Archives: The Nanyang Mystery Recap, Plot, Synopsis

Archives: The Nanyang Mystery Synopsis

Set in the early years of the Republic of China in the Nanyang region, the story revolves around a series of bizarre events. It follows Zhang Haiyan and Zhang Haixia, two secret agents from the Southern Archives, as they investigate a mysterious case. They uncover a sinister conspiracy involving warlords using a highly toxic plant called "Twilight Grass" to spread chaos. Throughout their investigation, the two face life-and-death challenges, with Zhang Haixia even becoming paralyzed as a result. As the clues gradually come together, Zhang Haiyan discovers that everything points to a massive ship—the Nan'an.

Archives: The Nanyang Mystery Recaps

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The mystery began in Balai, Nanyang, during what was supposed to be a joyous wedding ceremony. Amidst the celebrations, a putrid, sickening stench suddenly filled the air, originating from a bizarre wedding gift presented by the clan. The bride and groom were urged to abandon their mortal bodies in exchange for everything a human could ever desire. Not long after, the mutilated corpses of the groom’s family were discovered in a salt marsh deep in Nanyang.

Bizarrely, they had spent their final moments frantically clawing at the earth to unearth a hidden underground treasure. This legendary treasure, guarded by a malevolent entity known as the Balai Ancient God, continued to lure countless greedy souls to their deaths in the salt-alkali marshes of Balai Yazhou. Among those obsessed with the secret power beneath the marshes was Zhang Ruipu, a former member of the Southern Archives who had escaped to Nanyang after a failed coup.

Even as his hired men perished one by one in the deep pits, Zhang Ruipu callously ordered them to keep digging, declaring their lives worthless compared to the prize hidden below. To investigate these mysterious deaths, the Southern Archives—a secret agency composed of extraordinary individuals tasked with handling the supernatural—dispatched two of their probationary agents to Nanyang.

The partners were Zhang Hailou, a brash young man who could spit deadly blades, and Zhang Haixia, who possessed an incredibly sharp sense of smell. This marked their very first official assignment in the region. As they approached the site, Zhang Haixia warned his partner that more than a hundred people had already died in these marshes after searching for the mysterious cave and coming into contact with the whispering deity.

Zhang Hailou was less focused, insisting on having a smoke to stay alert before they went down. Zhang Haixia reminded him that anyone who interacted with the Balai Ancient God inevitably returned within three days to dig, only to meet a gruesome end. Hoping to secure their permanent positions within the Archives, the two partners suspected that Zhang Ruipu was behind the deadly trickery. To bypass the guarded main entrance, they decided to dig their own tunnel into the cavern.

Zhang Hailou casually used a small, heavy Evil God statue as a hammer to break through the rock, ignoring Zhang Haixia’s warnings about the superstitious dangers of Nanyang’s deities. Using his exceptional calculations, Zhang Haixia determined they were only a few meters away from the main chamber. Suddenly, his keen nose picked up the scent of blood. He realized three people had just died ahead, while two others were still moving deeper into the cave.

Wary of the toxic air and muddy water, the duo advanced and breached the wall into the Evil God’s ancestral shrine. Ancient murals on the walls detailed the grim legend of the shrine: greedy ancestors had built it to worship the deity, but the Evil God exploited their avarice, turning its own worshippers into mindless wooden puppets to guard its treasure. Anyone who trespassed would be slaughtered and added to the puppet army.

While Zhang Hailou scoffed at the tale as a mere bedtime story, the wooden puppets in the chamber suddenly creaked and turned their heads, their lifeless eyes locking onto him. Zhang Haixia quickly noticed that the puppets were only staring at Zhang Hailou. Realizing they were tracking the small statue he carried, Zhang Haixia urged him to throw it away. The moment the statue left Zhang Hailou’s hands, the puppets immediately looked away, confirming the curse.

Further inside, they encountered a massive stone structure shaped like a ten-meter-tall human head with green grass growing like hair. To render the small statue harmless, Zhang Hailou playfully covered its eyes with grass, declaring they were safe. They then noticed a base with a slot that perfectly matched the small statue.

Despite Zhang Haixia’s stern warnings not to touch the sealed mechanisms, Zhang Hailou placed the small statue into the slot, hoping to find crucial evidence behind the sealed doors of the shrine. The mechanism activated, opening the sealed doors to reveal a massive, living incarnation of the Evil God. To their horror, the giant creature’s actions were perfectly synchronized with the small statue.

When the beast attacked, Zhang Hailou desperately grabbed the smaller icon to manipulate its movements, managing to temporarily freeze the giant in place. Knowing they couldn't hold it forever, Zhang Haixia volunteered to run back to the entrance and fetch one of the heavy corpses to weigh down the small statue. However, before he could return, the giant deity broke free, forcing a defeated Zhang Hailou to abandon the mechanism and run for his life.

