Yan took a Soul-Lantern from the map table and checked its attunement to the prepared marker at Narrow Bridge. The relay keeper set a second lantern beside it, then called out the outer range. The signal would carry a warning and a brief pulse of qi. It would not hold a crossing or move with the convoy.
Wei watched the relay line. “Send the artillery estimate first.”
Yan activated the lantern. A pale projection rose beside the map and stretched into the shape of his body. Its edges wavered in the wind from the open door. He sent the prepared pulse through the marker.
The image appeared beside the relay stone at Narrow Bridge. Han Yue stood near it with a map and a blue flag in her hand. Behind her, families crossed the bridge in groups, carrying boxes and bundles. A field assistant led a child with a wrapped ankle toward the far bank.
Han turned from the lantern to the bridge. “Keep the next group at the far marker,” she called to a warden. “The carts need a clear turn.”
The warden moved two people aside. A woman with a handcart waited until the child with the wrapped ankle reached the far bank. Then she pushed on, stopping once to adjust a bundle that had slipped against the wheel.
