NOS Chapter 56
by VolareSomeone was screaming, someone was rushing over, and others were frantically pulling Guan Yao up from the ground. Everywhere was a chaotic cacophony of voices.
Just then, a little girl called out, “Old Uncle, Old Uncle, is that you?”
Guan Yao turned his head blankly and saw Guan Ning, carrying a medical kit, standing with a slightly older woman.
Han Chen grabbed her shoulder and pushed her forward. “There were a few nurses heading to Da Muqi for exchange studies on the train that just stopped. These two said they knew field dressing, so I brought them over. Beilin is too remote, the ambulance will probably take a while longer to arrive…”
Guan Yao repeated dully, “Field dressing…”
Right, field dressing, Guan Ning had specifically mentioned it before going to the training camp.
Han Chen had already led the two to Yu Chunming’s side. “Everyone back, everyone back, keep the air flowing!”
“Yes, yes…” Guan Yao finally snapped out of his dazed state. He pulled up the helpless Guan Ning. “Girl, this is your Uncle Yu, you have to save his life.”
Only then did Guan Ning, still bewildered, see Yu Chunming lying on the ground. She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.
The bullet had pierced Yu Chunming’s right shoulder, and blood was flowing all over the ground. Guan Yao had taken off his police cotton uniform and placed it under him, and a police officer who had learned emergency rescue was squatting beside him, pressing the still gushing wound.
“What are you waiting for? Get the hemostatic bandage out first!” the head nurse who came with Guan Ning shouted.
Guan Ning shuddered violently. She immediately rushed forward, her hands trembling as she unloaded the medical kit, and then knelt shakily beside Yu Chunming.
“The outdoor temperature is about ten degrees below zero. You can’t take off all the clothes completely for bandaging. Stop the bleeding simply first, and then intravenous injection,” the head nurse ordered. “You handle the wound, I’ll prepare the medicine.”
This was Guan Ning’s first practical operation. As a half-baked little nurse who needed to “pull strings” to pass the assessment and could puncture the model even when giving injections to a dummy, she now had to face the huge wound torn open by the bullet, deal with the minced meat at the wound, and fill the bleeding point on the back with bandages to prevent massive blood loss.
What to do, what to do, what to do? Guan Ning clenched her teeth and held back her tears. She looked up at Guan Yao, who was staring at her, took a deep breath, and then took out the hemostatic bandage from the medical kit.
“Raise his right shoulder a little.” Guan Ning said to Guan Yao.
Guan Yao held a flashlight in one hand and supported Yu Chunming’s neck with the other, half-hugging him into his arms.
The cotton uniform that had been placed underneath was now soaked through. The scalding blood cooled rapidly in the cold night, and then congealed into knots. The new snow on the ground turned into dark red ice crystals, gathering into a bleak color under the light of the flashlight.
Guan Yao could feel that the person leaning against his neck was still breathing gently. This faint breath tapped on his heart, making him sober and driving him crazy.
“Is the wound filled? Is there a fracture?” Guan Ning’s head nurse asked from the side.
“Soon!” Guan Ning’s hands didn’t stop, and she kept stuffing the hemostatic bandage into Yu Chunming’s penetrating gunshot wound. She replied, “Below the clavicle, the bullet pierced the right shoulder and left an open wound with a diameter of about 10cm on the back. The patient has a large amount of bleeding, and the bleeding color is bright red. It is very likely that the arterial blood vessels in the shoulder and neck were injured, but no obvious fracture has been detected so far.”
“Okay,” the head nurse arranged in an orderly manner, “There is only sodium chloride in the medical kit, no tranexamic acid. When the ambulance arrives, inject hemostatic agents and epinephrine.”
Guan Ning sniffed hard, lowered her head and tied a knot on Yu Chunming’s shoulder with a bandage. She whispered, “Uncle Yu, I won’t let you die.”
Yu Chunming’s hand, which was hanging on the side, moved slightly, as if he had heard these words.
Ten minutes later, the ambulance arrived. Guan Yao followed Guan Ning and the head nurse to lift him onto the stretcher.
Han Chen walked past him and was about to get in the car, but Guan Yao stopped Han Chen, and then threw his blood-stained cotton uniform into his hand: “I am Chunming’s unit leader. If there is any situation that needs to be signed, only I can come.”
Han Chen was stunned, and immediately the back door of the ambulance closed and roared away from the ridge.
Sitting in the car, Guan Yao grabbed Yu Chunming’s hand tightly, Guan Ning said softly beside him: “Old Uncle, don’t pull it so hard, the doctor wants to put on the monitor.”
Guan Yao’s eyes twitched, almost shedding tears.
At this moment, the monitoring device that had just been put on suddenly “beeped”, and someone shouted: “His blood pressure is dropping!”
“Inject saline and vasoconstrictors…”
“Where is the adrenal cortical hormone?”
“Prepare for electric shock.”
