Fen's honor guard didn't retreat the way Wei Liang expected. The moment Xu's warning finished echoing in his skull, all six men moved at once, blades drawn, closing the distance in a coordinated strike that made it clear the earlier calm had only ever been a stalling tactic.
"He's not letting us walk away with what we just heard," Liu Che said, already moving into position beside Garrow.
"He never intended to," Xu said. "That entire conversation was reconnaissance. Now he's testing exactly how dangerous seven gates actually are before he reports back to whoever he answers to."
Wei Liang met the first two guards head-on, absorbing one strike fully and redirecting the second into the guard beside him, dropping both within seconds. Garrow and Liu Che handled the flanking pair together, a r
