Lo E

Chapter 1: The Virgin's Chapter

LBU: Winter in the Pamirs

A: Assembling Muztag (Part I)

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On the morning of January 2028, the People's Republic of China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region - Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture.

A large tour bus carrying nearly 30 travelers from all over China is preparing to set off from Aktau County, the westernmost part of the country, for a trip to a world-famous mountain 129 kilometers southwest. However, when it was time to depart, because there were still passengers who had not arrived, the whole vehicle had to stay where they were, waiting for the two guys who had already bought tickets but were nowhere to be seen......

If you continue to spend like this, you don't know when you will be able to reach the final destination of this trip, Muztag Mountain.

"What kind of plane? It's almost twenty minutes! ”

As the time passed, the people in the car gradually became anxious, and several anxious male passengers couldn't help but complain to the driver, but because of the hard rules that people can only start, the other party has nothing to do. Fortunately, more than half of the seats on the 65-passenger bus were empty, allowing a tall man sitting on the right side of the back row by the window to avoid the noise in front of him and enjoy the silence on his own.

Muztag Mountain, derived from the Uyghur language "Muztagata", means "iceberg". It is located at the junction of Aktao County and Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, the main peak Gonger Peak is 7649 meters above sea level, it is one of the three major peaks of the East Pamir Plateau, the peak is covered with snow all the year round, forming more than ten silver glittering glaciers, hanging and inlaid in the canyon below the peak body, like a gray-haired old man, so the locals affectionately call it "the father of icebergs".

The interior of the cabin was heated, and the low temperature of minus 11 degrees Celsius outside the window quickly covered the front glass with a thin layer of water mist. The fog comes from the breath of everyone, the tall man doesn't want to wipe it with his hands after taking off his thick jeans, since he can't see the scenery, then simply close his eyes and recuperate, maybe he will be tossed for a period of time in the future, and he will not even have time to sleep, now he has the opportunity to rest, where can he take care of when the car will start......

More than ten minutes later, a surprisingly handsome and tall young man led a woman dressed in Tajik national costume to board the bus.

The Tajiks belong to the Indo-Mediterranean type of the Europa race, mainly distributed in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, China, and are the only pure Caucasian ethnic group among the 56 ethnic groups in China. The handsome young man who was walking with the Tajik woman, whose appearance was closer to that of the Han people, and he lacked the function of attracting the attention of his compatriots, the first thing he did when he got into the car was to bow and apologize before everyone here thought of getting angry: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm late, I've made everyone wait for a long time......"

"We're not waiting for your little white face to come to the concert, don't hold it for me there."

"Since you're here, let's find a place to sit, and go to bed early and get up early with my girlfriend when I open a room outside in the future!"

It's okay not to say it, as soon as I say that all the passengers around me are talking to the handsome young man, and while venting his previous dissatisfaction, several ill-intentioned men also hope to attract the attention of the alien woman next to him. However, the Tajik woman didn't bother to take care of them, so she pulled up the handsome young man who only knew how to be submissive at the moment and went straight to the penultimate row of double seats and sat down, looking a little unhappy.

"They say that about you, and you still nod to them?"

Tajik women speak their own national language, which the handsome young man can not only understand, but also communicate with in the same language: "It is better to have more than less, and it is indeed my fault to be late." Besides, didn't you have a seizure either? ”

"It's incredible......"

The Tajik woman sighed lightly when she heard this, recalled some past events, approached the handsome young man, stared at his eyes and said: "I think you had a violent personality when you were a child, and your family often worried about it, but I never expected you to be more and more well-behaved as you go, and this time you came back as a soldier, it seems that you have changed as a person, should you not suffer any blow in the army?" ”

"Hehe, who can hit me without heart and lungs?" The handsome young man blushed when he was looked at at by the Tajik woman up close, and his embarrassed smile was a little self-deprecating, "It's my sister, you were gentle and elegant when you were young, but later you applied for the police academy and became a beautiful anti-terrorism special policeman, which really makes my incapable brother embarrassed." ”

"Come on. When it comes to pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, no one can compare with you! If you want to do it, this car is probably not an opponent! ”

"Hey?"

