Ning carried the revised challenge terms to the assembly yard. Residents had gathered after finishing the morning work. Mara Venn stood beside the fountain with her sister. She still carried the stall permit that let her family trade in the lower village.
The court scribe read the offer aloud. If Yan survived the three arts, White Orchard’s clinic and medicine store could reopen. The three buying tables and the growers who supplied them remained under separate review.
Mara folded her arms. “Then this doesn’t protect my family. If we bring herbs to a table, the Registry can still take our stall permit.”
Qiu Ren stood beside the scribe. “The Registry can add a narrow protection for named participants.”
“That would put our names on your list,” Mara said. “You’d be telling every guard where to find us.”
Yan understood the problem. A victory in the arena could reopen the refuge’s gate while the people who had kept the clinic alive were still punished for helping it.
“Could the court record routes and quantities without identifying sellers?” he asked.
The scribe shook his head. “An unnamed seller cannot be verified.”
