Chapter Two: Experiences at the Old Lord Temple

June 22, 1938, Evening, He Yuan County, Lao Jun Temple

Xu Zhongyi trudged up the towering green stone steps, each about a foot high. He was nearly ready to give up—one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight steps, all uneven green stones, some wide, some narrow, some tall, some short, with certain spots slick and treacherous. After hours of hiking through mountain trails, the soles of his shoes were nearly worn through, and now he still had to climb these steps. It was unbearably exhausting.

“Stop dawdling, move it!” A soldier, unable to tolerate the slow pace any longer, snapped sharply. Still, he relieved Xu Zhongyi of the Jin-made 65 rifle with the safety off that he carried over his shoulder.

“We’re almost there. Just keep up,” Gu Yufei said weakly. A kindly old army doctor had just treated her wound and applied some gold ointment, but she had lost too much blood; the bullet was still lodged in her arm, and she was utterly drained of strength.

“Team leader, I’m really hungry. That medic gave you some sugar. Can I have a piece too?” Xu Zhongyi sidled up to Gu Yufei. He had seen clearly that the medic had handed her some candy wrapped in tin foil—a rare luxury. He could even smell the sweet flavor as she chewed.

“Here, take it. I don’t have any more,” Gu Yufei said resignedly, pulling a few pieces of chocolate from her pocket and handing them to Xu Zhongyi. In her mind, she was already considering the unit’s supply situation. She had noticed several soldiers eating the same chocolate besides the old medic. Given the Nationalist Army’s supply conditions, even air force pilots were rarely issued chocolate.

“At least four hidden bunkers, two machine gun nests, two artillery emplacements, plus several trenches reinforced with timber. And the chocolate really is good—sweet!” Xu Zhongyi quickly rattled off his observations. With this terrain, if there were no other paths, no regiment could hope to advance here.

“Don’t talk. Just watch,” Gu Yufei whispered, her eyes fixed on a small-caliber rapid-fire artillery emplacement. That meant this unit had at least three automatic cannons. What kind of force were they facing?

Before nightfall, they finally reached the courtyard of Lao Jun Temple. The prisoners were herded to one side, each given a bowl of rice porridge and a biscuit. The porridge contained small red meat cubes—she couldn’t tell what kind of meat, but judging by the prisoners’ delighted expressions, it tasted good. Seeing this, Gu Yufei frowned. Feeding prisoners compressed biscuits and meat porridge, even rice porridge—were their supplies really that good?

Soon after, soldiers pushed the prisoners aside. Large jars of water, warmed by the sun, had medicine powder sprinkled in by the old army doctor. The prisoners were ordered to strip and bathe in the water. The powders were likely to treat skin diseases and drive out lice and fleas, causing the prisoners to shriek and wail, but at least it eased their anxiety somewhat.

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