Just as Yan Yu’an had said, the monster only stood frozen for two seconds not far from Yan Yu’an before running off again in Ning Bingque’s direction.
Yan Yu’an was shocked. He wanted to rush over and grab Ning Bingque, but the monster’s speed was simply too fast.
Because the monster moved so fast, it whipped up a fierce gust of wind. The dust it carried made it impossible for Yan Yu’an to see clearly what had happened ahead.
“Ning Bingque.”
Yan Yu’an’s heart began pounding violently, and an indescribable emotion suddenly surged into his heart.
Xie Ji was stunned by this sudden turn of events, but he quickly snapped back to his senses and reached out to pull back Yan Yu’an, who wanted to keep going forward.
“You protect him.” Shen Yuanzhou glanced at Xie Ji. “I’ll go see how Ning Bingque is.”
As he spoke, Shen Yuanzhou, who had shifted back into a giant python, was just about to charge over when he saw the figure flying in the air above.
“Ning Bingque!” Yan Yu’an had clearly noticed he was still alive too, and his anxious heart finally settled.
But at this moment Ning Bingque’s condition wasn’t good. He raised his hand to wipe the wound on his face that wouldn’t stop bleeding and gave a soft “tsk.”
Yan Yu’an hurried over. Seeing him step forward, the monster actually kept backing away. Shen Yuanzhou noticed this and quietly returned to Yan Yu’an’s side, flicking his snake tongue and watching this creature warily.
Fortunately, Ning Bingque only looked badly hurt—under Yan Yu’an’s gaze, the wounds on his body actually healed at flying speed.
Apart from the deep wound on his face that was still bleeding and those messy feathers, all the wounds on his body had disappeared.
Ning Bingque stood behind Yan Yu’an. They had clearly noticed that this monster was different toward Yan Yu’an.
“You know this monster?” Xie Ji couldn’t help asking.
Yan Yu’an shook his head. He’d never seen it before—but he didn’t know why either, but the moment he saw this monster, he felt in his heart that it wouldn’t hurt him. And he also didn’t know where this sense of familiarity with the monster came from.
“You all step back.” Looking at the monster, which seemed about to get angry again, Yan Yu’an said quietly to the three of them.
Shen Yuanzhou frowned and grabbed Yan Yu’an’s wrist as he tried to step forward, his voice heavy. “No. You can’t go.”
Yan Yu’an turned back and saw that Xie Ji and Ning Bingque were also looking at him with disapproval. His steps paused.
Then he firmly shook his head. “That monster won’t hurt me.” Seeing that Shen Yuanzhou still wouldn’t let go, and glancing at the increasingly restless monster, the unease in his heart grew stronger.
“Listen to me. Trust me, okay?” As he spoke, he smiled. “I’ll go take a look at that monster. You guys go find God-Slaying Grass—once you find it, you can save me.”
After saying this, he forcefully pulled his hand out of Shen Yuanzhou’s and strode forward.
Shen Yuanzhou was helpless and could only glance at Xie Ji and Ning Bingque, signaling them to go find God-Slaying Grass first while he stayed behind alone to protect Yan Yu’an.
Xie Ji hesitated for a long while, then was immediately pulled away by Ning Bingque.
By now Xie Ji had gone with Ning Bingque to look for God-Slaying Grass, while Shen Yuanzhou stayed here—after all, no matter what, they couldn’t just leave Yan Yu’an alone.
Watching Yan Yu’an walk up without hesitation, Shen Yuanzhou couldn’t help sucking in a breath of cold air.
This guy’s really bold.
But this monster did seem genuinely afraid of Yan Yu’an. As long as he stepped forward, the monster stepped back.
Shen Yuanzhou instinctively sensed something strange.
“Awroo…”
Yan Yu’an was startled—the monster had actually opened its bloody maw and let out a whining sound. Before he could dodge, he saw the monster lie down far away from him.
This monster had a pair of enormous eyes, and now those big eyes were staring at him without blinking, looking utterly pitiful.
Yan Yu’an: “???”
Instinctively he looked at Shen Yuanzhou. Seeing that Shen Yuanzhou also looked astonished, he felt slightly relieved.
It would have been strange if he were the only one surprised—after all, Shen Yuanzhou kept saying he’d lost his memory.
If this monster really had seen him before, that would be hard to say—but judging by Shen Yuanzhou’s expression now, it was obvious he hadn’t seen it before.
“What’s going on?” Shen Yuanzhou wanted to step forward, but unexpectedly the monster put away its pitiful expression and bared its teeth, glaring at Shen Yuanzhou.
That expression looked like it wanted to bite Shen Yuanzhou to death.
Shen Yuanzhou narrowed his eyes and felt a trace of confusion.
This monster even recognizes people. He thought this, and as if to confirm something, he took a step back—seeing the monster put away its teeth, he understood at once.
“What on earth is going on?”
Xie Ji and Ning Bingque were currently on their way to find God-Slaying Grass.
Xie Ji glanced at Ning Bingque’s wounded face, his tone a little unpleasant. “Are you okay?”
Ning Bingque gave a cold laugh and didn’t choose to answer him.
There were many more trees on the mountaintop. Perhaps because sunlight could reach here, the vitality here was far stronger than halfway down the mountain.
“An’an won’t be in trouble, will he…” Xie Ji muttered the whole way. He glanced at the unreadable Ning Bingque and said discontentedly, “Aren’t you worried about An’an? You just dragged me out like that.”
