Daomu Biji: The Southern Archives

Zhang Haixia and other corpses were properly arranged in the cargo hold and embalmed (the specific details won’t be stated here). All in all, everything went on as usual.

Zhang Haiyan stayed in Steven’s room afterwards. Arrangements were made so that He Jianxi would be in the same room as him.

It was as if the plague god had lost his soul. He didn’t eat or drink and just sat by the window, watching the sea.

Whether he ate or not, He Jianxi still took care of him for the rest of the journey. He Jianxi could no longer feel the plague god’s former happiness. He didn’t know what had happened, but pain was something that was simple and universal.

For some reason, Miss Dong let them go and even treated them courteously. But nothing mattered to Zhang Haiyan anymore, so he had no idea what happened during that period of time.

The lifeboat that Bai Zhu was in was missing. There was a chance some killers were still on the ship, but there shouldn’t have been many of them left.

The storm gradually died down after Miss Dong launched several investigations. The details of what happened between Warner and Miss Dong afterwards is also unknown.

Zhang Haiyan started eating again when the ship was near Xiamen, but he was already too thin by that point. He dreamed of Flower Reef and Zhang Haixia every night. When he lit a cigarette again, he realized that things weren’t over yet.

Many of the weapons used to kill people on board were used by the military. Moreover, some warlords excavated the plague ship on Flower Reef several years ago. The plague was running rampant in Malacca now, and there were people hunting the Southern Archives’ secret agents on the Nan’an. There had to be a mastermind behind this.

Since the truth behind the plague was still unclear, the Flower Reef case wasn’t closed.

And he couldn’t let Zhang Haixia die in vain.

Zhang Haiyan’s throat was dry after not eating for a long time, but he forced himself to eat all kinds of foods in order to restore his strength.

He tried to communicate with Miss Dong, but she never gave him the time of day.

Miss Dong never showed up again, but she had someone deliver a note and Zhang Haixia’s body to him before he got off the ship in Xiamen. The note contained the Dong’s address and the following content: The rules in this word are difficult. We shouldn’t see each other again, but if you find your thoughts still overwhelming and incomprehensible, you can go here and discuss it with me. Remember, it’s best not to see each other. There’s been nothing to say from the start.

The content of the note was very interesting, but Zhang Haiyan didn’t have time to play charades with her. He ironed both his and Zhang Haixia’s military uniforms and then dressed them both neatly. He carried Zhang Haixia’s body on his back as he got off the ship with He Jianxi.

After so many years, he had finally set foot on Xiamen again. “See? You were wrong. We came back together,” Zhang Haiyan said to Zhang Haixia.

After they left the port, he realized that everything had changed. There were cars, carriages, and rickshaws going up and down the road. Even the people’s clothes were very different from when he had left here.

The air in Xiamen was moist and clean, but it wasn’t as hot as it was in Malacca. The weather here made people feel refreshed and comfortable.

Since Zhang Haiyan was carrying a corpse on his back, he couldn’t go to the roadside vendor stands to have his childhood snacks. He and He Jianxi looked at each other as they stood by the side of the road.

Zhang Haiyan took out some money from his pocket and counted it before giving it to He Jianxi. “He Jianxi, you were in danger on that barge, so I took the liberty of bringing you with me. Here’s the money for all the pain that I’ve caused. We’re even now. The money is enough for you to find a bigger ship to go to San Francisco. We won’t see each other again.”

He Jianxi looked at the corpse on Zhang Haiyan’s back.

“Now that we’ve spent some time together, don’t you want me to help you send your friend off?” He Jianxi could kind of guess what had happened to Zhang Haiyan. As long as there were emotional reasons, it was always easy to figure out why people did what they did.

“I don’t.” Zhang Haiyan carried Zhang Haixia as he moved towards the streets from his memories.

He Jianxi stood on the road side, looking between the sky in Xiamen and the money in his hands. He suddenly felt a bit dazed.

He had planned on going to San Francisco, but it felt so good to be stepping on real land again.

After walking for a while, Zhang Haiyan soon came to an old street. It was still the same as his memories, and nothing had changed. He could vaguely recognize a few people around the neighborhood.

He came to Zhang Haiqi’s residence and found that it had become a lozenges shop. The owner of the shop was a newcomer whom Zhang Haiyan didn’t recognize.

Zhang Haiyan went up to ask where the previous residents had gone. The owner’s face turned blue and he was a little scared when he saw Zhang Haiyan carrying a corpse on his back. He said that the place had been sold several times. No one knew where the previous residents had gone after such a long time had passed.

Zhang Haiyan knew his godmother’s temper, so it wasn’t surprising that she had moved away without notifying anyone. But he couldn’t find a hotel to stay in since he was carrying a corpse on his back. In the end, he went to the South Sea Archives where they had undergone training several years ago.

The South Sea Archives was on public lease on the east side of the South Sea Maritime Affairs office. When he went there, he discovered that it had become a bank called “Haili”. He figured the owner must have been a foreigner.

Zhang Haiyan carried the corpse and entered the South Sea Maritime Affairs Office. He put the corpse aside on the waiting bench, tidied his military uniform, and then asked the clerk at the door, “Excuse me, where has the South Sea Archives moved to?”

There were more than a dozen clerks filling in forms by the windows who all looked up and stared at him. “Pardon?”

“The South Sea Archives. I can see that it’s already moved. Where has it moved to? I’m a field agent. I haven’t returned for a long time.”

“The South Sea Archives?” Two of the clerks looked at each other, and then shook their heads. “I haven't heard of it. What archives? This is the South Sea Maritime Affairs Office.”

“Here’s the thing. The South Sea Archives is an institution under the South Sea Maritime Affairs Office. You and I are colleagues. I’m a field agent who has returned to the country. It seems that the institution has already been moved, so that’s why I’m here asking about it. Can you check it for me?”

His military uniform was very particular, so the clerk didn’t dare offend the officer. He stood up and walked upstairs. After a while, the clerk came down with a stack of documents and said to Zhang Haiyan, “Sir, I asked more than twenty supervisors who have worked here for a long time. They said that since the establishment of the South Sea Maritime Affairs Office, there has never been an institution called the South Sea Archives. Did you make a mistake?”