The last time Zheng Qing saw Xiao Xiao had been above Linzhong Lake at school.
At the time, the young publicly funded student had been sucked into 'Black Moon,' while the You Zui Hunting Team's diviner had clutched his spellbook and charged at him like mad, trying to grab his captain.
Zheng Qing had thought the two of them would not have another chance to meet before leaving Black Prison.
He had not expected fate to enjoy such cruel jokes.
When Zheng Qing crawled out from beneath the black cat's belly and looked around, he spotted Dr. Xiao's conspicuous Watermelon Head behind a remaining brick wall amid the ruins of the collapsed cells. He frantically waved at his captain, pointed at the sky, then made a gesture of holding his head.
Zheng Qing looked up in the direction Doctor Xiao was pointing.
Then his mouth slowly fell open.
He finally understood why the sky had turned hazy and gray.
Because in midair, a huge gray 'long snake' twisted and swayed, holding up a pale-gray barrier that blocked out the colors of the two suns overhead.
Beyond the barrier, the enormous, distorted figures of Archwizards could vaguely be seen, while tens of thousands of little golden birds charged forward one after another, bursting into golden fireworks against the barrier.
The barrier cut off those frenzied little birds, as well as the blazing light and noise of their explosions.
Looking along the gray 'long snake,' one side ended in a pointed 'tail.' It had not a single scale, only sleek gray fur, which curled and flicked nimbly at the tip. Any golden bird that crashed into it was immediately bound into a zongzi by those long hairs.
Zheng Qing could not find the gray long snake's 'head' on the other side. It