448. Fox’s Encounter

Most ordinary people on Earth did not know what the Dark Flood Dragon was searching for. Even among the few who did know, they only understood that it was seeking a glowing sphere; they had no idea what the Celestial Dragon Inner Core was. As a result, Xiao Tianlong and his wife failed to uncover any useful information. In the end, they could only determine that the Dark Flood Dragon was looking for something.

Thus, the unfortunate Fox became their target.

He was indeed unlucky. Just after being chastised by Angus, he had found a place to drink and soothe his nerves. But he drank too much, began shouting and roaring, and those very cries happened to draw the attention of Xiao Tianlong and his wife, who were passing by.

They had already probed the memories of many Earthlings, and knew that this drunken man held a fairly high position among them. So they stepped forward and captured him.

Fox’s disappearance was no great matter on Earth. Angus even assumed that he had fled, which was entirely normal—without finding Ye Feng, Fox was destined to die, and so Angus issued a kill order against him.

By now, Fox was trembling as he knelt before the two of them. This was not something Xiao Tianlong had demanded; Fox had dropped to his knees out of sheer terror. It was easy to understand why: one moment he had been drinking, and the next he was in a cave in some unknown place. Though the two standing before him looked like Earthlings, he knew that apart from Angus and Ye Feng, no Earthling could do such a thing. More precisely, even Angus and Ye Feng could not. So he guessed these two were not Earth beings after all, and quickly knelt down. He had personally witnessed the Dark Flood Dragon’s cruelty.

“My lords, whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you. Please, don’t kill me!” Though terrified, Fox retained at least a shred of intelligence. He knew the two must have spirited him away because they wanted information, so he hurried to submit.

Xiao Tianlong and Long Yunfeng exchanged a glance, both surprised that the fellow before them was so spineless. Xiao Tianlong said, “We only want to know what exactly Dark Fire is looking for.”

“He’s looking for a glowing sphere called the Celestial Dragon Inner Core,” Fox said quickly. This was information he should not have known, but Angus had once muttered about it in a fit of complaint, and Fox had remembered it.

“What did you say?” Long Yunfeng seized Fox by the collar and demanded, “Say that again!”

“My lady, don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!” Fox was utterly frightened, shaking all over, pitiful and absurd at once.

“You just said Dark Fire is searching for the Celestial Dragon Inner Core. Are you sure?” Xiao Tianlong was also somewhat agitated.

“Yes, yes. I heard it from that madman Angus. The Dark Flood Dragon leader kept demanding that he find the Celestial Dragon Inner Core.”

With a thud, Fox hit the ground. After landing, he quickly crawled back a couple of steps, but did not dare stand.

“Tianlong, could they be looking for...” Long Yunfeng did not finish. Once the clues were linked together, the obvious conclusion was that little Long Xuan was in grave danger.

“What have they discovered?” Xiao Tianlong remained composed in matters like this.

“Nothing at all. Counting from the beginning, we’ve been searching for almost four months now, and still haven’t found the slightest trace.”

“What happened here more than three months ago?” Long Yunfeng pressed. She remembered that Long Xuan’s soul fluctuations had weakened three months earlier.

“Nothing special. Let me think... back then... the Dark Flood Dragon clan had only just arrived on Earth, and had only just taken control of Angus to attack the Huaxia forces led by Ye Feng.” Fox tried hard to recall. That period had not been easy for him either. The Dark Flood Dragon clan were all lunatics; once they came to Earth, they slaughtered indiscriminately. Fox had nearly been killed several times, so he did not remember much from that time.

“Only that?” Xiao Tianlong asked doubtfully.

“Earth was in total chaos then. The Dark Flood Dragon clan was killing people everywhere. I only know the general situation; I don’t really know the rest,” Fox said weakly.

“So at that time, only the Dark Flood Dragon and the Earthlings were fighting, correct?” Xiao Tianlong continued.

“Yes.” Fox answered hurriedly.

“Didn’t you just say it was chaotic then? How can you be so sure?” Long Yunfeng said coldly.

“It really was chaotic, and I nearly died too. But I kept moving with the army at the time, and Angus had completely thrown in with the Dark Flood Dragon, so I’m certain the ones fighting were the Dark Flood Dragon and us—more precisely, Angus’s men against Ye Feng’s men,” Fox explained in haste, catching the displeasure in her tone.

“What was the result of that battle?” Xiao Tianlong asked.

“Of course Huaxia, led by Ye Feng, was driven back. They had prepared escape equipment in advance, so they got away,” Fox said.

“They escaped unharmed?” After seeing Earth’s situation, Xiao Tianlong did not believe anyone on Earth could get away from Dark Fire unscathed.

“Of course not. Ye Feng was severely injured, and several old monsters risked their lives to hold back the Dark Fire leader and the others. Otherwise they would have been dead long ago, and I wouldn’t have had to live in fear while searching for them,” Fox complained before he could stop himself.

“You still haven’t found them after all this time? Why?” Long Yunfeng asked.

“At first they hid in the sea, but when we emptied the seawater, we discovered they were gone. They left no trace at all. If we still can’t find them, I’ll die.” Fox’s voice sank noticeably as he said this.

“Why must you find them?” Xiao Tianlong asked on.

“It’s said that the Celestial Dragon Inner Core is in Ye Feng’s hands, so Dark Fire had Angus look for it, and Angus had me search for it. Damn it, where am I supposed to find such a thing?” Fox cursed under his breath.

“The Celestial Dragon Inner Core is in Ye Feng’s hands?” Long Yunfeng’s agitation flared again.

“That’s what Angus said, though I don’t think it’s necessarily true,” Fox replied.

“Why?” Long Yunfeng asked, puzzled.

“Angus is Ye Feng’s mortal enemy. Framing him would be perfectly normal. He swore to the Dark Fire leader that once the sea had been drained away, he would definitely find the Celestial Dragon Inner Core. But he failed to find it, and the Dark Fire leader was so enraged he nearly killed him. So of course he needed someone to divert the Dark Fire leader’s attention. I think Ye Feng was nothing more than a convenient excuse. That Celestial Dragon Inner Core simply isn’t with Ye Feng at all,” Fox answered truthfully.

Xiao Tianlong and Long Yunfeng looked at each other for a long while before Xiao Tianlong finally said, “Anything else you want to say?”

The words sounded very much like a final chance before being sent on the road to death, so Fox hastily said, “I’ve told you everything I know. Please, please don’t kill me!” After that, he began kowtowing frantically.

“Relax. We’re not going to kill you,” Xiao Tianlong said, pressing down on Fox’s head. Fox immediately passed out.

End of Chapter