The Trembling World

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"Elder Liu, I used fishbone and tree bark fibers to forcefully seal up your wound. The problem is that… we might have contaminated it. There is pus oozing out from it. What should we do next?" Han GuangMing asked him for advice.

"You did very well… Help me sit… upright…" Liu Gan weakly replied.

"Very well." Han GuangMing called over Zhao Meng for assistance in helping adjust Liu Gan by the tree trunk.

"How long have I slept?" Liu Gan continued asking Han GuangMing.

"From yesterday night until today, it hasn\'t been too long," Han GuangMing replied to Liu Gan.

"We… stayed at the same location… as yesterday?" Liu Gan moved a little to look around.

"Yes" Han GuangMing nodded.

"Leave me behind, you have to lead them to escape. Bears have good memory and they will hold a grudge. If you stay here, it will come back again tonight to exact revenge. You might die under its claws," Liu Gan tried his best to speak.

High fever was induced as a symptom of being infected by bacteria. Now that Liu Gan had a bacterial infection in his body, the health status indicator on his wrist watch changed from red to black. He knew that his condition wouldn\'t be resolved anytime soon.

"No! We won\'t leave you behind!" Han GuangMing shook his head.

"It isn\'t the problem of you leaving me behind, but it is pointless to stand guard for me. You are waiting to die with me. If you find the path to leave this jungle a

rea, you can head to the Biochemical Intelligence Research Center. Vice-leader He should be there waiting for me, she can come find me… If I am still alive…" Liu Gan continued to whisper.

"No! I won\'t leave you behind! Absolutely not!" Han GuangMing started tearing up.

"This is an order," Liu Gan frowned.

"Even if this is an order, I can\'t abide by it! We will make a stretcher. If we have to leave, we will carry you out! Without Elder Liu, we will never be able to leave the jungle." Han GuangMing had Zhao Meng and Jiang JinYuan carry over a stretcher. Without saying much, they moved Liu Gan onto it. Earlier they had dried some of their clothes in the sun. They collected them now and piled them onto Liu Gan\'s body.

Liu Gan was burning up from the fever, as he drowsily look up at the sun beyond the canopy. Unaware, he fainted again.

***

"My dear boy, Gan…" a familiar voice whispered by Liu Gan\'s ears.

"Mom?" Liu Gan opened his eyes. Mysteriously, his surroundings had changed and along with it, the weather too. He was no longer within the jungle.

Snow. There was snow everywhere.

In front of him was his mother, back when he was younger. She was smiling as she squatted down to his height. She reached out her warm hands to squeeze his cold cheeks. At that time, he was around six years old?

"Mommy has to leave again, this time it might take… several months? By then, I will probably be back by spring. My little boy Gan is mature now, a growing gentleman. You will have to learn how to take good care of yourself, since mommy won\'t be by your side now. You have to learn to be courageous, strong willed, and don\'t cry. No matter what, don\'t give up so easily," cried his mom.

"Mommy, don\'t leave me!" Liu Gan embraced his mother. He didn\'t want to let go of her.

"My boy Gan, listen to me. This will be the last time mommy leaves you behind. Mommy promises you this. When I come back next time in the spring, I won\'t have to leave anymore," said his mother as she kissed his cheeks and forcefully pushed young Liu Gan away.

"NO! Don\'t leave me!" Liu Gan suddenly screamed loudly.

Young Liu Gan at the age of six, didn\'t know why his mother had left him. In his memory, that was the last time he ever saw his mother. Ever since that day, he would wait by the place where he last saw her. He waited until the snow melted. He waited until spring came. He waited by the road until new sprouts would appear on the tree branches. The problem was, his mother didn\'t return.

Another year went by and still no news. Liu Gan\'s father had called for an investigation on her whereabouts. They searched through everyone she had been in contact with, but sadly, no one was able to give a definitive answer of her location. The only useful information was that Liu Gan\'s mother was an archaeologist, as well as an explorer. When Liu Gan\'s father cheated on his wife, it led to their divorce. After that, she would frequently go on adventures alone to historical remains.

As for the winter of that year, her last destination, no one knew.

From that moment, Liu Gan started to train his body. He sought out different survival techniques. For his summer vacation in high school, he would venture out to desolate and uninhabited areas to explore. There was a reason why he put himself in danger; it wasn\'t for the thrill, but to search for his mother\'s whereabouts.

When he was alone, exploring nature, especially on quiet nights; that was when he dreamt that his mother had returned to his side. She would use her warm hands to squeeze his cold cheeks, telling him to be courageous and unyielding.

By the time he was a senior in college, he had abandoned his studies. For his four years of college, more than half that time was spent in the wilderness. Even after he had graduated from college, he didn\'t return home. Ever since his mother had left him that winter, his life had changed. He was searching, chasing for his mother\'s footsteps. Anyone who was familiar with his mother would know her catchphrases and Liu Gan had them memorized by heart.

Even if he was in the wilderness alone, when his inner spirit calmeds down, he would feel as if the gap between him and his mom would close. He could hear her calling for him. He would feel the love that he had never received.

As for scaling Mt. Everest, it was due to information supplied by his younger brother, Liu Kun. He said that he received some information that Liu Gan\'s mother had scaled Mt. Everest years ago. Rumor was that there was a banner that she had put up at the peak, so Liu Gan had to confirm it with his own eyes.

Shortly after, his search in Mt. Everest was abruptly interrupted.

Parkour, rock climbing, countryside survival, these were all skills that he obtained in his search.

"My son Gan, you have to persist, don\'t give up," said his mother as she pinched Liu Gan\'s face.

"I\'ve tried, I really tried to persist, but I\'m tired. There are times, when I don\'t know what I am insisting on doing," Liu Gan shook his head. He was burnt out. He was exhausted, he didn\'t even want to open his eyes anymore.

He felt as if his whole life was about chasing after something with all his persistence, but he knew early on that it was rather pointless.

"Everyone sent to this world, has their own reason. Don\'t give up, continue with your persistence, you will find the meaning to your life…" His mother\'s voice was fading away in the distance.

After a little shaking followed by an acute pain, Liu Gan felt himself falling from somewhere high up. It abruptly woke Liu Gan up from his sleep. When he opened up his eyes, he saw that the sky was dark. Han GuangMing had misstepped and Liu Gan had fallen from the sketcher.

It was very late at night, and they were still trapped within the labyrinthine jungle . Variant Beasts could be heard howling in the distance.