Ning Bingque looked at Xie Ji as if he were an idiot, then pursed his lips and gave a mocking laugh. “That monster won’t attack Yan Yu’an. If anything, it’s us being there that might drive it into a frenzy.” He paused. “Idiot.”
“You!”
Xie Ji deflated. He was still looking around for God-Slaying Grass, but unexpectedly Ning Bingque had already started walking back.
“Aren’t we here to find God-Slaying Grass?”
Ning Bingque stopped in his tracks and rubbed his forehead helplessly. How could this Xie Ji be so stupid? What had he been eating to grow up?
Ning Bingque wanted to turn around and curse him out, but he was afraid Xie Ji would affect his IQ, so he could only say: “Can’t you tell Yan Yu’an was sending us away?” He narrowed his eyes, a ruthless light flashing through them, and his ears twitched. “But by now they should have dealt with that monster.”
“With just Shen Yuanzhou alone?” Xie Ji grumbled discontentedly. “Once my ability’s restored, I’ll take on ten of him by myself!”
Ning Bingque: “…Heh.”
People really do laugh when they’re speechless beyond words.
“It’s not Shen Yuanzhou. It’s Yan Yu’an.”
In the end, unable to withstand Xie Ji’s questioning, Ning Bingque finally spoke.
No wonder Shen Yuanzhou hadn’t wanted to come out with Xie Ji. He also roughly understood why he and Shen Yuanzhou hated Xie Ji.
Meanwhile, the monster was actually lying docilely on the ground, its big eyes staring at Yan Yu’an without blinking.
That look was both cute and pitiful.
But Shen Yuanzhou hadn’t forgotten—the very one that had nearly cost Ning Bingque his life just now was this big fellow.
“They’re back.” Shen Yuanzhou’s nose twitched. He wanted to step forward and tell Yan Yu’an, but the moment he moved, the monster fixed its stare on him, forcing him to stop where he was.
Yan Yu’an immediately patted the big fellow soothingly, then said to Shen Yuanzhou: “You go tell them first—whatever they do, don’t get too close to him, or else I’m afraid…”
Before his words fell, the monster let out an “awroo,” as if echoing what he’d said.
Yan Yu’an froze. He raised an eyebrow and leaned close to the monster. “You can understand what we’re saying?”
The monster blinked and let out another “awroo.”
“…”
After seeing Shen Yuanzhou leave, Yan Yu’an asked again: “Are you the one guarding God-Slaying Grass?”
The monster let out an “awroo,” then actually leaned toward Yan Yu’an. Before he could dodge, it bumped right into his arms.
“Awroo…” The monster nuzzled against him affectionately, tears actually glistening in its eyes.
Yan Yu’an: “???” Why was it crying?
He hurriedly fussed over comforting this fellow. Only after seeing it finally stop crying did he see it let out a low roar toward the road.
…
And so Xie Ji and the other two stood ten meters away from Yan Yu’an. Yan Yu’an twitched the corner of his mouth, looking a little helpless.
With just Shen Yuanzhou alone, he could stay an arm’s length away. But now, with three of them, they had to stay ten meters away before he wouldn’t pose a danger to them.
“God-Slaying Grass should be on him.” Yan Yu’an said. “Unless something unexpected happens, he should be the monster guarding God-Slaying Grass.”
His voice was a little loud, which seemed to displease the monster. It let out another “awroo,” leaned glumly against Yan Yu’an’s side, and glared viciously at the three fellows not far from it.
Xie Ji: “…” He pursed his lips discontentedly, understanding why Shen Yuanzhou had come back.
Beside those two, he felt like an idiot.
But so what—An’an liked him best!
Xie Ji couldn’t help thinking smugly. When he turned back and saw that neither Shen Yuanzhou nor Ning Bingque’s gaze had landed on him, he felt a little discontented again.
“Can you tell me where God-Slaying Grass is?” Yan Yu’an tried to communicate with the monster. “We only need a little. We won’t take much.”
A trace of confusion flashed through the monster’s eyes, then it excitedly nuzzled against Yan Yu’an again.
The three watched Yan Yu’an strike up a conversation with the monster, and couldn’t help finding it a little strange.
But what displeased them more was that Yan Yu’an, chatting with that weird thing, hadn’t spared them a single glance.
Xie Ji, who kept shooting him looks…
Bah—what weird thing monster? That thing was clearly coveting An’an’s beauty!
He thought discontentedly, and actually crouched down on a rock by the tree, a blade of foxtail grass in his mouth.
And so Yan Yu’an talked at cross purposes with the monster for quite a while, and in the end chose to give up.
He soothed the monster again, then signaled that he wanted to go over to Xie Ji’s side first. The monster smacked its lips, then finally took a step back from him and lay docilely on the ground.
“How is it?” Ning Bingque handed him the water flask.
Yan Yu’an immediately took a sip of water. Just now he’d talked himself dry, and combined with the strong sun, his lips had nearly cracked from talking.
After drinking, he shook his head slightly. “Though that monster can understand what we’re saying, I can’t understand what he means.” He hesitated, then continued, “I asked him if he knew where God-Slaying Grass was, and he just kept charging at me.”
At these words, it went silent at once.
…
After a while, Yan Yu’an hesitantly spoke: “Is he saying—God-Slaying Grass is on me?”
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