Xie Shi’s expression changed drastically, and he shouted, “Run!”
At the same time, the system’s piercing alarm sounded in his mind.
[Warning: Host is facing life-threatening danger. Warning: Host is facing life-threatening danger.]
Xie Shi and Song Yan each leaped to either side. Just as they jumped away, a giant fist formed into a blow and fiercely smashed down onto the giant rock where they had just been standing.
Boom!
Accompanied by a loud crash, the giant rock was abruptly smashed to pieces.
Broken fragments of stone splashed in all directions, making a rustling sound as they hit the ground.
The stones kicked up yellow sand, which was swept away by the blowing gale.
The weather suddenly turned gloomy. A shadow that blotted out the sky enveloped Xie Shi, blocking the heat and causing the surrounding temperature to drop instantly, making Xie Shi feel an inexplicable surge of fear.
With another thud, the ground trembled once more. Out of the hazy dust, a grayish-yellow colossal stone monster stepped forward.
What an absolute behemoth it was.
Only now did Xie Shi realize that it wasn’t the weather turning overcast at all.
Rather, this giant stone monster was blocking out all the sunlight.
It was far more massive than the mountain-like tiger-bone spirit Xie Shi had killed last night, and it possessed the cultivation level of the Void Integration Realm.
A hundred feet tall, towering and majestic, its body looked as though it had been pieced together from several boulders, with simple, sharp outlines carved out by a blade.
This was fundamentally a mountain.
A moving mountain.
And he and Song Yan were mere ants at the foot of the mountain; the giant stone monster could easily trample them to death with a single step.
However, the giant stone monster showed no interest in him whatsoever.
It turned its massive head, the grinding of rocks producing a clicking sound, while tiny fragments of gravel cascaded down from its neck like a rain of sand.
Its facial features resembled those of a human, seemingly chiseled out of stone. Its protruding eyeballs slowly rotated, finally coming to a stop on Song Yan, who had fallen to the ground.
It had recognized Song Yan as an escapee from Heavenly Prison.
The giant stone monster slowly raised its foot, and then fiercely brought it down toward Song Yan.
Damn it.
How could things turn out like this?
There was no such plot event in the original text at all!
Xie Shi’s pupils constricted. Without a moment to spare or overthink, he channeled spiritual energy into the tips of his toes and lunged desperately toward Song Yan.
He held Song Yan tightly in his embrace, rolling away to the side with him. At that exact moment, the giant stone monster’s foot landed heavily, grazing past Xie Shi’s cheek.
Flying debris splattered everywhere. Xie Shi hastily shielded Song Yan, pressing him firmly into his arms so he wouldn’t suffer even the slightest injury.
Xie Shi’s nerves were stretched to their absolute limit. He had to protect Song Yan while simultaneously keeping a close eye on the giant stone monster.
In the heat of the moment, he failed to notice a sharp fragment of stone scraping fiercely across his cheek.
The giant stone monster tilted its head, seemingly unable to understand why this little ant it had spared would go out of its way to rescue another little ant.
Yet it had no need to understand.
The giant stone monster raised its foot once again; this time, it intended to crush both Xie Shi and Song Yan to death together!
Xie Shi remembered that the giant stone monster was blind to sight and relied solely on breathing to sense fugitives.
Gritting his teeth, he rolled once more while holding Song Yan and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Hold your breath!”
Xie Shi held his breath as well. To be honest, forcibly stopping one’s breath during a heart-pounding escape was definitely not a pleasant experience.
He felt as though his lungs were about to explode, silently and frantically sending him warning signals.
This time, Xie Shi rolled a bit further, ending up directly behind the giant stone monster.
The giant stone monster’s body was overly massive, making its movements quite sluggish.
Realizing that the little ants had vanished, its head turned in confusion, and its torso slowly twisted backward.
Now is the chance!
Xie Shi scrambled up swiftly, clutching Song Yan as he bolted outward with all his might.
“Roar!”
Discovering that its prey had vanished, the giant stone monster let out an angry roar.
Xie Shi couldn’t help but gasp for air. He didn’t dare look back even once, relying entirely on frantic escape.
Fortunately, having rested for the night, his spiritual energy had recovered to its peak. Propelled by this spiritual energy, Xie Shi ran at an extraordinary speed.
Even so, he couldn’t widen the gap between himself and the giant stone monster. Xie Shi’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point; for a moment, he could hear no sounds at all, save for the howling wind rushing past his ears.
It wasn’t until a stinging pain flared across his face that Xie Shi regained a fraction of his focus.
“A-Shi, you are hurt.” Song Yan’s gaze was profound as he touched the wound on Xie Shi’s face.
