Their blades met again and again, the fight carrying a brutal, desperate intensity that reflected years of accumulated resentment and old, buried history finally reaching its inevitable conclusion. Xie Yan felt the weight of every exchanged blow, understanding that Chen Bo fought not simply for the Order's interests, but for something considerably more personal and painful beneath his current service."You could still choose differently," Xie Yan said during a brief pause in their exchange, both of them breathing hard from the sustained, demanding confrontation. "The same way Jin Wei chose differently. It's not too late, Chen Bo.""It is too late," Chen Bo said, something raw and genuine breaking through his earlier calculated composure. "I've done things, Xie Yan. Things I can't simply walk away from, the way your merchant apparently managed. The Order doesn't offer second chances to people who've already proven themselves useful.""Then let me help you find one anyway," Xie Yan said