Life is Like a Journey – Chapter 40
by Little PandaVolume 1: Rise
Hot Pot
Lu Qingshi, your alcohol tolerance is also too poor
“Nobody move! I said don’t f*cking move! Do you believe… do you believe I’ll poke a hole in her head right now…” the man said while the knife tip deeply pierced into the girl’s skin, and the girl began to scream in fear, her face turning pale.
Xiang Nanke held a handgun, aiming at the suspect’s head, but hesitated to pull the trigger because of concern for the hostage.
About ten detectives had already completely surrounded the first-floor lobby exit. The man, seeing that escape was impossible, grew more agitated and uneasy, while the girl in his grasp struggled and gradually lost strength.
Xiang Nanke put down the handgun: “Brother, let’s talk it out, release the hostage.”
“In your dreams!” the man pressed the knife against her neck, drawing a line of blood: “Tell your people to clear the way for me and prepare a car, now immediately, or else…”
Xiang Nanke made a hand gesture, and the detectives blocking the door scattered, watching as the spacious and bright exit lay right in front. The man dragged the girl forward step by step.
Xiang Nanke retreated step by step, and the man suddenly stopped, his gaze falling on her holstered handgun, his eyes showing a fierce light.
“Give me your gun!”
“Team Xiang—” the detectives behind approached, and Xiang Nanke made a gesture for silence, slowly drawing the handgun from the holster.
The man roared: “Remove the bullets!!!”
“Clatter—” Xiang Nanke removed the magazine, lightly flicking her thumb, as golden bullets fell one by one onto the ground. She raised her hand to indicate it was emptied.
“Throw the gun over here!”
Xiang Nanke hesitated for a moment and looked to the side: “It’s not good to hit someone, right?”
Gu Yanzhi’s hand rested on the railing of the second floor.
“F*ck your mother, where is there so much nonsense!” the man became impatient, again pressing the knife against her neck, and the girl let out a painful moan.
Xiang Nanke bent down and gently placed the gun on the ground: “Okay, don’t harm the hostage.”
With her hand behind her back, she quietly pulled out the tactical knife, using her left hand to slightly apply force, causing the black gun to spin on the ground and roll to the man’s feet.
The man stepped on it with his foot: “Magazine!”
Xiang Nanke reached out, and the detectives behind handed over a fully loaded magazine.
She threw it over in the same manner.
The man used one hand to choke the girl’s neck, slowly bending his knee and leaning down to pick up.
Gu Yanzhi’s eyes flashed brightly—it was the moment!
With a slight exertion of force on the railing with her wrist, she leaped, descending from the two-story height in mid-air, delivering a simple yet powerful flying kick that fiercely smashed into the man’s head, sending him flying on the spot, blood splattering from his mouth and nose. The hostage was able to escape, surrounded by police.
Lu Qingshi took a moment to glance at the battle situation downstairs and saw Gu Yanzhi taking off her jacket, revealing a camouflage training uniform underneath, showing strong and powerful forearm muscles, as she slowly posed in an attack stance. The man climbed up from the ground, grabbed a knife, and charged forward.
The detectives behind Xiang Nanke all raised their guns but were stopped by the calm female officer: “Do not shoot yet, be careful not to accidentally injure.”
“I say, Director Lu, are you daydreaming about your husband? This person is about to die! Think of a way!”
Qin Xuan was covering the man’s wound, the gauze already soaked, with her hands and body covered in blood.
“Shut your mouth, even a clever woman cannot cook without rice, has the ambulance arrived or not!” Lu Qingshi took a hair tie out of her bag to first tie off the girl beside her from the near-heart end, then threw the remaining ones to her. Qin Xuan quickly did the same.
The ambulance finally arrived at the critical moment, with the mall’s front door already surrounded by police cars, making it watertight. Security led them through the employee passage to the side of the second-floor escalator.
“Teacher Lu, we’ve arrived!” Yu Gui, carrying a stretcher, ran while panting, but did not stop her actions for a moment, lifting the patient onto the stretcher together with her.
“There’s still one more!” Qin Xuan shouted, and Hao Renjie ran over to help her lift the person onto the stretcher.
When she swung the first punch, she was still somewhat unconfident due to long-term rehabilitation, but when her fist smashed into the opponent’s bone, she heard the cracking sound from inside the body. It was at this moment that she believed the once mighty and invincible special forces soldier seemed to have returned.
The man was hit and spat out a mouthful of blood, kneeling on the ground. The bone-cutting knife in his hand seemed to wave wildly but had a trace of method in it.
Gu Yanzhi’s footsteps slightly shifted as she pulled over his hand, gently twisting it. The seemingly insignificant force was as heavy as a thousand pounds, making the wrist bone crack with a crisp sound. The bone-cutting knife fell to the ground, and she followed the momentum with a leg throat lock, pinning the person to the ground, and lightly patted his cheek with the back of her hand.
