Condes Mountains
Ding Can and Dasong each picked up a fish and continued to move along the river.
After walking about half a mile, Ding Can noticed several figures lying in the grass ahead. Their shadows blocked their view, making it difficult to see clearly. "There seems to be someone ahead?"
"Let's go and take a look." Myron quickened his pace and walked in front of the two of them, raising the hunting rifle hanging on his waist.
Encountering human activity in the snowy mountains at this critical juncture inevitably makes one wonder whether it has something to do with poachers.
When we got closer, we found that the ones who were frightened were the group of people lying on the ground, who had a clear numerical advantage.
No one would remain calm if they saw someone pointing a gun at them.
Some people have already raised their hands in surrender. The old man looked quite old and was afraid that if his hands shook a few times, he would accidentally fire the gun.
"No, don't shoot, we are here for a mountain adventure."
The person who was speaking was a man. He and the woman next to him were probably a couple. With the sleeping bags tied around their waists, they were already snuggling together tightly, and now they were using most of their bodies to block the girl behind them.
When the girl saw the man, she burst into tears: "That's great, I thought we couldn't go back."
Dasong saw that they were in poor condition. Some of them looked like they were exhausted. Not only were they pale, but they also had small wounds like abrasions on their bodies.
"Why are you lying here in broad daylight?"
"We're an expedition team from Lan City, consisting of several families. We arrived at the snowy mountains three days ago and set up camp in the woods last night. Everything was fine the day before, but who knew we'd get hit by such a severe snowstorm last night that it blew away most of our gear."
The weather in the mountains is changeable. It may be sunny and windy during the day, but a deadly blizzard may occur at night.
This group of people was also unlucky. The strong wind last night blew their tents away without a trace, and several people were almost buried in the snow while they were sleeping.
They couldn't stay in the forest, so they supported each other. They couldn't tell the direction in the middle of the night and just walked for several hours based on their feelings. They were scratched by countless branches and stones blown by the strong wind along the way.
Later, when the wind and snow gradually subsided, we were lucky enough to reach the river. We could no longer walk, so we sat or leaned on the grass to rest with our legs spread out.
After finally reaching the river, we saw the sun rising. We were exhausted, so we lay on the ground to relax and stayed there for several hours.
"Those who come to explore the Condas Mountains are all experienced explorers. Even if you encounter extremely cold weather, you should have noticed it after nightfall. You shouldn't be so embarrassed."
Myron looked at them several times and still had some doubts about their identities.
"Before this, we had only climbed two famous mountain ranges in China, both in warmer regions. This was our first time in the snowy mountains. We were all drunk and decided to come here."
As the man spoke, he pulled a handful of hair from his forehead helplessly. He felt that his previous decision was too thoughtless, which led his friends and family into such a situation and almost cost them their lives.
Ding Can looked around and saw nothing but a few scattered pieces of snow equipment.
It was even more difficult to find the lost equipment. If they hadn't met the three people on bicycles today, it would have been difficult for them to find the right way down the mountain.
"You, can you put the gun down first?" the girl said in a crying voice.
Myron slowly retracted his gun and said, "The mountain is closed to the elements today due to heavy snow. You're not in good health to go down directly. Come back to the cabin with us and rest for a day before leaving tomorrow."
"I'll go help them up." Dasong actually never doubted their identities and wanted to help since early morning.
But because Myron hadn't given in yet, I had to endure it.
"Thanks to you guys for coming, otherwise we really don't know what to do next."
The group returned along the river. The girl half leaned on her boyfriend and spoke to Ding Can with her head tilted.
Ding Can whispered, "You must be more careful next time. Don't do such risky things again."
The girl nodded. "I see. I've heard that the beauty of the snow-capped mountains is rare to behold. Who knew that beneath that beauty lay hidden dangers like these?"
She still feels scared when she thinks about it now, and she doesn't want to be buried in the vast snow and become a cold and stiff corpse.
"Humans are always insignificant compared to nature. When you return, rest well in the cabin and don't go out again. You can go down the mountain when the weather is better."
"Yeah, but I saw other people on the mountain yesterday. I wonder if they got down the mountain on time and if they encountered any danger."
Ding Can tilted his ear: "Where did you see him, and what did he look like?"
The girl frowned and recalled, "I saw it near a cliff. The terrain there is very high, and I could see the top of a snow-capped mountain opposite, coated in a layer of gold by the sunlight."
They only made a simple plan before going up the mountain, and the mountain map they got was not very detailed. They heard that there was a view of the golden mountain in the sun, which was very easy to observe in the early morning, so they planned to stay on the mountain for two nights to enjoy it.
With the help of a compass, everyone found a flat place. Across the cliff, there was a towering snow-capped mountain. At a glance, the top of the mountain was unobstructed.
The night before was peaceful and nothing happened. When they woke up in the morning and walked out of the tent, they saw the wonderful scenery that everyone had talked about.
The early morning sunlight shines on the pure white snow-capped peaks, reflecting a light golden light with the white snow as the background, as if it were coated with a layer of precious gold foil.
