The knock came again, harder this time, a sharp rap of knuckles against wood that cut through the heavy silence.
Lin Tian didn't get up. He just turned his head toward the door, his breathing shallow and controlled. "It's open."
The door swung inward. Su Lan stood in the doorway, backlit by the cold blue glow of the corridor's formation lights. She wasn't in her usual healer's robes. She wore the severe, dark grey uniform of the Discipline Hall's enforcement division, a silver clasp at her throat. Her expression was a mask of official detachment, but her eyes, the moment they landed on him, widened a fraction.
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. The lock clicked with a final sound.
"I am here to transfer you to the medical pavilion for evaluation," she said, her voice flat, rehearsed. "By order of Elder Shen. Your unstable qi readings have triggered a containment protocol."
