The War of Resistance Against Japan: Starting with a Calm View of Life and Death

Zhou Jindong's actions were too decisive.

This scene clearly took everyone present by surprise.

He didn't even look at Wang Yuan. He took two steps and stood in front of Su Hao. In the other's terrified and widened pupils, his left hand gripped Su Hao's throat like an iron clamp and pressed him against the wall. His right hand formed a knife and slashed hard at Su Hao's neck with a whooshing sound!

"Well!"

Su Hao managed to squeeze out a short, muffled groan, his eyes rolled back, and his body went limp like a noodle.

He fell into a coma very easily.

"Dongzi! What are you doing! Did you take the wrong medicine?" Wang Yuan finally realized what was happening, and was both shocked and angry. He lunged forward to pull Zhou Jindong away.

Zhou Jindong stepped aside to let Wang Yuan's hand pass, and then pressed the limp Su Hao to the ground.

He deftly pulled out a roll of hemp rope that he had prepared beforehand from his pocket, pressed his knee firmly against Su Hao's lower back, and quickly tied his wrists behind his back, then quickly bound his ankles.

Finally, he tore off the dusty towel from his neck, crumpled it into a ball, and forcefully stuffed it into Su Hao's wide-open mouth.

"What exactly are you up to?"

Wang Yuan was completely bewildered by Zhou Jindong's fluid movements. Sun Erniu and Wang Quan were also at a loss, instinctively raising their guns but then realizing something was amiss, they awkwardly lowered them.

Zhou Jindong tied Su Hao up, then stood up, brushed the snow off his hands, and explained to Wang Yuan, who was practically spitting fire, "Brother Yuan, this kid is a traitor! He's most likely the one who brought the Japanese here!"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Wang Yuan retorted without even thinking. "My eyes aren't blind! Su Hao has been running around all this time, and he's the one who got all the information about the Japanese!"

If he were a traitor, our guerrilla force would have been wiped out by the Japanese long ago! How could we still be alive?

"Dongzi, get this straight! Su Hao has truly turned over a new leaf! Don't try to retaliate just because he led the blockade of the pharmacy! We guerrillas don't do that!"

Zhou Jindong didn't argue with him. He squatted down, ripped open the front of Su Hao's worn-out cotton-padded jacket, and carefully felt around in his clothes.

Su Hao remained unconscious and unresponsive.

Wang Yuan was so angry he was panting, while Sun Erniu and Wang Quan looked at each other, unsure of who to believe.

Suddenly, Zhou Jindong's hand stopped.

He took out a paper package carefully wrapped in oil paper from Su Hao's inner pocket.

He quickly tore open the oil paper, revealing a large amount of black powder inside.

"Look at this!" Zhou Jindong held the pinch of powder in his palm and held it under Wang Yuan's nose.

Wang Yuan wrinkled his nose and sniffed; it smelled of familiar soot.

"Coal dust? What does that prove? Which household in town doesn't have some coal ash in their stove?"

"It's not coal ash from the stove," Zhou Jindong explained coldly. "I saw it this morning at the cave entrance, right when you arrived. This kid was huddled at the very back of the group, secretly scattering this stuff behind him as he walked!"

I knew something was wrong right then! And then I thought, what was he like in town before?

Idle and lazy, swindling and cheating! How come you suddenly have such a high level of "enlightenment"? And you're even "actively" gathering information about the Japanese?

Did the information he gathered allow us to evade the Japanese, or did the Japanese never intend to capture us in the first place?

Wang Yuan was taken aback. Recalling the previous operations, Su Hao's intelligence seemed to be a mix of good and bad. Sometimes he could avoid the Japanese patrols, but other times he would inexplicably encounter small groups of Japanese soldiers blocking his way.

He previously attributed this to the uncertainty of intelligence.

"And another thing," Zhou Jindong continued, his eyes fixed on Wang Yuan, stating the basis for his judgment, "I saw Su Zhan in town just now! He was standing right next to the Japanese squad headquarters, dressed smartly, talking to a Japanese lieutenant!"

"Su Zhan?" Wang Yuan frowned, racking his brains for a moment before speaking, "The one who came back a while ago but was kicked out of the Su family and cut off all ties? The Su Zhan who worked as a translator for the Japanese in Taiyuan? Su Hao's distant cousin?"

