The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 397: Farewell to the Pharmacy: Paving the Way of Escape for the Young Man with Passion

At daybreak, a solemn and murderous atmosphere filled the open space in front of the Japanese military headquarters in the county seat. A battalion of Japanese infantry and a squadron of Imperial Army cavalry were assembled in an orderly fashion.

Ando Yamano stood atop a makeshift platform, gripping a metal megaphone. His voice piercingly pierced his chest, "Warriors! You are all familiar with the name 'Netherworld Assassin.' He has repeatedly and brutally murdered Imperial warriors in the very land of our 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.' His methods are appalling! He is a grave threat to the Empire of Japan!"

The soldiers in the audience listened, their faces a mixture of anger and fanaticism, their grips tightly on their rifles. Seeing this, Ando Yamano's eyes flickered with satisfaction, and he continued to incite, "According to reliable intelligence, the 'Ghost Assassin' and his followers have recently been colluding with bandits in the mountains. This operation is to completely wipe them out, restore peace to this land, and remove all obstacles to the great cause of the Empire! The glory of the Great Japanese Empire now rests in your hands!"

The soldiers raised their guns and shouted: "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empire!"

Ando Yamano then issued an order: "The Second Infantry Squadron, along with the Military Police, Guards, and Detectives, will remain in the county town. Increase your efforts to apprehend the women who broke into the prison and the mysterious gunman. The First and Third Squadrons, along with the Imperial Army Cavalry Squadron, will immediately march into the mountains and encircle and eliminate the 'Ghost Assassin'! I want him dead or alive!"

Afterward, the Japanese troops followed orders and split up. Soldiers remaining in the county town, armed with guns, formed small groups of three or five, blocked intersections and began a sweeping, door-to-door search. Their faces were stern, their eyes gleaming with ferocity and vigilance. The troops marching into the mountains marched out of the city in a mighty procession, the infantry marching in steady, powerful steps, the cavalry squadrons' hooves clattering, raising clouds of dust as they headed towards the mountains.

Led by Du Zhiteng, a traitor from the detective squad, the Japanese military police stationed in the county town kicked open the carved wooden door of the Chen family pharmacy. Xu Yang, a young man grinding medicine at the counter, shuddered, the pestle clicking crisply in the bluestone mortar. He slowly straightened up, his body trembling as he watched Du Zhiteng point a revolver at him. "Yesterday, a prison break occurred, killing many Imperial Army soldiers. Today, we've been ordered to search the area. Do you know anything?" Du Zhiteng demanded fiercely.

Xu Yang pretended to be calm and stammered, "Boss, I'm just a medicine grinder. I've been busy here since morning and I don't know anything." He knew in his heart that if he revealed even the slightest flaw, he and the secrets hidden in the pharmacy would be ruined.

Du Zhiteng narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with suspicion. He paced back and forth in the shop, occasionally picking up medicine jars to examine them. He even kicked over several medicine boxes, scattering the herbs all over the floor. "Hmph, don't try to fool me. There's nothing in this city that I, Du Zhiteng, can't investigate. If I find out there's something wrong with you, you'll be in trouble!"

At this moment, a Japanese military police officer discovered a secret door in the corner and shouted excitedly, "Captain, there is a secret door here!" Du Zhiteng immediately rushed over, pointed his gun at the secret door, and yelled to Xu Yang, "Open it!"

Xu Yang's heart leaped into his throat as he slowly approached the secret door. His hand trembling, he reached for the mechanism, his mind racing with countermeasures. Suddenly, while Du Zhiteng and the gendarme were focused on the secret door, he spun around and swung the pestle at the gendarme closest to him. The gendarme was caught off guard, his eyes dazed, and he collapsed to the ground.

"You little bastard, how dare you resist!" Du Zhiteng was furious, raising his gun to fire. At this critical moment, the secret door suddenly opened, and the pharmacy owner, Chen Henian, rushed out at lightning speed, kicking the gun out of Du Zhiteng's hand. Using the momentum from the kick, Chen Henian leaped half a step forward, his left hand gripping Du Zhiteng's throat like an iron clamp, while his right knee swiftly drove into his ribs. Once Du Zhiteng's center of gravity was lost, he unleashed the Iron Mountain Lean technique, sending him flying.

The Japanese soldiers outside heard the noise and rushed towards the drugstore. While Chen Henian was fending off the military police's attack, he shouted to Xu Yang, "Yang'er, go through the tunnel and tell the boss that the Japanese have searched here!" Xu Yang hesitated for a moment, but seeing Chen Henian's determined eyes, he gritted his teeth, turned around and went into the tunnel behind the secret door.

Du Zhiteng got up from the ground and shouted angrily: "Don't let that kid get away! Chase him!" Several Japanese military police immediately chased into the tunnel.