Only then did Xie Shi realize that his face was injured.
On his left cheek was a thin scratch. The blood had solidified into a scab in the wind, leaving the skin around it feeling somewhat tight, with a few trails of dried blood smeared down his cheek.
Song Yan’s fingertips brushed against it, sending a slight prick of pain.
Sensing the wound, Xie Shi concluded it wasn’t serious. The reckless, unreserved sprinting had sapped away his remaining strength to speak, so he simply shook his head to indicate he was fine.
Song Yan pressed his lips into a tight line and said no more.
He was being carried horizontally in Xie Shi’s arms. To conserve Xie Shi’s energy, Song Yan had hooked his arms around Xie Shi’s neck.
With his face resting against Xie Shi’s shoulder, Song Yan stole a glance backward while Xie Shi was not paying attention.
The giant stone monster was lumbering along with its clumsy body, chasing in the direction they had fled. A trace of ferocity flashed across Song Yan’s face as he cast a seemingly casual glance at it.
Rumble!
A loud crash echoed from behind. Startled, Xie Shi thought the giant stone monster had already caught up, and hurriedly looked back over his shoulder.
He discovered that the giant stone monster had simply tripped and stumbled.
This is the best opportunity to shake it off!
Without a moment’s hesitation, Xie Shi unleashed his spiritual energy to the maximum and bolted away, vanishing from the giant stone monster’s line of sight within mere seconds.
He did not know how long he had run. It was only when he was certain they had left the giant stone monster far behind that Xie Shi finally stopped.
He set Song Yan down, leaned against a bizarre rock nearby, and bent over to catch his breath in huge gasps.
Meanwhile, Song Yan gently stroked his back, helping him smooth his breathing.
Once Xie Shi recovered his breath, he suddenly realized that being stroked like this by Song Yan felt rather, rather embarrassing.
Xie Shi’s back was exceptionally sensitive; even the lightest touch made his entire back tingle and soften, and the strange sensation almost made him jump.
He hastily turned around, caught Song Yan’s hand, and said, “I am fine.”
Song Yan’s lips were pressed into a rigid straight line. His pink eyes blinked unblinkingly, staring fixedly at Xie Shi’s face with a thoroughly displeased expression.
What is wrong with him?
Xie Shi was dazed for a moment before remembering that the spot Song Yan was staring at seemed to be the injury on his face.
Is he worried about me?
Before he could ponder whether this worry was genuine or feigned, Xie Shi quickly raised his hand and wiped away the wound using his spiritual energy.
“It is nothing, just a minor scrape,” he laughed carelessly at Song Yan. “Look, it is all better now.”
As he spoke, he carelessly rubbed away the remaining bloodstains on his face.
The motion was crude to a fault. Unable to watch any longer, Song Yan reached out and grabbed both of his wrists, locking his movements in place.
Xie Shi lowered his gaze to look at his captured wrists.
Only now did he notice that Song Yan’s fingers were quite long, and his palms were slightly larger than his own. With a gentle circle of his fingers, he was actually able to encircle both of Xie Shi’s wrists at once.
Noticing that Song Yan’s mood seemed somewhat off, Xie Shi obediently let himself be held, lowering his voice to ask, “What is it?”
Song Yan raised his other hand, looking as though he wanted to touch Xie Shi’s face.
Yet just as his fingertips were about to make contact with Xie Shi, they instinctively shrank back a little.
It was a gesture that suggested he hardly knew what to do.
Seeing that Song Yan wanted to touch his face, Xie Shi simply thrust his neck forward and pressed his own face right into the palm of Song Yan’s hand.
Song Yan’s heart skipped a beat. Only then did he move his fingers, meticulously and tenderly wiping away the residual blood traces left on Xie Shi’s face bit by bit.
“A-Shi.” Song Yan lowered his gaze, his fingertips resting near Xie Shi’s lips.
There was a drop of dried blood right there. Whenever Song Yan wiped away that drop of blood, his fingers inevitably brushed against Xie Shi’s lips.
“Mm.” Xie Shi obediently acknowledged.
As he spoke, he unconsciously pursed his lips, causing Song Yan’s fingertips to fall precisely into the seam of his lips.
The soft flesh pressed together, as if about to draw Song Yan’s fingertips right into his mouth.
Song Yan’s fingertips trembled slightly. He endured and endured before finally suppressing the impulse to pry open this person’s teeth and toy with his tongue using his fingers.
“Do not get hurt for my sake.”
Acting as though he were under some sort of spell, the hand that encircled Xie Shi lost its restraint and tightened fiercely.
Xie Shi was already slender and lean; his protruding wrist bones collided under the pressure, and he could not help letting out a soft gasp of pain.