78: Happiness is always around us

Looking up for a long time made his neck sore, so Jiang Yuan lowered his head and casually stretched his cervical spine.

As his gaze swept over the grass by his feet, his eyes suddenly focused.

In the grass not far from his feet, a wildflower was quietly blooming.

It was a gesang flower with a reddish-purple hue, but it was noticeably taller than the other flowers around it, and its flower head was also larger.

With his vision that far surpassed that of an ordinary person, Jiang Yuan noticed its uniqueness at a glance.

He leaned in to count carefully.

One, two, three... nine.

Exactly nine petals.

"A nine-petaled gesang flower?"

Jiang Yuan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

In Tibetan legends, finding an eight-petaled gesang flower already symbolized happiness, while a nine-petaled one represented the kind of extreme good luck that could be sought but never found.

He hadn't expected something legendary like this to appear so casually right next to his campsite.

It turned out that happiness was always around, just waiting for one to notice it.

Jiang Yuan did not reach out to pick it.

He simply adjusted his camera's macro lens, carefully approached, and took a close-up shot of this elf of the plateau.

True care is not about possession.

It is about quietly admiring its swaying posture in the wind and letting it continue to grow freely on its own land.

The next morning, the sky was faintly bright.

Accompanied by the sound of a stream formed by melting glacial water nearby, Jiang Yuan rose early.

After a simple wash, he cooked a pot of steaming noodles in the cold wind.

In this wilderness at an altitude of over four thousand meters, the satisfaction brought by this mouthful of carbohydrates surpassed countless delicacies.

After eating breakfast, Jiang Yuan deftly broke camp.

That huge tunnel tent was quickly packed into its bag, and the roof of the car returned to being tidy.

He wasn't in a rush to leave; the morning light today was the clearest of the entire day.

Jiang Yuan opened the shockproof case in the trunk and took out the drone that he hadn't had a chance to fly yet.

Carrying his camera and full equipment, he walked towards that famous "internet-famous bridge."

Because it was still early, the tourists staying in the color-steel houses hadn't woken up yet, and the entire scenic area was quiet.

This small wooden bridge, which usually required queuing to take photos, belonged only to him at this moment.

Beneath his feet was a crystal-clear, turquoise-colored glacial stream.

Jiang Yuan stood in the center of the bridge and turned on the power.

With the high-speed buzzing of the propellers, the drone ascended vertically.

From a god's-eye view, the huge triangular sacred mountain, the emerald Samucuo, the winding stream, and that white brabus parked by the sea of flowers formed a stunning picture.

Pushing the stick, orbiting, ascending.

A piece of cinematic footage that required absolutely no post-editing was perfectly recorded.

After landing the drone, he raised his nikon z9 again.

A telephoto lens compressed the space, while a wide-angle lens captured the world.

The sound of the shutter echoed in the silent valley, recording the coldness and sanctity of the sacred mountain from different angles in the morning light.

When the sun fully leaped over the mountain ridge and golden sunlight flooded the land, Jiang Yuan was already packed and ready.

The engine roared, and the brabus slowly drove away from this hidden paradise.

Returning to the G558, heading north all the way, then turning into the G317, with Nagqu as the destination.

He put on his sunglasses and held the steering wheel with one hand.

Outside the window was the vast plateau covered in snow; he rarely encountered other vehicles on the road, leaving only the lonely and wild figure of the brabus galloping along.

As the altitude continued to rise, a mountain pass appeared ahead.

Angula Mountain Pass, altitude 5,089 meters.

(Actually, it's only about 4,500 meters; there was an error in the test.)

The thinness of the air here had reached the point where an ordinary person would pant just from walking.

Jiang Yuan parked the car under the landmark sign by the side of the road.

He pushed the door open and got out; the cold wind cut across his cheeks like a knife.

He wasn't wearing a heavy down jacket, but was still in his crisp windbreaker.

Leaning against the clean, white hood of the car, Jiang Yuan took out his flint lighter and lit a cigarette with a "snap."

He took a deep drag, and the white smoke slowly dissipated in the thin air.

He raised his phone and took a selfie of himself, the car, and the sign that read "5089."

In the photo, the man's expression was indifferent, his eyes deep, showing no signs of the wretchedness of altitude sickness.

After finishing the cigarette, he continued on his way.

When night fell, the lights of Nagqu City finally appeared at the end of his vision.

As the prefecture-level city with the highest altitude in the country, the nights in Nagqu carried a bone-chilling cold.

Jiang Yuan drove into the city and checked into a hotel with an ample oxygen supply.

The journey so far had come to a temporary pause.

After Nagqu, the next big city was the ultimate faith for countless people—Lhasa.

But Jiang Yuan was not in a rush.

Because between Nagqu and Lhasa, there still lay a true pearl of the plateau.

Namtso.

In the early morning of Nagqu, the air was so cold it felt like it could freeze.

Jiang Yuan ate breakfast, adjusted his state to the best, and set off again.

Today's goal was clear—the north shore of Namtso, the Holy Elephant Heavenly Gate.

Compared to the south shore, which was crowded with tourists, that was where the true soul of Namtso resided.

However, the road to this secret realm was destined not to be too smooth.

Just as the car drove onto the road towards Bangoin, the traffic ahead slowed down.

It was a temporary comprehensive checkpoint.

A long queue of cars stretched out like a dragon; many drivers were impatiently honking their horns and craning their necks, while some simply turned off their engines and got out to smoke.

Jiang Yuan, however, had a peaceful state of mind.

He rolled down the car window, rested his elbow on the edge, and played a piece of soothing instrumental music.

Because he had plenty of time, he could find pleasure even in this boring wait.

After a delay of about half an hour, the motorcade finally began to move slowly.

He cooperated smoothly with the inspection, got his stamp, and passed through.

As the brabus rushed out of the congested area, the view instantly opened up.

The road extended straight towards the horizon, and the end of the horizon began to undergo dramatic changes.

The wheels crushed over the gravel and finally stopped on the high ground of Namtso's lakeshore.

Jiang Yuan turned off the engine and got out, not picking up his camera immediately.

He first took a deep breath of the cold air at this altitude of 4,718 meters.

The lake in front of him was unreasonably beautiful.

Unlike the coral-like jade color of Yamdrok Lake, the blue of Namtso was deep and sacred.

It was like a huge, flawless sapphire, quietly laid out on the wilderness.

In the distance, the main peak of the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains was covered in white snow, closely embracing the lake water.

"Namtso" means "Heavenly Lake" in Tibetan.

Standing here right now, looking at the water and sky merging into one, it was truly impossible to distinguish where the lake ended and the sky began.

The lake wind was strong, whipping up layers of waves that slapped against the reefs on the shore, emitting a rhythmic roaring sound.

Jiang Yuan walked along the lakeshore and arrived at the core of this trip—the Holy Elephant Heavenly Gate.

This was a breathtaking view hidden on the cliff of the north shore.

Under natural weathering, the massive grayish-white rocks had formed the shape of a giant stone elephant.

The elephant's trunk hung down long, as if it were reaching into the lake to drink the holy water.

And between the trunk and the elephant's body, a huge stone gate had naturally formed.

Looking through this stone gate, one could see the vast and boundless Namtso and the towering snow-capped mountains.

This was the legendary gateway to heaven.