Gu spread the index copy, the auction catalog, and the old institute directory across the guest-room table. Yan sat opposite him, turning a cup of tea in his hands. Bai had gone back to the south-canal depot to ask about the freight route. Qinghe rested by the window with a notebook open on her lap.
“The first part of this code is older than the current Registry system,” Gu said. He lined up the index with a page from the directory. “It points to a sealed archive of cultivation methods withdrawn after a series of failed trials.”
“Does the archive still exist?” Yan asked.
“I don’t know. The current Registry number could mark a storage room, a transfer, or a file that was later closed. It might also be a replacement code added by someone who wanted the book’s reference to look current.”
Qinghe turned a page in her notebook. “Do we know why the methods were withdrawn?”
“Only the heading. Danger, failed attempts, and review. I do not know whether this manual was removed because it was too dangerous, because it threatened someone’s authority, or both.”
Yan leaned toward the index. “Could the complete stabilizing sequence still be there?”
