The Demons’ Nightmare: Long Yuan

In Beiping, 1937, the blazing heat of July scorched the dust beneath the city walls like a poisoned branding iron, making it smoke.

“Move! Get out of the way!”

A harsh shout tore through the stifling air. Three Japanese soldiers in khaki uniforms were dragging a girl in a blue student dress deeper into an alley. Her schoolbag had fallen to the ground, spilling out several books. One of them, Lu Xun’s Call to Arms, was crushed under a soldier’s boot.

“Help... Someone, please help me...” The girl’s sobs were faint and despairing, like the wings of a butterfly soaked by rain.

“Baka! Pretty girl, you come with us!” The lead soldier reached to tear open her collar. The tip of his bayonet scraped the fabric with a sharp rip, exposing a small patch of pale shoulder.

That sound of tearing cloth was like a key unlocking something deep within Long Yuan.

He set down his load as lightly as a falling leaf. The next instant, he was already sweeping into the alley like a gust of wind.

“Let her go.”

His voice was quiet, yet as cold as a mountain stream.