Ren arrived at the storehouse just after the morning bell. His steps were lighter than usual, but faster.
The mission to visit his uncle still hung between them like an unspoken promise.
Yan was already waiting near the indoor pens, back against the wall, with his arms folded.
The livestock on the right stood in tight formation and the left side was thinner than yesterday, the goats with ribs pressed sharply beneath dull coats stood there.
Ren stopped a few steps away from Yan, “You ready?" Ren asked.
Yan did not move.
“I’m not going.” Yan replied.
Ren blinked.
“What?” Ren asked.
Yan’s gaze shifted to the pens. He pointed at the left side and then the right side
“Two groups. Separated.”
His finger moved toward the feeding troughs.
“Food here. Very little.”
He let the silence settle between them.
“Are the disciples eating well?” Yan questioned.
Ren followed the gesture. His brow furrowed.
“The allowances were cut again. Everyone noticed. But”
Yan interrupted softly.
“Every night the livestock decreases.”
He nodded toward the drainage channel.
“You’ve seen it. The ones taken are always the thinnest. The weakest. The ones closest to empty.”
Stolen story; please report.
Ren’s expression changed.
Yan turned fully toward him.
“Elder Chao.”
Ren exhaled slowly. His hands clenched once at his sides then loosened, he looked at the pens again.
At the troughs.
At the drainage channel that remained darker longer than it should.
“I knew something was wrong,” Ren said quietly.
“But I didn’t know it was him.”
Yan did explain further and waited.
Ren’s gaze drifted toward the inner wing. Toward the corridor where Lin often appeared carrying vessels, eyes lowered but always watching.
“Lin,” Ren whispered.
“She’s always here. Near the storehouse. Near you.”
His voice tightened.
“She’s his, the green vessel is the fever”
Fear flickered across Ren’s face brief, then buried beneath determination.
“I almost walked out there,” Ren exhaled.
“Straight to the gate. Like an amateur.”
He laughed once.
“They’re watching. Chao knows about everything that's happening here" Ren guessed.
He met Yan’s eyes.
“They’re experimenting, the tonic at waystation, and the bizarre livestocks process, something is wrong.”
Yan said in a low voice.
Ren stepped closer.
“If I leave without permission, without one of his people shadowing me, they’ll know. They’ll pull me back. Or worse.” Yan explained.
“What do we do?” Ren asked.
Yan looked again at the right pens.
The new arrivals stood motionless.
“Does your uncle trust you?” Yan asked.
“More than anyone.”
“Then you go.”
Ren stared at him.
“Do it for us.”
Yan held his gaze.
Silence stretched between them.Ren gave a single nod.
Then he turned and walked toward the outer gate without looking back.Yan remained where he was until Ren’s footsteps faded into the courtyard’s quiet.
Only then did his posture loosen.The air felt heavier than before.He slid slowly down the wall until he was seated on the cold stone floor.
His breath left him in one measured exhale.
The soil beneath him accepted the weight without protest.