The Lost Tomb : The Southern Archives Mysteries

Chapter 10: How Many Years Passed Since Becoming a Wandering Hero in Xianyang?

The person they were talking about was named Zhang Ruipu.

When Zhang Haiyan and Zhang Haixia arrived in Penang, their first mission was to assassinate this Chinese man living in the South Sea.

Zhang Ruipu managed two huge rubber plantations in Penang and possessed vast amounts of land and wealth. His territory was so large, in fact, that after they got lost in one of the rubber plantations, they discovered that there were local indigenous tribes living there.

The indigenous natives of Perak at that time still had the custom of headhunting. It was said that Zhang Ruipu had a good relationship with them, and had been buying corpses to feed them in order to gain their protection. This matter couldn't be verified, because Zhang Haiyan and Zhang Haixia couldn't be sure if the natives were chasing them because they wanted to protect Zhang Ruipu, or if they were just hungry.

During that time, they were almost trapped to death because they had to avoid the natives while looking for food. By the time they found Zhang Ruipu's mansion, they were completely exhausted and were immediately discovered. The guards chased them all the way to the outskirts of Perak.

After that, Zhang Ruipu offered a reward in Penang. It didn't matter if it was the police or gangs, they would be rewarded with a thousand coins if they saw either Zhang Haiyan or Zhang Haixia, alive or dead.

Now it wasn't as easy to enter Penang like it was before. Even though they had been in the South Sea for a long time, their skin color was still different from the locals', and their facial features were different from the biracial Chinese here. Coupled with years of wanted posters being put up, even children in Penang would probably recognize them.

To enter Penang, not only did he need to change his skin color, but he would also need a face that looked like a local.

In the Southern Archives' basic training, there was a training course about human skin masks, which both Zhang Haiyan and Zhang Haixia passed with flying colors. Moreover, Zhang Haiyan was famous for pretending to be a woman, so it wasn't difficult for them to change their appearances.

But to do so, they needed a high-temperature steamed environment. In the past, they used to sneak into the hot water bath at the Ipoh governor-general's house.

Ipoh was the capital of Perak, and also the place where the British government stationed a governor-general. Governor-generals were the highest law enforcement officers of the military regime. They had luxurious mansions and Indian guards, and even a local army right outside.

There was a hot bath in the governor-general's house that people here would never understand. Malacca was hot all year round, so taking a bath was just a matter of rolling in a roadside pool. But the British still retained the tradition of taking hot baths.

After Zhang Haixia had been paralyzed, they had hardly been there.

After being mocked by Zhang Haixia, Zhang Haiyan smelled himself. Sure enough, it had been too hot these days. He looked at Zhang Haixia and asked "How about we both go and take a hot bath?"

Zhang Haixia shook his head. "I'm not going to Penang. Plus, I can't walk. We can't go there like we did before. Go by yourself. I'll look after the house and sell some of the goods."

Zhang Haiyan pulled Zhang Haixia onto his back and started walking. "We're already familiar with the governor-general's house, and I have to change my appearance. I can't do it alone."

Zhang Haixia was unable to fight against him and smiled helplessly as he was carried away.

Of course, this was a reckless decision, but Zhang Haiyan's long-cherished wish was to try his best to help his friend live like he used to before he was paralyzed.