The two former factions worked side by side through the morning, hauling burned timber, sorting through what records had survived. Wei Liang moved among them, checking on the wounded, when a young fighter from Tao's old group approached him quietly.
"Can I ask you something," the young man said. "Not about the fight. About Tao."
"Go ahead," Wei Liang said.
"Did he seem afraid, at the end," the young man asked. "I've wondered since word reached us. I served him almost ten years and never once saw him afraid."
Wei Liang thought about it honestly before answering. "He seemed tired. Not afraid. Like someone who'd been carrying something heavy for a long time and was finally setting it down."
The young man nodded slowly, something easing in his face. "That sounds like him."
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