Daomu Biji: The Southern Archives

Many people knew that Zhang Haiyan had blades in his mouth, but no one knew where the blades were usually hidden, how he could shoot and hurt people with so much force, or even how he could use them to penetrate three layers of iron.

According to Zhang Haiyan’s later explanation, training the tongue and mouth muscles was very important, especially when it came to the trick of sucking in air and making the mouth into a kind of vacuum.

The reason why he particularly liked to hurt people in this way was because when he looked at someone, his mouth was facing that person at almost the same time.

Anyone who did archery knew that you could aim accurately with the help of your mouth. And when trying to shoot arrows, the fletching would definitely have to be close to the mouth. In addition, it was extremely difficult for people to notice how your mouth was moving when you turned to look at them.

That was why when Zhang Haiyan started to act aggressively, people fell whenever he looked at them.

This was also the case here. When he looked in that direction, the blades had already been forcefully spit out.

Moreover, he was never in the habit of waiting to see if his prey had been hit. Whether they succeeded in evading or not, Zhang Haiyan would have already appeared right in front of them.

Zhang Haiyan’s movements were already considered fast, but by the time he arrived at his intended target, Haixia had already shown up before him. He hadn’t even sensed Haixia move.

In the end, they found that there was nothing in the area. Zhang Haiyan found two of his blades embedded in the reef at his feet, so he pulled them out and put them back in his mouth, wondering where the third one was.

Haixia moved his nose, knelt down, struck a match, and saw blood on the reef.

“Someone was hit.” Zhang Haiyan became excited.

“Sure enough. It’s human.” Zhang Haixia sighed in disappointment.

Their training was very strict and arduous, but most of what they had learned didn’t seem to be something they could use to deal with people. But even when they arrived in the South Sea, they didn’t see a single zombie, let alone any monsters or ghosts.

Every time they went out to work, the two people hoped to encounter a real major event. Zhang Haiyan was bored, and Zhang Haixia hoped to be transferred back to China for meritorious service. But after so many years, the cases they investigated had been closed because they were just “rumors”.

At this time, they didn’t know whether it was because they were too fast, or if the opponent had become disoriented. They both heard various sounds come from the thick fog.

When the two stood up, they saw the figures in the thick fog begin to disappear one by one. The speed was so fast that they really looked like ghosts.

Within just three or four seconds, all of the shadows receded into the depths of the mist and disappeared.

“What’s going on?” Zhang Haiyan squinted. He felt the sea breeze coming and watched the thick fog start to dissipate.

They hastened to give chase, but found that none of the corpses were in the mist. The sea breeze grew stronger as they searched, and they could even see the fog start to move with the naked eye. After a few minutes, all the fog was blown away, and it was as if nothing had happened on the reef.

A bright moon lit up the sky, the sea breeze gradually rose, and the waves began hitting the rocks again. The moonlight shining on the sea in the distance looked just like scales. They didn't see any ships or people.

Zhang Haiyan went to look in the direction their own ship had headed in before, only to find that there was nothing there. The ship was really gone! If not for the bloodstains, it would be like everything that had happened just now was all an illusion.

“These fake ghosts are quite kind-hearted.” Zhang Haiyan murmured.

Zhang Haixia returned to where the bloodstains were and squatted down.

“This is magic.”

“Where’d they go? Can you find them with the bloodstains?” If it was magic, then these corpses should still be on the reef, just hidden somewhere. Nevertheless, when they searched carefully just now, they didn't find anything like a hidden door.

“Blood isn’t a particularly good scent marker. The transmission distance isn’t far enough.”

Zhang Haixia turned his head and sniffed the air. The sea breeze here was strong, so many smells would be quickly blown away, but he suddenly looked at the place where Zhang Haiyan’s cigarette butt was. Both of them went over and found that it had been trampled.

“Someone stepped on this cigarette butt.” Zhang Haiyan picked it up. “I put agarwood in this cigarette. The smell is very strong, so as long as you pass through here, you’ll have the smell all over you. Since it’s so pungent, you can definitely trace it.” With that said, Zhang Haiyan held it under Zhang Haixia’s nose. “Be a good boy and smell it.”

Zhang Haixia gruffly took the cigarette butt, sniffed it, and then threw it aside before closing his eyes and sniffing the air. He did this for a while before opening them again. “I can’t do it. The smell of alcohol and tobacco on your breath is too stinky.”

Zhang Haiyan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Since I started hanging out with you, I’ve had to wipe my butt three times. You’ll know if I only wipe it once. It’s even a death sentence if I fart. Life is too difficult. You might as well find a place to smash your nose so we don’t have to torture each other anymore.” With that said, he walked away.

Zhang Haixia ignored him and closed his eyes. After a moment, he looked to the sea on one side.

It was the edge of the reef, where the black sea was like rolling obsidian under the moonlight. Zhang Haixia pointed to the front. “They’re at sea.”

The waves were so huge that there were no boats in sight.

“You mean to tell me that these people quickly moved all those bodies to the sea? And then went far away from the reef? What kind of ship is that fast?”

“Maybe it’s not a boat, but something else. If you want to know, just go and have a look.” Zhang Haixia looked at the darkness in the distance. “There must be something there.”

A big wave hit the reef. For ordinary people, jumping into the sea at a time like this was tantamount to suicide. But the two men looked at each other, took off their military uniforms, jumped into the sea together, and swam forward.