The remaining Japanese military police raised a Type 38 bayonet and stabbed Chen Henian. Chen Henian dodged sideways, removed the bayonet casually, stabbed the bayonet into the heart of the Japanese military police, and kicked him away.

Du Zhiteng raised the pistol in his hand and was about to shoot at Chen Henian. Chen Henian just dodged sideways. But when he pulled the trigger, he only heard a muffled "puff" sound and the bullet did not fire out.

Shocked and angry, he subconsciously pulled the bolt to check, only to find that the chamber was jammed.

As Du Zhiteng's hands trembled as he nervously pulled the trigger, Chen Henian leaped forward. Using the momentum of his forward movement, his right calf thrust out like a swift spear, his toes tense. With a whirring sound, he struck Du Zhiteng's wrist, where he held the pistol. Du Zhiteng felt the pain, and his grip on the revolver instantly gave way. The revolver fell to the ground with a thud, bounced a few times, and slid several meters away.

Du Zhiteng didn't react as Chen Henian quickly approached and grabbed him by the hair. Chen Henian bent down, bent his right knee, and, gathering strength, rammed Du Zhiteng's abdomen. Du Zhiteng felt a sharp pain in his internal organs, vomited a mouthful of acid, and arched his body.

"You traitorous dog, today is your death!" Chen Henian roared, his eyes red. He gripped Du Zhiteng's throat tightly with his left hand, and with his right hand, he grabbed his arm and twisted it hard, causing Du Zhiteng's body to twist. Chen Henian thrust his right knee into Du Zhiteng's ribs. Du Zhiteng doubled over in pain. Chen Henian squatted down and hit the back of his neck with his shoulder. With a "crack", Du Zhiteng's cervical vertebrae broke, and he collapsed to the ground, breathless.

After dealing with Du Zhiteng, Chen Henian didn't even have time to catch his breath. He quickly scanned the surroundings, looking for a way to deal with the next Japanese attack. He saw several large cabinets filled with medicinal herbs nearby. He rushed over and pushed them over with all his might, placing them across the doorway, temporarily blocking the Japanese troops' path.

"Bang, bang, bang!" The Japanese military police slammed the counters with their rifle butts, yelling they were about to charge in. Bullets blazed through the cracks in the shop, sending sawdust flying. Chen Henian crouched behind the counter, his hands tightly gripping the newly jammed Mauser pistol. His breathing was rapid and heavy, each breath laced with anger and determination. As the jammed, dud bullet ejected with a click, his tense nerves relaxed for a moment.

He quickly leaned forward and began to grope Du Zhiteng's lifeless, limp body. Soon, he found a stack of spare bullets, more than a dozen. His fingers trembled slightly with nervousness and excitement, but his movements were incredibly swift, as he neatly pressed the bullets one by one into the pistol.

Meanwhile, outside the pharmacy, the Japanese military police, seeing their attempts to smash the cabinet blocking the doorway with their rifle butts proved fruitless, exchanged glances, understanding each other's intentions. Two of them quickly unhooked two grenades from their belts, forcefully unhooked the safety pins, struck their helmets against their foreheads, and hurled them toward the pharmacy's door. With two loud booms and a burst of flames, the grenades exploded next to the cabinet, the immense force shattering it, sending wood chips flying. The carved wooden door of the pharmacy was also shattered, sending debris flying everywhere.

Thick smoke instantly filled the air, choking and suffocating. Chen Henian stumbled and fell to the ground, his ears ringing and his hearing temporarily lost, but his overwhelming desire to survive forced him to quickly pick himself up.

"Go in and catch him!" the Japanese squad leader yelled at the top of his lungs. A group of military police, guns drawn, rushed into the pharmacy like wolves under the cover of gunpowder smoke.

Chen Henian endured the tinnitus and pain in his body, hid behind the counter, and fired at the door. With a few "bangs," the two gendarmes in the front were hit and fell down screaming. The gendarmes behind them were so scared that they quickly stopped and hid behind the cover.

"Baga, Xie Jiji!" The Japanese squad leader hid behind the door of a drug store, waving his command knife and roaring in frustration. After receiving the order, the military police began to shoot wildly at the drug store. Bullets poured down like raindrops, hitting the counter, walls and the ground, splashing countless sparks. The originally neatly arranged medicine cabinets were riddled with holes, and precious medicinal materials were scattered all over the ground. Several bullets penetrated the counter and hit Chen Henian's abdomen.

He groaned, his body falling backward, the revolver in his hand nearly slipping. A sharp pain shot through his abdomen, as if thousands of steel needles were stabbing him. Beads of sweat instantly covered his forehead, and his face turned as pale as paper.