The medicine hall corridor smelled of dried root and crushed herb, morning light cutting through the high windows in pale slats across the floor. Wei Liang reached it just as Elder Rong arrived from the opposite end, flanked by two guards, Shen Yue already standing near her workstation with a herb tray still in her hands, caught mid-task, her face carefully arranged into confusion rather than fear.
"Elder," she said, setting the tray down slow and steady. "Is something wrong with the inventory."
"Come with me," Rong said, mild as ever, the same calm voice he'd used ordering a crate of children carried down a mountain road. "Questions about the rotation discrepancies. Won't take long."
Wei Liang stepped into the corridor from the side entrance before the guards could close the distance t
