Chapter Fifty-Five: The Tragedy of Ronghua Village (Part Two)

Ah Huang shook his head. "It's all an illusion. Everything we see is fake, or at least, it's not happening right now. We've all fallen into a powerful illusion created by someone with extraordinary magic."

No one around them seemed able to perceive the four of them. Each villager was consumed by their own panic—fleeing, screaming...

"Zhenzhen, you and your mother, run! I have to go back and find my brother!"

The little boy, Liu Mingming, who looked exactly like the Ghost King, turned and ran toward the wedding platform, following the terrified tide of villagers.

"Liu Mingming! Mingming, no, please!" Zhenzhen reached out to grab him but failed. Her mother and several loyal servants quickly swept her into their arms and hurried away, searching for a place to hide among the fleeing villagers.

"Kill them all! I want everyone dead! This village now belongs to the Imperial Army!" barked a Japanese officer with a thin mustache, his arrogance unmistakable.

Hearing this order, Fu Yang felt his blood boil with rage, wanting nothing more than to tear that wretched man to pieces.

"Curse you, you bastard!" he yelled in anguish, about to charge at the Japanese soldiers.

But Ah Huang held him back forcefully and shouted, "Calm down! This is just an illusion, something that happened back in the Republican era! Rushing in won’t change anything."

Fu Yang froze, rooted to the spot. Yet as he looked at the carnage around him, tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

Zhao Shanshan was already sobbing bitterly, her mouth covered to stifle her cries.

"Calm down, we have to stay calm! There's a reason why that powerful Taoist used his magic to show us this vision. Think—try to remember, try to understand..."

Ah Huang shook Fu Yang by the arm, trying to help him collect himself through the tears and snot.

"The reason... The Ghost King, Liu Mingming! I understand now." Fu Yang shouted to the others, "That Liu Mingming must be the Ghost King from Jiang Forest! We have to follow him, see what happens next."

Of course! The realization dawned on all of them. They quickly turned around, only to see the little boy almost lost in the crowd.

"After him! Quickly!" Ah Huang called and dashed after the child.

Fortunately, the villagers around them were now nothing more than insubstantial phantoms, so the four could rush straight through, catching up to the boy with ease.

"Brother! Where are you? Where are Father and Mother? Brother..." The little boy ran, tears streaming, bravely but still clearly terrified.

Suddenly, a strong hand caught him and pulled him into an embrace. It was the groom, Liu Mengshu, now disheveled and desperate.

"Mingming, I'm here. Don't be afraid. I'll get you out of here."

"Where are Father and Mother?"

A look of anguish came over Liu Mengshu's face. He bit back tears, his voice trembling: "They were killed by the Japanese devils. It's just us now. We must survive, brother. One day, we will avenge them!"

He picked up his little brother and ran toward the back of the village.

But the Japanese soldiers, ruthless as ever, had no intention of letting anyone escape. A subordinate noticed Liu Mengshu and, with a wave, led a squad after him.

"Let's go! We'll follow them!" Fu Yang and the others raced after them.

Liu Mengshu, carrying Liu Mingming, ducked into a remote corner of the village. But it was a dead end. The brothers held each other and wept in silence, not daring to make a sound.

"Search everywhere! Find them all and kill them! The Three Alls Policy must be strictly enforced!" barked a Japanese officer.

Fu Yang clenched his fists, grinding his teeth in fury as the words echoed in his ears.

The four watched silently, like ghosts within the illusion, standing beside Liu Mingming and Liu Mengshu and witnessing the brothers' despair.

"Mingming, I promise, you will live. You will grow up safe and healthy. Trust me. Please, trust me..." Liu Mengshu held his brother's head gently, repeating the words like a mantra, perhaps to comfort Mingming, or perhaps himself.

The sensible Liu Mingming wiped away his tears and nodded fiercely.

But their hope was fading. A squad of Japanese soldiers was drawing closer, still looting and killing in the village. They were trapped in the alley with no way out.

Unless... they could dash across the ten meters ahead to another alley.

But with the soldiers so close, there was little chance of slipping past unnoticed.

As the Japanese soldiers closed in, their lives hanging by a thread, Liu Mingming’s face suddenly hardened with resolve. He broke free from his brother’s arms and looked him straight in the eyes. "Brother, live well. And find me a sister-in-law..."

Before Liu Mengshu could react, Mingming turned and darted away like a nimble monkey.

"Mingming!" Liu Mengshu snapped out of his daze, lunging after his brother, but his hands grasped only empty air.

Liu Mingming had already burst out from their hiding place and dashed into the alley, directly exposing himself to the Japanese soldiers.

Fu Yang, Ah Huang, and Liu Zhan were stunned. None of them could have predicted that, at the final moment, this little boy would sacrifice himself as a decoy to give his brother a chance to live.

As they watched Mingming run out, Zhao Shanshan sobbed so hard that she nearly collapsed.

Liu Mengshu bit down hard on his own hand, refusing to let a sound escape his lips. Tears and snot streamed silently down his face, blood dripping from his hand to the ground.

"Come and get me, you bastards! You can’t even catch a child—try me if you dare!" Mingming shouted as he waved his arms, then dashed into a dead-end alley.

"A child, eh? All the more fun to kill. After him!" barked a Japanese officer, and the squad chased after Liu Mingming.

"Run! Run! What are you waiting for?" Fu Yang, Ah Huang, and Liu Zhan shouted at Liu Mengshu, still collapsed in grief. But this was only an illusion—something that happened seventy or eighty years ago...

At last, when a terrible cry echoed from the far end of the alley, Liu Mengshu sprang to his feet as if awakened from a nightmare. Like a leopard, he covered the dozen meters in a flash and slipped into a dark alley leading out of the village.