Life is Like a Journey Against the Current

Life is Like a Journey – Chapter 77

by Little Panda

Volume 2: Inheritance

Disappearance

Yu Gui has disappeared

Qin Xuan let out a cold laugh: “Am I incapable of doing it? I am…”

“You don’t have the heart to do it,” Lu Qingshi gently lifted the pregnant woman’s head, making her look at herself.

“Can you hear me? What’s your name?”

The pregnant woman looked at her and nodded weakly: “Jiang Lijuan…”

“Now you need to make a choice. The umbilical cord of your fetus has prolapsed, making natural birth very difficult. If we delay any longer, it will suffocate and die.”

“But if we perform a C-section, once uncontrollable bleeding occurs, you might also die from hemorrhagic shock.”

She paused for a moment and slowly said: “My suggestion is to give up the child.”

Qin Xuan also became agitated: “Yes, saving your life is the most important thing. You can have children in the future.”

The man outside, hearing what they were saying inside, was crying and making a fuss: “Juanjuan, how can you be so heartless! This child is the only seedling of our Li family! How can I live without the child! My parents are also looking forward to holding their grandchild soon…”

The implication was that a wife could be remarried, but a child was irreplaceable.

Qin Xuan held the pregnant woman’s hand: “Did you hear that? Your husband doesn’t deserve you to bear children for him…”

Lu Qingshi’s tightly clenched finger bones turned white. The woman turned her face towards her, already in tears: “I… I know… When he ran away and left me… I… I knew… I married the wrong person in this life… But…”

The woman struggled a bit, slowly taking Lu Qingshi’s hand and placing it on her belly: “The child… The child is innocent… He hasn’t had the chance to properly see this world… I… I have no strength left… Please, doctor… C… C-section…”

“Bringing him safely into this world… is the last thing I can do as a mother…”

“I understand,” Lu Qingshi slowly grasped her hand back: “Close your eyes and don’t look. The local anesthesia will hurt a bit.”

“Qingshi…” Qin Xuan held the surgical knife, looking at her with reddened eyes.

“Respecting the patient’s wishes is also a doctor’s basic duty. I’ll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Let’s do the C-section.”

The surgical knife cut down, revealing the pale fatty layer. Blood immediately gushed out. Without an electric knife to stop the bleeding, two large packs of gauze were quickly soaked through.

Below, the most cruel thing involving flesh and blood was taking place, but the pregnant woman’s smile was gentle. Lu Qingshi raised her phone, opened the camera, wiped the blood stains clean from her face, and under the weak light of the flashlight, the pregnant woman was leaving a final message for her soon-to-be-born baby.

The little red dot on the phone screen was flashing on and off.

“Ningcheng… This is the name mom has chosen for you… I hope you have a healthy body and become an honest and trustworthy person…”

“If you’re a girl… then you’ll be called Mingxin…” The pregnant woman’s gaze seemed to look through the void to a far-off place: “Clear and open-minded… true to your heart… and… true to love… Don’t… don’t marry… someone you don’t like…”

Qin Xuan’s movements were quick. She had already cut through the uterine membrane and reached in to feel the baby’s shoulder. Indeed, the fetal position was incorrect, making natural birth impossible.

She glanced at Lu Qingshi: “I’m ready to take it out.”

The other nodded once.

“Baby…” The pain from the local anesthesia made the pregnant woman furrow her brows tightly, but she was careful to keep her smile as gentle as possible in front of the camera.

“The most important thing is… to remember…”

“No matter what happens… mom… loves you…”

Blood flowed from Qin Xuan’s side to her own shoe. Lu Qingshi discreetly pressed the pause button and gently placed her hand on the pregnant woman’s eyelids.

“Alright, rest now.”

“Doc… doctor…” The pregnant woman’s warm fingers touched her wrist, and Lu Qingshi leaned over.

