. They were named by Jinyu."

Hearing this, Wei Ran said, "Let the children stand in front, and the adults stand in the back."

Under his command, Yang Shiyi and others posed with the children. Wei Ran also placed the camera on the carriage, pressed down the selfie lever, and then ran over and stood next to Lao Bai.

Just like Bai Guang had done before, Wei Ran used the remaining few negatives to take a few group photos of Zhao Jinlan and her son, Lao Bai and his granddaughter, Yang Shiyi and her twin children, and even the children. He did not take any group photos until the film in the camera was used up. Then he went into the yurt where the banquet was already set up.

"Shiyi, where are you now?"

After Wei Ran picked up the wine bowl and toasted to Changshengtian, he asked curiously, "Hu Bazhi and his wife have been looking for you."

“We also moved to Outer Mongolia”

Yang Shiyi picked up the kumis and clinked it with Wei Ran's before explaining, "Before Jin Yu's incident, Chinese people were becoming less and less welcome in Russia. Many people were even arrested as spies by the Japanese."

At this point, Yang Shiyi sighed and said in a self-destructive tone, "Later, there was really no other way. I was pregnant at the time, so I moved here under the introduction of my third sister.

It was not until I moved here that I received the news that Jin Yu was gone.

Later, the Japanese surrendered and the allergic party was driven away. I also heard that even the bandits in my home had been wiped out, so I simply decided not to go back.

Whenever I think about going back and see the white mountains and black waters, I can't help but think of gold and jade.

He... He didn't even leave a body behind, oh my!
Now I just want to raise my and Jinyu's children well, and I will be satisfied when I see them grow up."

"Let's drink." Wei Ran couldn't bear to bring up the other party's sad story again, so he picked up the kumis and poured it into his stomach.

"Are they doing well?" Yang Shiyi and Zhao Jinlan asked the same question almost at the same time.

"Okay, you're fine."

Wei Ran used the knife that Hu Bazhi had given him to cut off a piece of mutton and put it into his mouth. While chewing it in big mouthfuls, he answered vaguely, "Hu Bazhi and Unakan also have a son and a daughter. The son is Hu Yuhu and the daughter is Hu Shixia."

After swallowing the chewed mutton, Wei Ran took a big gulp of the wine bowl and continued, "Zhao Jinyu's Jade, Tian Xiaohu's Tiger, Yang Shiyi's Poetry, Song Hongxia's Xia. They...the couple have not forgotten either of them."

After a brief pause, Wei Ran began to introduce Li Sui'an's situation.

"Sui'an, I mean Li Wangchuan. He returned to Sichuan after Qinghe's death, changed his name back to his old name Li Sui'an, and opened a grain store called Cangbinzhai.

His third brother's widow introduced a distant cousin to him as his wife a few years ago. They gave birth to a child named Li Wangchuan. He didn't forget Qinghe, he..."

"Don't blame him for what happened to Qinghe. There are always casualties in war."

Zhao Jinlan sighed, "Forget it, it's enough to know that he is doing well. Come on, Brother Wei, have a drink! I'll have a drink with you!"

Knowing that they didn't want to continue talking about those painful topics, Wei Ran also picked up the wine bowl and clinked it with them.

Bowl after bowl of kumis was poured into the stomach amid the clash of wine bowls. Just like Zhao Jinlan, Yang Shiyi and Lao Bai who also lost his loved ones wanted to get drunk to escape something, Wei Ran also wanted to get drunk to forget the pain and to remember those who did not survive.

Under the comfort of alcohol, the pain in my heart was gradually diluted, but my consciousness was also gradually submerged.

Finally, after Wei Ran drank another bowl of mellow mare's milk, he completely lost consciousness in the sudden white light.

The next second, as the white light dissipated, he stretched and opened his eyes, as if he had a good sleep.

When he saw everything familiar around him and realized that he was back in the workshop in the basement of the Time Library, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at the metal book lying flat on the table in front of him.

