Volume 4Chapter 11: A difficult situation

I rode forward while looking in the direction that Fatso had pointed out. Through the sparse trees, I could see that there were about thirty people and fifty horses bustling about on the shore of the lake below.

They were setting up tents by the lake, apparently planning to spend the night there. One of the women was opening up a radar-like device and adjusting it. I looked through my binoculars and saw that the woman was no one else but Aning from Hainan.

I cursed, this woman is also here, that means our inference is correct. I don’t know what the company that salvages sunken ships is doing in the interior.

Hua Monk also saw the horse team below and his face changed. He asked Chen Pi A Si what to do.

Chen Pi A Si looked at it and smiled contemptuously, saying, “It’s good that they came, which means we’re on the right track. Keep going and don’t worry about them.”

I looked at them one by one through my binoculars, but I didn’t see Uncle San. But since Uncle San might have fallen into their hands, it’s unlikely that he has too much freedom, and he might be locked up in a tent. What made me feel uncomfortable was that half of the people below were carrying Type 56 rifles, and I also saw satellite phones and a lot of advanced equipment. The fat man looked at the gun and said to Chen Pi A Si, “Old man, you said you wouldn’t buy a gun, but look, they’re coming up with guns and ammunition. What are we going to do when it comes to hand-to-hand combat? Are we going to use a basin as a shield and a sanitary napkin to fight them?”

Chen Pi A Si looked at him and shook his hand and laughed, “In our line of work, we never rely on the number of people. You’ll know you’re with the right person when you cross the snow line.”

Our conversation was all in dialect, and Shunzi, who didn’t speak Chinese very well, didn’t quite understand. But he had been a guide for many years, and he knew that you shouldn’t listen to what your guests say.

We continued to walk up, and straight ahead we saw some dilapidated wooden houses and wire gates, with the slogan “The sacred and inviolable territory of the motherland” written on them.

Shunzi told us that this was the supply station for the outpost in front of the snow-capped mountains. After the multilateral talks, several of the outposts here were relocated, and this place has also been abandoned. The outposts on the snow line are also unmanned. If we want to go up there, we will have a chance to visit them.

That night, we got by here and got up early the next morning to continue our journey. Shunzi thought it was strange that there were so few tourists who were so desperate, but we were paid to do as we pleased.

It had started snowing when we got up, and the temperature had dropped sharply. Southerners rarely adapt to this kind of weather. Except for Fatso and Ye Cheng, everyone else was frozen stiff.

After we passed the snow line, we finally saw snow. At first it was sparse, but the higher we went, the thicker it got. There were fewer and fewer trees, and more and more rocks. Chen Pi A Si said this was a sign that there had been construction work here.

By noon, everything around us was white, and the snow on the ground was so thick that there was no way to walk. We relied on Shunzi to lead the way with the horse. At this time, a strong wind suddenly blew. Shunzi looked at the clouds and asked us if we should stop here for the day. He said that it might be windy and that it was fun to see the snow-capped mountains, but it would be dangerous to go any higher.

Chen Pi Ashi blew his breath and waved his hand, telling him to wait. We stopped to rest, ate some dry food, and several people went around to see the scenery.

We are now on the ridge of a low mountain, and can see the primeval forest we passed through on the way here. He looked far into the distance, then pointed to a large depression and said to us, “In ancient times, tombs were generally built using local materials. You can see that this large forest is obviously better than the neighboring Xilao , must have been cut down a hundred years ago, and although it was difficult to walk all the way up, there were no particularly difficult obstacles. There must have been a major ancient project nearby, and the mountains in this area have been modified. We are on the right track, we still have to go up.”

Ye Cheng asked, “Old man, there are more than ten peaks in this mountain range. How do we find them?”

Chen Pi Asa said, “Let’s take a look. There must be a sign where the dragon’s head is. The dragon’s lair is where the earth’s energy stops. There are many mountains here, but there is only one earth’s energy. We are now following the earth’s energy. I’m not afraid of not reaching it. It will just take a little more time.”

