Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Daybreak.
Da Bin was covered in snow when he returned to the campsite. The first thing he did was to enter Li Nanheng’s tent.
“Why are you here? Didn’t we agree to have Fattie here tonight? You haven’t slept well in days. What did you come here for?” Da Bin patted the snow off of his coat and approached the bedside. He glanced at the man who was still unconscious on the bed: “How is he? Has the fever reduced?”
Feng Ling returned to herself and finally realized that she had been in a daze for several hours. She had forgotten entirely to watch Li Nanheng’s condition. She picked up the thermometer and answered a moment later: “38.5 degrees Celcius.”
“Although there’s still a fever, this temperature should be manageable for Boss. He even endured through a forty degrees Celcius fever. It seems like we can set our minds at ease now,” Da Bin glanced at Feng Ling. Suddenly, he furrowed his brows and lowered his head to scan her: “What happened to your neck?”
Feng Ling abruptly reached up to cover her neck.
Although her clothes were thick, the collar wasn’t very high. Earlier, she had been in too much of a rush and was only concerned with getting dressed. She had missed the hickeys the man had left on her neck.
“My throat doesn’t feel very well, so I followed the method some elderly people like to use. I dipped my hands in alcohol and pinched my neck a few times. I must have used too much force.”
From this angle, Da Bin could only see a big patch of red skin. Feng Ling had tugged her collars up to conceal it before he could get a clear look.
He did not doubt her explanation. In this cold place, it was common for anyone to fall ill. Furthermore, Feng Ling had been busy caring for Boss for the past few days. Her body was exhausted, and it was understandable for her to feel unwell.
“Da Bin, I don’t feel too well. I’ll go next door to rest. You’ve been patrolling all night. I’ll go call Da Hu over…”
“There’s no need. Hurry up and go rest. You’ve been guarding here tirelessly for the past few days. How can anyone endure putting their body through so much strain?” Da Bin spoke as he angled his chin toward the entrance of the tent, urging her to leave quickly. He did not intend to keep her at all.
Feng Ling stood up. She headed for the entrance without looking at the man on the bed. Right before she left the tent, she paused and turned back to say: “Last night, to relieve Boss’s headache and dizziness, Fattie fed Boss a whole bottle of soybean spirit. I’m not sure if Boss’s body can take it. Although his temperature has reduced a bit, there’s a chance it may rise again anything. You better watch him closely.”
“Fuck! Did a donkey kick the damn Fattie’s brain? How can he feed alcohol to someone who has a high fever!” Da Bin’s expression was about to twist from his anger.
“He had good intentions.” Although Feng Ling was also upset, to prevent Da Bin from rushing to look for Fattie to settle this debt, she said a few words to soothe his anger.
Finally, as Da Bin sat back down with a stony, angered expression, Feng Ling turned and left the tent.
Her body was extremely uncomfortable, and the aching exhaustion left her wanting to collapse into a deep sleep for days.
The moment she stepped out, she was assaulted by the freezing cold. The temperature in the morning was not to be taken lightly.
Feng Ling released a long breath and reached out to tug her collar higher. She did not have her down coat with her and was dressed in a thin sweater; the cold air instantly clung onto her clothes. However, she felt that only the bone seeping chill could extinguish the remnants of the burning heat in her body. The dazed, confusion finally reverted to her composure.
Feng Ling wasn’t sure how long she had stood outside. Fattie had been comfortably asleep when he suddenly felt a chill approach him. It startled him into jerking awake. He stared dazedly as Feng Ling buried herself under the blankets one meter away from him. Her body carried the freezing cold from outside as she wrapped the blankets tightly around her head. Without saying a single word, she went straight to sleep.
Fattie rushed to sit up. He shoved her blankets to say: “Hey, Feng Ling, has Boss’s fever reduced yet? Where did you go earlier? Did you stand outside for a long time? Your body is so cold; you brought the chill in with you.”
Feng Ling did not reply. Fattie furrowed his brows and nagged: “You can’t just lay down like that. You have to warm up first. Otherwise, you won’t feel warm even if you hide under the blanket.”
Feng Ling still did not reply, and when Fattie reached out to tug on her blanket, she held it firmly around herself as though she was in a poor mood. She refused to allow him to move her blanket.
Fattie faltered in his movements and could not continue his attempt. However, he feared that she would fall sick. It hadn’t been long since they came to Rogers Pass, yet he had already suffered from a cold and a high fever, while Boss had barely managed to pick his own life back and was still unconscious. If Feng Ling also fell sick, this place would leave trauma in their minds, and they would never dare to return.
Fattie moved off his bed and pushed the portable heater close to Feng Ling’s bed. He confirmed that it wouldn’t touch her blankets and ensured that it would warm her up. He then turned and indicated for the rest of the men to lower their volumes so that she could rest.
Everyone knew that Feng Ling had been busy caring for Boss for the past few days. It was likely that she didn’t sleep well yesterday afternoon too. They were surprised that she had went to guard him again last night.
There was no need for Fattie’s reminder. Everyone was self-aware and kept their noise to the minimum. Even when they moved off the bed, they were careful to be quiet. Everyone did their best not to disturb Feng Ling, and when they learned that she wasn’t feeling well, they decided to head to the other tent to have their breakfast. They left this tent for Feng Ling to have a proper rest.
After collapsing on the bed, the numbing cold caused Feng Ling to feel that her brain was burning up. She closed her eyes and did not move. She did not feel like giving anyone attention, nor did she wish to say a single word.
—-
In the afternoon, Feng Ling was slightly dazed from her half-asleep state. She could not open her eyes but vaguely heard the men speaking when they returned to the tent to retrieve some things: “What do we do? Didn’t Boss temperature reduce a lot last night? Why did it rise back to thirty-nine degrees? His immune system and stamina are the best in the entire base. Could this be the so-called ‘serious illness’ you experience if you haven’t fallen sick in a really long time?”
“As if. That damn Fattie’s idiocy struck again last night, and he fed Boss some alcohol. Boss’s unconscious state is related to that bottle of alcohol. Soybean spirits has such a high alcohol content. Our Boss is probably the only person in this entire world who can endure that. If it had been anyone else, Fattie would mostly like be charged with murder!”
“Boss has already slept for so many days. The water in that river is terrifying. Even Boss has collapsed. Ai…”
“Rogers Pass has bee uninhabited for so long. That river has been frozen for a long time. It takes a lot of luck to survive falling in there. We can only pray that Boss will survive through this.”
