From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

Without even taking a breath, Wang Ge put down the firewood, took off his frozen gloves, and reached into our outdoor medical kit.

Iodine solution and cotton swabs were specially provided for us by A-Qiu before we went into the mountains.

He wouldn't let me refuse and gestured for me to sit down.

Then, holding a cotton swab soaked in iodine, I carefully wiped the wound on my forehead.

A stinging pain shot through the wound and into my scalp. The cool, refreshing medicine was applied, and the pain made me wince involuntarily.

After cleaning away the scabs, Wang Ge examined the wound carefully by the flickering firelight and couldn't help but gasp:

"Goodness, that's quite a cut."

It was indeed quite large, otherwise I wouldn't have bled so much, covering half of my eye.

I smiled and said to him, "It's really okay. The bleeding was the worst, but the pain is much less now."

Wang Ge didn't argue with me much. He took out sterile gauze and carefully bandaged my forehead, gently pressing the edges together.

After finishing with my task, he turned to look at the sheep leaning against the stone wall.

His gaze darkened, and he let out a long sigh: "She's in a very dangerous state."

"I coughed up blood just now," I told him in a low voice.

"Coughing up blood?!" Wang Ge's expression changed, and his brows furrowed even more.

I nodded and glanced at Yangyang. She was still drowsy, her breathing filled with a bubbly, muffled sound.

"I called A-Qiu earlier using the satellite phone. He taught me first aid, gave me nitroglycerin, and also warm water. But..."

I paused, lowered my voice, not wanting the dazed sheep to hear.

"Ah Qiu said that at this point, the probability of survival is at most only ten percent."

Wang sighed heavily: "Sigh, even 10% is probably an exaggeration. Once high-altitude pulmonary edema progresses to coughing up blood, it's already a critical stage."

Looking at Yangyang's lifeless appearance, I slowly said, "We've done all we can. The rest is up to us to do our best and leave the rest to fate."

Wang Ge nodded silently, without responding to the question.

He bent down and picked up the rabbit, changing the subject: "I'll process this first, then I'll make some meat soup tonight, at least that'll give me some energy."

I stared at the snow-white rabbit, a little puzzled: "How can there be rabbits up such a high mountain?"

"This is a snow hare, which naturally lives in high-altitude snow-capped mountains. It is cold-resistant, hides in the crevices of rocks, and has very firm flesh."

In this freezing cold, a bite of hot meat is an absolute blessing.

It was a pitiful stroke of luck in a desperate situation.

Wang Ge took the knife and moved to a spot near the cave entrance, a sheltered spot, to process the rabbit.

I added the dry shrubs he had just brought back to the fire, and the flames suddenly leaped up a little higher, and warmth spread again in the narrow stone hollow.

I looked towards the cave entrance and asked softly, "Brother Wang, you've been gone for so long. I was getting more and more anxious waiting inside, and I was even planning to go out and look for you."

Wang Ge kept working, replying as he went, "There are very few dry bushes around this rocky slope, so I had to go deeper into the ravines. It was just a lucky coincidence that I stumbled upon this snow hare in a crevice, and after dealing with it for a while, I finally caught it."

After hearing his words, my heart finally settled down.

Only Wang Ge could remain calm in the midst of such a blizzard in the snowy mountains.

The fire crackled and burned, its light illuminating the stone hollow.

The sheep leaned against the stone wall, its breathing still labored and weak.

Wang Ge was still quietly processing the snow rabbit at the cave entrance, while the wind and snow continued to fall outside.

But at this moment, there is firewood and a bowl of hot soup that is about to be served.

The overwhelming despair finally subsided a little.

Hearing Wang Ge's tone lighten, I felt a little relieved too, and I couldn't help but force a bitter smile and shake my head.

"You're incredibly skilled and daring. You managed to catch a snow hare in this awful weather. If it were me, my hands and feet would be frozen stiff, and all I'd be thinking about would be running back."

Wang Ge didn't stop, still processing the snow rabbit's fur and internal organs, without any hesitation.

Those are instinctive movements honed little by little through years of crawling and rolling in the mountains and fields.

The wind and snow were still howling at the cave entrance, but seeing his calm and composed demeanor, the lingering panic and unease in my heart slowly subsided.

As long as Brother Wang is there, there will always be a pillar of support.

I couldn't help but recall the last time I ventured into the no-man's-land. Back then, I had to make all the decisions, from route assessments and risk assessments to all the big and small matters.

Su Wan also helped a lot at the time, but mostly she lent a helping hand from the sidelines.

All the pressure eventually fell on my shoulders; I was actually very tense.

Things are different now; I'm more like the person who lends a helping hand to him.

To be honest, this was something I planned on purpose.

I've always been planning to push Wang Ge in front of the camera and turn him into a real super internet celebrity.

From now on, he will be the most authentic and hardcore one among outdoor bloggers.

He's just a quiet person, and I never force him to step into the limelight, whether he wants to or not.

When Wang Ge heard what I said, he just smiled faintly and didn't stop what he was doing.

"Snow rabbits raised at high altitudes are resistant to cold, have thick subcutaneous fat, and their meat is almost entirely lean."

"Tonight, let's cook a pot of hot meat soup. It's partly to replenish our energy, but more importantly, it's to give Yangyang some warmth and dispel the cold. She has severe pulmonary edema, and she can't hold on for long just by drinking warm water."

I instinctively turned my head to look at the sheep leaning against the stone wall.

The nitroglycerin she had just taken probably had some effect, as her condition was indeed more stable than before, and the bubbly noise in her throat had also lessened a bit.

The fire burned brightly again, its orange flames dancing, and warmth gradually filled the small, cramped stone hollow.

After the wound on my forehead was bandaged, the dull pain slowly subsided, and even the howling wind and snow seemed to weaken.

At that moment, I even felt a little bit of relief, as if everything was moving in a positive direction.

It seems that as long as people don't give up, they can really get through it.

Ten minutes later, Wang Ge finished cleaning the snow rabbit, put all the cut pieces of meat into a portable aluminum pot, scooped in melted snow water, and put it on the campfire to simmer.

Before long, the water in the pot began to boil vigorously, and white steam rose from the pot's rim.

This is the most alluring scent we've encountered since entering the mountains.

In the snow-covered mountains where temperatures drop to minus twenty degrees Celsius, a sip of piping hot meat soup is a life-saving remedy.

Not only Yangyang, but Wang Ge and I also desperately needed something warm to keep us going after exhausting ourselves along the way.

The wind and snow were still blowing, but the intensity had weakened considerably compared to before.

Wang Ge looked up at the swirling snow mist at the cave entrance, his brows furrowing slowly, his expression grave.

"The snowstorm seems to have subsided, but judging by this rate, it'll probably continue for at least another night. I'm afraid the snow won't stop tomorrow, and then we'll really be trapped here to die."