On the day of the vein-mark inspection in Egret Isle, Chen Yan pressed both hands against the blood mirror, but it remained completely clear. The old official overseeing the mirror declared him "unmarked," and he was struck from the martial examination rolls on the spot. Cui Yan led the crowd in jeering. After the deputy director finished reading the order of expulsion, Chen Yan turned around and headed back to the armor-repair shop in Chenjiawa.
A clerk from the Iron Writ Office brought him a recommendation quota, saying that if he pressed his fingerprint onto it, he could go north to the Nine Watchtowers and take another path. But Chen Yan read eight words on the page: "The Chen family's old pact shall never be pursued." He demanded to know what year the pact dated from and who was allowed to see the records. Then, right in front of the clerk, he tore up the recommendation and threw it into the slop bucket. "I won't sign until I understand what Grandpa meant by his last words." The clerk said he'd come back tomorrow, and if there was a white cloth hanging at the door, he'd come in. What exactly was the Chen family's old pact pursuing? And what were the words Grandpa never got to finish?
