life and death
Lin Jingming uploaded the latest behind-the-scenes photos to Xia Zhitang's newly opened account [Chasing Light in the Snowy Region] and saw a surprising surge in comments and attention. He clicked on it and scanned it. It turned out to be Gu Zian who had uploaded a photo of him and the filming crew from his last trip to Tibet.
Gu Zian stood between Xia Zhitang and him, his expression somewhat indifferent. The caption read, "Wishing the filming crew a safe return."
Taking advantage of the popularity of "The Echo of the Blue Luan" and the popularity of the variety show previously filmed by the three of them, this Weibo post attracted a lot of attention.
Lin Jingming took a quick look, then closed the Weibo page and continued to check the preliminary preparation list for the upcoming outdoor shooting.
Our guide, Doji, came over with an unhappy look on his face: "Director Lin, Miss Xia wants to go with us?"
Lin Jingming put down the documents in his hand: "Yes, she is the second in command in our team. I have to listen to her when I am not here."
Doji's expression became as colorful as a palette: "But she is a woman!"
"What's wrong with that woman?" Lin Jingming's eyes became as fierce as a wolf's. "She was the one who paid for your employment."
Dorje Yu was unconvinced and said haltingly, "The gods of heaven and the Nyainqentanglha Mountains will punish us."
"If you don't want to go, we can find someone else." Lin Jingming said with a sneer, "It's only a few tens of thousands of yuan to change the guide."
"I, I didn't mean that. You misunderstood." Doji retreated embarrassedly.
Although Gu Zian said when they parted last time that he would not come to see him off if he had any announcements, he still secretly postponed two announcements before leaving and rushed to Tibet with Cheng Shubai.
"This is a blessed amulet." Gu Zian put a small brocade bag tied with a red rope around Xia Zhitang's neck.
The silver diamond ring pendant and the bright red floral brocade bag were entangled in a circle, just like Gu Zian's conflicted and uneasy heart.
Lin Jingming looked at the two people hugging each other openly, pursed his lips and put his arm around Cheng Shubai's shoulders: "I will come back safely."
Cheng Shubai was so disgusted that he shook all over and almost blurted out "Goodbye."
Finally, thinking of the man's current situation, he controlled himself and said dryly, "I'll light two eternal lamps for you."
"My two ancestors, please don't make trouble next time." Cheng Shubai complained silently in his heart, "I can't afford to compensate anyone if they make a mistake."
Lin Jingming checked his watch and said loudly, "The auspicious hour is almost over. Let's check our equipment one last time. We'll set off in five minutes!"
Cheng Shubai looked at Lin Jingming in shock: "As expected of you."
"We still have to be particular when we need to be particular!"
"Double standard dog." Cheng Shubai muttered softly, wondering who it was that had angrily complained about the guide being old-fashioned some time ago.
In the morning light, three modified off-road vehicles set off one after another, their wheels rolling over the road and raising bits of dust.
Gu Zian stared intently at the white SUV in front until it disappeared from his sight.
At the end of September, the vegetation in the Aru Basin had already turned a stale amber yellow. In a while, it would be covered with ice and snow and would no longer be suitable for the survival of wild animals.
"The place where the light yellow mist rises is the sulfur spring. Yaks will not go there." Doji introduced to them while holding a telescope.
Following Doji's guidance, everyone found a wild yak herd consisting of dozens of black yaks.
"We can't go any further." Doji looked at the wild yaks on the outermost edge, which were keeping a vigilant attitude towards them. "The terrain here makes it difficult for us to escape if they chase us."
Lin Jingming signaled everyone to stop, and under Doji's guidance, everyone found a relatively safe shelter and began to set up camp.
When Xia Zhitang and Lin Jingming set up the tent, the tents of several cameramen were blown down by the sudden wind.
"We need to use a combination knot here." Xia Zhitang went over to help them neatly tie the rope that had been blown apart by the wind. "Use snow spikes and insert them diagonally, at right angles to the wind direction."
With the help of Xia Zhitang, the cameramen's tent was finally set up.
Before dark, Doji sprinkled wolf urine powder around the camp. Everyone had a simple meal around the campfire. After everyone solved their physiological problems in batches, they all went into their tents except for the night watchmen.
As Xia Zhitang was the only woman, everyone opposed her sleeping in a tent alone.
Finally, after consultation and consideration from all sides, Lin Jingming became her account partner.
Outside the tent, the howling cold wind mixed with the faint howling of wolves surrounded them.
After Xia Zhitang dialed the satellite phone to report his safety to Gu Zian, the not very spacious tent fell silent.
A solitary lamp overhead cast a dim yellow light, illuminating a man and a woman sitting opposite each other, wrapped in sleeping bags, one on each side. However, they could not muster the slightest romantic thought.
"Xia Zhitang, before coming here, I imagined all sorts of possibilities. But only after actually driving here for a day did I truly understand the feeling described in the poem 'A Dream in the Wilderness,' 'traveling all day in the dark, with no distance, no place names, no mountains or rivers to remember.'" Lin Jingming, after a day of intense tension, couldn't suppress his inner panic. "We thought technology could conquer the earth, but in reality, humans are so insignificant in the face of nature."
“Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles.” Xia Zhitang himself was in a highly nervous state of mind. “As a film and television practitioner, it is really valuable to be able to record this shock and convey it to others.”
"Do you regret it?" Lin Jingming said with a rare sense of guilt, "This place is far more dangerous than I expected."
"Will you regret it?" Xia Zhitang asked Lin Jingming.
"Absolutely not." Lin Jingming's heart became firm. "True art always requires sacrifice."