It is a rare beauty in the world.
While recording with the camera, the girl noticed two or three people running in the snow in the distance, looking like they were in a hurry.
She just turned around to tell her companions and put down her camera, but she had disappeared.
There was more than one person, and the girl thought she was not mistaken, but in the blink of an eye, the person was gone. She felt a little strange, but perhaps there was a small path that was not visible in the blind spot of her vision, so she didn't care.
If someone else came to explore the snow-capped mountains and decided to spend the night on the mountain like them, it is not known whether they could have survived the unavoidable snowstorm last night.
"I felt like they were very familiar with the mountain. I was wondering if they were rangers there, but when I saw you, I knew I was wrong. You have a different shape."
Hearing this, Dasong came over and bumped Ding Can's shoulder. "Maybe they are the people from Cheetah. Have they really shown up?"
"What is 'Cheetah'?" the girl asked curiously.
Ding Can scoffed at Dasong: "Nothing. By the way, can I see the photos you took?"
These people were already frightened last night, so it’s better not to bring up the vicious poachers.
The girl shook her head. "The camera was blown away by the strong wind last night, and we lost our compass and couldn't remember the direction. We couldn't even find where we camped yesterday."
It’s not a big deal. At least we know that there are indeed outsiders living in the mountains.
On the return journey, time went much slower with such a large group of people, and with so many mouths to feed, Dasong caught several more fish from the river.
Before they reached the wooden house, they saw a small figure standing in the open space in front of the door waving at them.
He quickened his pace and went over: "Tuna, you're here! How did you get up the mountain?"
Tuna smiled sweetly, her fair face flushed slightly from the cold. She happily responded to him and took a few steps, then looked at the people behind her.
"Didn't an expedition team go up the mountain a couple of days ago? I've been waiting at the mountain pass, but I didn't see them come out. And it snowed so heavily last night, I was really worried, so I thought I'd come over and ask Mr. Mellen."
There are not many people going in and out of the snow-capped mountains. Tuna can basically remember how many people come and go every time.
The small town at the foot of the mountain was inevitably hit by the wind and snow last night. When she woke up in the morning and discovered this, she remembered that the group of climbers who went up the mountain two days ago were most likely trapped somewhere on the mountain.
So Tuna went up the mountain early in the morning with the snow that was already above her knees. After walking for a long time, she had just arrived.
"I feel relieved to see that they are safe, but what about the two who took you up the mountain yesterday?" Tuna thought of Ye Shan and Joseph.
Ding Can replied: "They slept together with us at night. Nothing went wrong. They should be strolling around now."
"Why don't you go inside and wait?" Myron used the key to unlock the door. There were smart creatures like monkeys and black bears on the mountain. If he simply left a bolt on the door, it would most likely be pried open by them. So he would lock the door every time he went out.
Tuna smiled shyly. "I left in such a hurry that I forgot to bring my keys. But luckily, I didn't have to wait too long."
Myron opened the door and said, "That's perfect, little Tuna. Please help take care of these people this afternoon. I still have to take them on patrol. Why don't you stay here tonight and take them down the mountain tomorrow?"
"Okay, you guys go ahead and do your work. I'll be here, don't worry. Where's the fish?" Tuna walked into the house with ease, added a few more pieces of wood to the warm fireplace, and the flames slowly rose.
Dasong handed over a few bags with a smile on his face: "Here they are. Thank you for your hard work."
"Go quickly, you can drink fish soup when you come back in the evening."
*
Before leaving this time, Myron took out two old hunting rifles from the secret compartment under the wooden cabin floor and handed them to the two men.
The scratches and a few scrapes on the surface of the hunting rifle showed its age.
But it has been well maintained and still has a slightly shiny luster. You can tell at a glance that it is often taken out for cleaning and oil changes.
"You know how to use it, right?"
Da Song said proudly, "Of course. My grandfather taught me how to use a pistol when I was a child. By the time I was six, I could change magazines faster than he could."
He was very familiar with guns and had used many of them. An old-fashioned hunting rifle was no problem for him.
Ding Can saw the two people looking at him and said, "Why are you looking at me? Everyone knows how to use it."
It’s just a matter of pulling the trigger and shooting. Besides, who knows, the system props might be more useful.
Myron flipped his thick fur collar twice, took out a whistle tied with a black leather rope from his neck and handed it to him.
"For me?" Ding Can took it in his palm and looked at it carefully but didn't find anything unusual. It was just a silver whistle without even a simple pattern on it.
"This is the whistle that my teacher, the previous forest ranger, passed down to me. It can summon the mountain spirit."
Ding Can remembered: "Is it the ice sculpture in the central square of the town at the foot of the mountain?"
Dasong said that the craftsman carved it out of a huge piece of ice in the heroic posture of a mountain god.
At that time he said that mountain gods did exist, but he did not quite believe it and regarded it as feudal superstition passed down from generation to generation.
From what Mellen said, it seemed as if the mountain god really existed.
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