Landlord in the Arctic-Chapter 57: Knight

The moment the specialized landing skis made contact with the snow, the plane felt like it was losing control. Feng Shan quickly pulled the brake lever and worked the rudder, fighting to keep the plane from veering off course or flipping over during its slide.

Due to the low friction of the snow, the Carnation skidded erratically for some distance. It even spun around completely sideways before finally grinding to a halt.

He pushed open the cabin door, and biting wind and snow immediately lashed his face.

Feng Shan jumped down from the plane, his legs instantly sinking into snow that was half a meter deep.

The cold wind howled in his ears, and the thick, falling snow blurred his vision.

Shielding his head with one hand, he pushed on against the blizzard toward Kevik Camp. Every step was a struggle, the wind and snow tugging at his body with relentless force.

Feng Shan struggled into the camp. Unsure of which building Aunt Susan was in, he resorted to a process of elimination, walking up to a random container home and pounding on the icy door.

No response.

He moved to the next one.

He went from door to door, knocking. Finally, after he pounded on one of the doors, there was a response, and a sliver of light shone through the crack.

It was followed by the appearance of a middle-aged man, his face etched with worry.

"Thank God, someone’s finally here! Are you the rescue team? Quick, come in."

Feng Shan stepped inside, took off his hat, and asked, "Where’s Susan?"

"She’s lying down in the inner room. Hey, man, did the rescue team only send you?" the middle-aged man asked, confused, as he peered out the door after seeing only one person had arrived.

"I’m not with the rescue team. I got the distress call and flew over from the Crown Territory," Feng Shan explained as he hurried into the inner room to Aunt Susan’s side.

Aunt Susan’s condition could only be described as horrific.

She was unconscious. Half her scalp had been torn off by a bear’s claw, a mangled mess of flesh and blood. Her hair was matted with gore.

Her right arm and left leg were severely injured, the wounds so deep one could almost see bone. Blood was seeping out nonstop.

Worse, a massive gash on her shoulder, also from a bear claw, was torn open, the flesh peeled back.

"I’m sorry, I couldn’t find a first-aid kit," the middle-aged man said guiltily. "I could only use the styptic powder I had on me to try and stop Susan’s bleeding, but it barely worked. Her injuries are just too severe."

"You’ve done great," Feng Shan said, taking a deep breath. He planned to use Witchcraft to stop the bleeding and save her life. ’As for healing her completely,’ he thought, ’it’s not appropriate with an outsider here.’

"Do you have any water?"

"Yes, yes!" The middle-aged man, thinking Feng Shan was thirsty, hastily pulled a bottle of water from a corner of the room.

’Since I’m going to demonstrate Witchcraft... a formal ceremony is still necessary.’

Taking a grass rope from his pocket, Feng Shan crumbled it into dust. He stood before Aunt Susan, gently tossed the specks into the air, and let them settle over her body while muttering incantations.

The middle-aged man beside him looked like he wanted to say something, but after opening and closing his mouth a few times, he remained silent.

As a Wilderness Hunter who spent years hunting on the desolate tundra, he knew a little about the Shamanism practiced by the Indigenous People of Alaska.

The stranger before him, judging by his features, looked like he could be Inuit, Indian, or from the Aleut People. He knew these Indigenous People often performed mysterious rituals.

"Give me the water!" Feng Shan said after finishing his chant, holding out his hand.

The middle-aged man quickly placed the water into his outstretched hand.

Feng Shan took the water bottle, dipped his finger into one of Susan’s wounds to smear it with blood, and then drew several strange runes on the surface of the bottle.

He then knelt, brought the bottle to Aunt Susan’s lips, and helped her take a few sips before pulling it away.

"There. Susan has lost a lot of blood. Drinking some water will help replenish her vascular fluid volume."

What!!

The middle-aged man was completely stunned.

’Wasn’t this supposed to be a Shaman ritual?’

’Why is he just giving her water?’

’My God!’

’Doesn’t he know that drinking water after massive blood loss puts more strain on the kidneys?’