“Th… thank you…”

“Damn it!” After taking out the baby, Qin Xuan cut the umbilical cord that had twisted into a “Chinese knot” (a cultural reference to a type of decorative knotting) with one slice, and repeatedly slapped the baby’s bottom, but there was still no response.

Lu Qingshi put down the phone and took the baby: “Give it to me, I’ll do the tracheal intubation.”

“Okay,” Qin Xuan carefully handed the child to her.

Lu Qingshi wrapped the fetus in non-woven fabric, holding it tightly against her chest as she crawled out from under the car.

“Quickly, bring a cotton pad over here! The searchlight, turn on the searchlight for a moment!”

Lu Qingshi knelt on the ground and inserted the laryngoscope and tracheal tube together into the palm-sized infant’s mouth, quickly withdrew the inner core and fixed it in place, then began chest compressions.

“One, two, three…”

Her thumb kept pressing on the middle of the sternum. After counting to a hundred, she looked back at the vital signs monitor, which still showed two horizontal lines.

Lu Qingshi gritted her teeth: “Continue.”

“0.2mg of adrenaline administered through the catheter into the trachea,” the nurse who had been waiting outside was quick and skillful, swiftly administering the drug.

Seeing large beads of sweat forming on her forehead and her strength waning, the nurse said: “Dr. Lu, let me take over.”

“Alright,” Lu Qingshi didn’t refuse further. Effective chest compressions were the main priority, and without strength, they wouldn’t have much effect.

“Damn it!” Qin Xuan, with reddened eyes, pulled out another needle from the damaged uterus, but before she could tie the knot, blood gushed out again from the area she had just sutured. Not only the pregnant woman, but her entire upper body was also soaked in blood. The monitor had been beeping continuously without stopping.

Three minutes later, Lu Qingshi knelt on the ground again: “Switch.”

The nurse, panting heavily, got up and administered another half dose of adrenaline into the trachea.

“Beep… beep…” The machine’s sound was like a death knell, incessantly ringing. Combined with the high mental tension, Qin Xuan was gradually losing her composure. Another needle failed to pierce the skin, and she frustratedly hit her own head, muttering under her breath.

“Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah… Hang in there! Hang in there! Don’t sleep! Jiang Lijuan, can you hear me? Don’t sleep!”

From outside came a loud cry. After fifteen minutes of effort, the fetus had regained autonomous breathing and heartbeat. The nurse collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat, while Lu Qingshi grabbed the emergency kit and crawled back under the car.

“Qin Xuan!” She threw a disposable medical tissue scissors to her side: “Let’s do a hysterectomy! I’ll assist you!”

“But… if we do a hysterectomy here, we still can’t control the bleeding…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lu Qingshi pulled out the hemostatic forceps: “I read in a paper that as long as we clamp the major artery to stop the bleeding, if we can get her to the hospital within fifteen minutes for further treatment, she should survive.”

But it was only a “should.” However, at this moment, even a glimmer of hope was worth fighting for.

Qin Xuan covered the bleeding area of the uterus with her hand, not daring to let go: “Are you crazy?! It’s at least an hour’s drive from here to the hospital!”

“Then do you think that scum outside can bear the responsibility of being a father? Even if I have to risk everything, including my career, I want to save her! If for nothing else, at least for the child’s sake, we have to take this gamble!”

Qin Xuan pressed her lips tightly, looking at the calm, confident, and powerful doctor in front of her. Tears rolled down the corners of her eyes, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

“Qingshi.”

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry, I apologize for my previous prejudice against you.”

“Stop talking nonsense, let’s save the person.”

Lu Qingshi pressed her communicator: “Gu Yanzhi?”

After a burst of noisy static, the fire instructor’s voice came through: “What’s wrong?”

“I need a helicopter to transport the injured.”

She briefly outlined the urgency of the situation. After listening, Gu Yanzhi didn’t hesitate.

“How long will it take you to finish?”

“About ten minutes.”

“Alright, the helicopter will be at the tunnel entrance in ten minutes.”

