The Bone Fragment

Now, just holding two bundles of firewood was already straining her, and she could barely bear the weight of Larvavine, which weighed about five or six pounds.

"Please get off me..." Ash looked at Larvavine, which was standing on the firewood she was holding and now looked somewhat aggrieved due to her restraint. She sighed helplessly. "Be good... my hand can't hold up much longer..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ash lost her grip on the bundles, allowing them to fall freely to the ground.

"release!"

Larvavine was startled by Ash's sudden release.

Fortunately, Ash was quick enough with her left hand to catch the Larvavine before it hit the ground with the firewood.

"I'm sorry..." Ash carefully placed Larvavine on her uninjured shoulder with one hand.

She bent down to pick up the tender branches that had fallen to the ground.

And then brushing off the nonexistent dust before holding them out to Larvavine, who was gently nudging her cheek in apology for the clumsy action.

"Do you want to eat? I brought back some plants for you... Tonight, you'll have to make do with me here, but tomorrow I'll take you back to Solvale Town."

"Larvavine~"

The Larvavine made a soft chirping sound and affectionately rubbing its head against Ash's cheek to show it didn't mind.

It then took the tender branch from Ash's hand, climbed down from her shoulder, and began to nibble on the plant.

At this moment, the Larvavine also noticed Ash's discomfort in her arm.

In order to avoid further disturbing her, the Larvanine voluntarily took the tender branch back to Ash's backpack.

It chirped twice at Ash, signaling that she didn't need to worry about it and that it would patiently wait there while Ash finished her tasks.

Ash chuckled and shook her head before getting back to work.

Time was pressing; she had to quickly finish the raft while the sun was still up.

Otherwise, once the night fell, things would get complicated.

However, by the time Ash had finished making the raft and had brought Larvavine to the small island in the center of the lake, a significant amount of time had already passed.

So much time, in fact, that the moonlight was now streaming down through the gaps in the mountain, casting a circle of white light on the surface of the lake.

"What's this?"

While dragging the raft onto the shore, Ash stumbled and almost fell.

She shone her flashlight at her feet and quickly discovered the cause of her near fall—a sharp white stone that had emerged from the ground.

"Larvavine?"

At that moment, Larvavine, which had been walking ahead of Ash, crawled over to investigate.

It gently used its soft feet to dig the stone out of the ground and then looked up at Ash, as if asking what it was.

Ash walked over, picked up the white stone Larvavine had uncovered, and ran her fingers over it.

The delicate, smooth, and slightly oily texture felt remarkably similar to the jade Ash remembered.