The brothers fled through the dark tunnels until they hit a dead end, where they unexpectedly ran into Zhang Ruipu. To keep their Archives identities secret, they claimed to be simple bandits looking for a share of the treasure. Zhang Ruipu explained that a toxic water leak had killed the rest of his men, forcing him to hide in the corners.

He proposed that they split into two groups to draw the monsters away, but Zhang Hailou refused the unfair deal, pointing out that Zhang Ruipu was old and his companion was heavily injured. A fight broke out, and the two brothers quickly subdued Zhang Ruipu. Before Zhang Ruipu could voice his suspicion that they were Archives agents, his injured companion suddenly knocked him unconscious with a heavy blow.

The man revealed himself to be Zhang Siye, an undercover agent from the Southern Archives' Xiacheng headquarters who had been monitoring Zhang Ruipu ever since his escape to Nanyang. Zhang Siye explained that Zhang Ruipu had recently hijacked an official vessel and stolen a mysterious Balai statue originating from Xucheng, which had driven him mad with a desire to unleash an ancient power. Zhang Siye had secretly called the Nanyang branch for assistance to stop him.

With his final breaths, Zhang Siye warned the brothers to immediately halt their investigation, urging them never to accept any future Archives missions concerning the reef. Before passing away, he repeatedly whispered the word "grass" and muttered about plants and the reef. With the giant beast still pursuing them, the two agents rushed toward the exit. At the surface, they encountered Zhang Ruipu’s remaining henchmen.

Zhang Hailou lied, claiming that Zhang Ruipu was dying inside and demanding their explosives to clear the path. Once he secured the dynamite, he threw it back down the shaft, collapsing the entrance to seal the Evil God inside before running away with Zhang Haixia. Later, on their journey back, the two debated the outcome of the case.

Zhang Haixia grumbled that because the shrine was now buried, he couldn't write a logical report for their master, as the clues were now severed. When Zhang Hailou argued that the undercover agent had pointed them toward Xucheng, Zhang Haixia retorted that Xucheng was too vast and filled with countless such statues. The bickering eventually turned to their past, with Zhang Haixia reminding his partner of how they had ended up in Nanyang for a thirty-year assignment.

Originally, Zhang Haixia was supposed to take a comfortable post at the Thirteen Hongs of Guangchuan, but he had voluntarily requested a transfer to Balongzhou just to keep his stubborn brother safe. While traveling in a carriage back to Xiacheng to report to their master, Zhang Hailou suddenly changed his mind halfway through the journey.

Realizing that he was the one who had insisted on taking the case in the first place, and that returning empty-handed would only lead to severe punishment, he refused to give up. Zhang Hailou decided to continue the investigation on his own and got off the carriage. Unwilling to abandon his stubborn partner, Zhang Haixia chose to join him, and together they set off on foot toward Xucheng to continue their pursuit of the mystery.

Zhang Hailou and Zhang Haixia smuggled themselves into Xucheng by playing dead to avoid paying the steep head tax. Upon entering, they found the city in ruins, littered with lifeless bodies despite no reports of plagues or bandit attacks. Upon closer inspection of the corpses, Zhang Haixia noted a bluish-purple coloration on one victim's face and an angle of compression on the neck, indicating death by suffocation. Another body nearby had slit wrists.

It was highly unsettling that so many residents had apparently committed suicide at the exact same time. On the city walls, they spotted painted death symbols, which locals used to mark homes where entire families had perished, signaling that the crisis in Xucheng was far worse than they had anticipated. Following the heavy scent of burning flesh, the two brothers arrived at a cremation site where the governor's guards were forcibly separating a crying young girl from her parents' bodies.

After the guards left, Zhang Hailou approached a local villager, pretending to be a grieving orphan who had just returned to the city. The villager explained that Governor Herman had recently changed after being gifted a Balai Ancient God statue found on the beach. The governor ordered all other religious statues smashed and executed anyone who continued to worship other deities.

Worse still, those who prayed to the Balai Ancient God began hearing a mysterious voice instructing them to find a hidden cave beneath a salt marsh. Those who went mad from the voice eventually committed suicide, only to be branded as traitors and burned by the governor's men. Recognizing this as another manifestation of the evil cult they had previously encountered, Zhang Hailou resolved to intervene.

To gain access to Governor Herman's heavily guarded mansion, Zhang Hailou utilized his masterful disguise skills, using a human-skin mask to transform Zhang Haixia into a beautiful Chinese woman to appeal to the governor's known preferences. To complete the disguise, he inserted a Golden Needle into Zhang Haixia's neck for voice modulation. The plan worked, and they bypassed the guards, splitting up once inside.

While Zhang Hailou went to locate the chamber of the Balai Evil God, Zhang Haixia was brought directly to Herman's private quarters. In the bedchamber, Zhang Haixia quickly subdued Governor Herman and forced him to speak. Herman confessed that the eerie statue had been gifted to him by a Chinese military officer and that it kept commanding him to dig under the salt marsh.