She knew this request might be a bit demanding for her. Domestic air traffic control was very strict, and it wasn’t easy for just any helicopter to take off.

“I’m sorry, but… there’s no other way.”

Her hoarse voice came through the static, with a slight hint of amusement: “What are you saying? This is what I should do as a firefighter.”

“Impossible! You’re no longer a member of the Falcon Strike Team, you have no right to deploy a military helicopter!”

This area is under air traffic control, and all civilian aircraft are prohibited from taking off.

Gu Yanzhi became agitated, clutching the disaster relief commander’s collar and slightly lifting him, shouting angrily, “So we just watch the injured die here?! What’s the difference between military and civilian, aren’t they all for serving the people?!”

“Captain Gu, calm down, calm down…” If it weren’t for others holding her back, Gu Yanzhi’s fist would have landed on his face.

“I’m telling you, if the injured really die here because they weren’t transported in time, I’ll never let it go!”

Not only because she had promised her, but also because she had really seen life and death, she was different from those who sat in offices all day and only showed up when something happened.

The more she cherished life, the more she hated the indifference of these people.

Always putting the greater good first, for stability, if the knife doesn’t cut into their own flesh, they won’t know how painful it is.

This was also the reason she ultimately chose to leave the military.

She had no other thoughts, just like Lu Qingshi, she simply wanted to save lives.

“Captain Gu, military helicopters can’t be used, but police helicopters, should be okay?” Xiang Nanke rarely wore a regular uniform, dressed in a deep black tactical suit, matching combat boots, with a light green police tactical vest over it, making her look even more upright, holding a walkie-talkie.

“0101, this is Captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit of Jinzou City’s Public Security Bureau, connect me to the Provincial Public Security Department.”

Xiang Nanke made a direct call to the provincial department, and Director Li was so angry that he cursed, slammed the table, and knocked over a chair. After a while, he slumped in his chair, soothing his chest to calm himself, and took out fast-acting heart pills from a drawer to swallow, his trembling finger pointing outward.

“Go, go, deploy a helicopter for that kid, and call a few SWAT officers to go with them. Make sure to transport the person safely to the hospital.”

“One, two, three! Harder!” Under the orderly command, the firefighters in deep flame blue training suits exerted force simultaneously. As soon as Gu Yanzhi finished communicating, she immediately returned, with a police officer Xiang Nanke running into the tunnel alongside her.

Within a short kilometer, both picked up a hundred-meter sprint speed, Xiang Nanke was the first to crawl under the car, Gu Yanzhi and another firefighter immediately followed with a stretcher.

“Why are you here?” Qin Xuan turned around suddenly, almost bumping into her nose, and shrieked.

“I heard from Captain Gu that you needed help, so I brought my people over. The helicopter is already waiting outside.”

“Done, vascular clamping completed,” Lu Qingshi gently pressed down the hemostatic forceps, the gear perfectly biting the blood vessel.

“Make sure to hold it tight, don’t let go.”

Qin Xuan carefully took it and held it in her palm, nodding solemnly.

“Those outside, lift the car a bit more.” Several people were kneeling on the ground, unable to stand up straight. Gu Yanzhi reached into the pregnant woman’s waist, and Lu Qingshi stuffed a few pieces of gauze into the pregnant woman’s belly.

Xiang Nanke gently shifted, embracing the pregnant woman’s upper body, Lu Qingshi held the legs, and they slowly moved her onto the stretcher.

The man outside, who had been waiting, paced around holding the newborn, “Is it okay or not? If not, just send me and my son to the hospital quickly…”

The firefighters holding up the car were sweating profusely, each gritting their teeth, faces flushed, “Hold on… hold on…”

“One…”

“Two…”

“Three…”

The stubborn firefighters switched hands and used their backs to support the car. One person going in was easy, but getting out with a severely injured pregnant woman was a different story. Calling it a struggle would be an understatement.