"Then don't ask me if I regret it." Xia Zhitang suddenly smiled, "You know the answer."
Lin Jingming savored Xia Zhitang's words, and the heavy burden on his heart suddenly eased.
When the sky turned pale, the filming crew had already gotten up and packed up the tent.
That night, most of the filming crew members were on edge and couldn't sleep well - most of them were in the no-man's land for the first time, and although they were arranged to be on duty in batches, they still felt uneasy instinctively.
Lin Jingming was munching on compressed biscuits while observing the yak herd with a thermal imaging telescope.
"Have they gone away?" Lin Jingming asked Doji uncertainly.
"Yes." Doji's expression was a little serious. "It's not easy to follow here. The road behind is not suitable for driving and it's easy to get lost."
Lin Jingming pondered for a moment: "Safety first."
He turned to the camera crew and gave them instructions: "Pack up quickly and make sure we can start filming as soon as the sun comes out."
The herd of wild yaks was eventually lost, and they only had time to take a few dimly lit long-range shots.
In the following days, they only captured from a distance the scene of two wild bulls fighting for custody of a mate, and were also attacked by wild yaks because the sound of the drone scared them.
Fortunately, everyone carried their equipment and quickly ran to the car to avoid the accident. The bad news was that one of the drones was scrapped.
"The images transmitted back at the same time are pretty good, so we can be considered to have gained something." Xia Zhitang comforted everyone.
"Photographing wild animals means learning to endure loneliness," Lin Jingming continued, adding, "They're not actors or models to be directed by us."
He turned to Doji, who was counting the supplies, and asked, "How many days of filming are left?"
"It can still hold out for another three days, but the snow may come earlier this year."
Lin Jingming pondered for a moment and said, "We'll shoot for another day, then head to a nearby village to rest."
"We can camp in a sheltered area ahead today. If we're lucky, we might even see wild yaks." Doji gave cautious advice.
"OK."
When they left the Aru Basin, they happened to capture the first snowflakes falling.
After resting for a few days in the human activity area, they continued their journey towards the Rumajiangdongcuo Salt Lake.
The famous two-color salt lake made tiny crackling sounds under the midday sun, and Xia Zhitang directed the sound engineer to record it.
Lin Jingming excitedly looked at the pink and green lake surface on the aerial camera.
"A machine can't capture the shock of the naked eye." Lin Jingming sighed to Xia Zhitang while chewing on compressed biscuits in the camp.
This time, they finally got lucky. On the second day of their stay, they found a group of yaks licking salt in groups.
A group of adult yaks vigilantly circled their yaks in the middle and took turns standing guard.
The young calf walked happily in the middle of the protective circle, licking here and there curiously.
A drone flew over their heads from a distance. On the monitor, a herd of black wild yaks was shrinking and slowly withdrawing from the edge of the salt lake.
Suddenly, they seemed to have discovered something and the team began to run wildly.
"Fly the drone in the opposite direction of the yaks' escape." Xia Zhitang gave the order.
"Hurry, follow her as she said. Try following with the No. 2 telephoto lens and see if we can capture what's behind." Lin Jingming said as he took out the backup drone and started flying it.
"I'll do it, you take charge." Xia Zhitang took the drone from Lin Jingming and steadily controlled the machine to fly towards the gray dot behind the yak.
In the camera, a group of wolves ambushed in the salt alkali cave surrounded a herd of yaks, and a little yak accidentally slipped and separated from the herd.
The cow had already run away, but when she saw the wolf approaching the calf, she pounced and knocked the wolf away as it rushed towards the cowboy.
But the other wolves were unwilling to let go of the lone piece of meat and rushed over quickly.
The cow was caught in a dilemma, trying her best to protect her calf as she moved closer to the main group.
However, when the cow kicked another wild wolf away, a strong gray wolf broke through the cow's encirclement and was about to rush to the calf.
The cow's eyes were filled with sadness, and she subconsciously began to retreat into the herd.
"Camera No. 3, cut to a wide shot!" Lin Jingming suddenly stood up and circled Xia Zhitang from behind, using her hands to control the drone to fly upwards.
A yak charging from a distance appeared on the aerial monitor, and Lin Jingming began to control the drone to push downwards.
Both of them stared at the monitor nervously, their breathing mixed with the sound of someone's heartbeat like thundering drums due to excitement.
The camera slowly moves forward, and the yak gets closer and closer to the wolf calves.
Seeing that the wild wolf was about to bite the yak calf, Xia Zhitang and Lin Jingming were so nervous that their palms were sweating.
The rushing yak pounced and knocked the sturdy gray wolf away, and it also fell to the ground.
The wolves immediately gave up chasing the yak calf and pounced on the fallen yak to bite it.
"Aircraft No. 1, chase the yak calf, medium shot." Lin Jingming gave the command while slowly lowering the drone.
The sound of propellers rang above the wolves' heads, but no animal looked up. In this life-and-death struggle, nothing else mattered.
Lin Jingming estimated the height of the exposure and when he stopped the drone, the yak had already fallen in a pool of blood.
"No. 2 drone, push the Buffalo Eye." Lin Jingming gave the command while manipulating the drone to rotate and rise.
On the monitor, blood bloomed like flowers on the cold ground, and the wolves obtained the precious food they needed to survive the winter.
In the circling shot, the fleeing yaks on the left and the feeding wolves on the right perform a symphony of life and death.
When Lin Jingming let go of Xia Zhitang, he lowered his head involuntarily, and his dry and chapped lips gently pressed against her face.
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