Xu Qing and the Captain had no idea what was inside the sphere.4

As Xu Qing stood guard, the Captain closed in on the sphere with Ning Yan’s vine. Eventually, he found a spot where he could attach the vine to the damaged exterior. However, he was worried that the connection might not be stable enough, so he continued wrapping the vine through several other spots as well. Eventually, he tied it into a huge knot. Then he bit his finger and used blood to draw a magical symbol, fusing the vine onto the sphere itself.3

Having done that, the Captain patted the sphere, then settled down cross-legged and flashed a hand signal to Xu Qing.1

A casual observer would have no idea what that signal meant. But Xu Qing knew. Feeling a bit awkward, he took out an image-recording jade slip, protected it with violet moon power, and then recorded an image of the Captain in the jade slip.25

With that accomplished, the Captain raced over to check the image. Looking pleased, he winked and flashed another hand signal.4

Xu Qing shook his head to refuse the Captain’s invitation to return the favor and record a wonderful image of Xu Qing.21

The two of them then followed the vine back up out of the river. Everything went smoothly....0