As the sparks crackled from the camp bonfire, the sole of Ye Fan’s boot crushed the last withered branch. The bronze box in his tunic was scorching hot, radiating a burn through three layers of dark-iron soft armor—this was the seventh breath since his return from the ruins, and whatever lay inside seemed more eager to see the light of day than he was.
"Ah-Ye’s hands are all red." Chǔ Hóngzhuāng suddenly stood on tiptoe to tug at his sleeve, her fingertips tinged with the chill characteristic of Gu Insects. "Shall we put it on the table first?" The golden-spotted poisonous butterfly in her hair fluttered down to land on the box lid, its antennae curling into a tight ball the moment they brushed the star map patterns. "Ow! This broken box is bullying my bugs!"
Only then did Ye Fan realize he had been gripping the box tightly without knowing it. He lowered his gaze to his palms, which were indeed flushed with an unnatural red hue, even causing the galaxy within his Inner World to churn; as stars plummeted into the spiritual fields, the tremors shook three blue leaves from the millennium-old ginseng.
Chapter 261