The noisy and chaotic sounds hit Guan Yao’s eardrums. The hand that suddenly loosened made him fall into the abyss, and he felt dizzy in an instant.
“Jiang Xin, Jiang Xin, where are you?” A shout from twenty years ago suddenly rushed into Guan Yao’s mind. He seemed to travel through time and space, and suddenly came to the bank of the Ning Nie Li Qi River, looking at the hills and weeds on the opposite bank, looking for someone who had long disappeared in Za Mu Er.
“Jiang Xin, where are you? I am Guan Yao, can you hear me?” In the bushes, a half-grown boy was shouting.
The abandoned rails were laid outside the factory, and the train emitting black smoke drove “clank clank”. This was summer, this was winter, this was autumn when the birch leaves turned yellow, and this was spring when all things grew.
Guan Yao ran in the endless Jin A Lin Mountain. He looked at the distance, overlooking the mountains, the sky was high and the water was long, the sky was wide and the earth was wide, where would the person he wanted to find be hidden?
In the distance, the long river flowed, and the golden corn under the ridge rolled in the wind. The lumberjacks carrying long saws sang songs and walked down Mopan Mountain. When night came, the setting sun fell into the earth, the smoke curled up and faded away. In the distant village, there was a sound of gongs and drums, and the high-pitched tune* came from the other side of the forest:
“The sun rises in the East China Sea… The sun sets in the Jade Void Mountain,
“…I am rushing through three passes day and night, I want me to be here today, the sun sets in the west and the sky is dark…
“Look at the ten families, nine families are locked, only one family has not closed the door, birds run to the forest… tigers run to the mountains!”
Dong! Dong—dong—dong dong!
“Jiang Xin!”
I don’t know how long it took, Guan Yao finally couldn’t run anymore, he looked helplessly at all directions, there were birds flying, there were clouds moving in the sky, and the leaves in the forest were rustling, but where was Jiang Xin? Where is Jiang Xin?
The stars moved.
Guan Yao didn’t know.
“Brother?” Suddenly, a clear voice appeared in the distance. The voice was not like Jiang Xin when he was a child, but it was still familiar. Guan Yao heard the voice laughing and saying to him, “Who are you waiting for here?”
Who am I waiting for here? Guan Yao pulled up his feet that were deeply mired in the river beach and walked towards the ridge. He thought, so, who am I waiting for here?
“Aren’t you waiting for me?” The voice rang again, he asked strangely, “I’ve been here all the time, why can’t you see me?”
Guan Yao was surprised, and looked back, he found a little boy standing by the river. This little boy was dark and thin, and when he smiled, he showed a mouth of crooked and rotten teeth. But suddenly, the little boy disappeared, and a tall and handsome man walked towards him.
“Hello, my name is Yu Chunming.” The man said.
Hello, my name is Yu Chunming…
It was an afternoon in midsummer, this person stood under the window, the warm sunshine shone on him, and plated a layer of soft golden light on his face that resembled his mother.
Guan Yao vaguely realized that he should have recognized him at the first sight of him.
Didi, Didi—
The emergency doctor breathed a sigh of relief. Guan Ning bent over and put an oxygen mask on Yu Chunming. The monitor returned to stability, and the line that was almost straight just now rose and fell regularly.
Guan Yao blinked his sore eyes and dropped a tear on the back of Yu Chunming’s hand.
“Hey, Uncle Yu, Uncle Yu, are you awake?” Guan Ning exclaimed in surprise.
Yu Chunming opened his eyes blankly.
Guan Ning was blessed to the soul, and immediately stepped back and let Guan Yao in front of Yu Chunming.
The oxygen mask was instantly covered in mist.
“I’m here,” Guan Yao squeezed out a smile. He gently touched Yu Chunming’s cheek and said, “Don’t be afraid, I’ve always been there.”
Yu Chunming was not afraid, he just wanted to ask, you took off your cotton uniform for me, the temperature is so low outside, aren’t you cold?
But at this time, he could only try to open his eyes, resisting the surging sleepiness, and then held Guan Yao’s hand before the darkness came.
I won’t die, Yu Chunming muttered in his heart, at least I can’t die now.
The operation lasted all night, and Guan Yao sat outside the operating room all night.
Yu Chunming had no relatives in Za Mu Er—at least on the surface, so the only person who could sit here and guard him, or who was willing to sit here and guard him, was Guan Yao.
It wasn’t until dawn, when the streets outside gradually heard human voices, that Han Chen, who had dealt with the tail-end work of the police force, came late, and the lights in the operating room went out.
“Old Uncle?” Guan Ning, covered in blood, walked out of the gate with the doctor. She took off her mask and smiled tiredly. “Old Uncle, don’t worry, Uncle Yu will be fine. The three chief surgeons of the Joint Logistics Support Force Hospital happened to be in our Za Mu Er Municipal Hospital for exchange, and their skills are very good.”
Guan Yao nodded stiffly.
