Brigh was on his feet before Wei Liang finished reading the name aloud, blade half-drawn on instinct, confusion and fear warring across his face.
"That's not possible," Brigh said. "I'm nobody. My family were fishers, three generations back, nothing to do with any sect bloodline."
"Sit down," Shen Yue said gently, though her own hands weren't quite steady. "Let us look at this properly before anyone panics."
Liu Che studied the ledger entry more closely, tracing the faded ink with careful fingers. "This isn't listed under your surname. It's listed under a maternal branch, generations back, married into a family that eventually changed names entirely after fleeing some conflict the record doesn't specify."
"Fleeing what," Brigh asked, voice tight.
"I don't know yet," Liu Che admitted.
