They reached Veyrith's outer wall at dusk, and the moment Wei Liang crossed the threshold, Elder Gong met him with a face too tight to be relief alone.
"They're still here," Gong said, walking fast alongside him toward the inner courtyard. "Three of them, waiting in the guest hall, guarded but cooperative the entire time."
"Any trouble," Wei Liang asked.
"None. That's what worries me more than trouble would have." Gong's voice dropped lower. "People this careful usually have a reason for it."
The guest hall held three figures seated calmly despite the armed guards flanking every exit, robes plain and unmarked, faces unreadable in the low lamplight. The eldest of them rose slowly as Wei Liang entered, bowing with a formality that felt rehearsed rather than genuine deference.
"Wei Liang
