;escape
(...)
The ascending gem shook violently in the air, as if on the verge of explosion. Ziyu clutched Sijun’s hand painfully tight, squeezed her eyes shut, and buried her face into his chest.
“Change of plans,” Sijun said breathlessly. “We are not going to wait for Nie Jiuli at the foot of the mountain. I don’t know what this thing is, but I have a bad feeling about it.” He stole one more look at the unsettling gem before resuming down the path. The earthquake had not stopped, but they were not far from safety. At this point, Sijun was suspecting the entire mountain might collapse due to the thing those dumb cultivators must have released.
They better find a way to calm it down, he thought, because it wasn’t just their lives at risk. There were villages underneath this mountain and should the entire thing collapse, how many of them would be caught under the debris?
“Come on, Ziyu!” Eventually, he released Xueli so the dog could run on her own. She was faster anyway. With that hand freed, he was able to pull Ziyu onto his back so they could continue. “Don’t look back,” he instructed based on gut feeling.
Maybe father was right and he shouldn’t have left the forest. Somehow he managed to survive the woods alone for years upon years but the moment he stepped into civilization he was dealing with this sort of mess.
Whatever, it’s worth it. He told himself. At least if he dies here, he’ll end up buried by the mountain next to someone beautiful.