Listening to the Tajik woman's description, the handsome young man suddenly remembered a person he knew in the army, he and he were not only comrades-in-arms, but also regarded each other as the strongest opponent he had ever encountered in his life.

It's a pity that the two-year compulsory military career was too short, and he was transferred to another theater after being promoted last year...... And the one that this brother said to himself the most was "pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, you are the most interesting".

At this time, with the belated start of the tour bus, the tall man in the back row suddenly snored, interrupting the slightly regretful thoughts of the person in the front seat. The handsome young man who didn't know that there was someone behind him was startled by the sudden thunder noise, and he looked back to see what the snoring master looked like, but the other party put his head on his head with his clothes, and he didn't show his true face, and he half-lay on the seat and just wanted to sleep. When I turned my head back again, I couldn't remember what I was going to say......

The scenery outside the window slowly moved, and the Tajik woman took out the milk noodles in her bag, gave half of them to the handsome young man, and asked about another thing: "I heard that you have changed your Han name now, and it is not called 'Yunbu Sure Rang Deziku'?" ”

"Alas, the people in the army felt troublesome, at first they called me 'Yunbu Sure', and then they didn't even have too many four words, and directly simplified it to 'Yunbu' or 'Yunrang', no way, in order to unify everyone's name for me, I had to change my name to 'Yunshang', the 'cloud' of Caiyun, the 'Shang' of advocacy, and the 'Shang' of the same sound, so we should pay tribute to the Tajik people's reputation of 'people on the clouds'."

"Yun Shang?"

The Tajik woman tasted this new name with great interest, and felt that it sounded better than she imagined: "The name has changed, but don't you want your heart to change?" ”

"Huh?" Yun Shang did not understand the meaning of the Tajik woman's words.

"Don't forget that there is a marriage contract between us, and when you come back from the army, I will marry you."

The Tajik woman did not shy away from her words at all, which made Yun Shang blush to the base of his neck in an instant. Although his parents have Tajik ancestry and he has inherited the Tajik name, he has received more Han cultural education since he was a child, and he still can't let go of some special ethnic customs: "From childhood to adulthood, I have called you 'sister', and you and I are still related......

"So what?" The Tajik woman does not see what Yun Shang said as an obstacle, "Tajik relatives can intermarry except between brothers and sisters. Moreover, Tajik women do not marry foreigners, they want to marry, and I will only marry you in this life! ”

Hearing the Tajik woman's firm words, Yun Shang almost choked on the milk noodles in his throat. The marriage contract was made by the two parents a few years ago, when she was still young, as a childhood sweetheart who grew up playing "Nayi [1]" and dancing "Eagle Dance" together, I wanted to be with my sister forever in the future, and I used to be very happy, but now, I have seen more of the world, and my thoughts are no longer as simple and carefree as they were at the beginning......

"This time, I participated in the military selection of the whole army, and if I successfully passed, I may be able to enter China's only interstellar strategic force, the E Lianhua Brigade. If that's the case, I really don't know when I'll be back, in case ......"

"No matter when you come back, I'll be waiting for you."

The Tajik woman interrupted Yun Shang's words, she didn't want to listen to any reasons and excuses, and she didn't care about the dangers and variables in the process: "Even if one day you die on the battlefield to defend the motherland, I will defend you for the rest of my life!" Let me ask you, do you like me or not? ”

The words of his sweetheart have all been said about this, and Yun Shang didn't want to live up to her wishes anymore, so he leaned over and took out a package from the dilapidated carrying gear under the seat, and opened the layers of canvas, which contained a beautiful small box in addition to his non-commissioned officer card and other important documents.

"Sister, you know that I have always been a big spender, in the past two years, except for inviting the brothers to eat and drink and sending money home, I have not saved any savings, this pair of earrings, I bought it for you with the first allowance after becoming a soldier, it is not expensive, so I have not had the courage to send it back to you......"

