Morning after Ning Jiu's death in a misty Bone Stitch Sect corridor heavy with mourning incense and quiet suspicion.

Yi Wen is brought toward the inquiry chamber while loyalists whisper and the enforcers keep procedure moving.

The questions narrow to the handling of Ning Jiu's cup.

The scan strikes Yi Wen's lease-mark and reveals it instantly.

Luo states the practical meaning of the scan: Yi Wen cannot pretend independence.

Alone with Yi Wen, Luo changes the tone from interrogation to negotiation.

Luo explains why Ning Que's suspected use of a leased disciple matters politically.

Luo offers emergency separation in exchange for testimony.

Luo adds that Yi Wen's sister can be removed from the debt chain, making the offer almost irresistible.

Luo explains the requirements for successful separation.

Luo explains the lethal failure state of separation without saying the survival rate.

Yi Wen and Luo acknowledge the ugly odds without naming them directly.

Yi Wen neither accepts nor refuses; he asks for one night to survive the implications of testifying.