"Yes! It's him!" Zhou Jindong said decisively. "These two are relatives! Brother Yuan, is Su Hao's sudden 'active' behavior after his cousin came back? Brother Yuan, think about it carefully, is there really such a coincidence in this world?"

A hoodlum suddenly became our guerrilla team's "intelligence hero," and his cousin just happened to be a favorite of the Japanese!

Why did he scatter coal dust on the ground? It was a mark for the Japanese soldiers! To guide them as they searched the mountains!

Wang Yuan looked at the handful of coal dust in Zhou Jindong's hand, then at the unconscious Su Hao on the ground, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

He still didn't want to believe it, but it seemed he had no choice but to!

Sun Erniu and Wang Quan also gasped, their eyes instantly filled with disdain as they looked at Su Hao.

"Damn it... I really misjudged him!" Wang Yuan gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words, his facial muscles twitching.

He suddenly raised his foot, intending to kick Su Hao.

Zhou Jindong stopped him and said, "Brother Yuan, don't rush! Let him tell us whether it's true or not! This kid is weak-willed, he'll throw up everything if you scare him."

"There's no harm in asking, is there? Besides, if I've wronged him, I, Zhou Jindong, will kowtow to him and apologize in front of everyone!"

At this point, Zhou Jindong stopped rambling.

He walked to the corner of the earth god temple, bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, squatted down next to Su Hao, and without hesitation, pressed the snow hard onto Su Hao's face and rubbed it vigorously!

"Ugh...cough cough cough!"

The biting cold instantly jolted Su Hao awake from his unconsciousness.

He coughed violently, his body twisting and turning like a fish out of water, but because his hands and feet were bound and his mouth was stuffed with a towel, he could only let out muffled whimpers.

Zhou Jindong grabbed Su Hao by the hair, lifted his upper body up, and made him sit against the wall.

At the same time, he pulled a dagger from his leg and, with a "whoosh," pressed it against Su Hao's neck.

The cold blade sent shivers down Su Hao's spine.

"Listen, Su Hao," Zhou Jindong's voice was as deep and menacing as a chilling wind blowing from the ground, "I'll only ask you once. If you dare to shout or try anything funny, I'll slit your throat right now! Blink twice if you understand!"

Su Hao was so frightened that he was terrified. Snot and tears streamed down his face, and the snow water made him look even more disheveled.

If you've done something wrong, you're truly afraid of ghosts knocking at your door.

After being on tenterhooks for so long, we were still exposed!

For a moment, he thought he was going to die.

He blinked frantically, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Zhou Jindong then used the back of his dagger to pry open the towel in his mouth.

As soon as the towel fell, Su Hao pleaded in a tearful voice, "Brother Dong! Brother Dong, spare me! I..."

"Shut up!" Zhou Jindong pressed his dagger inward a little, and the sharp blade instantly drew a thin line of blood on Su Hao's neck.

"I ask, you answer! Dare to utter a single unnecessary word, and you're dead!"

Su Hao's wailing stopped abruptly, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"It was you who led the Japanese devils here, wasn't it?" Zhou Jindong asked the most crucial question.

Wang Yuan, Sun Erniu, and Wang Quan's eyes were fixed on Su Hao's face like awls.

Su Hao's psychological defenses completely collapsed under the cold blade and the gazes around him that seemed to burn him through.

He's a hoodlum by nature; how could he possibly dare to challenge his own weaknesses?

He knew that if Zhou Jindong dared to kill the Japanese, he dared to kill him too!

Moreover, he has a long-standing feud with the Zhou family!

"It was...it was me..." He blurted out everything in a flurry, "Brother Dong...Brother Yuan...I...I was forced into it! If I didn't do it...they would kill my whole family!"

"Explain yourself! Who forced you? How did they force you?" Zhou Jindong's dagger remained motionless.

"It's my cousin... Su Zhan!" Su Hao cried, tears streaming down his face. "Before the New Year, he went to Taiyuan... somehow he got involved with the Japanese... became a translator... and was living a very prestigious life..."

He...he came back a while ago...secretly approached me...slipped me a few silver dollars...and said that as long as I...do things for him...I'll live a life of luxury from now on..."

All I can say is that this kid is utterly hopeless.

He completely forgot that his whole family was Su Zhan's whole family.

"What do you want?" Wang Yuan shouted after hearing this, took a step forward, and looked like he wanted to tear Su Hao apart.

The more he trusted before, the angrier he is now!

This Su Hao, a leopard can't change its spots!

Even the food wasn't hot!