When asked about the Chinese girls previously brought to the mansion, Herman admitted they had all died from his cruel torment. Outraged, Zhang Haixia executed him. Meanwhile, Zhang Hailou located the Balai Evil God statue, which tried to tempt him with promises of power. Unswayed, Zhang Hailou sealed the windows and set the statue ablaze, burning the chamber down. He then reunited with Zhang Haixia, who had rescued the young orphan girl from earlier.

The fire quickly engulfed the mansion, forcing the brothers to make a swift escape with the child. Their reckless methods did not go unnoticed. Shortly after, their mentor, Zhang Haiqi, arrived in Nanyang. As punishment for their chaotic execution of the mission, she had Zhang Hailou tied to a post in the sea, submerged in water, while Zhang Haixia was permitted to sit on a nearby boat grilling fish.

Only after Zhang Hailou recalled her core lesson—to overcome one's true nature—did she relent. Zhang Haiqi congratulated them on passing their probation and officially joining the Southern Archives, operating under the public cover of the Maritime Supervisory Office. She established strict protocols for them, emphasizing that they must assist in apprehending dangerous criminals and that in times of disagreement, they must defer to the more level-headed Zhang Haixia.

Over the next seven years, the brothers operated as successful partners, clearing out pirates and securing peace across Nanyang. Zhang Hailou's fierce and relentless tactics earned him the fearsome reputation of the "Sea Plague," while Zhang Haixia's brilliant analytical mind brought them continuous success. Their peace was interrupted when they received a report regarding the Panhua Reef.

Two sailors had sailed into the forbidden reef area, where they encountered heavy fog and alleged water ghosts, resulting in the death of a sailor named Bing. The surviving sailor, Chen Libiao, brought Bing's body to the authorities. Examining the corpse, Zhang Hailou discovered that the victim's stomach was entirely stuffed with salt. Intrigued by this bizarre method of murder, Zhang Hailou insisted on investigating.

Though Zhang Haixia recalled the warning of the dying archivist Zhang Siye to stay away from reef cases, Zhang Hailou ultimately persuaded his brother to proceed. Sailing to Panhua Reef, Zhang Hailou noted strange, unnatural scrape marks on the rocks. As the sun set, the wind died down and a dense fog rolled in. Chen Libiao, consumed by terror, hid inside the ship's cabin.

While exploring the misty reef, the brothers discovered a horrifying sight: Chen Libiao had been murdered, his body freshly pickled with salt just like the previous victim. Zhang Haixia calmed his brother, pointing out that cutting off their retreat was a distinctly human tactic. To draw out their hidden enemies, Zhang Hailou loudly announced his official title and demanded their surrender, but they were met with silence. Hearing a faint movement, Zhang Hailou spat a concealed blade into the fog.

They discovered a trail of fresh blood on the rocks, confirming their adversaries were indeed flesh and blood. As the sea breeze picked up and cleared the fog, the mysterious figures and corpses vanished. To track them, Zhang Hailou revealed he had left behind a cigarette laced with highly aromatic agarwood incense. Utilizing Zhang Haixia's exceptionally keen sense of smell, they swam through the water toward the scent.

Following the scent, they discovered a massive passenger ship that had vanished a year prior along with over two hundred passengers, hidden securely among the reefs. They snuck aboard and observed highly disciplined soldiers belonging to a military warlord faction. The troops were armed with advanced Mauser rifles and led by a deputy officer named Chen Xifeng. Peering deeper into the ship's operations, the brothers witnessed captured passengers being forced to excavate a deep cave in the reef.

The laborers protested that the cave was highly toxic and had already claimed several lives, but the soldiers ruthlessly forced them back down. Zhang Haixia caught a highly unusual and unpleasant odor drifting from the excavation site. Moving to another chamber, they discovered a collection of preserved corpses suspended by steel wires. Zhang Haixia quickly deduced the mechanism behind the "water ghosts": the warlords used a system resembling sail-hoisting rigging to rapidly raise and lower the corpses through the fog.

This elaborate optical illusion was designed to terrify passing ships, keeping outsiders away while allowing them to capture survivors for forced labor. Chen Xifeng entered the chamber and began applying a chemical solution to one of the corpses. He then made a telephone call, reporting his suspicion that Zhang Qishan's men had arrived, and ordered his subordinates to ready their weapons.

Zhang Hailou ambushed the officer, but during the struggle, his blade accidentally killed Chen Xifeng before they could extract any information. Hearing guards approaching, Zhang Hailou quickly inserted a Golden Needle into his neck to mimic Chen Xifeng's voice, threw on the deputy's coat, and stood with his back to the door. When a guard entered to report the gunfire, Zhang Hailou successfully deceived him, ordering a ship-wide search for the intruder.

He questioned the guard about the digging progress and learned that they were close to breaching the cargo hold of the sunken vessel. The guard explained they protected themselves from the toxic environment using chemically treated gear and salt. Still playing the role of Chen Xifeng, Zhang Hailou spun an elaborate warning about his "lifelong rival," the dangerous "Sea Plague" Zhang Haiyan, claiming the hunter was already on board.

