Rain leaked through the roof of the abandoned post station.
Oscar found three wooden basins to catch it. The drops struck them one by one, each sound tightening the knot in Ma Hongjun's chest.
"Absorb it now?" He stared at the Flame Right Arm Bone, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"You could wait for someone to come steal it." Bai Jin leaned against the window. "Personally, I suggest writing your will first. It doesn't need to be long. Dean Flender mainly cares about the money you owe."
Flender's face darkened. "Don't scare him."
"I'm encouraging him."
Ma Hongjun gritted his teeth and grabbed the Soul Bone.
The instant the scarlet bone touched his right arm, flames roared up. He was thrown to the floor, the skin from his right shoulder to his fingertips swiftly turning red. A dense volley of cracks sounded inside his bones.
On the other side of the room, Zhu Zhuqing had already sat down cross-legged.
The Windchaser Left Leg Bone dissolved into azure light and sank into her calf. She made no sound, but her fingers dug deep into the floorboards. The meridians in her left leg felt as if countless fine blades were slicing them open at once. Wind-aspected Soul Power climbed along the seams of her bones, bringing tearing pain with every joint it passed.
Ning Rongrong immediately summoned the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
"Nine Treasures Have Names, Third: Soul."
Two beams of colored light fell on them, helping them keep their Soul Power flowing. Oscar placed Recovery Sausages within reach, Dai Mubai guarded the front door, and Flender and Chen Xin sealed off opposite sides of the post station.
Bai Jin raised a hand and took off his blindfold.
With the Six Eyes open, not a single thread of energy in the Soul