?

  This secret case has left us all at a loss, after a while, Xiaohua put away the things and shook her head: "Forget it, this matter had nothing to do with us from the beginning." Xiuxiu pointed to the silly smiling German and said: "Then what about him?"

  Mao DeGui said, "Keeping him is a disaster, I think it's better not to..." Xiaohua gave him a cold glance and then said, "Let's take him along for now, whether he lives or dies, we'll talk about it later."

  I don't have any particular opinions, and I vaguely feel that there must be something special about this German being able to live so long, perhaps it has a great deal to do with the place we are going.

  Then Xiaohua assigned tasks to everyone, but actually there was nothing much to do, just dividing the night watch shifts. Among our group, the injuries on me and Luren A were not fatal, but animal bites can easily get infected if not taken care of. The others were also exhausted from climbing mountains and crossing rivers. Xiaohua arranged for everyone to rest well today, especially reminding me to take good care of my injury, and tomorrow no matter what, whether I have a fever or not, I must set out on the road.

  The next day was uneventful, and by the second day, my fever had also subsided. Except for the pain from the wound, I was fine. That morning, the sky was still blowing with strong gusts of wind, and snowflakes were swirling into our collars. Our route ahead would take us to even higher elevations, and every step felt laborious. The German man was tightly bound by ropes, tied to Ma DeGui's hand, stumbling along at the back, constantly falling over, his face bruised and swollen.

  I felt sorry for him, so I said to Mao De-gui: "You're tired, I'll take over." Mao De-gui happily handed the rope to me. I held the rope and slowed down my pace, leading the German along with the team. From time to time, I had to support him. It was completely different from what Xiu Xiu said - this man was agile in his movements, a complete clumsy oaf.

  The higher we went, the stronger the wind and snow became. At night, we couldn't even find a cave to take shelter in. The whole area was almost entirely covered in snow, with rocks buried deep beneath it. Some of the snow had accumulated for years, turning into solid ice. Initially, we were walking on snowy ground, but later on, we were walking on ice. Along the way, all signs of life disappeared, and as far as the eye could see, everything was frozen in a vast expanse of white, a breathtaking sight to behold.

  But at this time, no one had the mood to appreciate the magnificent scenery. Everyone only knew to bow their heads and move forward. The route in our hands was only a rough outline. After calculation, we would have to walk for at least four or five more days to reach our destination. However, on the third afternoon, the wind and snow became even stronger. Even with goggles, the wind could still pour in from the gaps and sting people's eyes so that they couldn't open them.

  Both of my hands have gotten chilblains. When I went to Changbai Mountain that year, I didn't get this stuff either. The climate here is really not suitable for humans.

  Ma DeGui braved the wind and snow, rushing to Sangba and saying: "With such a strong wind, can you find a place for us to take a break?" Sangba was unwilling to make this trip from the start, and all along the way he didn't dare speak out in anger. He followed Xiao Hua at the front, and when he heard Ma DeGui's words, he bellowed: "I've never been here before, I don't know the road."

  "Damn waste!"

  I was holding onto the German's hand, walking at the back. He was completely crazy and couldn't speak, only occasionally looking at Xiaohua and blurting out a few short words, which sounded like "lu lu er". The pronunciation of German is very strange, I can't even write it in Chinese, but after listening for a long time, we all knew what it meant. It roughly means "wife" in German.

  I'm originally not as physically strong as Xiaohua, and after walking with the Germans for a while, I was already exhausted. Seeing that we were getting further and further away from them, I quickly shouted: "Xiaohua, your German husband is falling behind!" Xiuxiu, who was not far in front of me, let out a snort of laughter and said: "Wu Xiong, you're too sharp-tongued!"

  Xiao Hua was indeed furious, her face turned black as she stood still for a while, then frowned at the half-dead German and turned to Samba and passerby A: "Let's take a break here." He seemed to be seeking passerby A's opinion.

  Passerby A stretched out his hand, still wearing the black gold gloves, and the snowflakes quietly settled in his palm, not melting for a long time. The weather here was too cold, unlike at the foot of the mountain where the snow would melt into water as soon as it touched the ground.

  The snow here has been piled up for thousands of years, layer by layer, slowly turning into white ice, and a little deeper, it becomes azure-blue solid ice, and we are now on such a layer of solid ice.

  The road surface underfoot has only a thin layer of snow, compared to the initial thick snow that buried my knees. The snow here is probably only about an inch thick, and underneath it's just a solid ice layer. It's around 4 pm now, and the sky is filled with thick, heavy clouds that are pressing down extremely low, as if they're going to pour down at any moment, blocking out the sunlight completely.

  The wind and snow are swirling, visibility is very low. The current situation is indeed no longer suitable for moving forward. However, the location we are currently in has a steep ice wall on the right side, with large and small ice cracks all over it. In the wind and snow, ice blocks keep falling down from time to time.

  But our path ahead is invisible, the place where we gaze into the distance is a vast expanse of darkness. To the left is a steep slope, with an extremely precipitous gradient. At a glance, the snow mist swirls and churns beneath us, and it's impossible to see how deep it is.

  That ice wall was obviously not safe, so we had no choice but to set up camp in the wind and snow. Fortunately, our equipment this time was top-notch, with a tent that had four inverted cones, each over 20 centimeters long.

  First drive the stake into the ice, then tighten the tent pole and stake together to secure the entire tent firmly on the ground.

  Ma DeGui's subordinate lit a smokeless stove, clamped an iron pot on it, and scooped in a pot of snow. In less than a minute, it all melted into water, filling half the pot. I sat beside the pot, waiting for the water to boil with white bubbles before throwing in some compressed biscuits. The altitude here is too high, and the water can't actually boil, only maintaining a state of bubbling, but fortunately, it's snowmelt, so there aren't any bacteria, and it won't kill you if you drink it.

