The guild report went up at first bell, fixed beside the courtyard gate where people could read it without entering the institute. Pei stood nearby as families gathered. He read the key result aloud, then explained the limits printed underneath: the instruments found no change during Yan’s tested circulation, and the test did not settle every question about every kind of cultivation.
Yan stood beside him, arms folded. “It’s a short test with a lot of caveats.”
“It has to be,” Pei said. “The caveats keep the answer honest.”
A man near the gate asked whether Yan’s breakthrough had affected his sister’s headaches. He had brought no clinic record and did not want to give her name to the crowd.
“You can take the report and speak with Qinghe inside,” Pei said. “She can help you request her dates privately.”
The man frowned. “If it says nothing changed, why do you need dates?”
“Because this test only covers one measured circulation,” Pei answered. “Her symptoms deserve their own review. The report can’t answer for her.”
The man folded the card Qinghe offered and put it in his pocket. He did not thank them, but he stopped arguing and left the steps with his sister’s question intact. Pei pointed out that the report covered only the two records reviewed. Qinghe offered to check the dates if the family wanted the clinic to look at their own case.
