Chapter 43: Original
Bolin ran the final assessment the same way he had run the first one.
The cohort stood in a line at zone one. He moved through them in sequence, two fingers against the wrist, reading the meridian loop from the pulse point outward. The same contact he had used on the first day.
Chen Wei first. Bolin pressed in, held, and released. "Gallbladder pathway. Full circulation." He moved on to the next student.
Shu Lian. "Liver and lung. Full circulation." She exhaled.
Lu Ling. Bolin's fingers pressed in, and he held the contact longer than the others. Then he stepped back. "All twelve Mai are open and running." He said it without inflection. Lu Ling looked at the ground and did not say anything, which was the most feeling he had shown in weeks.
Dian Lu was last.
Bolin pressed his fingers to his wrist. The large intestine pathway that had been backed up and compensating since before Dian Lu had arrived to this academy, since before anyone here had known his name, ran clear under Bolin's fingers. Bolin held the contact, confirming what was there. Then he removed his hand and stepped back.
"Clear," he said. "All twelve open with no restrictions."
Dian Lu looked at his own hand.