Brigh spotted them first, three figures positioned along the tree line beyond the southern gate, still as stone, watching the compound through the gray morning light. He didn't approach. He ran straight for Wei Liang instead, breathless, the same instinct that had kept them both alive for months now firing hard.
"Not sect uniforms," Brigh said. "Not guard robes either. Plain gray, no marks, just standing there watching the gate like they're counting who comes and goes."
Xu's voice came instantly, cold and certain. "Professional. Whoever sent them wants information first, action second. That's not Rong's style. That's someone patient."
Wei Liang found Liu Che in the review chamber within minutes, the recovered ledger pages still spread across the table where he'd left them. "Watchers at
