You Must Come Back Alive  2

 by Chen Qingyang

This novel has been adapted into a feature film screenplay.
The film adaptation rights are available for USD 1,000,000.

For licensing inquiries, please contact:

Chen Qingyang
📧 54088rabbit@gmail.com

Episode One
eft with the ball.

Inside the classroom, Teacher Miura called Yang Xin-tai (10 years old) over to his desk.

“Xin-tai, I need a favor from you.”

“Yes, sir,” Xin-tai replied respectfully.

Pointing toward the window, Miura said,
“That Liao Ying-jun—he never pays attention in class and is often late with his homework. He gives me a real headache.
I’d like you to keep an eye on his studies. If there’s anything he doesn’t understand, help teach him during break time. I know you two are close.”

“Yes, sir,” Xin-tai answered.

Miura stood up.
“For the next music period, I’ll be in the office grading papers. Collect all the arithmetic workbooks and bring them to me afterward.”

“Yes, sir.”

Miura left the classroom.

Xin-tai returned to his seat, gathered a stack of arithmetic workbooks, and walked out of the classroom. He saw Ying-jun standing in the corridor.

“Ying-jun, you haven’t handed in your workbook yet.”

Scratching his head sheepishly, Ying-jun said,
“I forgot to bring it today.”

“Oh, not that excuse again,” Xin-tai said.
“If you really don’t know how to do it, I’ll teach you now. Otherwise you’ll just get punished again.”

“Really? You’re willing to teach me?” Ying-jun asked.

“Yeah. Come inside—I’ll work through it for you.”

“But the teacher told me to stand here as punishment. I don’t dare leave,” Ying-jun said nervously.

“The teacher just told me to watch over your homework. Come back into the classroom with me.”

Grinning with relief, Ying-jun said,
“Thanks! Class monitor Xin-tai—I’ll treat you to a popsicle after school!”

“No need. Just finish your homework properly—that’s more important.”

The two returned to their seats, opened their textbooks and workbooks, and within ten minutes Xin-tai had explained all ten problems.

“See? If you really try, arithmetic isn’t that hard.”

Scratching his head, Ying-jun laughed,
“When the teacher explains it in class, I listen—but I just don’t understand.”

“You weren’t listening at all,” Xin-tai said.
“Every time I see you, you’re playing with something.”

Ying-jun smiled bitterly.
“If I don’t understand, it gets boring. So I play around to pass the time.”

Gratefully, Ying-jun handed in his workbook.
Xin-tai gathered the stack and walked away, while Ying-jun watched his back disappearing down the corridor.

3

On the playground, Yang Xin-tai, Liao Ying-jun, Lin Qing-long (10), Cai Ting-kai (10), Chen Mu-yan (10), Wang Da-wang (10), Wu Wen-zhang (10), Hashimoto Ryūta, and more classmates were playing mock cavalry combat.

Over thirty boys were divided into two sides.
Each side had four teams, with four boys per team, crashing into and wrestling with one another.

Hashimoto Ryūta sat astride the linked arms of Cai Ting-kai and Lin Qing-long.
With one hand he grabbed Ying-jun’s hair, which served as the “horse’s head,” and shouted majestically,

“Charge!”

Ying-jun’s scalp burned with pain as his hair was yanked tight, but he gritted his teeth and endured it, afraid Ryūta would scold him if he cried out.

On the other side, Xin-tai teamed up with Wu Wen-zhang, Chen Mu-yan, and Wang Da-wang.
Da-wang was the “horse,” while Xin-tai was the rider.

“Charge!” Xin-tai shouted.

The teams clashed in a chaotic brawl.
One after another boys were dragged down, piling into a heap.

Ying-jun ended up pinned beneath the chubby Wang Da-wang, with over a dozen boys stacked on top of him.

Groaning, Ying-jun said,
“You big fat pig! You’re crushing me flat—get up already!”

Da-wang protested innocently,
“I’ve got people on top of me too!”

From the middle of the pile, Ryūta pinched his nose.

“Who was it? Who farted? It stinks!”

“It wasn’t me,” said Wen-zhang.

“Not me,” said Qing-long.

“It was me—sorry!” said Mu-yan sheepishly.

Ryūta scolded him,
“That’s disgusting! Couldn’t you hold it in?”

Xin-tai tried to smooth things over, laughing,
“How can anyone hold in a fart?”

4

After school, Xin-tai walked together with Lin Qing-long, Wang Da-wang, and Chen Mu-yan.

Ying-jun ran up behind them.

“Wait up! Want to go see the lantern festival at Ziyun Temple?”

“Not now,” Xin-tai said.
“I’m going after dinner with my dad and mom.”

“Going with grown-ups isn’t fun,” Ying-jun complained.
“Qing-long, Da-wang, Mu-yan—let’s go now!”

“I have to help out at my family’s rice-cake shop,” Da-wang said.

“I can’t either—I’ve got tons of chores waiting,” said Mu-yan.

“My grandpa’s waiting for me to rub his back and heat bathwater,” said Qing-long.
“You’re the lucky one!”

Feeling bored, Ying-jun said,
“Fine. If none of you are going, I’ll go by myself.”