He ordered the guards to bypass the laborers and personally blow open the cavern immediately to secure the contents before they were caught. After the guard left, Zhang Haixia chastised his brother for letting his dramatic impulses take over. Searching the office, Zhang Haixia found historical records detailing a Ming Dynasty fleet of sixty-seven treasure ships carrying Persian treasures that had sunk in the area.

However, he also discovered a far more alarming document: the cave contained a highly toxic plant known as Twilight Grass. Skin contact caused severe rotting, and direct inhalation resulted in instant death. Before they could act, a massive explosion rocked the ship. The soldiers had executed the order and blasted open the cave, releasing the lethal toxins. Realizing the devastating mistake, Zhang Hailou looked to his brother. Zhang Haixia grimly stated that it was time to clean up the mess and descend into the toxic depths. Together, the brothers prepared to face the deadly hazard head-on.

Following their decision to venture into the depths of the reef cave to resolve the crisis, Zhang Hailou and Zhang Haixia made their way inside despite the desperate warnings of onlookers to stay away. Inside, they discovered a calcified Ming Dynasty shipwreck that had merged completely with the surrounding reef, filling the damp air with a heavy stench of rotting flesh. Deep within the ship's hold, they found decayed corpses suspended in bags.

Zhang Haixia deduced that these bodies had been hung up to collect their fluids, which were then used to nourish the toxic plants growing below. A preserved Ming Dynasty nautical chart revealed a tragic history: during its voyage, the ship's crew had suffered from mysterious red rashes and ulcerating skin, leading to rapid deaths.

Believing they were haunted by water ghosts, the superstitious survivors had hung the corpses to trap the evil spirits, unaware that the black fluids dripping from the bodies carried Twilight Grass seeds, which thrived in the dark, humid cabins and wiped out everyone on board. Realizing the extreme danger of the Twilight Grass, the brothers resolved to destroy the plants before the military factions could exploit them. Meanwhile, Adjutant Chen slowly regained consciousness outside.

Despite his severe injuries, he bound his wounds and ordered his men to enter the cave to eliminate the intruders, warning them that his nemesis, Zhang Hailou, was inside and could not be allowed to escape. As Chen’s soldiers blocked the only exit, Zhang Hailou prepared to use explosives to blow open the hull, hoping the shockwave would carry them out into the sea. Seeing the sheer volume of military firepower, Zhang Haixia realized their chances of survival were slim.

Wishing to protect his brother, he told Zhang Hailou that he had no regrets or attachments left in Xiacheng, urging him to return home alone. Before Zhang Hailou could protest, Zhang Haixia shielded him with his own body just as the explosives detonated, causing the cave to collapse. When Zhang Hailou finally regained consciousness, he found himself washed up on a desolate reef.

He desperately checked on his brother and breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that Zhang Haixia was still alive, though heavily injured. Meanwhile, the dying Adjutant Chen used his final moments to deliver the harvested Twilight Grass seeds and a letter to his warlord leader, Mo Yungao.

The letter warned of the Southern Archives under the Maritime Supervisory Office, identifying his encounter with agent Zhang Hailou, and stated that the Twilight Grass poison had spread among his soldiers, advising that they must be eliminated. Upon receiving the news, Mo Yungao ordered the execution of the infected soldiers to prevent further spread.

He then ordered his men to sever the stiff hand of Chen's corpse to retrieve the jar of seeds, and commanded a ruthless hunt to eliminate every member of the Southern Archives. In the wake of the disaster, the Southern Archives’ Balongzhou branch was abruptly shut down, and its members were dismissed. For three years, Zhang Hailou tried in vain to contact headquarters or their mentor, Zhang Haiqi.

Unbeknownst to them, Zhang Haiqi had gone into hiding to investigate the systematic killings of Archive members. During one of her secret investigations in a dense rainforest, she was ambushed by mysterious armed men, but managed to fight her way out. Living a quiet, impoverished life, Zhang Hailou dedicated himself to caring for Zhang Haixia, who was now permanently crippled and bound to a wheelchair.

They ran a modest business to get by, while Zhang Hailou held onto the hope of returning to Xiacheng to find Zhang Haiqi, believing her legendary medical skills could cure his brother’s legs. Their quiet routine was shattered when Zhang Haixia spotted a newspaper report detailing a sudden, lethal outbreak in Xucheng. The symptoms—red rashes, ulceration, and rapid death from inhaling dandelion-like spores—perfectly matched the Twilight Grass.

Suspecting a connection between this outbreak, the warlords, and their past encounter with the Evil God, Zhang Haixia urged Zhang Hailou to investigate. Zhang Hailou journeyed to Xucheng and returned with crucial information, as well as a young orphan girl he had rescued from the outskirts of the city. He named her Zhang Haijiao, choosing the "Hai" character because their mentor had once noted that the character signified their shared fate of wandering and separation from home.

