章 15: Chapter 10: Fight for Life and Death

Yan Fei wrapped his arms around Xiao Kong and then squeezed with all his might. Xiao Kong struggled desperately but to no avail.

As Yan Fei's arms squeezed tighter, the bones in Xiao Kong's body began to emit a crisp cracking sound, and the air in his lungs became increasingly scarce. Xiao Kong started to have difficulty breathing, and the severe oxygen deficiency made his vision go dark. Just then, Xiao Kong threw his head back and suddenly lunged forward with a headbutt, hitting Yan Fei right in the face.

A wave of intense pain struck Yan Fei's face, seeing stars and even feeling a sense of dizziness, which nearly made him let go. But Yan Fei knew that this was a matter of life and death. He forced himself to be spirited, to wake up. Not only did he not let go, he held on even tighter.

Xiao Kong's headbutt was ineffective, but he was not discouraged. He arched his head back, ready for a second attempt.

But Yan Fei had learned his lesson and tilted his head back, out of Xiao Kong's reach, making it impossible for Xiao Kong to land another headbutt. However, this allowed Yan Fei's grip to loosen slightly, and Xiao Kong, with his extensive experience, immediately noticed a bit of space to maneuver at his feet. He jabbed downward with the tip of his foot, hitting Yan Fei's leg. Yan Fei felt an excruciating pain in his leg and almost let go. Although he still clung to Xiao Kong, his grip began to weaken.

Witnessing the effectiveness of his kick, Xiao Kong delivered a second one. Yan Fei's leg was hit again, and under the severe pain, his grip strength decreased further. As it decreased, Xiao Kong's range of movement grew larger. By this point, Yan Fei realized that he could no longer fully control Xiao Kong's body. If Xiao Kong broke free, the situation would quickly turn against him, possibly resulting in him being beaten to death by Xiao Kong.

But Yan Fei would not just wait to die. He quickly surveyed the surroundings and spotted a sharp stone nearby. At that moment, Xiao Kong's third attack struck his leg again. Yan Fei did not let go; he endured the intense pain and, with his arms still around Xiao Kong, slammed fiercely towards that stone.

A loud "thud" sounded as the two men crashed onto the stone, the sharp edge hitting Xiao Kong's back. Xiao Kong felt an intense pain in his back, his strength draining away in an instant, leaving him powerless to resist any longer.

Yan Fei saw that Xiao Kong's resistance had faded and was overjoyed. He stepped back and then lunged forward again with all his might, the sharp stone hitting Xiao Kong's back once more. Xiao Kong's body shuddered, hit by the sharp stone again.

However, to Yan Fei's surprise, after being struck by the sharp stone for the second time, Xiao Kong seemed to explode with anger. An immense power surged within him, almost strong enough to break free from Yan Fei's arms. Shocked, Yan Fei was about to slam Xiao Kong against the sharp stone once more, but Xiao Kong struggled furiously. The immense power drove Yan Fei away from the sharp stone.

Yan Fei was taken aback by this unexpected turn of events. He felt Xiao Kong's muscles begin to tremble violently. The shaking transmitted to his own body, causing his muscles also to tremble uncontrollably, making his body somewhat unresponsive. His hands started to loosen once again.

Alarmed, Yan Fei had no idea what method Xiao Kong was using. He quickly looked around and spotted a place to crash into, its impact more forceful than before. Xiao Kong had only been prepared for Yan Fei to push him towards the sharp stone, so he did not anticipate this sudden move. His body was then harshly slammed against a large tree, and simultaneously, an even more violent pain shot through him. Then he realized that a sharp tree branch had pierced through his back.

It turned out that Yan Fei had noticed the sharp branches on the tree trunk. He had smashed Xiao Kong into it, and the branch, like a spear, had stabbed into Xiao Kong's body, inflicting a very serious injury.

This time, Xiao Kong had sustained a serious injury. He became truly enraged. He had originally thought that Yan Fei was just a petty thief who he could easily dispatch with a wave of his hand, but he had not expected his opponent to cause him so much trouble and to even inflict such a severe injury.

With Xiao Kong seriously wounded, Yan Fei was about to strike again when suddenly, Xiao Kong bit his own tongue and spat a "blood arrow" towards Yan Fei. Yan Fei was shocked; it was too late to dodge, and his eyes were hit by the blood arrow. He felt an acute pain in his eyes, and then blood flowed into his eye sockets, temporarily blinding him.

Xiao Kong, using self-mutilation, blinded Yan Fei and once again unleashed a fierce power in an attempt to break away from Yan Fei's hold. Although Yan Fei could not see, he could feel Xiao Kong's tremendous strength. If Xiao Kong managed to escape, Yan Fei would be doomed. So he steeled his heart, held onto Xiao Kong fiercely, and fell to the ground, starting to roll.