Under his gaze, the metal feather pen slowly wrote lines of blood-red words on a new page:
The Light of the Torch
On November 1937, 11, Li Hai and Shen Baoying, two fighters of the United Anti-Japanese Army, died in the battle against the Japanese army.

On April 1939, 4, the Sun sisters (Sun Dani and Sun Erya), two anti-Japanese fighters, were exposed while transmitting intelligence. The Sun sisters detonated a grenade and died together with the surrounding Japanese troops.

Cavalryman Ma Jintao died in battle on the banks of the Shaying River in September 1939, leaving behind a son, Ma Pingchuan.

Cui Da Huzi (Cui Shouchun), a fighter of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, died on the bank of the Songhua River in February 1940 due to betrayal by a traitor.

Qiu Yongwen, a soldier of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, was wounded in February 1940. He jumped over a horse to block the enemy to protect his companions and died.

In April 1940, two anti-Japanese fighters, Tian Xiaohu and Song Hongxia, were ambushed and killed while leading their team to a transfer.

Anti-Japanese Allied Forces fighter Qiu Lao Da (Qiu Yongyi) died in battle in January 1941.

Anti-Japanese Allied Forces fighters Xiao Si'er (Qiu Yongbiao) and Zhao Jinyu died in September 1942 while covering the transfer of the wounded.

Qiu Yongwu, a fighter of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, joined the First Column of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army in October 1945 and was killed in the shelling during the Siping offensive in 10.

After the war, Hu Bazhi (Hu Shouchun), a soldier of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, and his wife, Unakan, returned to their hometown to farm under a pseudonym and never revealed their combat experience. They had a son, Hu Yuhu, and a daughter, Hu Shixia.

In the winter of 1997, Hu Bazhi died in his sleep, and the following month, Una Kan died.

Zhao Jinlan, the widow of cavalryman Ma Jintao, fled to Mongolia in 1946 with her children and groom Lao Bai (Bai Hanfang) to avoid the war. She had a son, Ma Pingchuan, and an adopted daughter, Bai Qing'ai.

In 1956, Zhao Jinlan and Lao Bai (Bai Hanfang) died one after another due to the plague.

Yang Shiyi, the widow of anti-Japanese fighter Zhao Jinyu, was invited by Zhao Jinlan to live in Mongolia in 1946 to avoid Soviet purge and war. She had a son, Zhao Guangfu, and a daughter, Zhao Youhua.

In the summer of 1968, Yang Shiyi and the Yang family business were nearly wiped out due to a revenge plot for sheltering overseas Chinese in Mongolia.

His sons Zhao Guangfu and Zhao Youhua, as well as other Yang family survivors Ma Pingchuan, Bai Qingai and others fled Mongolia with the help of their business partners and eventually settled in Macau. Later, due to the situation, they lost contact with their Zhao cousins ​​in Mongolia and have been searching for them for years to no avail.

The metal feather pen wrote here, and then started another line to write two addresses located in Ulan-Ude, Russia and Australia Island, as well as two corresponding contact numbers.

The difference is that the contact number for the address in Ulan-Ude does not have the name of the contact person written on it, but the address in Huaxia Ao Island has a landline number.

only.
Wei Ran couldn't help but grin. Behind the contact number was a long string of traditional Chinese characters that sounded like an advertising slogan: Bai Ma Pork Feet Rice, delicious and affordable, free delivery near the pier, open 24 hours a day, all year round.

Before he could react, the metal feather pen wrote another string of words:
I bid farewell to the white mountains and black waters with tears, and traveled all over the Yellow River and Yangtze River. I am willing to shed my hot blood and burn as a light to drive away the darkness.

As he wrote this, three red whirlpools appeared on the back of the previous page, which was filled with the tasks for each scene, as he watched.

This time, the words written by the metal feather pen under the three red whirlpools were also exceptionally brief. They were just three blood-red words: "On the Songhua River", "Leaving Home" and "Revenge".

But Wei Ran knew that it was not only the name of the song in the Exile Trilogy, but also a bloody portrayal of the rough lives of many unknown warriors who turned into light.

(End of this chapter)