After ensuring she was completely disinfected and free of any symptoms, they welcomed her into their home with a warm hotpot meal. Analyzing the outbreak, the brothers realized that the poison had spread simultaneously across three villages surrounding Xucheng. The first victims in each village had all boarded the ship "Nan'an" from Xiacheng to Balai in early July.

Since Xiacheng itself had no reported cases, they concluded that the victims must have been deliberately infected aboard the ship to maximize the spread of the toxin. To find the source, someone would need to board the "Nan'an" and investigate the entire route back to Xiacheng. Since their meager savings could only purchase a single steerage ticket, Zhang Hailou proposed selling their property so they could travel together.

Zhang Haixia refused, insisting that Zhang Hailou take the ticket, return to Xiacheng to find their mentor, and never return to waste his life in exile. The next morning, before Zhang Hailou could depart, he entered his brother's room to find Zhang Ruipu waiting for them. The disgraced former Archive member, whom they believed to be dead, mocked their poverty and revealed he had known their identities since their encounter under the saline lake.

Ruipu demanded to know what they had uncovered about the Twilight Grass, noting that Zhang Hailou's survival among the infected in Xucheng proved he had developed an alkaloid barrier from prior exposure. When Zhang Hailou refused to speak, citing the strict code of secrecy of the Southern Archives, Zhang Ruipu placed his hands on the wheelchair-bound Zhang Haixia, threatening to crush his spine vertebrae by vertebrae until Zhang Hailou gave him the answers he wanted.

Deep in the rainforest, an archaeological expedition team led by Professor Warner had been excavating for months in search of ancient treasures. Suddenly, a mysterious, disguised woman carrying severed arms breached their camp. Recognizing a dark black magic curse, she sought out Warner to make a deal. The woman was actually Zhang Haiqi in disguise.

Facing a lethal threat from assassins who used stolen faces to get close to her, she targeted the foreigners because Western features were much harder for her enemies to imitate. She offered Warner a valuable treasure map in exchange for a safe escort back to Xiacheng under the identity of Miss Dong, the ship owner's daughter. Meanwhile, Zhang Ruipu cornered Zhang Hailou and Zhang Haixia. He threatened to systematically crush the paralyzed Zhang Haixia's spine unless Zhang Hailou cooperated.

To save his brother, Zhang Hailou quickly yielded. Zhang Ruipu revealed that the Twilight Grass poisonings across Balai's villages were a conspiracy orchestrated by warlords who possessed the last remaining seeds from three years ago. By mapping the outbreak locations, Zhang Ruipu discovered that the timeline aligned perfectly with the shipping route of the Nan'an. Because his clan had sworn never to return to Xiacheng, Zhang Ruipu demanded that Zhang Hailou board the Nan'an to investigate.

In exchange, Zhang Ruipu promised to care for Zhang Haixia. Zhang Hailou accepted the ticket and funds but demanded luxury care for his brother, listing off extravagant meals and therapies. Recognizing his cheeky demeanor, Zhang Ruipu asked if Zhang Hailou was raised by Zhang Haiqi, though he remained cryptic about his own connection to her. Before boarding, Zhang Hailou was warned that any attempt to slip away or fail the mission within six months would result in his brother's execution.

Meanwhile, back at their quarters, Zhang Haixia noticed a strange scent on little Zhang Haijiao, who was wearing a small yellow flower on her head. Despite his attempts to send her away to safety, she insisted on staying. Soon after, Zhang Ruipu relocated Zhang Haixia to his own residence.

Zhang Hailou boarded the massive Nan'an, where a crew member assigned by Zhang Ruipu detailed the ship’s layout, noting that its first- and second-class areas were interconnected while the third-class remained isolated. Oddly, no one on board had shown signs of poisoning. Zhang Hailou spotted heavily armed mercenaries disguised in plain clothes and noticed Miss Dong boarding with her foreign allies. Sensing he was being watched, Zhang Hailou decided to secure Miss Dong's authority to aid his search.

Cornering Miss Dong at her table, Zhang Hailou fabricated a story about overhearing a heist plot in a local tavern. Claiming to be a patrolman on an urgent mission, he requested full access to the ship's decks. Though Miss Dong easily saw through his ruse, she granted him the privilege but set a strict forty-eight-hour deadline. If he failed to find the culprits before departure, she promised to have him imprisoned in Xiacheng or shot on sight.

To assist him, she assigned her personal physician, Steven, who boasted of being Nanyang's quick draw. Zhang Hailou countered by claiming to be the region's quick blade. Unbeknownst to Zhang Hailou, Professor Warner instructed Steven not to let anyone—even Miss Dong—delay their departure. Warner made it clear that their true objective lay elsewhere, and ordered Steven to eliminate Zhang Hailou if he became an obstacle. On land, Zhang Ruipu was transporting Zhang Haixia when disaster struck.