These short ten meters might have been the longest path Qin Xuan had ever walked in her life.

With car parts occasionally falling from above, dripping oil, an unknown unpleasant smell, and the increasingly oppressive car body, it felt like a challenge.

Gu Yanzhi freed one hand to support the pregnant woman’s belly, her palm feeling the warmth of Lu Qingshi’s gloved hand, gripping slightly tighter.

Lu Qingshi glanced at her. The firefighter instructor, wearing a helmet, remained calm and composed, looking straight ahead, so she let her be. But for some reason, in such a harsh environment, seeing her made her feel a bit more at ease.

Gu Yanzhi freed a hand to support the car body that was constantly descending, “Qingshi, you go out first.”

“No…” Lu Qingshi instinctively refused, but she gave her a reassuring look.

“Go on, you pull from outside, if you’re inside, I have to split my attention to protect you.”

Qin Xuan got goosebumps, “Enough, enough, if we don’t hurry up, we’ll all become Xi’an specialties – roujiamo.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiang Nanke gave her a light glance, still having the mood to joke at such a time, “Then you’ll be the best-looking one.”

“Shut up, who invited you in,” Qin Xuan, if not holding the hemostatic forceps, would have wanted to knock her head, cursed.

“Uninvited,” Xiang Nanke gritted her teeth, pushing the stretcher a bit further, the car’s sharp hooks tore her clothes, and the smell of blood spread.

“You…” Qin Xuan was slightly dazed, freeing a hand to press on her injured shoulder.

“Hey… Qin Xuan…”

“What?!” Qin Xuan protected the pregnant woman’s belly, suddenly irritated.

“Press my walkie-talkie, the one on my chest,” she was completely lying on the ground, her face distorted from being squashed, but her eyes still shone in the darkness.

“I… can’t reach…” Qin Xuan stretched out her arm, Lu Qingshi wasn’t one to hesitate, quickly crawling out completely and joining the team lifting the car, gritting her teeth, veins bulging on her forehead.

“I say… at a time like this… you still have the mood to flirt…” Gu Yanzhi, panting heavily, rolled her eyes, unable to watch anymore, directly kicking down, and the force was skillfully controlled, just enough to press the walkie-talkie’s switch.

“Hurry, are you guys coming?!” Xiang Nanke shouted.

In the distance, beams of flashlights flickered, a group of uniformed police officers running at full speed, “Captain Xiang, hold on, we’re almost there!”

The weight in their hands was reduced by half, Lu Qingshi breathed a sigh of relief, that’s great.

More and more police officers, firefighters, and rescue personnel began to gather in this direction, and even doctors joined the team lifting the car.

The power of one person is like a mayfly shaking a tree, but what about ten people?

Twenty people, thirty people… fifty people…

The feeling of everyone working towards a common goal was tear-jerking, the swaying car body was completely lifted, Gu Yanzhi dragged the stretcher out, everyone was dirty and dusty, but when they exchanged smiles, there was clearly a joy of surviving a disaster in their eyes.

Everyone wasn’t just happy for the pregnant woman, for the newborn baby, but also thrilled for the rebirth of life.

Everyone here today witnessed too much parting due to death.

“Let’s go,” Lu Qingshi’s hand rested on the gurney, “The helicopter is waiting for us.”

Outside, the sky had already darkened, the entire tunnel was pitch black, but what did it matter? The light not only comes from the sun but also from the people around.

She switched places with Qin Xuan, holding the hemostatic forceps, kneeling on the gurney and squeezing the ball with one hand.

Others were running for their lives, Qin Xuan protected the pregnant woman’s belly, even without high heels, she could speed along.

Xiang Nanke’s shoulder was bleeding, she couldn’t stop to bandage, following behind the gurney as a rear guard.

For the first batch of firefighters to arrive at the disaster area, Gu Yanzhi had been working intensively for twelve hours straight, yet she still led her team fighting on the frontline of saving lives.

