Not far from Lin Fang, Nianxi kept watch with tense shoulders and sharp eyes.
When the undead beast finally halted on Lin Fang's unspoken command and dipped its head, she hopped down lightly and went straight to work.
One by one, she knelt beside the ruined Babirusa bodies, pried open rib cages with quick, practiced movements, and slipped the glowing spirit cores into her pouch.
Blood soaked her boots and streaked her gloves, but her hands never shook.
When she finished, she wiped her palm against her robe, looked up at the pale sky, and then climbed back up the side of the undead monster.
"Fang-ge… Fang-ge," she called softly, shaking his shoulder.
Lin Fang stirred with a low grunt and rolled onto his back, squinting against the morning light that filtered through the canopy.
*Ugh*
He stretched slowly, joints popping as if he were rising from a real bed instead of a mountain of bones.
*Ding!
