Lian set the first supplement packet beneath a glass cover and asked Mei to read the cabinet log aloud. The packet’s seal was intact. Qinghe checked the lot code against the bright label, then wrote it on the testing slate.
“We’ll test this one first,” Lian said. “The other packet stays sealed until we have a separate entry.”
Yan had brought the second sample from Mei’s cabinet. He set it on the far side of the table and waited while Mei recorded the transfer. The careful steps felt slow, but the first packet had arrived through a patient and the second through a market purchase. They could not be mixed without losing that difference.
Lian opened the packet under glass, scraped a small amount into a dish, and added the testing solution. A cloudy trace separated from the powder. Beneath the packet cap, a thin blue residue clung to the inner seam.
“Mineral additive,” she said. “It isn’t listed on this label.”
“Is it poison?” Yan asked.
“I can’t say that from this test.” Lian tapped the result. “The amount here isn’t immediately toxic by itself. We don’t know how it interacts with the approved medicine or what repeated use does.”
