Daomu Biji: The Southern Archives

The time turned back to when they were in Malacca.

Zhang Haiyan didn’t look back as Zhang Ruipu watched him leave from the balcony.

Zhang Haixia was put in a wheelchair and brought down to the street. They headed in the opposite direction Zhang Haiyan had gone in. Everything seemed normal, but Zhang Haixia was actually aware that Zhang Haijiao—the girl who had been helping him personally—smelled different now.

Everyone had their own individual smells, and this Zhang Haijiao wasn’t the same Zhang Haijiao whom Zhang Haiyan had brought back.

At first, Zhang Haixia thought it was Zhang Ruipu’s plan to switch them in case their deal went wrong. But he soon realized that wasn’t the case, because when he paid special attention to Zhang Haijiao, he discovered that she didn’t belong to either party.

Zhang Ruipu had threatened him and Zhang Haiyan, but now there seemed to be a third party involved in this. Who was it? Why did they know about the human skin mask technique?

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it was.

But Zhang Haiyan was about to board the Nan’an at that time, and this girl was about to accompany him and be locked up by Zhang Ruipu.

Since the situation was unclear, Zhang Haixia didn’t expose her. He thought that at least Zhang Haiyan would be free of Zhang Ruipu’s control once he was on the Nan’an.

When they reached the street, Zhang Ruipu’s young entourage surrounded him on all sides. Malacca’s streets were usually very safe, so Zhang Haixia, like Zhang Haiyan, immediately felt that something was wrong.

Zhang Ruipu believed that there was a major threat on the street. At this moment, Zhang Haixia smelled blood. It was an ordinary street, but he was smelling blood that he didn’t usually smell. And it was coming from hidden weapons.

That was when he saw He Jianxi.

He Jianxi was being beaten by a group of people, but Zhang Haixia still noticed that his nasal cavity looked the same as his.

This young man’s nose was probably like his, which meant that it was more developed than others’.

This was a sign from God. It was a miracle.

He used his nails to write hints on the stack of money and then handed it to Zhang Haijiao so that she could give it to He Jianxi.

Zhang Haijiao’s smell was mixed in with the money, and the hints he wanted to give Zhang Haiyan had also been written on the money.

Zhang Haixia actually inferred a lot of things at that time, all of which had been hidden in the hints. (For the convenience of narration, those things won’t be mentioned for the time being since they’re related to relatively major clues). It was just that Zhang Haixia already knew that the streets would be full of ambushes, and Zhang Haijiao would be the first one to attack.

If that was the case, Zhang Ruipu could hardly protect himself. There had to be something more if he was insisting on investigating the plague. But the killers whom he feared were already by his side.

Zhang Haixia had a strong feeling that although his parting with Zhang Haiyan had been very casual, it would be the last time they ever saw each other.

He couldn’t move his legs and the street wasn’t very long. When Zhang Haiyan was waiting in line to board the Nan’an, the scene in the street had reached its climax. 

At this time, Zhang Haixia called out and stopped the entourage. He then said to Zhang Ruipu, “They’re going to make a move.”

When Zhang Haijiao turned around to look at him, he looked right back at her. The sun was bright and the noises were loud. Zhang Haixia closed his eyes and raised his head.

In the end, it’s you going back alone, Zhang Hailou.

**

This is what the Southern Archives recorded about the final outcome of the Nan’an incident:

Zhang Haiyan killed all of the assassins in the cargo hold.

There weren’t any more details. Under the flashing lights, Zhang Haiyan understood that there was no passing Bodhisattva, no good luck, and no particular fate like he had imagined.

Everything had already been decided since the beginning.

Under the flashing lights, a blood-soaked Miss Dong killed her own opponents. When she walked out of the shipping container, ready for the next wave of attack, all she saw were corpses all over the floor and a motionless man holding a corpse.

Miss Dong watched it all silently from behind him.

She then quietly walked over and pulled Steven’s mask out of her clothes. She squatted in front of the man and put the mask back on his face before turning and walking towards the exit.

He Jianxi was holding the revolver he took from Steven as he hid in the gap between the boxes by the door. Miss Dong glanced at him, but ultimately ignored him.

She went to the door, lit a cigarette, took out the Central Asian jade from her clothes, and said to the gunmen, “It’s all over.”

****

Merebear note: Damn, I was hoping it was fake. Zhang Haixia!!! (ಥ﹏ಥ). I believe this chapter title goes with Chapter 10's title: "Listening to the Spring Rain All Night in the Small Building. How Many Years Have Passed Since Becoming a Wandering Hero in Xianyang?" No lie, I kind of teared up a littlewhen I put them together. (╥﹏╥)