“Which unit were you from before?”
The man spat out a mouthful of blood foam: “Why should I tell you! Just kill me then! Anyway, today I chopped that little bitch, killing one is worth it, killing two is sure profit with no loss!”
Gu Yanzhi looked at the bloodied girl being carried down from the stairs, her eyes suddenly turning cold, as her gaze fell on the sharp blade beside her, and she grabbed it.
“You are the disgrace of the People’s Liberation Army of China!”
Before sending the injured back to the ambulance, Lu Qingshi turned to look, and saw the other party raising the knife high, aiming at the suspect’s head.
“Gu Yanzhi!”
“Buzz—” because of too much force, after inserting, the owner let go, and the handle was still trembling, fresh blood rolling down from the blade tip.
Gu Yanzhi stood up, and the police swarmed in, holding him down and handcuffing him. The bone-cutting knife was inserted into the ground beside his temple, and the marble tile had a slight crack from the force.
Xiang Nanke walked up to this brave hero and saluted her: “Your skills are very good, were you previously serving in the special forces?”
Gu Yanzhi shook hands with her, not intending to introduce herself: “Sort of.”
After saying that, she lifted her foot to leave but was stopped again: “You have to come with us to the police station to make a statement.”
Gu Yanzhi glanced at the busy Lu Qingshi, frowned: “Wait for me a moment.”
She hurriedly ran over and asked the doctor if there was anything that needed help. The doctor shook her head, glanced at her to see she wasn’t injured, and was relieved.
“No, you go ahead and be busy.”
Xiang Nanke saw Qin Xuan was also there, so she went over to greet her: “What a coincidence?”
Qin Xuan spread her hands, indicating helplessness: “Just came out to stroll around the mall, who knew I’d encounter this kind of thing, it’s bad luck for eight lifetimes.”
Xiang Nanke saw bloodstains on her body and showed more concern in her eyes: “Are you okay?”
Qin Xuan felt warmth in her heart, and the smile on her face became even sweeter: “I’m okay, it’s all others’ blood. Not talking to you now, I have to take the injured back to the hospital.”
The green channel was fully open, and they returned unimpeded to the emergency center. Liu Qingyun immediately came over to help push the person into the operating room. Lu Qingshi looked at him: “Qin Xuan has another injured person there, go help.”
“Okay,” he responded, running out of the operating room.
Lu Qingshi put on the surgical gown and changed into new gloves: “Scalpel.”
Hao Renjie steadily placed the scalpel into her hand.
“Chest opener,” Yu Gui’s actions were indeed very swift, directly using the chest opener to open the chest cavity.
“Lung contusion, give me the hemostatic clamp.”
“Forceps.”
“Hold the muscle retractor!”
“Don’t shake your hand!”
“You poked other tissue!”
“Can you do it or not, if not, get off the stage! Change assistants!”
Almost every time during surgery with Lu Qingshi, one would get scolded terribly, but this time Yu Gui did not retreat with red eyes. Instead, she tightly pursed her lips and still stood at the operating table, insisting on doing her work well no matter what was said.
While Lu Qingshi spoke, her hand movements never stopped. Her hand speed was very fast, and Yu Gui followed, sweating profusely.
“4.0 absorbable suture.”
“Yes.”
“Block the major artery.”
“Yes.”
“Tie the knot faster!”
“Okay.”
“Cut the suture.”
Finally, Yu Gui, holding the surgical scissors, cut the thread, and her whole body seemed exhausted. A nurse wiped her sweat.
Lu Qingshi did not raise her head: “Don’t stand idle, next repair the liver damage.”
Her body had more than ten wounds of various sizes, but all avoided critical heart areas. Yu Gui used forceps to move the organs, but suddenly stopped: “This is…”
Lu Qingshi turned her head and called to the nurse: “A large tumor was found in the pancreas, go and talk with the family.”
“The situation now is like this: your sister received dozens of stab wounds, and her lung, spleen, liver, pancreas, and stomach all have varying degrees of damage. During the process of opening the chest to repair the liver damage, our doctor found a mass in the pancreas, which means there is a tumor. Usually, tumors in this location are not very good, so you need to be mentally prepared.”
Wu Xinyu also had injuries on her body. After finishing the statement at the police station, she went straight to the hospital and hadn’t waited long before hearing this kind of news, causing her whole body to collapse on the ground.
“Doctor, doctor, I beg you, save my sister.”
“Aiya, you get up first, then talk, get up. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we will not give up.”
If an adult’s heart is about the size of a fist, this tumor is about the same size as the heart, tightly adhered to the abdominal aorta and the duodenum (first part of the small intestine), with a smooth surface and rich blood vessels, making removal very difficult. But if it’s Teacher Lu… there should be no problem, right?
