The drawing that day was still fresh in Zhang Haiyans mory. There was a giant snake beside the bird that was staring at it as if it wanted to swallow it whole.
His godmother had t many people, so she mustve had a reason for saying those words to him. From what he could rember, his godmother had never been wrong about people. But she never explained in detail why she said things like that, and she often only gave a general statent. She said that it was because reasoning with others was pointless.
But the hidden aning in that picture kept flashing in his mind throughout all stages of his life. The most profound mont was when he discovered that Zhang Haixia couldnt walk anymore.
Is the Chinese Huai Zhang Haixia? He often wondered whether his godmother had foreseen that this day would co and knew that his character would end up hurting the people around him.
Even if the person next to him was agile and had amazing skills, the slightest negligence would result in that person dying because of him.
If Zhang Haiyan had talked less nonsense with Zhang Haixia and acted more cautiously, the situation might not have been so tricky.
Zhang Haixia actually had a better understanding of what life was about. He would tell Zhang Haiyan that the things people had been through would grow seeds in their hearts. Zhang Haiyans childhood was full of pain that ordinary people couldnt endure. His experiences were what made him do all those strange and illogical things when he grew up. In addition, the hell on earth he saw not only gave him pain, but also gave him various desires that tempted him in his heart.
It took Zhang Haiyan a long ti to understand that he would eventually need to face the snake in his heart. It also took him a long ti to realize that He Jianxi felt an incredible fear when standing beside him, as if he was lying in a snake cave.
It didnt take long for He Jianxi to pass out. It was still very important to take a break, but after he woke up, his whole body felt paralyzed and sore. When he breathed, he felt as if he could sll blood in his lungs. Fortunately, he was resilient and no longer felt frightened after he had cald himself down.
The sun rose early at sea, so it was a little bright out already.
Zhang Haiyan had already finished making the mask and put it on, and was now drawing by the window. It was easy to see that his sketching ability was excellent. Since he had to make human skin masks all year round, he had to ensure that he could rember peoples details quickly.
All his drawings were pasted on the wall, and turned out to be various kinds of faces. These were the Nepenthes killers he had identified when he was patrolling the steerage area in the third-class cabin.
He had drawn all the features he could rember with just that one glance.
These were the notes he wanted to give Miss Dong.
Miss Dong was very cautious. She had given him three days even though he was lying to her, so she would definitely look into it if he gave her these clues. One killer may be able to hide their identity, but she would definitely find sothing as long as she investigated more people.
He was already very curious about her. The first ti they t, she had shown that she wasnt an ordinary person. Now he could only believe in his own judgnt that she was capable of doing this.
Zhang Haixia, ah, Zhang Haixia. It seems like it will take a while before I return to Malacca. You have to rely on your own ingenuity to keep yourself alive.
The room's curtain had been drawn so that only a gap was revealed. The sun was rising above the sea outside, shining in on the foreigner that he had knocked out last night. The man hadnt woken up, and even looked like he was dead.
He Jianxi tried to rember everything that had happened. The bootleg business had been legalized, so he lost his job and planned to take the severance pay to go to San Francisco to find his cousin. He bought a ferry ticket, got on the Baoen, fell down on the deck, and then went to wash himself in the toilet.
Well, I cant rember what happened after that. I really shouldnt have gone to the toilet.
Zhang Haiyan heard He Jianxis snores soften and knew that he was awake. When he looked at him, He Jianxi was stunned.
When Zhang Haiyan turned around, He Jianxi found that his face wasnt Zhang Haiyans face, but the foreigners.
He looked at Steven again, and saw that he was still tied to the chair.
He Jianxi froze for a mont as he tried to figure out what was going on. He had a sudden thought: Zhang Haiyan was gone. There were two foreigners in the room, and they looked exactly the sa.
Suddenly, He Jianxi couldnt tell which incident was more outrageous, coming to his senses and finding that he was with two naked n in the bathtub, or waking up and finding that there were two foreigners who looked exactly the sa.
But he was sure of one thinghe must never close his eyes. If he closed his eyes and opened them again, his worldview would collapse all over again.
By the way, whats your na? The foreigner by the window asked him in fluent Chinese. He had the sa voice as the plague god from before.
Ah, the general logic of things hasnt collapsed. The plague god is behind this.
Can this plague god beco anyone at will?
My na is He Jianxi. The idea of my na cos from a line in a poem, When can we trim wicks again by the west window and talk all night? (1) He Jianxi once again proved that he was a resilient man. He sat up and decided to accept everything so that things could get back on track.
Zhagn Haiyan saw that He Jianxi kept looking at his face, so he explained, This is magic. Dont worry. My na is Zhang Hailou. You can call Zhang Haiyan. The idea of my na also cos from a line in a poem, The moon casts on the waters a reflection of a heavenly mirage; In the sky at dawn, clouds gather to build a castle in the air. (2) Malaysians call Haiyan. Zhang Haiyan stood up. Weve t each other by chance. I believe you already know what I do. It definitely wasnt my intention to bring you here, but I really had no choice. Now, if you want to get off the ship safely and go to San Francisco, I need your help.
He Jianxi silently looked at Zhang Haiyan without answering. He figured Zhang Haiyan didnt care whether he would agree or not. Hes really just issuing an order. If I dont agree, hell throw into the sea.
Sure enough, Zhang Haiyan imdiately started to give him a task. First of all, what I need you to do is to keep an eye on this person. Theres a knife here. If he tries to escape, kill him from this position. Rember, you must stab him from this place. You have to insert the knife directly and reach this depth. I already made a mark. You can only penetrate the heart by reaching this depth. That way, hell die imdiately.
Stevens eyelids twitched.
As He Jianxi sat there shocked, Zhang Haiyan looked at him, You have to rember one thing, if you dont kill him, hell regain his freedom and kill you. I have to go sowhere else on this ship. With that said, Zhang Haiyan slashed Stevens calf with a knife. Steven imdiately opened his eyes in pain and struggled for a while, but Zhang Haiyan ignored him and continued to speak to He Jianxi, Also, hes been awake for a long ti. Hes just been pretending to be asleep. Rember to keep so distance from him.
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TN Notes:
(1) He Jianxis na cos from a poem in the Tang Dynasty. He ans when. Jian ans trim. Xi ans west. The link to the English translation of the poem is here
(2) Zhang Hailous na also cos from a poem in the Tang Dynasty. His na is in the sentence Clouds gather to build a castle in the air. The castle in the air in the poem is pronounced as Hailou in Chinese. It also ans mirage in the poem. The link to the English translation of the poem is here
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