The rain gradually lessened, Xu Qiankun stood outside the tent making a phone call, the signal in the mountainous area was bad, he had to shout, “Don’t tell me any of this nonsense! Arrange an operating room quickly! The pregnant woman is already on the helicopter, she’ll be there in about ten minutes!”

Today, Renji Medical University was overflowing with patients, the corridors filled with extra beds, the medical staff walking back and forth with urgency, sweat on their foreheads, blood on their clothes, just like the medical staff fighting on the frontline, working hard to save more people from the hands of death.

“Bed fifteen isn’t doing well!” The monitor beeped.

“Move, charge 200J completed, clear!”

“This patient just brought in has rib fractures, combined with chest and abdominal injuries, severe ascites, won’t make it!”

“Send to the operating room immediately, call Dr. Li first, I’ll be right there!”

Not only were young people busy, but there were also many old experts and professors with gray hair and stooped backs, they were the backbone of the hospital.

Meng Jihua personally rescued critically ill patients in the emergency department, not having a sip of water from morning till night.

Liu Changsheng stood in the rain maintaining order at the hospital entrance, ambulances continuously streaming into the hospital.

“Director Liu, now there are too many patients! If an infection occurs inside the hospital… maybe it’s better to temporarily close the green channel, divert some patients to other hospitals.”

A subordinate suggested.

He angrily cursed, “Every hospital is in the same situation now! Where else do you want to send patients? We are the best hospital in Jinzhou City!”

Unlike the frontline, here, they were fighting a war without gunpowder.

But death never failed to show up. Even after giving their all, some people were still wheeled out of the operating room covered in white sheets.

Young doctors wiped away tears and turned to throw themselves into the next rescue, while older, highly skilled doctors stood firm at the operating tables, creating one miracle of life after another.

The dark sky was illuminated by the helicopter’s strong lights. By rule, flying after sunset was not allowed, but the pilot still gave them a thumbs up.

The rotor blades stirred up huge waves, blowing the doctor’s hair messy and lifting her name tag. Gu Yanzhi, wearing a dirty uniform, stood beside her and raised her hand to her temple to salute the helicopter goodbye. Qin Xuan was responsible for transporting the patient back and would take the next ambulance over.

As the saying goes, “The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease” (an idiom meaning things don’t always go as one wishes). The helicopter’s massive body gradually became a small dot in the sky.

The doctor and the firefighter instructor exchanged a glance, each picking up their emergency kit and tool bag and slinging them over their shoulders.

“Let’s go.”

Their mission was far from over.

Lu Qingshi followed her, trudging back into the tunnel. Just as she crawled through the person-wide hole, a cold wind made her shiver.

A rumbling sound came from afar. Gu Yanzhi’s pupils contracted, and she suddenly pressed Lu Qingshi down.

“Get down! Watch out!”

There was a sudden earthquake-like tremor, and the medical equipment on the tables in the tent slid to the ground.

Xu Qiankun lifted the curtain and ran out. An earthen-yellow mudslide rolled down from the mountains.

He fell on his backside and picked up the communicator.

“Calling Renji Medical University First Affiliated Hospital medical rescue team, calling Renji Medical University First Affiliated Hospital medical rescue team.”

He repeated it three times.

Lu Qingshi crawled out from the pile of rocks, holding the communicator and coughing out the dust in her throat: “Cough cough… Lu Qingshi is fine.”

Gradually, other colleagues’ voices came through the earpiece:

“Liu Qingyun is fine.”

“Chen Yi is fine.”

“Hao Renjie is fine.”

“Zhang Cheng is fine.”

“Li Li is fine.”

Lu Qingshi’s slightly furrowed brow relaxed a bit: “This is Lu Qingshi, calling Yu Gui.”

“Yu Gui?” There was only static in the earpiece, no other sound.

She suddenly remembered that ever since they had separated earlier, she hadn’t been able to contact Yu Gui, and Yu Gui hadn’t called her either.

This was very unusual.