Daomu Biji: The Southern Archives

Zhang Haiyan put makeup on Nanre’s face. This was probably the first time this little girl had ever worn makeup. He added some blush to her childish face, almost making it look as if she were breathing again. He used special leather to make a new scalp for her and put a wig on her, all while recording the details of her face.

After about an hour, the wounds on Nanre’s body were completely covered.

After that, he applied an antiseptic and deodorant potion on her and then walked out of the room with her in his arms.

“Do you already know where they’re going?” Madison asked him.

Zhang Haiyan nodded. “She’ll take us there.”

Herman and his companions had been in the jungle for two weeks, so it wouldn’t be easy to catch up with them. But it wasn’t currently the rainy season, so traces of their march would be very obvious for people like Zhang Haiyan.

Madison looked at Nanre in surprise and started trembling a little bit. It almost looked as if she were asleep.

“What happened to her? What did you do to her?”

“This is Chinese sorcery.” Zhang Haiyan put the corpse on his back. The little girl’s face leaned against his shoulder. “Let’s go. She’s urging us to go.”

Madison looked at them incredulously and stood there for a while. It was only when Zhang Haiyan looked back at him that he started to follow.

The two of them prepared luggage, pickled all the food in the church, and then packed it.

Madison took out all the iron tools in the house. Zhang Haiyan looked them over and found that they were all iron machetes that weren’t particularly good. The jungles here grew very fast and machetes were often needed to clear out hardy bananas, wildly growing vines, and thick bushes. But these machetes were chipped and would definitely shatter if they were used in a fight against the Englishmen’s sabers.

After Zhang Haiyan looked through the various tools for a long time, he noticed a pen hanging from Madison’s shirt. He took the pen and weighed it in his hand. “This is it.”

“This one?”

“Yes. If the weapon in your hand is too long, you’ll depend on it too much. If the opponents’ weapons are stronger than yours, you’ll be at a disadvantage. When the weapon in your hands is short and difficult to use, you’ll have to use something else. In other words, your brain.” Zhang Haiyan continued, “When we want to kill someone, the more powerful the opponents are, the less importance we place on physical weapons.” He handed a short knife to Madison. “There are twelve people, and they all have sabers and guns. We have to get close to them before we kill them. So, we can’t directly reveal our purpose when we meet them.”

The two people put the other children’s bodies in the church and then burned it down.

It was almost as if the cross in the fire had a special meaning.

The huge flames evaporated in Perak’s humid air. The dry, humid heat scorched the pores on Zhang Haiyan’s face as the sun started to set. Around them, those who were passing by had stopped to watch the burning church.

Madison knelt down in front of the fire to pray, making the whole scene appear like something out of a poster.

Zhang Haiyan was a little surprised at himself for following Madison so resolutely, and now he was even willing to follow the man again.

Maybe it was because Nanre looked somewhat like her.

Zhang Haiyan suddenly understood.

Nanre looked like his mother from his homeland.

The memories of what his mother was like and the details about her had all disappeared. Now, all he could remember was a rough image and her short hair that was embedded deep in his memory.

I miss you so much, Mom.

Zhang Haiyan looked at the burning red clouds in the sky.

One day at the end of the nineteenth century, Zhang Haiyan patted the corpse on his back, turned his feelings of missing home into murderous intent, and left with Madison.

Two people and a corpse embarked on a journey to the depths of southern Perak’s rainforests, where giant ancient tropical trees soared into the sky. It was a place that almost no one had ever reached.