The lower terrace of Sui Peak is arranged for court: stone benches, three plain folding tables, ink stones, seals, notary stools, branch-family witnesses, and forest-spirit observers like quiet deer-shaped silhouettes at the edge. No throne

Top panel: Sect Master Lin Daoyuan enters in embroidered indigo robes, face fully visible to camera, calm and formal; Lin Heng walks beside him in unchanged gold-trimmed white robes, face visible and still confident. Bottom panel: close spl

Top panel: Tao Yi sits far back among junior clerks on a stone bench, face visible in three-quarter view, oversized grey robes plain among ceremonial clothing. Bottom panel: close on a small paper packet of melon seeds tucked inside his sle

Sui Cheng walks up the terrace path carrying a stack of papers, face fully visible to camera: weathered, sober, tired. He wears plain dark green robes, dusty cloth shoes, bronze rank pin, and a calligraphy brush behind one ear. Elders stare

Top panel: Sui Cheng sits at the middle folding table, papers aligned, bronze rank pin plain against dark green robes; notaries sit at side tables with seal boxes. Bottom panel: a notary sprinkles sand over fresh ink while elders in ornate

Top panel: Sui Cheng reads the folded petition from a plain paper stack at the table, voice represented by calm caption boxes. Bottom panel: Tao Yi in the back gallery listens, face still, one melon seed between his fingers but not yet eate

The original bamboo-slip contract lies open on Sui Cheng's folding table beside the current registry and a red seal box. Sui Cheng's ink-stained hand points to the clause; the scene is solemn and administrative, not mystical.

Top panel: Lin Heng's handsome face tightens, amber-gold eyes confused for the first time, white robes still immaculate. Bottom panel: Lin Daoyuan's calm expression holds, but his jade thumb ring presses hard into his finger; his face is vi

Top panel: Sui Cheng lays the old burial ledger beside the current Lin registry; the contradictory entries are aligned under stone weights. Bottom panel: Sui Cheng looks directly at Lin Daoyuan across the folding table, brush behind his ear

Lin Daoyuan stands before the folding table, face fully visible in a tight composed close-up. His mouth is closed, eyes lowered a fraction, jade thumb ring catching light. Behind him, Lin Heng looks from father to papers, suddenly young.

Top panel: Sui Cheng signs the ruling with a plain brush, posture straight, papers squared. Bottom panel: close on the bronze rank pin and red court seal as it presses onto the ruling; no lightning, only wet ink and pressure.

Panel 1: Day one, Lin Heng kneels on the training ground as faint golden qi mist lifts from his shoulders. Panel 2: Day two, his sword hand shakes; golden mist streams upward into cold mountain air. Panel 3: elders watch from a distance, un

Top panel: Day three on the stone training ground, Lin Heng collapses forward on his knees, white robes dusty, golden qi leaving him in thin threads that dissipate into the mountain air. Bottom panel: close on his beautiful tear-streaked fa

Tao Yi sits alone at the back of the stone gallery in oversized grey clerk robes, face fully visible and unreadable, cracking melon seeds between his teeth. In the distant background, Lin Heng is a collapsed white shape on the training grou