"Ugh... Where am I..." Xi woke up, feeling dizzy.
It was pitch black all around. Although he couldn't see a thing, Xi felt something was terribly wrong. This was clearly deep underground, yet this space was strangely warm.
The heavy breathing felt like a boulder crushing Xi's chest. A gust of hot wind swept across his back, sending a chill through his entire body.
Xi swallowed hard and slowly turned around. By the light of his phone screen, Xi saw the embodiment of true sin.
A lizard-like creature was crouched right behind Xi. Its size was immeasurable, and its entire body was covered in dark red scales. Its face was layered with bone plates, resembling the mask of an evil spirit. Two horns protruded from its forehead pointing straight up, and its jaws bared iron-silver fangs. When motionless, it looked like a massive chunk of rusted iron—this was the Evil Dragon, the symbol of floods and the Soul of Evil.
Flashed by the light, and accustomed to living in eternal darkness, the Evil Dragon's slit pupils contracted. Feeling its eyes irritated, it grew furious and lashed out with a claw, aiming to flatten Xi into a meat patty.
At that critical moment between life and death, Xi burst forth with astonishing strength, sliding backward in a bizarre posture. A red streak flashed, and Xi's vision turned entirely red...
"Bang!" Gravel scattered everywhere, slamming into the stone walls and leaving behind deep gouges. One could easily tell the sheer magnitude of its power.
Yet the Evil Dragon hadn't even exerted itself; perhaps it had just woken up from sleep and merely lashed out casually, much like swatting a dead mouse. Even so, it was constrained here. Five thick iron chains, each as wide as a thigh, bound the Evil Dragon's four limbs and neck, their sharp barbs piercing deep into its flesh. Whether it was Xi's imagination or not, he always felt as though the chains were alive...
"Roar-roar-roar-roar..."
This roar shook the earth, causing loose gravel to cascade down from the ceiling like rain. After venting its fury, the Evil Dragon lay back down and ignored Xi entirely.
For some reason, Xi felt an inexplicable sense of desolation. Heroes and villains alike were ultimately destined to turn into mere foam in the long river of time, worn away by the years...
Wait... Why did I suddenly feel like I've aged so much, as if I had lived for a very, very long time?
Taking a closer look, Xi noticed that the Evil Dragon's scales were dark red rather than bright red, which indicated it was still in its juvenile stage. This realization relaxed Xi somewhat; a juvenile Evil Dragon was not yet bloodthirsty.
Since safety was assured, Xi simply started chatting with the creature. Although only Xi was speaking, the creature wore a look of utter impatience.
Meanwhile, Yujie and Lin Xi were not idle either. Instead of staying to rest in the hospital, they had sneaked out and made their way to the library.
"Why are we here?" Yujie asked, puzzled.
"As the saying goes, know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles. We need to understand our opponent first before we can defeat them." Lin Xi pulled a book from the shelf.
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas records most of the rare beasts and exotic creatures in this world." With that, Lin Xi began to read.
"Reading books gives me a headache."
Despite saying this, Yujie still picked up a book and started reading, though whether he could find anything useful from the unofficial history he held in his hands remained to be seen.
Hours passed.
"Sigh—" Lin Xi suddenly slumped over the desk, looking utterly exhausted. They hadn't even seen the opponent's appearance; all they had caught sight of was a single hand. Given the circumstances at the time, it was simply impossible to dig out any useful information.
What should they do...
Lin Xi suddenly looked over at Yujie. He actually looked quite serious and hadn't complained of being tired after all this time—she had really underestimated him.
However, the reality of the situation was that Yujie found the book immensely entertaining and was excited beyond measure.
"You idiot! What's the use of reading that!"
Realizing the truth, Lin Xi flew into a rage and grabbed Yujie by the ear.
"Ow, ow, ow, let me sophistry... No, let me explain... Look, this book records thousands of years of local secret history. While it might not be entirely true, it's bound to give us some inspiration."
"Look, this section talks about how during the Republican era, a wealthy tycoon gave a priceless night-shining pearl to a beauty just to win a smile... Ha, turns out the beauty was sent by a rival, and not only did she hook up with his younger brother, but they also teamed up to clean him out of all his money, haha... This doesn't seem very useful..." Yujie hurriedly flipped the page, attempting to find something to gloss it over.
"Wait." Lin Xi fell silent for a moment. A night-shining pearl—could there be some connection?
She quickly grabbed the book and, relying on her memory, flipped to a certain page.
According legend, a child from a poor family accidentally swallowed a night-shining pearl, and out of fear, jumped into a river. However, he didn't die; instead, he transformed into a calamity—the Soul of Evil, the Evil Dragon.
"I'm afraid what we saw back then was indeed the Evil Dragon. No, we have to go find your teacher."
"But where are we supposed to find him?"
"Don't worry, I'm already prepared." Yujie smiled with confidence.