In Tajik culture, when the relationship between lovers has developed to a certain level, the young man will give the beloved girl a pair of earrings, and the girl will return to the lover with her own elaborate embroidered bag.

"Fool's ......"

The Tajik woman did not prepare an embroidery bag to give back, but the person in front of her handed her the most satisfactory answer she had been longing for for a long time...... couldn't stop shedding tears, but Yun Shang's hand holding the earring continued to be raised, and he just wanted to rush over and plunge into his arms: "Can't you just say 'you like me'?!" ”

Yun Shang took off the embroidered crown from the Tajik woman's head so that he could gently stroke her hair, and silently put on earrings on both sides. It's the first time I've been so close to my sister, but the moment to cherish is too short, because there are too many boring people from this world......

"Hey! Are you two finished?! ”

A few men who sat in front and looked to be about thirty years old, glanced back at the Tajik woman from time to time all the way, although they couldn't understand what she was saying, but they were fed dog food firmly by Yun Shang with practical actions, plus the fire that had been waiting for half an hour before, they were holding their breath in their hearts at this moment and shouted directly about it. Among them, the burly man got up with a ruffian face, staggered to this side, pointed at Yun Shang and warned him with a grin: "The little white face is not idle when it is late, if you make another noise, I will throw you and your foreign daughter-in-law into the luggage compartment under the car and freeze!" ”

Before the words fell, Yun Shang stood up with a "whew".

Although the other party is not as strong as himself with knotted muscles, his height of nearly 190 cm still makes the burly man feel the pressure instantly, and he unconsciously takes half a step back: "What, you TM want to fight?!" ”

Seeing this, the burly man's two companions immediately surrounded him, and at this time, the expression and momentum on Yun Shang's face were completely different from when he boarded the car: "I don't want to cause trouble, but you'd better take them and sit back obediently, don't make me angry." Also, my fiancée, she is Chinese! ”

"Chinese? Alas, I'm laughing to death! Among the girls who have played with my brother, do you have TM who looks like this? Haha......" The burly man's words were dirty, and his mouth was full of foul language, which was replaced by a laugh from his companions behind him.

This is the inferior nature of some inferior people, and the more you tolerate them, the more arrogant they become, and they think they are invincible. The other party repeatedly insulted his fiancée, even if he was burdened with the status of a soldier, Yun Shang was not going to endure it anymore. In just a few seconds, the burly man weighing more than 180 pounds had been punched out and smashed heavily on the two companions behind, however, the person who shot was not Yun Shang......

"You bastards, you won't let people sleep!"

At this moment, the sturdy figure of the man in the back row standing up was even taller than Yun Shang at a glance, but the purpose of his shot was not to help anyone, but to teach all the people in the car who disturbed their rest: "And you!! ”

Seeing that the tall man closed his elbow and turned towards him, the cloud that had no time to dodge and block the frame in a square inch was not immune to hurting his fiancée behind him, so he could only take this blow with the weak part of his shoulder and neck, and the strength of the other party was so great that he almost stopped his breathing......

It was said that this blow was enough to knock the target back to his seat along with the person behind him, but Yun Shang, who was clasping the back of the chair with both hands, not only stood, but also did not take a step back...... The scene in front of him couldn't help but surprise the tall man.

"Alas...... Just thinking of you, you appeared. At this time, Yun Shang, who recognized who the other party was first, coughed twice and relieved his breath, his mood could only be described as "the water washed the Dragon King Temple", "I said Brother Leng Fei, I haven't seen you for a year, don't you come up and say hello to your brother like this, right?" ”

"A man on the clouds?" Leng Fei stopped the next move.

