Behind the stone wall, the crying of the young women and wives was tightly suppressed.
The neighboring auntie spoke of the village's situation. More than one person had died. Two elderly people had been beaten to death alive against the millstone by the enemy nation's rogue soldiers, for no reason at all—perhaps the soldiers simply disliked the sight of them. In the end, the old village chief led people to bury them in haste.
The families of several victims wept as if their hearts were being torn apart. For the first time, everyone understood what it meant for a nation to fall and families to perish.
The rain was still falling.
The stream in the valley had become swift, while the newly laid banana leaves atop the shacks had not dried out under the rain's nourishment.
Feng Ying stood atop the stone wall without saying a word. Perhaps unable to bear the cries of those who had lost their loved ones, she raised a hand to lower her straw hat and turned toward the riverbank.
She glanced at the ducks and white geese sheltering beneath the banana trees, untied the boat rope, shoved off hard, and leaped onto the small fishing boat by the shore.
She rowed beneath the cliff, found a hollow in the rock face, moored the boat, and sheltered from the rain alone.
The heavy cliff overhead blocked the downpour. The area untouched by rain was very dry. Many waterbirds had rested there, leaving behind plenty of white droppings, and there were even wild pigeon nests high above.
Her rain-soaked clothes clung tightly to her body, making her feel bound whenever she moved.
After the wind blew through, her whole body turned icy cold. Feng Ying hugged her arms and squatted on a dry rock, watching the