Bai Xiao and Liu Yun supported the stretcher, their faces somber and silent. The checkpoints they passed along the way were a matter of life and death. They couldn't afford any mistakes—not just for their own lives but for others' as well.
The injured man on the stretcher was covered with a raincoat. In this weather, a heavy rain could come at any moment, sudden as it was quick, faster than a child's changing face.
Every inch of the ground beneath their feet was like a man-eating monster. Everyone walked carefully; many mountain paths were barely paths at all. Like the steep downhill slope they were navigating then, without a real path, the two comrades at the front had to carry the stretcher on their shoulders, while the two at the back nearly crouched down—those in the middle not only shielded the injured man on the stretcher but also helped stabilize it both front and back. If the balance was off, they had to coordinate quickly or risk a disaster.
