The Lost Tomb : The Southern Archives Mysteries

Chapter 14: The Na'an

As we get to this part of the story, some things that happened later need to be mentioned first.

We all know that Zhang Haiyan definitely went through a series of adventures after he boarded the Nan'an, and it would inevitably be some time before he and Zhang Haixia were reunited.

Since it would take at least a few months to travel between Malacca and Xiamen, he wouldn't get any news from Zhang Haixia during that time. As a result, he would have to try his best. Although these superfluous thoughts were comforting to the heart, the results were disastrous.

In fact, just when Zhang Haiyan gave up resisting and was about to board the ship to comply with the contract, Zhang Haixia was sent downstairs and out to the streets.

At that moment, two things happened almost simultaneously.

During that ten-minute period of time just before they met He Jianxi, we can infer that Zhang Haixia had discovered some "abnormalities" from which he perceived a certain danger.

It's important to know that Zhang Haixia graduated as the most outstanding crucial talent in the Southern Archives. If it weren't for Zhang Haiyan, he would have entered the South Sea Maritime Affairs Office as a chief officer, and might have been in charge of a confidential department by now.

But during the time he hung out with Zhang Haiyan, he seldom encountered strong opponents, so he didn't get the chance to show off. Even Zhang Haiyan had almost forgotten how smart this little brother was. He was so smart, in fact, that he could be considered a monster.

Due to his current position, the situation, and other reasons, he didn't warn Zhang Ruipu about the danger, but obviously thought that it was very serious.

In those few minutes, he wrote something down and hid all the information in the stack of money. He placed it among the pile of banknotes and handed it to He Jianxi. He hoped that the message could be delivered to Zhang Haiyan even if there was only a slight chance.

Later, after Zhang Haiyan learned about the theory Zhang Haixia had come up with in those few minutes, he compared it with what he had discovered and found that they were almost the same. That was when Zhang Haiyan truly realized what kind of effect Zhang Haixia had on his life, and how he had always been there to protect him. He had also realized that Zhang Haixia must have felt that they would never meet each other again.

The process of how this farewell banknote arrived in Zhang Haiyan's hands was very legendary, but we won't talk about if for the time being.

Meanwhile, Zhang Haiyan, who was waiting in line to get on the ship, also officially started boarding. At that moment, the Nan'an entered the berth from the outer harbor.

The dock was crowded with people and all kinds of goods. A huge heat wave engulfed everyone, causing the smell of human sweat to fill the space. The most terrifying thing was the noisy voices, which made it impossible to hear anything.

The sea breeze fluctuated between strong and weak. Zhang Haiyan's military uniform was soaked and he was fanning himself with his cap. Zhang Ruipu had been very generous to give him a ship ticket and a letter of invitation. Even though it meant that he was able to stay in the best guest room, he still couldn't skip waiting on the dock that was looking more and more like a battlefield.

When the huge Nan'an appeared in Zhang Haiyan's field of vision, he couldn't help but be amazed at the behemoth. He looked up at the black hull and the four large chimneys above, and began to realize that this world was completely different from when they had first arrived at the South Sea.