Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 12 Persuading Song Mei
As the smoke cleared, a figure walked up from behind. He casually picked up a Type 38 rifle with a fixed bayonet from the ground and plunged it into the motionless corpse lying on the ground.

"Puch..."

"Puff... puff..."

With a few muffled groans, the dozen or so Japanese soldiers on the ground, whether truly dead or seriously wounded, were all completely dead.

After dealing with the Japanese soldiers, Su Yaoyang could no longer contain his anxiety and rushed into the inn.

"Xiao Lu... Xiao Lu..."

"Manager Song... Manager Song... Are you there?"

By the end, Su Yaoyang's voice was hoarse and filled with barely suppressed sobs.

Although he had only been in this world for a week, as the old saying goes, even humans have feelings. How could he not like or care about the girl who had never abandoned him and whose heart and eyes were always with him?

The thought of possibly losing her made his heart clench as if gripped by a giant hand, causing him so much pain that he could barely breathe.

"Xiao Lu... Xiao Lu..."

Just as he ran to the backyard of the inn, a door was pushed open, and a girl with bright eyes and white teeth, wearing a light blue cotton-padded jacket, rushed towards him, threw herself into his arms, and choked with sobs.

"Young Master...where did you go today? I thought...I thought I'd never see you again...Waaah..."

"Xiao Lu..."

Su Yaoyang held the girl tightly, feeling a tremendous joy of having gained and then lost her, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

After the two embraced tightly for a while, the girl in his arms suddenly asked, "Young master... what are you carrying? It's hard and it hurts."

"Oh...this...it is..."

Su Yaoyang released her and was about to speak when he saw a slender figure standing in front of him, with a delicate and fair face looking at them with a half-smile.

Upon seeing the visitor, Su Yaoyang blushed and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Manager Song, I'm really sorry to have made you laugh."

Song Mei glanced at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes when she saw the submachine gun hanging on his chest and the bullets and grenades covering his body. However, she wisely didn't ask anything, and simply said, "Young Master Su, I've returned your little girl to you safe and sound. Don't come looking for her again if you have any problems in the future!"

Upon hearing Song Mei's clear voice, Xiao Lu realized there was someone behind her. Her face flushed red, and she quickly grabbed Su Yaoyang's hand, saying:

“Young Master…you haven’t come back since you went out this morning. I was thinking of going out to look for you, but Sister Song Mei stopped me.”

Unexpectedly, the Japanese invaders entered the city in the afternoon, and all the guests and staff of the inn fled. Sister Song Mei closed the door of the inn and pulled me to hide in the backyard.

Unexpectedly, a group of Japanese soldiers just came and surrounded the inn. When they saw that we ignored them, they started banging on the door. Luckily you arrived in time, otherwise... otherwise we..."

At this point, Xiao Lu started crying again.

Su Yaoyang fell silent. Of course, he knew what would have happened if Song Mei hadn't stopped Xiao Lu today, and a girl had gone out to look for him in this chaotic time of war.

He turned around and bowed to Song Mei. "Manager Song, thank you for taking care of me these past few days. If it weren't for you today, Xiao Lu and I probably would never have seen each other again. If there's anything you need me to do in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. I, Su, will never refuse!"

Song Mei snorted: "Forget it, considering you saved me and Xiao Lu just now, let's call it even today. Besides, I didn't save Xiao Lu for you, but because I felt sorry for her. She's so young and doesn't have enough to eat every day, not to mention having to take care of your food, clothing, and shelter. I couldn't stand it, so I helped out."

Su Yaoyang touched his nose, unsure of what to say.

He wasn't ungrateful. Although Manager Song was sharp-tongued, without her secret help, he and Xiao Lu would have been homeless long ago.

In such cold weather, it's easy to imagine the consequences of sleeping on the streets.

Not wanting to continue the topic, he coughed lightly. "Manager Song... so many Japanese soldiers have died outside, we can't stay here any longer. Do you have anywhere to go?"

Before Song Mei could answer, Xiao Lu interrupted, "Young Master...where else can Sister Song Mei go?"

Since Song Mei's parents passed away, she has lost contact with her already few relatives. This inn is all she has left. Where can she go if she leaves here?

Song Mei was surprised that the quick-tongued Xiao Lu had told her everything, and she glared at her with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

Upon hearing this, Su Yaoyang immediately said, "Manager Song, since you have nowhere to go, why don't you come with us? That way, we can all look out for each other."

“Yes, Sister Song Mei.” Xiao Lu grabbed Song Mei’s hand. “With the war raging right now, it’s too dangerous for a girl like you to go alone. Why don’t you come with us?”

Song Mei hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at the inn. She was reluctant to leave it behind; it was the only memento her deceased parents had left her, and she really couldn't bear to give it up.

Seeing Song Mei's reluctant expression, Xiao Lu immediately took her arm and said coquettishly, "Oh, Sister Song Mei, why don't you come with us? This inn is right here anyway, no one can move it. We can come back after the Japanese leave, what do you say?"

Song Meineng was able to run the inn very well after her parents' death, so she was not a foolish person and quickly made a decision.

"Okay, let's quickly pack our things and leave..."

Just as Su Yaoyang and his two companions were packing up to leave, a completely different scene unfolded at St. Paul's Cathedral, a little over a kilometer away from the inn.

Back at the church, George Chen and the female students were reunited, only to find that several more groups of uninvited guests had arrived.

One group consisted of Li Gaoyuan and his fellow training team soldiers who had arranged to meet Su Yaoyang at the church; another group was thirteen prostitutes from the banks of the Qinhuai River; and the third group consisted of only one person, an American named John, who had come specifically to collect the body of Father Engelman, who had been killed by Japanese artillery fire.

When so many people meet in the church, the scene is incredibly lively.

Unlike the original novel, in the film, Li Gaoyuan and his companions occupied the safest cellar upon arriving at the church, where they placed the four wounded soldiers.

Thirteen prostitutes who had sought refuge along the Qinhuai River were not to be outdone. Arranged by a top courtesan named Yu Mo, they also squeezed in, creating a noisy cacophony.

When the soldiers from the training corps told them to be quiet, they were met with ridicule from the prostitutes.

"If you soldiers weren't so useless, why would we be hiding here?"

With just one sentence, he silenced the soldiers of the training corps.

(End of this chapter)