An assistant found the map stitched into the coat of a wounded Registry officer named Ren. She brought it to Qinghe rather than cutting the garment open herself.
“The seam is too tight,” she said. “I can’t remove it without tearing the paper.”
Qinghe asked Wei to witness the unpicking. They used a small blade to open the lining, then lifted the folded map onto a clean sheet. Ren woke while they were examining it and reached toward the table.
“Give it back,” he said.
“It’s evidence,” Wei replied. “We’ll keep it dry and record where we found it.”
“My unit was ordered to carry it south. We never delivered it.”
Yan studied the map. It showed a fortress at Dusk Ridge with artillery arcs laid over the civilian road. A second line marked a likely evacuation route farther west, bending toward Narrow Bridge.
Bai’s clerk set a ruler beside the drawing. “This mark is a firing arc, not a confirmed target.”