He pulled a slingshot from his schoolbag.

“I’ll go find Young Master Ryūta and shoot lanterns.”

In a flash, Ying-jun ran off.

5

On the evening before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yang Xin-tai went strolling at the entrance of Ziyun Temple with his father Yang Zhao-hua (32), his mother Nishikawa Riko (30), and the family.

All kinds of decorative lanterns hung in rows, in every imaginable shape.
Food stalls lined the temple front—dough figurines, painted sugar-coated fruit skewers, bird-pear candy sticks, licorice guava, cotton candy, boiled river snails, steamed peanuts, sausage shooting games, and more—creating a lively scene.

This year, the temple had invited two opera troupes to perform major productions in the square.
The plays were “Tang Bohu Courts Qiuxiang” and “The Butterfly Lovers”, both refined literary operas.

The family sat on long benches watching the performances.
Mother Riko watched with great interest, but Xin-tai found them dull.

In previous years, his favorites had been heroic tales like “Yue Fei the Loyal General,” “The Generals of the Yang Family,” and “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

By coincidence, Ying-jun arrived as well with his younger sister Meixiu (8) to see the lanterns.

“Mom, I’m going to look at the lanterns with Ying-jun and his sister,” Xin-tai said.

“Don’t stay out too late,” Riko replied.

“Got it.”

The three children walked along the temple corridor, admiring lanterns while licking bird-pear candy skewers.

Xin-tai pointed at a lantern depicting Tripitaka Fetching the Scriptures.

“Meixiu, look—doesn’t that Pigsy look just like Wang Da-wang?”

Meixiu giggled.
“It really does! Brother, come look!”

“Yeah—so fat, with huge floppy ears,” Ying-jun added.

“And that Tang Sanzang looks so delicate—almost like a girl,” Xin-tai said.

“That’s nonsense,” Meixiu protested.
“How could a girl become a monk?”

The three children chattered noisily, their innocent words filling the corridor.

6

In the morning market, Patrol Sergeant Koizumi Shigenobu (28 years old) and Police Officer Musashi Jirō (26 years old) were on duty, mainly maintaining traffic order and cracking down on unlicensed street vendors.

A Japanese couple, Tanaka Fumao (35 years old) and his wife, were arguing with a fish seller named Huo-long (30 years old).
Six or seven vendors and passersby had gathered around them.

The Japanese woman was holding a vegetable basket, inside which lay two grass carp.

“Don’t slander me,” Tanaka said loudly.
“I clearly gave you twenty cents.”

Huo-long argued excitedly,
“That’s nonsense. I only have the ten cents you gave me.”

Tanaka’s wife said,
“Fish seller, I saw you take my husband’s twenty cents.”

Meat Vendor A said,
“This couple used the same trick when they bought meat from me yesterday — always taking advantage of people.”

Vegetable Vendor B said,
“Forget it. Be careful — they’ll call the ‘four-legged ones’ (the Japanese police).”

Fruit Vendor C said,
“Right. From now on none of us should sell to them.”

Huo-long protested indignantly,
“No! I only earn two cents profit on one fish.”

Passerby D warned,
“The four-legged ones are coming — watch out!”

Sure enough, the two Japanese policemen walked over to handle the situation.

Koizumi asked,
“What’s going on? Why all the noise?”

Tanaka said,
“Officer, this filthy fish seller is falsely accusing me. I clearly paid him twenty cents for two grass carp, yet he claims I only gave him ten cents. Please judge this fairly.”

Koizumi said,
“Huo-long, you took twenty cents and now you accuse him of shorting you ten cents? Your grass carp are selling at quite a fine price!”

Huo-long cried,
“I’ve been wronged, Officer! They truly only gave me ten cents. Look!”

As he spoke, he opened his palm and showed the ten-cent copper coin.

Koizumi said sternly,
“You must have hidden the other ten cents. You Qing-dynasty slaves are always this stubborn and deceitful!”

Huo-long anxiously defended himself,
“Officer, I’ve truly been wronged! He really only gave me ten cents!”

Koizumi said impatiently,
“Enough nonsense. If you keep accusing people of paying for only one fish, I’ll arrest you and lock you up at the substation.”

Onlookers stopped to watch and whispered among themselves about the couple and Koizumi, who was clearly siding with the Japanese pair.

At this moment, Township Head Yang Zhao-jia (26 years old) and his wife Miyoko (24 years old) happened to pass through the market.
The vendors hurried over to complain.

Meat Vendor A said,
“Township Head, please judge for us. This Japanese couple often pays only half the price when they buy things.”

Vegetable Vendor B said,
“They even paid only half for my vegetables!”

Yang Zhao-jia said angrily,
“How can there be such people? Truly arrogant and unreasonable!”

Meat Vendor A added,
“Officer Koizumi has handled this several times and clearly favored this couple.”

Yang Zhao-jia stepped forward to negotiate, with Miyoko following behind.

Yang said,
“Officers, please handle this matter impartially.”

Koizumi replied,
“Township Head, I am enforcing the law fairly and maintaining trading order.”

