Qinghe opened the message mirror beside the embankment. Yan stood near her with Han’s silver clasp in his hand. He had taken it from beside the field kit while the medics prepared the next cot. The clasp held a small dark stone, scratched where the bridge stones had struck it.
The mirror cleared. Gu He appeared at the far end, seated at a table covered with copies of the island folios.
“We need you to search the Soul-Lantern records,” Qinghe said. “Look for anything that could reach a soul after it has dispersed.”
Gu leaned closer to the mirror. “I’ll check the copied folios. The references I know concern a soul that still answers through a prepared relay.”
“Check the surrounding pages too,” Yan said. “The binding may be in another section.”
“I will.” Gu’s voice softened. “I can’t promise what the copies will say.”
“Just find the passages.” Yan closed his fingers around the clasp. “We need to know what is there.”
Qinghe asked Gu to note each title and page mark. The mirror shimmered as Gu moved between his papers. He set two stacks apart and searched the first. One of the assistants approached Qinghe with a bowl of water, and she waved him to the table while she kept her attention on the mirror.
