Before the spar, Wei walked the students through the well lane and the orchard path that shared its narrow turn. A shield line could retreat through the yard without pushing residents carrying water, but only if the fighters knew where the lane bent.
Yan pointed to a short step beside the wall. He showed how a person could move out of the retreat line without using cultivation or blocking anyone behind him. The apprentices tried it in pairs.
One student backed into the water carrier’s route. A clinic worker came around the corner with a full bucket and called out. The line stopped just before they collided.
Wei called a halt. “We don’t train through people.”
The student apologized. She had watched the shield in front of her and forgotten the path beside it.
Yan asked her to repeat the movement, this time looking over her shoulder before stepping aside. She moved cleanly. The water carrier passed without spilling a drop.
Ning came from the clinic and asked the workers who used the well what they wanted. They said the path should stay open whenever the afternoon patient queue formed. The instructors changed the schedule. Training could use the lane in the morning, but it would remain clear during clinic hours.