Yang questioned him,
“Really? So many people say this couple takes advantage of vendors — can they all be lying?”

Koizumi said coldly,
“The order of this market is under my authority.”

He turned and waved his baton at the crowd.
Musashi followed, swinging his baton to drive them back.

The vendors grew furious and surrounded the two officers.
In the chaotic pushing and pulling, Koizumi and Musashi were struck several times.

Koizumi shouted angrily,
“Who dared hit me? Who was it?”

The two officers charged again but were blocked by shoulder poles raised by the vendors.

Yang Zhao-jia shouted,
“Stop it! All of you, stop!”

He calmed the crowd, led the two officers out of the human wall, and escorted them back to the station.

The Tanaka couple were also chased and beaten by vendors and fled in disgrace.

7

Inside the duty hall of the Qingshui Township Police Station, Koizumi and Musashi’s uniforms were in disarray, their jackets and pockets torn.

Police Chief Hashimoto Eizō (40 years old) asked in shock,
“What happened? Why do you two look so battered?”

Koizumi said dejectedly,
“We were on duty at the market. While handling a dispute between a mainland Japanese customer and a local fish vendor, more than a dozen vendors suddenly attacked us like madmen.”

Hashimoto said angrily,
“Attacked by vendors? These people are incredibly bold — daring to assault law enforcement officers and challenge public authority. They truly have no respect for the law!”

Musashi said tearfully,
“They were completely out of control. They attacked us with carrying poles and brooms.”

Furious, Hashimoto ordered,
“Koizumi, assemble all officers immediately. Full gear — long swords and leather whips. Five minutes, form up at the entrance!”

“Yes, Chief,” Koizumi replied.

Hands on his hips, Hashimoto said,
“I will lead the squad myself. We’ll go to the market and arrest those dog slaves and punish them severely.”

Koizumi and Musashi exchanged glances, a sly smile flashing across their faces.

8

Chief Hashimoto led a squad of officers toward the market with murderous fury in their stride.
Pedestrians quickly moved aside under the street arcades.

At the street corner, a vendor spotted the squad from afar and ran breathlessly to warn others:

“The four-legged ones are coming! Run for your lives!”

Outside the market, the temporary vendors scattered like startled birds, packing up and fleeing.

By the time the police arrived, only the permanent stall owners and shopkeepers remained.

Hashimoto failed to catch the troublemakers.

He shouted,
“Hey! Where are those dog slaves?”

Koizumi said,
“Chief, those temporary vendors must have heard we were coming — they’ve all run away.”

Confidently, Hashimoto said,
“I have a way to find out. Split up and arrest some of the permanent vendors and shopkeepers to bring back for questioning.”

Immediately, the officers seized more than ten fixed stall owners and shopkeepers and took them back to the station.

9

Cai Jicheng (30 years old), the market section head, led over a dozen shopkeepers and vendors to the township office to report the incident.

Yang Zhao-jia, who was eating, put down his chopsticks.

Shopkeeper A said urgently,
“This is bad! Township Head Yang — a squad of police just came and took away more than ten shopkeepers and vendors!”

Yang asked,
“Why would the police suddenly arrest your people? Did you violate any regulations?”

Cai explained,
“This morning two ‘four-legged ones’ were patrolling and beat people with batons. The outside mobile vendors surrounded and beat them. When the police couldn’t catch those people, they blamed us instead.”

Vendor B added,
“Yes — the mobile vendors ran away as soon as they heard police were coming, so the police arrested us permanent stall owners.”

Yang frowned,
“Every grievance has its rightful culprit. How can Chief Hashimoto be so unreasonable?”

Shopkeeper C said,
“That’s why we came together to ask you to stand up for us.”

Yang said firmly,
“Brother Jicheng, let’s go to the station now and bring our people back. Everyone else, please return and wait for news.”

“Yes, Township Head,” Cai replied.

10

Inside the main hall of the police station, Chief Hashimoto lectured the detained shopkeepers and vendors:

“Listen carefully, all of you. Don’t think about sheltering those troublemakers. If you don’t confess, I’ll lock you up and prosecute you for assaulting police officers.”

Shopkeeper A protested,
“Officer, you must be reasonable! What happened to Officers Koizumi and Musashi has nothing to do with us. You should arrest the outside mobile vendors — they were the ones who attacked them.”

Hashimoto snapped,
“Enough talk. Someone must be punished for the violent assault on officers.”

At that moment, Koizumi stepped forward and whispered suggestions into his ear.

After listening, Hashimoto announced,
“Someone must come forward to confess, or I will shut down the entire market and none of you will be allowed to do business.”

Vendor B said angrily,
“Officer, this way of handling things is impossible for us to accept!”

Koizumi said,
“Chief, let’s detain them first and make interrogation records. I’m sure they won’t dare hide anything.”

Hearing they were to be detained, the group began murmuring anxiously.

Shopkeeper A said,
“We’re going to be locked up — everyone think quickly!”

Vendor B said,
“Someone must be notifying Section Head Cai and Township Head Yang, right?”

Shopkeeper C said,
“I hope Township Head Yang steps in soon, or we’ll end up in detention.”