They fell right onto a sharp rock; Yan Fei, temporarily blinded, failed to notice it and, after rolling over, his body slammed viciously against the jagged stone. The combined weight of the two men was close to 300 kilograms, and with the speed of their rolling, the force of the impact was immense. The brutal collision almost knocked Yan Fei unconscious, and only then did he realize just how severe the injuries Xiao Kong had suffered must have been.

Xiao Kong felt Yan Fei's strength suddenly weaken and was feeling pleased, but then he himself smashed violently into a sharp branch which pierced his body once more, aggravating his wounds. His own strength began to wane as well.

They were in the mountains, where the ground was uneven, dotted with protruding sharp rocks and piercing tree branches. As they rolled, the two men would continuously hit against these jagged stones and sharp branches, covering their bodies with countless wounds. Blood flowed from their injuries, dyeing the path they rolled across a deep crimson.

Yan Fei's whole body ached, feeling as if it might fall apart at any moment, but his vision was slowly returning and he began to make out some shapes around him.

Yan Fei was in a terrible state, but Xiao Kong was even worse off. After all, Yan Fei was holding Xiao Kong and had maintained the initiative; once his vision began to recover, he deliberately avoided the larger rocks while rolling. Xiao Kong, being in a passive position, kept colliding with the hard boulders, suffering even more damage than Yan Fei. Thus, as time went on, Xiao Kong's struggles became weaker and weaker.

The two men continued to roll on the ground in a tight embrace, never expecting a cliff to suddenly appear ahead. Yan Fei couldn't stop in time and so, still holding Xiao Kong, they rolled down the cliff. Fortunately, the cliff wasn't very high, only about ten meters. But even at ten meters, the fall tore their flesh open. Luckily, in the moment before hitting the ground, Yan Fei managed to turn Xiao Kong beneath him. Using Xiao Kong as a cushion, he avoided even more serious harm.

The impact of the fall was so great that Yan Fei could no longer restrain Xiao Kong; he let go of his hands, and the two finally separated. Below the cliff was a long slope where they couldn't stop themselves from continuing to tumble down until Yan Fei crashed into a large tree, coming to a halt. Xiao Kong kept rolling and stopped motionless at the bottom of a ditch.

Yan Fei leaned against the tree, seeing stars, his body screaming in pain, unsure of how many injuries he had sustained or how much blood he had lost. It took quite a while before he could catch his breath. He then struggled to his feet, only to find Xiao Kong also somehow managing to stand up in the ditch below.

Yan Fei, badly injured, found it difficult even to stand. Yet Xiao Kong, whose injuries were much worse than Yan Fei's, was standing as well, which made Yan Fei admire his incredible will. But Xiao Kong looked utterly wretched, lacking his previous intimidating presence. His body was torn and lacerated, wounds everywhere, his face a bloody, unrecognizable mess—as if he were a man made of blood. But he seemed not to feel the pain, fiercely glaring at Yan Fei and then starting to climb up toward him.

Yan Fei was shocked; he hadn't expected Xiao Kong's vitality to be so stubborn, remaining active despite such grave injuries and still intent on attacking him. He turned and began to climb up the slope. Xiao Kong, terrifying even in his injured state, was someone Yan Fei did not dare underestimate, instinctively wanting to keep as much distance as possible between them. After all, he had no capability left to counterattack, and now that Xiao Kong was free, there was no telling what he could still do.

Xiao Kong did something, and after a period of recuperation, his wounds began to heal rapidly, the gaping cuts tightening and the bleeding stopping. As time passed, his healing accelerated; eventually, he stood up and started running uphill.

Yan Fei was stunned, completely unable to comprehend how Xiao Kong, who seemed on the brink of death, suddenly became vigorous. This was beyond anything he could imagine.

Xiao Kong ran up quickly, rapidly closing the distance between himself and Yan Fei. Yan Fei was anxious, but at this point, he was utterly drained of strength, effectively having no combat power left, unable to climb any further. Suddenly, Yan Fei noticed a large, round boulder below. This giant boulder, weathered by wind and rain, was rooted by only a section as thick as the mouth of a bowl. An idea struck him, and he curled his body, starting to roll downward,

Yan Fei's body rapidly tumbled downward, gathering speed and then crashing fiercely against the round boulder. The tremendous force of the impact nearly knocked him unconscious. Under Yan Fei's collision, the ancient boulder, whose existence spanned ages unknown, wobbled downward. With bated breath, Yan Fei looked on as it rocked back into place.

Just as despair gripped Yan Fei's heart, the boulder teetered again. And with this movement, the base, as large as the mouth of a bowl, cracked. Without its rooted base, the boulder began to roll downhill.

Beneath was a funnel-shaped recess; with the boulder tumbling down, Xiao Kong had nowhere to hide. As it descended with great speed, Xiao Kong finally showed a change in his expression. He tried to leap upwards, hoping to jump over the boulder, but fell just short. Accompanied by a scream, Xiao Kong was ultimately swept beneath. The boulder rolled over him and continued down to the bottom of the ditch, where it landed with a resounding "boom," kicking up a cloud of dust.

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