I looked along with his gaze, but I could only see trees, and I couldn’t tell the difference. I felt ashamed.

I turned to look at the bottle, but I saw his eyes only looking at the snow-capped mountains in front of him. His brows were slightly furrowed, as if he was worried about something. I knew that asking him would be a waste of time, so I turned to talk to the fat man.

Shunzi heard that we were going to go up, sighed, shook his head and said that we couldn’t ride any higher, we had to use horses to pull the plow. Changbai The winter in Changbai Mountain is actually the most convenient place for transportation. Except for blizzard weather, a horse-drawn snow plow can generally climb to any place that a horse can reach. But once the wind blows, we have to listen to him in everything. He said he would come back, and there must be no objections.

We all nodded and agreed, unloaded our luggage from the horse and put it on the plow. When everything was ready, Shunzi called out and whipped the horse to lead the way. Our horse automatically followed behind, and the group of people sped through the snow.

When we first sat It was fun at first, like a dog sled. After a while, I don’t know if it was because the wind was getting stronger or because we couldn’t move around on the sled, but my limbs were freezing and I felt like I was losing all feeling. Because it was a mountain road, the horses couldn’t run very well. The fat guy was too heavy and fell over several times, rolling into the snow.

We had to stop several times to wait for him. we kept on running until it was gray in the sky, the wind was getting stronger and the horses were walking slower and slower. We had to wear goggles to see in front of us. Everywhere was white snowflakes, we didn’t know if they were falling from the sky or blowing off the snow mountains. The wind was blowing in our ears, we wanted to say something, but when we opened our mouths, the cold wind went straight in, in Shunzi’s words, even the swear words were frozen in our throats.

Running We ran on, and Shunzi’s horse stopped in front of us. I had a bad feeling. It was only 2:00 p.m. How could it be so gray? We ran up to Shunzi in the wind, and saw him rubbing his neck and looking around. His eyebrows were furrowed into his nostrils.

We surrounded him and asked him what was going on. He sighed and said, “The wind is too strong. It seems like an avalanche has happened here. The landscape is different. I don’t recognize it. Also Look, the snow in front of us is all from the mountains above. It’s too deep and too loose. If you step down, you’ll hit your horse’s belly. The snow is full of air bubbles, so it’s very dangerous. You can’t walk in a group.“

”What should we do?” Pan Zi looked at the sky. ‘It doesn’t look good. Can we go back?’

Shunzi looked at the sky and then at us. He said, ”I can’t say for sure. But Once the wind starts blowing, it won’t stop for two days and two nights. We’re definitely dead here. The abandoned border post is not far ahead. We can shelter from the snow and wind there. I don’t think it’s too late to go back. We can walk there.

The fat man pressed his earflap hat down and took a tentative step. As a result, he immediately covered himself in snow, all the way up to his thighs. He took a difficult step forward and cursed, “Damn it, I’ve been offended.”

We We put on snowshoes, braved the wind, and pulled the sled ourselves as we struggled to move forward in the snow. This place is a wind tunnel, in the middle of the ridge between the two mountains. The wind is particularly strong, no wonder there are avalanches. We walked into the wind tunnel, and Shunzi said that the sentry post would be reached in an hour, but I don’t know if we were walking too slowly. Or Shunzi simply took the wrong path. It was already past six in the evening, and we still hadn’t seen the sentry post.

Shunzi He was turning around and around, not knowing what to do. Then he suddenly exclaimed, “Oh no, I know where the guard post is!”

We surrounded him, and he looked extremely unhappy. He said, “How could I not have thought of this? This is not a small avalanche. The guard post must have been buried in the snow. It’s right under our feet. No wonder we couldn’t find it after wandering around for so long!”

Pan Zi sighed and said something. Judging from the shape of his mouth, he said, “What the hell!”

