After moving one corpse, Qi Wu chose to seek out Crazy Old Man alone. He wanted to confirm whether the instance was unfolding as he had predicted.
Knock, knock-
Qi Wu knocked on the door.
Creak-
The door opened, revealing that short, hunched figure.
Once Crazy Old Man opened the door and saw him, he returned to his stool. Qi Wu watched him quietly for a while before pulling over a chair and sitting beside him.
"Sir, did you stay here to watch over your comrades on the mountain behind the village?"
At the word "comrades," Crazy Old Man finally reacted. His eyes were no longer clouded, and even his thoughts seemed to clear.
"My old squad leader is there. He loved rice cakes. He said that once the war was over, he would take me to meet his wife. He said her grilled rice cakes were the best, and he wanted to treat me to some.
"Do you know? My old squad leader was so good to me. Everyone in the 18th Army was so good to me. Because I was the youngest, I was the only one who survived in the end.
"They said, 'Tiedan, you're still young. Go home and see your mother once the war is over.' ... They risked their lives to cover me, so I could live and go see my mother.
"Do you know? When I got home, what I found wasn't my mother, but her corpse... Too many of us had already died. After burying my mother, I came back, but I couldn't find their bodies anymore.
"I searched and searched. The villagers said the mountain behind the village was a mass grave, so I went there. I went to dig up my old squad leader and my comrades.
"I couldn't tell