(Continued from Part 1)
The Abyss library. Su Wanqing sat at the table, the file open in front of her. Old Zhou wasn't there. The Librarian stood behind the shelves, his gray eyes watching her.
"Your brother's case," the Librarian said. "You shouldn't be looking into it."
"I've been looking for three years. One more day won't matter."
She turned to the page. The edge was torn. She pried along the seam with her fingernail. From the folded layer, a piece of paper fell out. Folded in half, yellowed. She opened it.
One name. In Old Zhou's handwriting.
She stared at the name. Stared for a long time. Then folded it, put it in her pocket. Closed the file. Stood up. Walked out.
"Where are you going?" the Librarian asked.
She didn't answer.
---
The hunter returned to his place. Went upstairs. Opened the door. Went in. Didn't turn on the light.
Felt his way to the desk in the dark. Sat down. Took the photo from his pocket and put it on the table. Old Zhou. Zhou Yuanshan. Fifty years ago.
Opened his notebook, found the page he'd written before. Ouroboros Society. Below it, he'd drawn the snake. Next to it, he wrote: "Fifth piece. Key. Zhou."
Stared at that line for a long time. Closed the notebook. Put it back in the drawer.
Stood up, walked to the window. Outside was bright. The streetlights were off. People walked, biked, waited for buses. The wind blew. A leaf fell from a tree, landed on the windowsill, paused, and was blown away.
He stood there. Didn't move.
His hand went into his pocket, touched the sausage wrapper. Didn't take it out. Just held it.
He turned, walked to the bed, sat down, took off his shoes. Put them side by side. Lay down. Stared at the ceiling. The water stain was still there. He stared at the dark patch. Didn't move.
Closed his eyes. Su Yuan stood at his dorm door, smiling, holding a bowl of instant noodles. "Bro, have you eaten?" He hadn't eaten then. He said "I have." He lied. He was hungry all day.
Now he was hungry. No more noodles.
He turned over. The curtain puffed up, then deflated. The light through the gap was white now, gray-white. He took the sausage wrapper from his pocket and put it on the pillow. Wrinkled. Grease stains dried, stiff. He stared at it for a while. Then turned over to face the wall. The wall was cold.
(End of Chapter 11)