"That resembles some of the cases I mentioned to Gu Mojin this afternoon," Su Nanxin said. "I cannot yet say that the same method was used, but there are enough similarities that I would like to study the fragment you recovered. If you still have it, the Alliance can place it in a sealed chamber and examine it without allowing the residue to spread."
Qiao Zhi took the small wrapped fragment from an inner pocket of her travel bag. She had kept it sealed in several layers of cloth and a simple containment talisman, changing the outer wrapping whenever she sensed the energy becoming active. When she placed it on the table, Su Nanxin did not touch it immediately. She examined it from a short distance, using a narrow thread of spiritual energy to trace the faint pattern beneath the black surface.