"Hehe, let's just call me 'Yunshang', I finally changed a simple name, you have to say six words every time, are you tired? Am I going to call you an 'iceberg man' too? ”

Leng Fei didn't expect that the handsome young man in front of him turned out to be his brother in the former army, how could an ordinary person resist his elbow attack with his body, and he didn't say a word: "You...... How did you end up here? ”

Yun Shang rubbed his collarbone, which was almost discounted, and frowned and smiled bitterly: "What is the reason for you to come, I am what the reason." ”

"Are you here to participate in the selection too? It's interesting this time......"

Leng Feiren is as his name suggests, even the old comrades-in-arms reunited after a long absence, and the expressions on their faces were as cold as ice, but there was a certain expectation that Yun Shang could hear. However, the burly man in the distance covered his nose and screamed after he fell to the ground, but brought his mind back to the dispute in front of him that had not been completely resolved: "By the way, why did these guys provoke you just now?" ”

"They said they were going to throw me and my fiancée in the luggage compartment under the car."

"Oh? That's a good proposition. ”

"Huh?"

Without waiting for Yun Shang to react to the meaning of his words, Leng Fei stepped forward directly, cleaned up the burly man's two companions by two, and then ordered the driver to stop in the surrounding commotion, and in front of all the passengers, dragged the three people who were stacked upside down on the ground off the bus and stuffed them into the luggage compartment under the car body......

The luggage compartment could not be opened from the inside, Leng Fei confiscated their mobile phones, and the servants suddenly did not even have the opportunity to call the audience outside the venue for help...... Seeing this, the Tajik woman opened her mouth wide and asked who this Leng Fei was, Yun Shang was entangled for a long time, and finally said helplessly: "In short, it is not the target of your police force's anti-terrorist attack." ”

Leng Fei re-boarded the bus, and in the face of the driver's question, "Will there be an accident like this", he only responded with a concise threat: "Why don't you go in with them too, and I'll drive?" The driver immediately shut up, twisted the key in his hand, and started the car decisively, just wanting to send people to the morning as soon as possible.

The world is finally clean, and for the rest of the journey, Yun Shang took the Tajik woman to sit in the back row, and chatted with Leng Fei about the past army life without a word, and at this time, the Tajik woman knew that they were comrades-in-arms. And Yun Shang used "fiancée" as an introduction, and also made Leng Fei directly call the Tajik woman "brother and sister", and also broke the news that his brother secretly went to the city to buy earrings for her, but was found by the company commander and locked up for a whole week......

An hour later, the bus stopped on a gravel road leading to the small village at the foot of Muztag Mountain, and the driver told everyone that they had arrived at their destination, and when they opened the luggage compartment, the three guys inside were shivering and unable to speak...... Leng Fei dragged them out one by one so that the passengers could go and get their luggage, Yun Shang looked at the towering snow-capped mountains behind the sand dunes in the distance, and the small houses gathered at the end of the field of vision looked like stones at the foot of the mountain, not at all inconspicuous.

The Tajik woman's trip was only to see off Yun Shang, and by the way, she stayed with him in the car for a while longer, and since she was here, she should also take the bus back the same way. After leaving all the dry food and milk in her bag to her sweetheart, the Tajik woman reluctantly hugged Yun Shang goodbye.

Leng Fei didn't want to disturb them, so he only took his brother and his carrying equipment and threw them to the burly man and his companions, and asked them to carry their bags and go with him later. After Yun Shangmu sent his fiancée to leave on the tourist bus, he turned around and saw three more followers with blue noses and swollen faces, and at this moment, Leng Feizheng asked them to line up, take a break and stand upright, look to the right, and then report the number......

Yun Shang obeyed his brother's domineering and unreasonable style, but he didn't have any opinions, anyway, he couldn't let them go now, in case the burly man found a place to call the police, it would be troublesome.

Let's go, the Muztag Mountains are in front of you, and the next journey is accompanied by brothers, so let's go and experience for ourselves how rigorous the polar trials that are said to bring together the top elites of the five major theaters on the Pamir Plateau in this winter......

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[1] Nayi: A unique Tajik musical instrument, piccolo made of eagle wing bones.