Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 4 Finding a Way to Leave the City

As the door opened, the winter sun shone into the room, and a woman wearing a light blue cheongsam walked in carrying a bowl of porridge. The cheongsam was well-tailored, perfectly outlining Song Mei's graceful figure, showing both the liveliness of a young girl and the gentleness and elegance of a woman from the Republican era.

Coupled with Song Mei's familiar and exquisite appearance, Su Yaoyang suddenly remembered a sentence that netizens had said in his previous life: "Haohao can't live without his father!"

The person who came was none other than Sister Mei, whom Xiao Lu had mentioned, and also the owner of this inn, Song Mei.

These days, after Su Yaoyang and Xiao Lu's travel money was stolen, they were only spared from being kicked out and sleeping on the streets thanks to her mercy. Therefore, Su Yaoyang was very grateful to her.

After Song Mei walked in, her gaze swept over Su Yaoyang, then she saw the meat buns and soy milk on the table. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and she couldn't help but tease him.

"Oh... you've already eaten big meat buns. I was worried you two would go hungry, but it seems I was just worrying unnecessarily."

After saying that, Song Mei turned to leave with the porridge in her hand, but Su Yaoyang quickly stepped forward to stop her.

"Manager Song, you've misunderstood. I ran into an old classmate when I went out just now and borrowed some money from him to buy this breakfast. It's not what you think."

"Did you borrow it from a classmate?"

A look of surprise appeared in Song Mei's beautiful eyes.

Seeing Song Mei's suspicious look, Su Yaoyang couldn't help but say, "I'm a student at Rehe Chengde Normal School, is it strange that I know a few classmates?"

"No, that's not it... I just..." Song Mei was about to explain when her beautiful eyes widened, and she stretched out her snow-white hand to him: "Now that you have money, shouldn't you pay me back the rent and medicine money you owe me?"

"Sister Mei." Xiao Lu, who was standing to the side, became a little anxious when she saw this. She was about to speak when Su Yaoyang stopped her.

He smiled and said, "Manager Song, how much money do we still owe you?"

Song Mei said calmly, "A sincere offer of four silver dollars and fifty cents!"

"it is good!"

Under the watchful eyes of Song Mei and Xiao Lu, Su Yaoyang actually took out five silver dollars from his pocket and placed them in Song Mei's fair hand.

He then said sincerely, "Manager Song, thank you for your care these past few days."

If it weren't for your helping hand, Xiao Lu and I would probably be dead by now, in this chaotic world.

And I'd like to explain that I really didn't mean to offend you just now.

To be frank, this chaos is just the beginning. The real disaster will begin when the Nationalist army is defeated and the Japanese invaders enter the city.

"The enraged Japanese devils will surely massacre the city's residents. If we don't leave now, we really won't be able to leave in a few days!"

Looking at Su Yaoyang's sincere expression and feeling the gleaming silver dollars in her hand, Song Mei's initial anger slowly faded, and her beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly.

She habitually weighed the silver dollar in her hand, feeling its familiar weight, and thought for a moment before saying, "Do you think that once the Japanese devils enter the city, they might start massacring the civilians?"

"It's not just a possibility, it's a certainty!" Su Yaoyang said solemnly.

"That sounds a bit far-fetched to me," Song Mei said, still somewhat skeptical. "This is Nanjing, our capital city. There are plenty of foreigners and reporters in the city. Even if the Japanese had a death wish, they wouldn't dare to do something like this, would they?"

"I..." Su Yaoyang was speechless for a moment. To be honest, if he hadn't been familiar with this history, he wouldn't have believed that a country that prides itself on civilization would do such a beastly thing.

He shook his head helplessly: "Manager Song, that's all I have to say."

Anyway, I'm definitely going to be in town with Xiaolu these next few days. As for you... I can only say, take care of yourself.

After saying that, he turned and left the house, leaving behind two women staring at each other.

Xiao Lu glanced at Su Yaoyang, who had disappeared from sight, then at Song Mei, and couldn't help but advise, "Sister Mei, my young master would never joke about something like this. Why don't you come with us?"

My young master is a very kind person; he's very considerate and will definitely take good care of you until you're plump and healthy.

"Pah!" Song Mei blushed and glared at Xiao Lu, spitting out, "You're the one who's been fattened up by him, I'm not... never mind... I'm not going to argue with you anymore, I'm going to get back to work."

After saying that, Song Mei twisted her serpentine waist and turned to leave the room.

Outside the inn's main gate, Su Yaoyang, dressed in a worn-out cotton-padded coat and cotton shoes, frowned as he looked around at the scene.

The mottled bricks and earthen buildings looked particularly gloomy under the sunlight. The low earthen walls in the corners were covered with dust, and the road underfoot was a mixture of mud and gravel. Every step made people feel a sense of long-lostness and unfamiliarity.

The occasional sounds of gunfire in the distance, like faint yet piercing echoes, seemed particularly jarring in the tranquility.

Su Yaoyang involuntarily raised his head, trying to find out where the sound came from, but he could only see a blurry outline on the horizon. It was part of the ancient city wall, and not far away, a bomb crater stood quietly, as if reminding him of the turmoil this land had experienced.

His heart was filled with an indescribable sense of bewilderment. This place seemed familiar, yet so strange. Everything he knew seemed to have vanished.

In this city that exudes a sense of historical weight and legendary charm from the Republican era, he has truly traveled through time, but what will the future hold?
Su Yaoyang walked unsteadily on the road. There were hardly any people on the street at this time, and even when he saw a few pedestrians, they were all passing by with their heads down.

After walking for more than an hour, he finally managed to stop a passerby, and after asking him some questions, he was dumbfounded.

He originally planned to go to Zhongshan Wharf and Xiaguan, but unexpectedly ended up on Hanzhong Road near Jinling University. If you go south, you will reach Zhonghua Gate.

Finally, the middle-aged woman he had stopped looked him over for a while and kindly reminded him, "You young man, what time is it and you're still wandering around the streets?"

Hurry home! The Japanese have already reached the gates of Zhonghua. Your parents raised you with great difficulty; don't throw your life away in a muddle.

Remember, to get to Xiaguan, walk northwest along Zhongshan Road. You'll be there soon after you see the Japanese embassy. Don't go the wrong way.

Su Yaoyang was naturally very grateful, but looking at this kind-hearted woman, he couldn't help but say, "Auntie, with the war going on so badly, why don't you take your family and leave the city to hide?"

The old woman smiled sadly: "I'm old... I can't walk anymore. It's just me and my husband at home. Even if I wanted to walk, I wouldn't know where to go."

"Forget it, even if we die, we'd rather die at home than wander the streets as lost souls."

Su Yaoyang was speechless; perhaps this was the meaning of being unable to leave one's homeland.

After saying goodbye to the kind aunt, Su Yaoyang looked around and was about to head in the direction she had pointed when suddenly a horn sounded ahead, and several trucks were driving towards him from the south.

(End of this chapter)