Chapter 110: To Live Is Better Than Anything Else

I tried desperately to haul Xu Shu up, again and again, but despite all my strength I could not lift her even an inch. I knew very well that even on solid ground it would be hard enough to hoist a weight of nearly a hundred catties like that; let alone now, when all I had to rely on was one foot hooked over a tree branch, with nothing else to brace against. To pull her up like this would demand an extraordinary strength in both waist and wrists.

Xu Shu was still unconscious. Her body seemed heavier than a thousand catties now, and I was horrified to feel her wrist slipping little by little from my grasp. My right hand was almost completely spent; I could no longer force out even the slightest bit of strength.

Hurriedly, with great effort, I stretched out my left hand and seized her palm. That helped only a little.

The mountain wind was blowing fiercely, making Xu Shu’s body begin to sway. Though I was exhausted to the point of death, my mind remained unusually clear and calm. I knew that even if I held her with both hands, I would only be buying a little time. If I could not think of a way out, Xu Shu would sooner or later fall because of my weakness. If that happened, I was afraid that in miserable self-reproach I would lose all will and simply let go, taking my own body down with hers.

And then, of course, the two of us would be smashed to pieces.

If I did not want to die, and did not want Xu Shu to die, I had to save myself immediately. But in a situation like this, what could I do? What means were there to save ourselves?

Hanging upside down, I looked left, right, and below. The cliff was not exactly sheer, but there seemed to be no ledge jutting out from it, and farther away everything was swallowed by darkness. Aside from the two large trees on the cliff, there were only small saplings and shrubs, none of which could support a person’s weight.

Then I noticed that the two great trees grew upward at a slant of about forty-five degrees. Xu Shu and I were still above the upper part of the trees. Down to my left and rear, beneath me, the thick old roots of one tree were not far from Xu Shu’s body, and that place was much sturdier than the branch I was hanging from. Its thickness was almost enough for two people to encircle with their arms.

My heart leaped. My first thought was to swing Xu Shu over and fling her onto those roots. But I immediately rejected the idea. Those roots, though thick, were still round; even if I could throw her there with exact precision, the chance of success would be almost nothing.

Still, that place was the only possible foothold. The other tree was farther away, and there was little point in considering it. After another look, I suddenly felt profoundly grateful to heaven for arranging such a miracle, allowing two great trees to grow out of this sheer precipice.

Though neither tree was tall, they were almost parallel. They stood close together, and their branches spread wildly between them, crossing and tangling with one another so densely that, unless one looked carefully, it was impossible to tell which branch belonged to which tree. The branch supporting my feet belonged to the other tree; it had stretched over here, and its tip had penetrated into the branches of this tree, intertwined with limbs of varying thickness and length.

Then my second idea came to me: I could crawl along the branch I was hanging from. There was another branch on that side that ran just above the trunk of the big tree. If I could get from my current branch to that one, and then keep moving until I reached the top of the trunk, I might be able to place Xu Shu securely on the main trunk. It was still dangerous, but it was far more promising than trying to fling her across.

My hands were beginning to go numb. A stabbing pain throbbed from the bends of my knees. My waist was weak and sore, and my head swam. Yet in my mind there was only one belief: Xu Shu had to live. I clenched my teeth and began.

Hanging upside down from the trunk, I inched forward by the crooks of my knees, crawling toward the main trunk of the tree. To be honest, the distance between the two branches was only a little over two meters, but to me it was no less than a death march.

By then my whole body was beyond exhaustion. Great drops of sweat poured from my head like rain. My mind was fiercely focused, sustained only by faith and the last breath left in me.

There was one more thing in my favor: the direction I was moving in was with the wind.

The mountain wind that night was especially violent. Could it be that rain was coming? Yet the strong tailwind still helped me greatly. I crawled from one branch to the other, then onto the upper side of the trunk. I do not know how long it took. My body had almost lost all sensation; only instinct remained, mechanically tightening my grip.

With the force of my final shred of resolve, I dragged Xu Shu onto the broad trunk and laid her down along its length. The trunk was thick, and Xu Shu lay there steadily; when I let go, she did not slip.

A surge of joy rose in me, and then all my strength suddenly failed. Darkness flooded my eyes, and I fell from the branch. By the most unlikely chance, I landed right on Xu Shu’s back. In the last instant before I lost consciousness, I seemed to hear a very faint moan escape her nose.

I soon woke again. It was the rain that revived me. Opening my eyes, I heard leaves rustling all around me, and large raindrops falling from the sky. Though some were blocked by the leaves, others still landed directly on me.

At this moment, except for the cells in my brain, my whole body seemed not to exist at all and no longer obeyed it. Xu Shu, beneath me, was breathing rapidly, though her eyes were still tightly shut. Still, I was glad; at least she was alive, at least she was breathing.

I guessed her rapid breathing was probably because my hundred-odd catties were pressing down on her, so I thought of getting up and moving away. But though my mind thought it, how could my arms and legs obey? There was nothing to do but stay where I was and wait for my strength to return.