The girl beside them was actually a disguised killer who had replaced Zhang Haijiao. The killer struck and killed Zhang Ruipu with a dart poisoned with Twilight Grass. When Zhang Haixia confronted her about the real Zhang Haijiao, she coldly revealed that the child was already dead. Using his modified wheelchair, the paralyzed Zhang Haixia narrowly evaded the assassin. He fled to a bridge overlooking the canal.

Timing his escape by counting the rhythm of a passing vessel below, he threw himself over the edge and landed on the boat, though his paralyzed legs made his escape highly difficult.

Determined to uncover the truth and save Zhang Haixia as quickly as possible, Zhang Hailou began his investigation on the Nan'an. To gather clues, he played cards with three crew members, deliberately losing money to get them to talk. Once Steven grew tired of watching him lose and stepped outside after lending him some money, Zhang Hailou distributed the cash among the crew.

His tactic worked, and a sailor revealed that a crew member named Song Cai had mysteriously vanished a week prior when the ship docked at Balai port. He added that Song Cai had been acting strangely, sneaking out at night to catch flies, and the crew had later found several bottles filled with live flies under his bed. Zhang Hailou and Steven had a crew member lead them to Song Cai's dormitory.

Although the flies had already been discarded, Zhang Hailou examined Song Cai's bunk and discovered the letters "ND" (representing the pitcher plant) carved into the bedboard. Unable to fathom the connection between the flies and the pitcher plant, Zhang Hailou asked Steven to help him have the crew catch live flies from different sections of the ship and keep them in separate, labeled bottles based on where they were caught.

Later, Zhang Hailou discovered trace amounts of blood in the bottle from the infirmary. Sensing a lead, he investigated the room and followed a trail of blood down to the bottom hold. He noticed that the hold was covered in mud and showed signs of a violent struggle. Pushing further, he was astonished to discover a familiar structure: the ancestral shrine of the Balai Evil God.

Steven soon caught up with him, theorizing that the shrine was just a clever setup used by Easterners to smuggle valuable antiques. Zhang Hailou, familiar with the layout, noticed a slot in the shrine. He took a small Balai deity statue and placed it into the empty slot, which caused a secret stone door to open. Despite Steven's fear, Zhang Hailou dragged him along to investigate the passage. Inside, they encountered a small, living version of the Evil God.

Drawing on his experience, Zhang Hailou successfully neutralized the flying creature by covering its eyes. Moving further into the cavern, they discovered the remains of Zhang Siye from the Xiacheng headquarters of the Southern Archives, realizing that others had escaped through this very route in the past. Zhang Hailou handed the small statue to Steven for safekeeping and persuaded him to descend into a deep hole to continue their search.

As they walked through the oppressive cavern, Steven chewed on tobacco leaves to calm his nerves. Suddenly, they entered a hallucination and encountered their own doppelgängers, whose eyes were bleeding. The figures mirrored their exact movements, which terrified Steven and frightened him away. Zhang Hailou stayed calm and figured out a solution: he used a flame to burn the eyes of the small deity statue, causing the hallucination to gradually fade away.

Zhang Hailou then heard Steven's cries for help and found him trapped in a crevice. Steven explained that he had blacked out and fallen in after accidentally making eye contact with the creature behind them. Using a nearby rope, Zhang Hailou pulled Steven back to safety. As they continued forward, they noticed a strong stench of decay and signs of a massive struggle. Peering down into a deep pit, Zhang Hailou finally located the giant, living Evil God resting in the darkness below.

In a deep shaft in the ship's hold, Zhang Hailou discovered a body trapped by a living Evil God. Seeing flies swarming around it, he deduced the person had died recently and decided to climb down to investigate. He instructed Steven to stay above as a lookout. If any danger arose or if the creature reanimated, Steven was supposed to break the head off a small hostage statue they had; otherwise, they would both be doomed.

Once below, Zhang Hailou was surprised to find that the man was still alive, albeit barely breathing, and looked vaguely familiar. Refusing the suffering man’s pleas to kill him, Zhang Hailou tried to sever the living Evil God's tail to free him. Suddenly, the creature attacked. Zhang Hailou shouted for Steven to break the statue's head, but Steven had fainted from terror and could not help.

Left with no choice, Zhang Hailou severed the Evil God’s head himself and dragged the man to safety. After checking the man's credentials, Zhang Hailou identified him as Song Cai, a former subordinate of Zhang Ruipu. As Song Cai lay dying, Zhang Hailou questioned him about who had spread the toxic Twilight Grass on the Nan'an.

Song Cai denied responsibility, explaining that the true culprits were those who had smuggled the massive ancestral shrine of the Evil God onto the ship, likely a group of soldiers. When asked if the letters "NP" carved on a bed were related to the mastermind, Song Cai repeatedly gasped out the word "pig" before passing away. Zhang Hailou realized he was trying to say "pitcher plant." Suddenly, the decapitated Evil God began crawling up towards them.

