Crossing the Western Tianshan Mountains

Wu Yongjie knew that his survival today depended on a nearby raised rock, where Ayiboli's belt was hanging. Because the rock was strong enough to support the three of them, they all survived.

Wu Yongjie didn't care about superstition anymore. He got up and kowtowed three times respectfully to the stone.

This time, the three of them dared not be careless anymore and returned more cautiously. Because they were too nervous and it was getting dark, they didn't even drink water because their kettles had frozen into ice lumps. If they wanted to eat, they had to stop and make a fire. They didn't even eat anything, but just grabbed a few handfuls of snow and fed them into their mouths.

When we returned to our temporary base, it was already ten o'clock in the evening and the cold wind was howling.

Fortunately, the snow wall was raised a little higher by Yeerlan and his team, and the bonfire in the wall circle had been lit for a long time, with dried meat roasted on it and hot tea boiled on it.

Even the naan was heated up.

After the three men arrived inside the snow wall, they did not bother to answer everyone's questions. They ate and drank at first, and their movements were so fast that no one else could notice that they were injured. Only after they had eaten and drunk enough did the three men cry out in pain one by one. Aiboli's arms hurt, his hands hurt, and his chest hurt.

Portela felt pain all over his back, chest, and ankles. Upon closer inspection, he found that they were bruised by Ayiboli's scratches.

Wu Yongjie felt pain in his legs and waist, and there was a chill that he couldn't resist, the kind of coldness that rushed out from the ground... It was as if an evil wind had entered his body and he couldn't drive it out.

He wrapped himself in a large blanket and sat as close to the fire as possible. The skin on his face was so toasty that it smelled of grease, but he still felt cold and couldn't stop shivering all over.

Also, my legs really hurt...

After Li Jianguo and Yan Zhuoyu learned the details, they were all scared. Fortunately, they had prepared some medicine before setting out, so they took out the painkillers and fed each of them one.

The snow wall circle was like a house without a roof, which reminded Li Jianguo of the living conditions of the Inuit, but the snow houses those people lived in also had roofs.

It was very cold inside the snow wall, but there was a fire. Everyone slept near the fire in their sleeping bags, so at least they wouldn't freeze to death.

Fortunately, everyone was in good condition the next day, except that Aiboli's arm was really dislocated, and Portela seemed to have real injuries on his chest and back, or he had a pneumothorax problem, and he had some difficulty breathing.

Wu Yongjie's legs hurt like needles.

Li Jianguo and Yan Zhuoyu hadn't finished their exploration of the other side yet. If they returned home now, they might have to conduct a second survey. So they were considering whether to hold out for another two days...

Wu Yongjie looked at Portela and shook his head. "No, this survey has to end here. Human lives are at stake."

Ayiboli also said, "Brother Portela has internal injuries! When he rescued you, he must have been holding his breath. His lungs and liver are damaged. There are no wounds on the surface, but he is in great danger. We can't wait..."

Wu Yongjie was now convinced by Ayiboli's words and immediately said, "Return now."

……

As expected, Portela's condition worsened that day. It became increasingly difficult for him to breathe, and his lips turned purple. Fortunately, they brought oxygen cylinders with them, which they used continuously for Portela. Since he couldn't walk, they put him on a sled, and then the group quickened their pace and walked back.

The weather was not good, and it snowed heavily again...

The Tianshan Mountains in the western Tianshan Mountains never seem to be in good shape. After entering the depths of winter, it seems to snow every day...

Wu Yongjie's legs hurt, and every step he took felt like walking on needles, but he didn't dare stop. He could only sing "Eighteen Bends on the Mountain Road" as he walked...

Roaring loudly could help him cover up his feelings of wanting to scream out in pain.

As for Ayiboli, it was also very bad. My arm hurt a lot, and my hand also hurt. Later, my hand also got a little infected and I had a low-grade fever...

In short, when they rushed back to the camp two days later, almost everyone had collapsed. Fortunately, the road leading to the foot of the mountain was not blocked that day because the workers were doing their daily cleaning. The three seriously injured people were sent to the county hospital at the foot of the mountain for treatment in time. The others were so tired that they just wanted to sleep for three days... and were taken care of by Fang Ya and others in the camp's medical room.

At this time, Ling Fengxi was about to be discharged from the hospital, and Wu Yongjie came in again. Ling Fengxi went to visit Wu Yongjie, and when they met, they both smiled bitterly.

Wu Yongjie's legs were suddenly stimulated by the cold, and coupled with the lack of timely treatment, he also ran in the snow for two days, so his condition is now very serious.

Ling Fengxi went to see the doctor to change the dressing and saw Wu Yongjie's legs. He found that his legs were swollen and black, with a shiny surface. The skin seemed not to break even if you poked it lightly. It was obvious that he was frozen.

I remember when I was a child, my conditions were poor and my fingers were frozen on the way to school. They were also red, swollen and shiny. The recovery process was painful and itchy.

He knew that Wu Yongjie had been offended this time.

The doctor also said, "You have to save your leg. As long as it's not infected, you can save your leg. It will take some time to recover."

In other words, Wu Yongjie almost met the criteria for amputation, which is scary to think about.

But the doctor also said that even if he was cured and saved this time, he would definitely suffer from chronic colds in the future and would not be able to stand the cold and would feel pain when it hit.

Wu Yongjie didn't seem upset at all. "Haha, that's great! One of us has a heart problem and can't go up the mountain, and the other has a leg problem, so we probably can't go up the mountain either. How can we take charge of the situation like this? Let's just resign together, say goodbye to this project, and give our positions to others."

In fact, he was joking. Paying such a huge price, crossing the Western Tianshan Mountains gradually became Wu Yongjie's obsession. It seemed that if he did not complete this task, he would be sorry for all his experiences and efforts in the Western Tianshan Mountains in the past year.

Ling Fengxi knew his mindset all too well, so he simply rolled his eyes at him as usual and threatened, "I've already secured confidentiality for your medical records. If you and Fang Ya dare to use my heart problems to make me leave Xitian Mountain again, I'll submit yours as well, and we'll leave together."

Wu Yongjie couldn't laugh anymore...

After a long while, he finally said, "Tsk! Ling Fengxi, you are not kind at all!"

Ling Fengxi didn't care about being honest or not, and returned to Xitian Mountain that day.

He wanted Wu Yongjie to rest more, so he did not ask Wu Yongjie some questions directly. Instead, he asked Li Jianguo and Yan Zhuoyu after returning to Xitianshan. Moreover, Ye Erlan had not left yet, so everyone met together and told the whole process. Ling Fengxi knew that this was not good news, it was extremely bad news.

This means that tunnel construction may have to be stopped due to the obstruction of this underground glacier.

Because the workers had to clear the way for the medical team heading to the herdsmen, they had a few days off. There were still more than 200 maintenance workers in the tunnel doing basic maintenance and construction, and the others were on holiday.

Ling Fengxi went deep into the tunnel and stood in front of the newest leader. He stroked the rough mountain, his heart in turmoil. He stood there in a daze for a long time.