Commander Zhao Ba reached the first turnstile with his ticket upside down.
The scanner buzzed. The light stayed red.
“A broken gate,” he said, and shoved the brass arms.
Xiaoyao leaned toward the window. “Turn the purple mark face up.”
Zhao Ba shoved harder. The steel shaft did not move. Behind him, elders offered advice, jokes, and three conflicting prayers.
“A warrior does not bow to a paper charm,” Zhao Ba said. He kicked the scanner pedestal.
The boot dented its cover and broke the optical switch. Sparks snapped across the brass housing. The shock threw him into a padded barrier, where he sat down hard. He was stunned and angry, but not badly hurt.
The safety circuit did its work. Both turnstiles locked. The entrance gate dropped, and the conveyor hall stopped accepting visitors. People already inside were held in the safe waiting area.
Xiaoyao closed the ticket shutter.
Guang Ming raised his sword. “Open that gate or I will open your booth.”
“No entry while the gate is damaged,” Xiaoyao said through the shutter slot.
“You deny the Radiant Sun?”
“Yes.”
The patriarch’s aura bent the queue ropes. Xiaoyao’s hand shook, but he did not reopen the window.
Austin crossed the plaza and stood beside the booth.
“My ticketmaster said no. That is the answer.”
Guang Ming turned on him. “You would defend this insult?”
“I would defend the safety rule. Section Two, Subsection B of the work-yard code says no jumping the turnstiles. Your commander broke a scanner, forced a barrier, and stopped a live public route. A new sight switch takes forty-five minutes on my lathe. Admission stays closed until the repair and inspection are done.”
Ling Yue told her disciples to step back. “The rule was clear. We wait.”
Wu Nian sent two monks to check Zhao Ba. “No bones broken. His pride will need longer.”
Austin replaced the switch and tested the gate six times. Then he handed Guang Ming a repair bill.
“Zhao Ba waits outside for the rest of the day. Anyone who threatens my clerk leaves too.”
Guang Ming read the bill and said nothing.
Xiaoyao reopened the window only after Austin signed the inspection sheet. Zhao Ba sat on the public bench with an ice pack while the others scanned their tickets correctly.
The gate clicked. The line moved again.