1RomanceEB Chapter 341 - 152: A Smooth Return
Chapter 341 - 152: A Smooth Return
The collapsed rock face they just encountered was the most dangerous, yet the last terrifying spot of the journey. They stayed outside the collapsed rock face for a while, observing to ensure there was no potential for further rockfall, then quickly passed through this area. Fortunately, there were no more surprises afterward.
Before darkness fell that evening, they finally reached an altitude of over 3000 meters.
After spending a long time at altitudes above 5000 meters, arriving at a 3000-meter altitude felt surprisingly low, and the climate was comfortable.
Unlike Li Younan, the three of them drove over, without wasting time on hiking.
Their car was parked on a wild road at the foot of the mountain, from where they could drive directly to Zimei Village.
However, they planned to camp here for the night to rest, not intending to set off directly—after all, having just retreated from a high-altitude area, their bodies needed time to adjust.
Driving is also mentally exhausting, so it’s best to wait until they’re rested and energized before proceeding.
With the car, all supplies were complete, making resting much better.
Li Younan placed his backpack into the car as well.
They arrived in a Raptor pickup truck.
One has to admit, mountain climbing appears to be a tough sport, but very few can afford to play it.
Not to mention mountain climbing requires a lot of time—for ordinary people, the most important thing is time. Simply the equipment they have is not something the average person can afford.
And to climb famous mountains like Gongga Mountain or Mount Everest, the funds required are awe-inspiring to ordinary people.
Among the three, Ding Rui’s family conditions are the best, and this Raptor is his vehicle.
The back of the Raptor can hold a lot of supplies.
They packed it completely full.
And there’s also a stove for cooking.
Now that they’ve successfully climbed Gongga Mountain and everyone has returned safely, they naturally planned to prepare a hearty meal, with plenty of ingredients in the car.
Here the atmospheric pressure was much greater, and the oxygen level was sufficient.
Ding Rui had already removed the oxygen respiratory apparatus, and Zhao Liang noticed red marks on Ding Rui’s face.
"What happened to your face?" Zhao Liang asked in surprise.
Gao Yonghui nodded: "I noticed too, and it seems a little swollen."
Ding Rui blinked in confusion: "Really?" He touched one side of his cheek, feeling a slightly tingling sensation.
Li Younan calmly said beside him: "Nothing unexpected. After all, the body sustained such a prolonged period under extreme conditions of low oxygen, a bit of swelling is perfectly normal."
The others listened, having a moment of realization and understanding.
For the upcoming cooking, Li Younan naturally didn’t volunteer.
Although strictly speaking, this journey wasn’t particularly exhausting for Li Younan, it still took quite some mental and physical effort.
Moreover, the three of their gazes toward him were filled with undisguised admiration and respect, making it impossible for him to intervene. Even when he pitched a tent, Ding Rui eagerly came to help.
"Brother Li, let me do something for you, otherwise I really can’t live with myself," Ding Rui said seriously, leaving Li Younan speechless.
The following evening was a very harmonious one.
The four gathered around the campfire, had dinner, and chatted for a while.
During this process, they naturally learned more about Li Younan. They discovered he was actually a travel streamer. Unfortunately, there was still no signal, so they could only follow him once they reached a region with coverage.
At the same time, they realized that this was Li Younan’s first hike, having never climbed a decent mountain before.
When Li Younan calmly mentioned, "The last high mountain I climbed was Huang Mountain." But it wasn’t the narrow sense of Huang Mountain, just the Huang Mountain Scenic Area’s Huang Mountain, their expressions were complex.
Ding Rui couldn’t help but say, "You’re saying that before climbing Gongga Mountain, you merely climbed... stairs, is that right?"
Li Younan replied discontentedly, "How can you say Huang Mountain is stairs? Huang Mountain... Huang Mountain is still quite steep." He pondered and thoughtfully said, "What do you think is the meaning of mountaineering? Is it the height? Is it climbing a mountain with few visitors, achieving superiority over others?"
These words prompted the three to exchange glances, lost in thought.
Li Younan smiled and continued, "For me, when considering climbing a mountain, there’s only one thing—its scenery. I don’t care about the mountain’s elevation; even if it’s merely a small hill of two or three hundred meters, I’d still try it if it offers more beautiful views. As for conquering..." He paused, looking at the sparks in the fire, earnestly asking, "Can humans really conquer nature?"
This statement brought an instant silence among them.
In fact, this is what Li Younan had been pondering.