The only thing I wanted now was a cigarette, but my cigarettes were in my pocket and I could not reach them. I also remembered that my lighter was in the pocket of my coat. When I had been hanging upside down from the tree, it seemed many things had fallen out of my pockets; the lighter was probably gone too.

The rain grew heavier and heavier. My clothes were soaked through, and the mountain wind made the cold even more piercing. Chilled by the wind, feeling gradually returned to my hands and feet. I gasped, sat up, and slowly moved off Xu Shu’s body. I took out my half-wet cigarettes and reached for my lighter, but sure enough my pocket was empty; everything had fallen out. I could only give a bitter smile and throw the cigarettes down into the abyss below. Out of sight, out of mind.

I looked up at the sky. The rain was pouring down in sheets. Though leaves sheltered us overhead, it was useless. Then I looked toward the roots behind us. There, oddly enough, we were not being rained on. It turned out that not only were shrubs thick along the edge of the cliff, but a huge overhanging rock also blocked the falling water perfectly.

Looking down, I saw that Xu Shu’s face was deathly pale, her lips already turning blue from the cold. I quickly pulled her into my arms, braced my legs against the trunk, and inched backward, carrying her little by little until we reached the roots and leaned against the cliff wall. Xu Shu was shivering violently in my embrace from the cold, so I hurriedly took off my outer coat and put it on her. Then I held her tightly, trying to give her a little warmth, even though my own teeth were chattering from the cold.

Xu Shu had remained unconscious for a very long time. In my tight embrace, she slowly opened her eyes, then immediately closed them again.

Very softly, she said, "Tang Qian... are we both dead?"

Hearing her voice, I hurriedly looked down at her and said with delight, "You’re awake? We’re not dead yet, though we may as well be."

Xu Shu opened her eyes again. Her gaze wandered about as she looked around. Then she asked, "Where... are we? My head feels so dizzy, and so many places on my body hurt. What happened?"

I said, "Our car fell off the mountain. We were lucky not to be killed, but now we’re trapped here, unable to go up or down. And now it’s raining too. Bad luck enough for anyone!"

Xu Shu seemed to remember. In a low voice, she said, "I... I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I dragged you into this..." Suddenly she could not go on, and in shame she lowered her head.

I asked in surprise, "What’s wrong with you?"

Xu Shu did not answer. She shrank back, pulling her clothes tightly around herself. Then she cried out, her face miserable: "Ow... my wrist... it hurts so much!"

I reached out and gently stroked the back of her hand, saying apologetically, "Does it hurt badly? Just now I had to hold onto you, so I had no choice but to use force. I’m sorry."

Xu Shu said, "You saved me, didn’t you?"

I said, "I was just trying to save myself."

Xu Shu gently moved her wrist. The pain made her brow furrow slightly. Then she turned and looked at the shelter of my arms again, and said, "I understand. Thank you. I... feel very cold..."

I wrapped my other arm around her as well, and she took the chance to bury her head in my chest.

After a while, she asked, "Can we be saved?"

Her words suddenly awakened me. Yes! This was the twenty-first century now, with communications so advanced. We could call for help on the phone.

Delighted, I hurriedly reached into my inner pocket and took out my mobile. But the moment I saw it, all I could do was smile bitterly. I remembered my phone had already run out of battery.

I had no choice but to ask her, "What about your phone? Let’s use it to call for help."

"My phone? It should still be in my pants pocket, I think?"

Seeing her clutching her wrist in obvious pain, I reached into both pockets of her jeans, but found nothing at all. Had it fallen off the cliff too? Please, no!

From within my arms, Xu Shu whispered, "Not there. Maybe in the back pocket."

"Really?" I did not think it through. In my anxiety, I reached out and felt along her backside. Unfortunately, her hips were round and full, with no obvious hard object protruding. It seemed it really was gone.

I was disappointed and helpless. With a long sigh, I leaned back against the cliff wall. Xu Shu looked up and asked, "Nothing?"

I gave a bitter shake of my head, then, with a sliver of hope left, pressed the power button on my phone.

My old phone always needed ages after switching on before it could connect to a signal and make a call, but it could not even wait that long now. Before I could press anything, it let out a string of warning beeps, then the screen went black and it powered off again by itself. At that moment I was so furious I wanted nothing more than to hurl the wretched thing into the air and smash it to pieces. Every time it mattered most, it failed me. Why should I even keep it?

Seeing that my phone had died, Xu Shu let out a faint sigh as well. "Can we... get out of this safely?"

Wanting to give her hope and keep despair away, I said with iron certainty, "Of course we can! I promise you, I will definitely get us out of here. Just trust me."

Hearing my promise, Xu Shu seemed to brighten. She buried her face in my chest again and said, "Only now do I understand that life is the most precious thing of all. To be alive is better than anything. Don’t you think so?"

I sighed. "Yes. To be alive is better than anything."