The fat guy yelled and asked Shunzi, “What do we do now? We’ve gone, can’t we die here?“

Shunzi pointed to the front and said, ‘There is still one last hope. I remember there should be a hot spring nearby, in a mountain, with a very high temperature. If we can get there, we can live for several days with our food. The hot spring is higher than here, so it should not be buried by the snow. If we really can’t find it, we can only rely on our will to survive and walk back step by step.’

”Are you sure?” The fat man became distrustful of Shunzi.

Shunzi nodded: “This time I’m absolutely sure. If we don’t find it, you can deduct my wages.”

I smiled bitterly to myself. If your mother really deducts your wages, I’m afraid you won’t have the chance to do so in your next life.

Everyone was crying and looking sad, and followed Shunzi to continue walking upwards. It was getting darker and darker, so Shunzi pulled up the rope and had everyone tie it to their bodies. Because the visibility was too low, we couldn’t see or hear anyone, and we could only rely on the rope to keep us together.

As I walked My eyes began to blur as I walked, and I couldn’t see clearly. The people in front were getting further and further away, and the people behind were dragging further and further behind. I couldn’t see anyone on either side, and I couldn’t help but think that I had made a mistake by entering the mountains at this time, and that I would die here. Unlike that, Shunzi walked quite steadily. Although I couldn’t see him, I felt that the rope was moving very firmly. He must have been used to this kind of snow and wind, and he would be fine following him.

I I continued to walk forward while comforting myself, and suddenly saw a black figure in the snow and fog ahead. I couldn’t see who it was clearly. After a few steps, the black figure suddenly leaned over and fell in the snow. I quickly ran over to take a look, and it turned out to be Shunzi who had fallen into the snow.

The back-muffin came up behind and saw Shunzi, and quickly helped him up. We carried him on our backs, while tightening the rope, and let the others gather over.

The fat guy As soon as he saw Shunzi, he made a very strange expression and yelled, “What kind of guide is this? Not only does he not know the way, but he faints before we do. What are we supposed to do?” He wanted to curse some more, but the wind blew away the rest of his words.

I looked around and my God, the situation was completely out of control. The strong wind with a large amount of snowflakes was whirling around us as it hit the rocks. We couldn’t tell which way was north, south, east or west. The strong wind was so heavy that we couldn’t even lift our heads, and if we stood up, we would be blown over.

Everyone’s faces were pale, and Chen Pi’s eyes were glazed over. It looked like the old man had already entered a semi-coma in such an extreme environment. Even if Shunzi didn’t fall, he wouldn’t last long.

Pan Zi said, “We can’t stop and wait to die. The hot springs may be nearby. We’ll stretch the rope and spread out to look for it. If we find it, we’ll pull the rope to signal.”

We We spread out in all directions. I didn’t know which direction I had chosen. I felt dizzy as I walked, and I felt a numbness spreading from my limbs to my whole body. I had seen many movies before that said that on a snowy mountain, people would become more and more sleepy, and if they fell asleep, they would never wake up.

I desperately reminded myself, but I couldn’t hold on. Every step step, my eyelids felt like they were weighted down with lead, and they were so heavy they were drooping down.

Just when I was at my wit’s end, I suddenly heard the fat guy yell, but I couldn’t hear what he said because of the wind. I turned around and saw his shadow disappear in a flash. The fat guy immediately turned his head and saw that the rope on the ground was suddenly pulled up. His face changed and he yelled, “No good! Untie the rope! Someone has fallen into the snow pit!”

Before he could finish hadn’t finished speaking, the snow beneath his feet suddenly collapsed, and he was pulled into the snow by the rope, followed by me, who was closest to him.

We were pulled into the snow one by one like a bunch of grapes, rolling around, not knowing how long we had been rolling before we stopped.

My eyes were full of snow and I couldn’t open them at all. I only heard Pan Zi tell us not to move, and he was the last one, so he had to climb down first.

At this suddenly heard Ye Cheng call out, “Wait, wait! Fuck, don’t go down! What’s that thing in the snow?”