But the chief surgeon’s expression was still very serious. He sighed, glanced at Guan Yao and Han Chen, and then said: “In order to save his life, all the type A blood in your municipal hospital’s blood bank has been exhausted. What about his family? I’m afraid I’ll have to donate some blood later.”
“No problem, I am his family, I will go.” Han Chen responded immediately.
“Also,” the doctor continued, “Although his life was saved, the bullet caused a serious penetrating injury to his right shoulder. Fortunately, the bullet did not remain in the body and there was no cavity bleeding, but just now during the operation, we found through CT scans that the fragments remaining under his right back shoulder have a certain displacement due to the bullet impact. At present, the equipment and the level of medical staff in our Za Mu Er Municipal Hospital are not enough to deal with this problem. If you have the conditions, it is best to transfer to a large hospital in Songlan within three days.”
“Okay.” Guan Yao was still nodding stiffly.
Han Chen was quite calm, he smiled at the doctor and said, “Thank you.”
After everyone left, Guan Yao sat down again, he buried his face in his palms, his shoulders suddenly collapsed.
Han Chen comforted: “Don’t worry too much, I’ll tell my mentor later, let him…”
“I have already contacted Teacher Wang.” Guan Yao interrupted him, “Teacher Wang said that she will send someone from the First Hospital of Songlan Medical University, and they will arrive tonight.”
“Teacher Wang?” Han Chen was stunned, “You know…Teacher Wang?”
Guan Yao didn’t answer, he slowly breathed out, stood up, and said to Han Chen: “I also told Team Leader Wang, Team Leader Wang asked me to go to Songlan with Chunming, he found key clues there and needs someone to assist. Last night, Team Leader Wang also told me that Za Mu Er will be temporarily handed over to Deputy Team Leader Han, you guard the home, don’t let such a thing happen again.”
Han Chen never expected that Guan Yao, who looked like he was at a loss, had handled everything overnight, and he, the person who seemed to be closest to Yu Chunming, could only stay in Za Mu Er now to continue the next job.
This is too unfair, Han Chen had only this sentence in his mind.
That’s right, with the suspect running away, colleagues seriously injured, and countless jobs waiting to be done now, all Han Chen could think of was this sentence “too unfair”. He didn’t care how badly Yu Chunming was injured, nor did he care whether the colleagues who were still searching for the suspect near Beilin had any results, let alone the missing Meng Changqing and the new clues found by Wang Zhen. He just wanted to know, why after so many years together with Yu Chunming, he had not been able to get in touch with Yu Vice-Director’s lover Wang Meng, and Guan Yao had only known Yu Chunming for a few months, and he could get her contact information.
What is the reason for this?
Fortunately, Guan Yao didn’t know what Han Chen was thinking, he squeezed his eyebrows and said, “I have to go home and pack my things, you stay here for me, if there is any situation, contact me in time.”
After speaking, Guan Yao looked at Guan Ning and squeezed out a smile: “I didn’t expect my great-niece to be so powerful.”
Guan Ning’s nose was sore, and she lowered her head to wipe away tears.
“Don’t cry,” Guan Yao said softly, “If I go to Songlan with your Uncle Yu, I won’t be able to take care of you during this time. You have to study hard in Da Muqi, did you hear?”
Guan Ning pursed her lips and nodded, sobbing.
This day was a rare sunny winter day in Za Mu Er, but the heavy snow didn’t melt, and the temperature dropped rapidly to minus fifteen degrees. Guan Yao didn’t wear a cotton uniform and walked on the street, suddenly shivering from the cold.
His hands, face, and pants were still stained with Yu Chunming’s blood. Now the blood had dried and solidified into a black color, but the fishy and cold iron rust smell still lingered, filling Guan Yao’s nasal cavity.
He was like a walking dead, sluggish and dull, even after returning home and standing in the warm living room, he still felt cold all over.
The dumplings that were made early yesterday morning were still placed outside the kitchen window, next to the meat jelly sent by Auntie Wang. Yu Chunming’s newly purchased soda was still hanging on the security net, and the plastic bag was blown by the wind from time to time.
On the table, the photo frame that was originally upside down was placed in the center by someone at some point. The two boys in the photo held hands and looked at the camera with serious expressions.
“I don’t even know how to smile.” Guan Yao said softly.
Now he was too weak to think deeply about why Yu Chunming was Jiang Xin, and how Jiang Xin became Yu Chunming. Because, once he discovered the truth, Guan Yao immediately understood that Yu Chunming should have been Jiang Xin, if he wasn’t Jiang Xin, who else could he be?
Those eyes, those slender eyelashes, the upward curve of his mouth when he smiled, his high nose bridge and the way he looked at him, his elusive probing and his unwilling resentment, if he wasn’t Jiang Xin, who else could he be?
Yu Chunming could only be Jiang Xin, but he had never recognized him.
Guan Yao covered his face, and at this time he couldn’t help but shed tears and cried out loud.
[The author has something to say]
*Taken from the Northeast Divine Tune
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