After the ashes Mountain Ghost had turned into were scattered by the night wind, the paper workshop fell so quiet that only Lu Chen's breathing remained.
His left palm was still numb. The dark green luminous fluid that had surged out when the curse core shattered had burned through the skin on the back of his hand. Dragon blood regeneration had already sealed the wound, but residual curse power beneath his skin was still seeping out.
He spread open his palm. At its center was a tiny clump of dark green filaments, rooted in the grain of his muscles like plant roots. They were not living things, but remnants of the curse.
Dragon blood regeneration would slowly force them out. It would take a few hours.
Yun Qingyue walked in, took his wrist, and turned over his palm for a look.
"Grabbing the core with your hand again." She dug a small silver knife from the medicine chest and heated it over the candle flame. "Don't move."
The tip of the silver knife pierced the skin of his palm, picking out the dark green filaments one by one.
The instant the threads left his flesh, they turned to ash, dispersing into a small cloud of green dust in the air.
She worked with meticulous care. Every time she removed a strand, she pressed a cotton ball soaked in Dragon Blood Ointment against the wound, drawing out the lingering curse power.
After she had picked out more than a dozen strands, the skin of his palm returned to its normal golden color.
"Done. Next time, use Palm Thunder. Don't grab it directly with your hand. Your Dragon Thunder True Essence can strike from a distance, but you insist on blowing it up at close range." She put away the silver knife.