Luo ordered Zhao held under guard in the main courtyard while the elders were summoned. Two guards kept him near the west wall, away from the laboratory door. The attendants were separated and asked to give their accounts one at a time. Wei stayed with the candidates so no one could say they had been questioned alone.
Bai carried the refusal copy, the unsigned sample request, and the sealed disposal orders to the records table. He laid each one in its own sleeve and kept his hand on the satchel while Luo wrote the source beside every item.
“Can I put these together?” Bai asked.
“No,” Luo said. “They came from different places. Each needs its own entry.”
Bai shifted the sleeves apart. “The refusal copy came from Yan. The sample request came from the archive. The disposal order was in the laboratory bundle.”
“Good. We’ll record that and compare the archive copy before sealing anything.”
Bai repeated the sources back to him, making sure he had not mixed the request and disposal order. Luo nodded and wrote the entries. The papers would stay in Ashfall until the elders decided who should hold them.
Qinghe led Yan into the infirmary. He walked slowly so the wrap would not drag across his shoulder. The burn stung at every shift of his sleeve. His ribs had settled into a deep ache, and his wrists still bore the red outlines of the bands.