Yu Gui was thinking this as the other party quickly completed the liver damage repair: “Okay, cut the suture, instrument nurse and circulating nurse, count the gauze quantity, prepare to close the abdomen.”
Yu Gui, holding the surgical scissors, exclaimed: “Not cutting?”
Lu Qingshi turned and stepped down from the operating table, removed the surgical gown, and threw it into the medical waste bin: “Cannot cut.”
Yu Gui became anxious, put down the surgical scissors, and stopped her as she was about to step out of the operating room: “If you just close the abdomen like this, she won’t live more than a month!”
Lu Qingshi pushed her aside: “Make way, if you have the ability, cut it yourself.”
“Teacher Lu, I misjudged you!!!” Yu Gui was pushed against the wall, eyes red, and shouted at her back.
After finishing the emergency surgery, the hour hand had already passed twelve. Lu Qingshi changed clothes and came out, her stomach growling, when her phone lit up.
Gu Yanzhi: “Hotpot?”
She also attached a picture full of color, aroma, and taste, with a red pot of spicy oil, and fresh ingredients still glistening with water droplets.
“…In the chaos, you couldn’t have gone back to carry shopping bags again, could you?”
The other party burst into laughter, pounding the ground: “Doctor Lu is really smart.”
Forget it, considering the first meeting when saving Wang Youshi, in such an urgent situation she still remembered to take her lamb skewers, going back to get them is also not impossible.
The doctor curved the corners of her lips: “Wait.”
Unexpectedly, Qin Xuan opened the door for her: “Yo~ our Director Lu finished surgery?”
Lu Qingshi pushed her aside: “Why are you here?”
Hamburger wagged its tail and brought over the slippers that Lu Qingshi often used, placing them at her feet. Lu Qingshi bent down and rubbed its head, and Hamburger gave her a big lick on the face.
Qin Xuan’s eye twitched, feeling like a third wheel, wondering what this sudden sense of being extra was!
“Tsk tsk, disturbing your little world of two? By the way, when did you become so familiar?”
Gu Yanzhi, wearing an apron and holding prepared sashimi, came out from the kitchen: “When I was hospitalized, it was thanks to Doctor Lu who came every day to help me take care of Hamburger.”
Lu Qingshi raised an eyebrow, giving a now-you-understand, don’t-joke-around look.
Qin Xuan hugged her shoulder: “But the Doctor Lu I know doesn’t like animals at all, and most dislikes contact with patients, because acting on impulse would interfere with her judgment. Who said this?”
The doctor, being thin-skinned, didn’t know why her ears were somewhat burning. Gu Yanzhi sat opposite her, slightly raising an eyebrow, with a great intention to explore further.
Lu Qingshi shook her off and awkwardly changed the topic: “Go over there, I’m hungry.”
A piece of hot sashimi was placed in her bowl with chopsticks, and Gu Yanzhi squinted her eyes and smiled, feeling like a sly little fox.
“Quickly eat, Qingshi.”
Under the warm yellow light, just chewing on these two words, turning them over a thousand times on her tongue, she tasted the flavor of gentleness.
Different from others calling her name, Qin Xuan mostly does so in a teasing, playful manner, while Dean Meng, being her grandfather’s student, is considered her half-elder, kind and gentle.
In her short earlier life, besides her parents, only Fu Lei would so intimately call her, Qingshi, Qingshi, Lu Qingshi.
The doctor paused for a moment: “Thank you.”
Qin Xuan, with a bang, took out a bottle of old baijiu (a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume) and three small wine cups from under the table.
Lu Qingshi hurriedly refused: “I do not drink alcohol.”
Qin Xuan placed one in front of each person: “I checked, you are not on duty tomorrow, rest.”
“…”
Even though she said she wouldn’t drink, she still ended up drinking a little, especially when Gu Yanzhi brought over a wine cup.
Her gaze was clear and gentle, with brown pupils not mixed with any impurities, possessing an amber-like warm texture. When she smiled, she showed very white teeth, naive and sincere.
“Very grateful to Qingshi for saving my life and giving me the courage to stand up again.”
Lu Qingshi lightly clinked glasses with her: “No, I should be thanking you. If it weren’t for your persistence at the emergency scene, none of us would have survived.”
As the spicy liquid entered her throat, the doctor was severely choked, her face flushed, and her eyes overflowed with tears, even the corners of her eyes turned red.
Gu Yanzhi quickly pulled a tissue and handed it over, pouring a cup of hot water and placing it beside her hand: “Are you okay?”
“Nothing… cough cough…” The doctor raised her head to thank her, her watery eyes shimmering, beautiful and breathtaking under the dim yellow light.
Gu Yanzhi slightly pressed her lips, touched her fingertips, and then withdrew.
Qin Xuan, shaking an already empty wine bottle, lay on the table unable to straighten up: “Lu Qingshi, your alcohol tolerance is also too poor.”
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