He had never felt climbing a mountain meant conquering it. To him, the greatest significance of climbing Gongga Mountain was merely standing atop the peak, viewing the surrounding dozen 6000-meter-plus peaks at his feet—such majestic scenery was indeed mesmerizing.
Apart from that, just as he himself said, proving that you can climb while others cannot holds no significance.
But he is very aware that most climbers do indeed approach climbing with such a mindset.
No matter how they express themselves in their social media captions, there’s always a hint of... superiority.
Of course, Li Younan does not intend to judge the rightness or wrongness of these people’s thoughts.
In his view, as long as everyone finds their own meaning in climbing, there’s no problem.
After a night’s rest, everyone’s spirits were adjusted to their best state. At breakfast, they greeted each other; everyone said they had rested well last night. Without much delay, they packed their belongings, took the trash, and got on the bus heading towards Zimei Village.
After a long stretch of off-road driving, the vehicle finally entered a paved road.
At this point, Li Younan’s phone also started to receive signal.
When he restarted his phone, messages accumulated over the past few days flooded in like London being bombarded during World War II, with the ringtone exploding repeatedly.
The person who sent the most messages was JK Long.
Looking at dozens of messages from JK Long, Li Younan didn’t bother to read them closely and hurriedly sent a voice message: "I came down from Gongga Mountain."
Soon JK Long replied: "You finally came down! Something big happened, you should check out the messages I sent you!"
Li Younan asked curiously: "What happened? I’m in the car right now, it’s not convenient to look, just tell me directly."
JK Long said anxiously: "Many people online are criticizing you!"
...
After arriving at Zimei Village, finding a place to rest, Li Younan took a serious look at some messages online.
By the end, he found it somewhat laughable. Overall, the one fanning the flames was still the "Old Xu," a self-proclaimed fake-buster he had never acknowledged.
For an unknown reason, it seems that Xu Yusheng felt confident in debunking his fake claims or perhaps saw it as a way to gain more traffic... In any case, during these few days, Xu Yusheng had not been idle, releasing several videos about exposing his "fake" claims.
From an ordinary person’s perspective, it seemed quite logical and credible.
A lot of skeptical comments flooded into Li Younan’s video, even some of his fans started to waver.
The current focus of attention is whether he really went to Gongga Mountain.
Thinking about it, it’s somewhat amusing. Before departing, Li Younan only mentioned he was going to traverse Gongga Mountain, not climbing it, but now the online discussions are fixated on him purportedly climbing Gongga Mountain.
Li Younan does not have much experience dealing with such public opinion, but he believes one thing - if something is real, it must be real.
One must grasp the main contradictions of things; those who play with traffic will surely be bitten back by it.
The only concern is that JK Long told him that two partnership businesses are also worried about these issues and are discussing their next collaboration, wanting to include extra agreements to secure their interests.
Originally, Li Younan hadn’t planned to respond, but since it involves business issues, it must be handled seriously.
Li Younan thought for a moment and then sent all the footage shot over the past few days to JK Long.
JK Long, as if having found a treasure, said that with these videos as supporting materials, things should be more stable.
After temporarily letting JK Long handle this matter, Li Younan didn’t forget to contact Zhu Qingyue. Previously, Zhu Qingyue was directly arranged to be sent to Kangding for treatment, he didn’t know if she went back alone or waited for him in Kangding. Upon contacting Zhu Qingyue, he learned that her condition had worsened in Kangding and she had already left early. For Li Younan, this was actually a good thing.
He advised her to rest well and told her that he roughly passed the place her aunt mentioned during his descent.
Then, Li Younan sent a lot of nice photos he took along the journey to Zhu Qingyue.
Li Younan’s car was still parked at the starting point where he began the crossing.
Originally, Li Younan planned to take a cab there, but Ding Rui and his two friends insisted on driving him, which Li Younan gladly accepted.
If you want to make friends, you shouldn’t refuse others’ goodwill too much; proper friendship should be reciprocal, with mutual exchanges.
Feeling embarrassed or inconveniencing others would lead to declining connections over time. Today you accept others’ goodwill, tomorrow you return it in another form, and thus relationships grow stronger.
Li Younan found the three of them quite nice and was happy to become their friend.
They sent Li Younan to his car, marking the time to part ways.
Ding Rui, having faced such great danger this time, certainly suffered some physical damage, needing to return to Chengdu for proper treatment, bidding farewell there.
But this climbing experience and online storm of traffic didn’t end so easily.
A greater wave is gradually brewing.