’Fack!!’

’You bastard, don’t kill her! I’m the one who handed you the water—that’ll make me an accomplice!’

The middle-aged man rushed to Susan’s side, but then his pupils contracted.

The wounds, which had been oozing blood nonstop, were now bleeding more slowly. Some had even stopped entirely.

His gaze fell to the water bottle on the floor.

’Was it really just to give her water?’

"We need to get Susan to a hospital now. Any suggestions?" Feng Shan asked, lifting a curtain to peer at the swirling blizzard outside.

"The signal tower was blown down by the blizzard, so we can’t contact the outside world," the middle-aged man said, glancing cautiously at the mysterious Indigenous man. "Given the state of this blizzard, it might be days before a rescue team can get to the camp."

’Just waiting around isn’t an option.’

’If this drags on, I might actually have to heal Aunt Susan completely.’

Feng Shan sighed in resignation. "I’ll just have to fly Susan out myself. You can help me with the stretcher."

"Okay!" The middle-aged man didn’t have the courage to refuse.

The two men changed Susan into fresh clothes—courtesy of the middle-aged man, of course—and then put her into a sleeping bag. Feng Shan added his own fur coat, wrapping it around the sleeping bag for extra insulation.

After one last check to make sure everything was secure...

...the two of them carried the makeshift stretcher and plunged headfirst into the blizzard.

They stumbled their way to the Carnation, which was already half-buried in snow.

They pushed open the rear cabin door, folded the back seats flat, and laid Susan inside. Once she was secure, Feng Shan scrambled back to the pilot’s seat and started the engine.

To the ROAR of the propeller...

...the Carnation, aided by its skis, lurched forward and charged into the raging blizzard.

The middle-aged man watched the plane disappear into the whiteout, happy for Susan’s sake.

Suddenly, he let out a violent sneeze as a bone-chilling cold swept over him.

Only then did he realize that, in his excitement, they had taken the plane and left him behind.

He was still at the camp, wearing only a thin jacket.

Fack!!

"You bastard, what about me?! Take me with you! Shit, are you blind? You could have at least left me a windbreaker!"

...

「Outside the blizzard’s range.」

A rescue team was in the middle of formulating a rescue plan.

After receiving the report, the rescue team had immediately dispatched a plane toward Kevik Camp. However, facing the blizzard, the rescue plane had to land on the periphery of the storm clouds for safety and await further instructions.

Without proper ground rescue equipment, flying a plane into an area being ravaged by a blizzard was tantamount to suicide.

All they could do now was pray to God—pray that the blizzard would end soon, and pray that the injured party could hold on.

Radio chatter from small towns across the Far North Region was so thick it practically wove a net across the sky.

There were worried voices, shouting matches, and people swearing. The rescue team members couldn’t get a word in edgewise and could only stand by the radio as listeners.

A young member of the team turned to his captain.

"They’re saying a Wilderness Hunter already flew a plane into Kevik Camp."

"Impossible. The weather service issued a level-four blizzard warning. With the strong, cold air currents, flying in there is a death sentence unless he has a halo from God himself."

"But according to the data from the aviation authority, a plane did enter the blizzard zone an hour ago."

"Then let’s just pray to God we don’t end up having to perform a second rescue."

"Wait! The aviation authority is reporting a plane flying inside the storm clouds!" another team member holding a satellite phone suddenly yelled.

What?

Hearing this, all the rescue team members snapped their heads up to look at the sky.

At that exact moment...

...they saw a bush plane, appearing and disappearing from view within the thick, dark-gray clouds.

Then, the bush plane, its tail painted with a carnation, broke through the oppressive cloud cover like a ray of hope, bursting forth from the dark gray expanse.

The plane’s fuselage glinted in the sunlight, the carnation on its tail standing out in sharp relief. The sight made every rescue worker on the ground raise their hands and cheer in excitement.

"My God, he actually made it out!"

"He’s a knight!"

"That’s right, the Carnation Knight!!"

...