Chapter 3: The Sudden Air Raid

  The next morning after Dong Li Mao woke up, under the support of Diao Lanxiang, he walked out of the ward. He was wearing a lieutenant's uniform that Zhu Yongsheng had borrowed from the team's military supplies department for him. The fashionable summer outfit he wore in Songshan had gone who knows where, and he also asked Diao Lanxiang if she had seen an old black-and-white photo of him wearing a lieutenant's uniform.

  Dolan's response was: "When I saw you, except for the bandage on your chest, there was nothing else. You looked like a newborn baby who had just fallen asleep without wearing anything."

  He also learned from Dao Lanxiang that he was shot in the chest on both sides, with his right chest being penetrated and the bullet in his left chest fortunately not hitting any vital organs. Almost all the doctors and nurses thought he wouldn't live for much longer, but he miraculously survived.

  In the hospital's courtyard, many military tents were set up as temporary wards. Many wounded soldiers sat in groups of three or five outside the tents, some playing cards, some smoking, and others chatting with girls wearing various colorful Dai ethnic costumes.

  The hospital consisted of two two-story tile-roofed houses, both old-style buildings made of earth and wood, adjacent to each other in an L-shape. If it weren't for the green canvas tents in the courtyard and the bandaged soldiers wearing military uniforms, Dong Limao would have thought he was on a foreign vacation.

  The sky is very blue, and the morning sunlight is dazzling, shining hot on my face.

  Dong Li Mao looked up at the sky, wanting to take a deep breath, but the wound on his chest was throbbing with pain, making it hard for him to breathe.

  "In my Shandong hometown, this season still has some chilliness, but here it's hot to the point of being unbearable." Dong Li Mao suddenly thought of his dad and mom, were they looking for him right now? Or were they waiting by his bedside? They couldn't possibly think that their son had traveled through 62 years and become a great-grandfather. Would he also die like the great-grandfather two years later?

  Thinking of death, Dong Li Mao's heart was filled with an indescribable sadness. What could be more terrifying than knowing the exact date of one's own demise?

  Dong Li Mao silently shed two tears, these two tears were for his own death in a foreign land two years later.

  "Dong Lianchang, in a few days, it will be our Dai ethnic traditional Water Splashing Festival. This year is different from previous years and it will be very special." Dao Lanxiang saw Dong Limao with tears in his eyes and thought he was feeling sad because of the wounded people in the yard, so she wanted to say something cheerful.

  "Oh, what's special?" Dong Li Mao slowly sat down on the steps and asked.

  "Because there are so many soldiers celebrating the Water Festival with us this year." Dao Lanxiang sat beside him, tilting her head and smiling in response.

  Her two dimples on her cheeks were very charming. Dong Li Mao was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but exclaim: "Ru Shuang, you're really beautiful."

  Dolan Xiang's smile faded as she asked with a blush: "This one called Ruxue, is she your lover?"

  "Ah? Oh...... She was a classmate of mine before." Dong Li Mao, facing such a familiar face, couldn't help but think of Bai Ruxue. He awkwardly apologized: "Sorry, Knife Nurse, you really look too much like her."

  "Since you woke up, you've been saying some inexplicable things. You even forgot about the nine brothers of the Jiu Lian, and you clearly are Dong Jiacheng, but you say your name is Dong Limao. And what's with this 'crossing over' business? Is it a military tactic used by your troops in battle?" Knife Lanxiang asked curiously.

  Dong Li Mao didn't know how to explain, he forced a smile and said: "I've said it before but you won't believe me, my name is indeed Dong Li Mao, Dong Jia Cheng is my great-grandfather, I live in the 21st century..." Just as he was saying this, the ear-piercing air raid siren interrupted him.

  "Dong Lianchang, hurry to the basement! The little devil's plane is coming!" said Dao Lanxiang, supporting Dong Limao with both hands.

  Only the injured nurses and Dai girls in the yard were seen running towards an entrance on the left side of the house, instantly, the yard was in chaos, and people inside the house also started running out.

  Dolan Xiang supported Dong Li Mao as they quickly walked down the stairs, while Zhu Yongsheng and Zhang Dali panted as they ran over.

  "Quickly, go to the basement!" Zhu Yongsheng said, and together with Zhang Dali, they supported Dong Li Mao's arms on either side, hastily rushing towards the basement under the house.

  "Zhu Pai Zhang and Dong Lian Zhang are both handed over to you two!" Knife Lan Xiang said, turning around and running into the building.

  "Dong Li Mao shouted loudly: "Ruxue! Come back quickly! Danger......""

  "Just then, Dao Lan Xiang left behind a sentence: 'There are still many seriously injured people inside, I must go in to help!'"

  At this time, the roar of the plane's engine came, and Dong Li Mao looked in the direction of the sound of the plane, only to see a dozen or so planes flying low like a dozen big birds rushing towards him, so low that Dong Li Mao could clearly see the pilot on the front plane grinning.

  "Get down!" Zhu Yongsheng shouted, as he and Zhang Dalie dragged Dong Li Mao to the corner of the stairs on the right side and pressed him down. A string of bullets whizzed towards their previous position, just two or three steps away from them. Then, a massive explosion shook the ground, causing Dong Li Mao's body to bounce up several centimeters as he crawled on the ground. He also heard a woman's scream, followed by falling debris and dust hitting his back, as if the entire world was amidst intense explosions, screams, and the roar of planes.

  Dong Li Mao was pinned down by two men, his arms tightly pressed to his sides. He couldn't even cover his ears with his hands, but suddenly he thought of Qie Lan Xiang who had run into the house. After the first round of bombing and strafing, he pulled his hands out from under Zhu Yong Sheng and Zhang Da Li's bodies on either side of him, flipped over and stood up, not even bothering about the two men's lives or deaths beside him. His head buzzing with noise, he took off running towards the two-story tile-roofed house that had been bombed to half collapse. He only had one thought in mind - to save Qie Lan Xiang.

  "Wait..." Behind him came Zhu Yongsheng's shout, but he didn't look back, running up the steps and rushing into the house.

  "Ru Shuang..." Dong Li Mao shouted, as if suddenly realizing that the other person didn't understand who he was shouting for, or that he remembered that the person he wanted to save wasn't called Ru Shuang. He immediately changed his words: "Dao Hushei... Dao Lanxiang..." He grabbed a wounded soldier running out and asked: "Have you seen Dao Hushei?" The other shook his head, pushed him away and ran out, so he could only continue walking in.

  The house was filled with smoke and dust, almost nothing could be seen in front of him. His nostrils still smelled the pungent smell of gunpowder. Dong Li Mao felt his way inside, shouting loudly: "Jian Hu Shi... Jian Lan Xiang..." From beside him, wounded soldiers and medical personnel kept running out, as long as they were wearing white clothes, he would grab them in a flash.

  Dolan Xiang heard Dong Li Mao's shouting, she was carrying a wounded person on her body, and with great difficulty walked out of a ward. Dong Li Mao's repeated shouts made her feel happy but also worried. Just as she wanted to respond, suddenly a wooden beam fell from above, hitting the head of the wounded person she was carrying, and pinning her underneath.

  (Favorites! Flowers! Are the best motivation for continuous updates!)