The irrigation crew’s report showed that the east gate ran cleanly and had held through its scheduled checks. The local builders had reviewed Gu’s barrier plan and listed the remaining materials for a field test. Elder Mera signed the maintenance report at the assembly table, then turned to the shrine custodians.
“Yan may study the text beneath the roots,” she said. “The original stays in the shrine. The village keeps the record and any copy made from it.”
The custodians unlocked the limestone door. The shrine had already been surveyed and cleared under the earlier assembly agreement; this visit was for the authorized study below its threshold. Qinghe began copying the carved names around the entrance while Yan waited outside. He did not cross until she had recorded the last inscription.
“You can come in,” she said when the page was complete.
The steps descended into a cool chamber. A tablet rested beneath a line of roots, its carved edge fitted into a shallow stone frame. Gu examined the seal and the surrounding floor. He found no mechanism that would trigger when someone read the words.
“Nothing here moves when the door opens,” he said. “We can read the text without activating it.”