Zhang Hailou threw explosives down the shaft and fled, carrying the unconscious Steven. Meanwhile, Zhang Haiqi was conducting her own investigation into the suspected traitor on the ship. She was deeply perplexed by Zhang Hailou's presence on the Nan'an without Zhang Haixia, and was unable to determine his true identity or motives. Elsewhere, Zhang Haixia was rescued by a kind boatman.

Having lost all his money, Zhang Haixia offered to repair the boat's engine in exchange for a ticket to the Nan'an. Knowing the repair was worth far more than a single passage, the generous boatman bought him the ticket and even gave him some extra money for his journey. Zhang Haixia was determined to board the ship, knowing that the culprits spreading the toxic grass were extremely dangerous and that Zhang Hailou was in grave peril.

Back on the Nan'an, Zhang Hailou and Steven decided to put on a show on the deck to draw out the culprits. Disguising Steven as a miracle doctor of Balai, Zhang Hailou even wrote mystical scriptures on Steven's face. In front of a large crowd of passengers, Zhang Hailou faked a violent seizure from the Twilight Grass poison. Steven then stepped forward and chanted scriptures, seemingly curing him instantly. The onlookers were amazed, loudly praising Steven as a miracle doctor.

Having successfully boarded the ship, Zhang Haixia witnessed the end of this dramatic display, realizing his brother was playing a trick. However, his attention was quickly drawn to a heavy, familiar smell of cured meat. Looking through the crowd, he spotted the military warlord and his adjutant, Chen Xifeng, whom they had encountered before. Knowing they posed a major threat, Zhang Haixia resolved to draw their attention to keep Zhang Hailou safe.

Zhang Haixia tipped a crew member to lead him to Zhang Hailou's room. Upon arrival, he noticed suspicious individuals lurking outside, though they did not break in. Zhang Haixia then slipped away to another area of the ship, where he discovered several dead bodies, including Adjutant Chen Xifeng.

After closely inspecting the corpse to ensure it was not someone wearing a human-skin mask, he confirmed it was indeed the adjutant and was deeply puzzled as to why he was dead there. Before he could investigate further, Zhang Haixia lost consciousness. He woke up in a dark room, completely paralyzed.

From outside the door, he overheard sinister voices discussing a plan to consult their great god to swap his legs with another's, so that a smart individual like him could walk and serve them. He noticed he was holding a legless statue in his hand just before passing out again. When Zhang Haixia regained consciousness, he found himself sitting on the floor with a heavily injured Zhang Hailou lying beside him.

Zhang Hailou told him that his legs had completely lost sensation, whereas Zhang Haixia realized that his own legs had miraculously recovered and he could stand. Feeling that something was deeply wrong, Zhang Haixia tried to carry Zhang Hailou out. However, Zhang Hailou begged him to leave him behind, refusing to become a burden to their master and Zhang Haixia.

This triggered a hypnotic, brainwashing voice in Zhang Haixia's mind, reminding him of his past helplessness and telling him that he was the one who was a useless burden to his master and Zhang Hailou, and that he shouldn't be alive. Overwhelmed by this mental manipulation, Zhang Haixia drew a blade and slit his own throat, falling into a pool of blood. However, when intruders entered the room to inspect the scene, Zhang Haixia suddenly opened his eyes and launched a counterattack.

Zhang Haixia was not trapped in a fantasy. He knew he had been poisoned because he smelled the distinct stench of cured meat when he first met Chen Xifeng—a foul odor that went entirely unnoticed by the others on the ship. Realizing his perception was altered, he knew his mind was playing tricks on him. Despite his paralyzed legs, his intellect remained fully functional, allowing him to set a series of traps in his room to capture his assailant.

The killer was no match for Zhang Haixia’s preparations and was quickly subdued. Zhang Haixia explained that he had survived the Twilight Grass Poison because he was exposed to it three years prior during the assassination of Zhang Ruipu, allowing his body to build a natural immunity. Though the poison did not kill him, it had triggered severe hallucinations, including a vision of Zhang Hailou begging for death to avoid being a burden.

Watching the room's patrol light flash every thirteen seconds, Zhang Haixia managed to ground himself in reality and realize that Zhang Hailou was never actually in the room with him. With the killer pinned down, Zhang Haixia demanded to know why they were targeting members of the Archives on the Nan'an. Searching the assassin, he discovered a letter detailing the "pitcher plant plan"—a twenty-year conspiracy to wipe out the Archives before moving to the next phase.

Before Zhang Haixia could extract more information, the killer snatched the letter back and swallowed it. The assassin mocked him, stating they were all merely pawns and that the Nan'an was a giant pitcher plant from which the Archives flies could never escape. Realizing the gravity of the threat, Zhang Haixia knew he had to locate Zhang Hailou immediately. Meanwhile, on the Nan'an, Zhang Hailou was still working with Steven, desperately trying to expose the culprit before his deadline expired.

