The bridge at Jialing Pass had been repaired, and the clinic beside it was still open. When Yuan Yu entered the city, Feng Ce's son was coming out through the door with a packet of medicine. He froze at the sight of Yuan Yu, then ran back inside to call his mother. The boy had grown a little taller. His shoes were clean and fit well, and this time he did not have to hide behind the medicine cabinet.
In the council hall, Hu Liena spread out a stack of receipts. The first recorded the delivery of grain and medicine within seven days of the ceasefire, signed separately by the escorts from Heaven Dou and Spirit Hall. The second recorded the assessment of losses within thirty days; the joint verification Ning Fengzhi had overseen back then bore the handprints of village and town representatives. The three-month review of old cases had also reached its preliminary findings within the deadline. Several appeals had followed over the next three years, bringing new evidence into the files.
"We've traced all of former elder Shen Ming's private troops and Blood Formation materials," Hu Liena said. "His spirit power has been sealed, and he remains imprisoned. The pay he fraudulently claimed has been recovered from his private assets and those of the people who handled it. Compensation goes first to the cavern prisoners and the families of soldiers killed or wounded on both sides. Two people are still at large. Their arrest warrants remain valid."
After reading the list, Bibi Dong asked that the rubbings documenting how someone had acted under the Pope's Token back then also be attached to the file. Yuan Yu knew she had old debts of her own and did not turn that page for her. Shen Ming's share of responsibility