  This group of people, none of them are chatterboxes, the whole way was silently and gloomily, I ate and then got into my sleeping bag. I couldn't help but think of the time when I fought with Fatso, even at life or death moments we could still exchange a few jokes. Unlike now, this Long March of ten thousand miles hasn't even started yet, and the whole team is as dull as dead men. I thought to myself, if someone saw us, they'd probably think we're a group of ghosts.

  After a moment of absent-mindedness, I felt drowsy. People tend to fall asleep in cold environments, which is probably the remnants of hibernation that humans lost during evolution. Before I knew it, I had slept until midnight.

  In the middle of the night, the wind was even more fierce, wailing and howling like ghosts and wolves. The fabric of the tent was being slapped by the wind, making a loud cracking sound. I opened my eyes to find that most people had been awakened, each wrapped in their sleeping bags, staring at the top of the tent, looking like dumplings.

  Xiao Xiu also couldn't stand this depressing atmosphere, as soon as she saw I was awake, she immediately started talking to me and said: "Wu Ye Gege, this wind is really strong." I thought to myself, isn't that a pointless remark?

  I rubbed my eyes and saw that everyone in the tent was silent, like a corpse. I thought about how Fatso usually livened up the atmosphere, but with such a long road ahead of us, it wouldn't do to have low morale. So I cleared my throat, preparing to imitate Fatso's style, starting with a quote: "Cough... cough!" Just as I finished clearing my throat and was about to speak, Passerby A turned his face towards me and coldly spat out a sentence: "If your throat is broken, don't talk nonsense, it's annoying to listen to."

  I suddenly had an impulse to rush up and grab his neck, shouting a sentence, "Your throat is broken!" Of course, this can only be imagined. Just thinking about the move he used on Mao Ball Brother, my heart hurts along with it.

  I decided to learn from the oil bottle, ignoring him with a flourish, and gave passerby A a faint glance. I directly fixed my gaze on the top of the tent, and passerby A was clearly choked, staring at me for half a moment without turning his head.

  After he interrupted me, I didn't feel like boosting morale anymore. I stared at the top of the tent for a while, and all sorts of things flooded into my mind, making me feel annoyed and restless. I decided to go back to sleep, just as I was about to snuggle back into my sleeping bag, Xiu Xiu suddenly tugged on it and said: "This wind is really strong, it's howling like a wolf."

  I thought to myself, has this little girl gone silly or what, why is she repeating the same sentence over and over? After she said that, I couldn't help but lean in and listen carefully. All I could hear was the sound of wind whistling in my ears, like a ghost wailing, or a wolf howling. I thought to myself: Xiu Xiu's use of adjectives is quite impressive, worthy of a woman educated in the new era. Just as I was thinking this, my heart suddenly skipped a beat... something about this sound doesn't feel right.

  If it's about the sound of the wind, this howling wolf's voice is too authentic, and it even comes with a vibrato?

  I glanced at Xiuxiu and found that the others also looked serious, apparently they had also discovered something was wrong. Xiaohua pulled out a small flashlight from her sleeping bag, made a quiet gesture, and whispered: "The others will follow me out, Xiuxiu and Wuyue, you stay here and watch him, don't go out." He pointed to the German man, who had been tied up for several days, his body covered in dark bruises from the bindings. Even Xiuxiu couldn't bear to look at him, so when they slept, only his hands were tied, the other ropes removed.

  I realized that Xiaohua was obviously protecting me, and I felt suffocated in my heart. During the fight, Manguo and Pangzi always treated me like a weakling, which is also my own fault for being incompetent and always needing to be protected from behind.

  If I had to say what the most heart-wrenching thing for me in these past few years is, it would probably be that one time at Zhangjiajie Ancient Building. That one time when the three of us were trapped by Mi Luo Duo in a cave, when those things were about to drill out, Miao Oil Bottle pressed me towards a safe place and Pangzi also instructed me to hide well and not come out.

  That place was pitch black, I couldn't see anything, shrinking against the mountain wall, my ears were filled with the sounds of slaughter, the smell of blood rushed into my nostrils, then I heard a loud cry from Fatso, followed by Muffled Oil Bottle's suppressed painful howl, at that moment, I had an urge to rush out.

  But at that time, my mind was filled with Miloda's terrifying face and sharp claws. I kept thinking in my heart, rush out and fight with them together! But, damn it, I finally softened my feet.

  That cave was very narrow, and it was full of Mi Luo Tuo. I had been fighting for so long, and this was the first time I was so close to those terrifying creatures. My legs were trembling with fear. Later, when those things finally disappeared, I saw the fallen Fatso and Mute Oil Bottle. At that moment, standing in the cave filled with corpses, I slapped myself twice on the face and cursed: Wu Xie, you're a coward, you're not a man!

  Then the oil bottle woke up and told me a dying remark: Fortunately, I didn't kill you.

  At that time, I had only one conviction in my heart: I must save them. If I couldn't, I would die with them.

  This time, the oil bottle is not there, and the fat man is not there either. But that doesn't mean I'll still hide behind others. This has happened once before, and I don't want it to be like this forever.

  Xiao Hua finished speaking, I didn't make a sound, took out my own equipment, held the single-barreled gun and opened the flap of the tent, saying lightly: "Xiuxiu, you and Sangba stay still and don't move."

  Xiao Hua looked at me in surprise, then furrowed her brow and said, "Let's go." We crouched down and exited the tent.