Lumi stopped writing when she reached the ninth character. Using the tip of her bone needle, she tapped the gap between the fifth and ninth characters, then shook her head at Su Li. Her expression plainly said, "I'm not sure about these two."
Su Li did not rush her.
The rain outside the stone hollow grew heavier and heavier. The hissing merged into a continuous roar, as though someone were sanding down the entire mountain with sandpaper. Water began seeping through the edges of the canvas Gelu had used to block the gaps. He cursed under his breath and tore off another strip of cloth to patch it.
Dake tossed two pieces of dry firewood into the brazier. The temperature inside the stone hollow was barely holding, but dampness seeped in from every direction, coating their clothes in a clammy layer of moisture.
Su Li turned his attention back to the broken sword.
The characters were still glowing. More precisely, they were a little brighter than before.
He closed his eyes, activated the dark-gold nodes, and pressed his senses into the sword.
The structure inside the blade was like an old blueprint he had examined many times. Metal fibers, corroded hollows, hairline cracks—he knew them all. But now, there was something new.
Energy.
Drops of magic rain seeping through cracks in the ceiling were flowing into the sword along the fractures on its surface. The energy concentration carried by that water far exceeded the faint glowing particles that normally drifted through the air.
After entering the blade, the energy did not disperse. Instead, it flowed along the patterns of the characters. Like channels guiding water, the characters themselves were the passageways.
Su Li opened his eyes.
He pressed his right palm against the blade and tried to use the dark-gold