He devised a plan to draw the enemy out by sneaking around at night and painting fake red rashes on sleeping passengers using a special herb mixture. The pigment was designed to mimic toxic weed poisoning and could only be removed with a custom alcohol reagent. Steven reluctantly played along, posing as a holy medium who could "cure" the affliction.

Zhang Hailou reasoned that anyone who did not show up to seek a cure despite having the painted rash would be highly suspicious, specifically excluding adult Chinese males from his prank since they matched the profile of the warlord soldiers from the Panhua Reef Case. Despite a crowd of panicked passengers seeking treatment, no suspicious individuals took the bait. Zhang Hailou compared his failed attempt to throwing a bomb into a cesspool only to find no maggots crawling out.

With the Nan'an preparing to depart and the deadline practically upon them, Zhang Hailou had a sudden realization. There were doctors stationed on the vessel, yet they had shown no reaction to a supposed toxic weed outbreak. A real ship doctor would have locked down the ship to prevent the spread, but this one did nothing, marking them as the true culprit. Before Zhang Hailou could act on this breakthrough, Steven declared that their deal was over.

Unwilling to listen to any more theories, Steven and his armed men opened fire on Zhang Hailou. Dodging the bullets, Zhang Hailou made a desperate leap off the ship and plunged into the sea. After swimming for a long time, Zhang Hailou managed to climb aboard the Bowne through a public latrine. There he encountered He Jianxi, an accountant who initially mistook him for a stowaway.

Their squabble was cut short when they were seized by the ship's tyrant, Brother Long, who promptly confiscated He Jianxi's hard-earned money. Not wanting to cause a scene while injured, Zhang Hailou quickly knelt and begged for mercy. He spun a sob story, claiming they were cousins and the last surviving members of their family, and handed over the rest of their funds as a respectful tribute.

Pleased by the gesture, Brother Long took the money, promised to protect them, and ordered a private room for them, telling them to purchase a ticket under the alias Zhang Haiyan. He Jianxi was furious with Zhang Hailou for submitting to the thugs, but Zhang Hailou argued that staying alive was more important than pride. As they rested, He Jianxi explained that he was traveling to Jinfan to find his brother.

He spoke with immense admiration of the legendary Sea Plague, a masked hero rumored to protect Chinese passengers by slicing the mouths of evil sailors with a blade hidden in his mouth. Zhang Hailou was highly amused and quietly flattered by the accountant's glowing praise of his alter ego. When He Jianxi noticed Zhang Hailou's bleeding wound, Zhang Hailou quickly fabricated another lie to explain his fear of being caught.

He claimed his parents were dead and his eight-year-old sister was being held by powerful enemies who had hired the police to hunt him down. Deeply moved by the tragic tale, the soft-hearted accountant handed over bandages and a bottle of painkillers to help him. Analyzing the Bowne’s navigation charts, Zhang Hailou realized that the Bowne and the Nan'an would share an overlapping route at the junction of the inland and open seas.

Knowing the Bowne would reach the junction at 4:28 PM and the Nan'an would pass at 6:36 PM, he planned to swim across to save his sister. Desperate for gambling funds to secure resources, he asked He Jianxi for a loan. When the accountant refused, Zhang Hailou knocked him unconscious and stole the money anyway. Zhang Hailou joined a mahjong game on deck, where three local scammers were using turmeric to mark the tiles.

Using his sharp senses, Zhang Hailou easily saw through the trick, winning round after round and sharing his profits with Brother Long to keep the tyrant on his side. He Jianxi eventually woke up and rushed to the table, loudly accusing Zhang Hailou of cheating and warning that the Sea Plague would punish him. However, Zhang Hailou countered by exposing that the other three players were the actual scammers. A fight broke out, and Zhang Hailou effortlessly subdued the scammers.

The crowd began cheering for the Sea Plague to appear and punish the thieves. Striking a dramatic pose, Zhang Hailou donned his mask and declared his true identity as the Sea Plague. The passengers fell to their knees in gratitude, while a bewildered He Jianxi fainted from the shock of realizing his legendary idol was the eccentric "cousin" who had just robbed him.

He Jianxi slowly regained consciousness after being in a coma for an entire day, only to find himself confronted by a startling truth. He asked the man before him if he was truly the infamous Plague. Zhang Hailou merely smiled, praising Jianxi’s incredibly sharp sense of smell, which allowed him to detect even the faintest trace of turmeric. The talent strongly reminded Hailou of his close friend, Zhang Haixia. Hailou had already packed up almost all of Jianxi’s belongings.

When Jianxi demanded to know why they were packing, Hailou explained that they could no longer remain on the ship. Jianxi argued that only Hailou was the one in trouble, but Hailou countered that everyone on board the Bowne now believed they were cousins. If Hailou left, Jianxi would be left behind as a target for anyone seeking vengeance, who would surely torture him for Hailou's whereabouts.

Jianxi tried to convince the surrounding passengers that he was not the Plague's cousin, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as the terrified crowd backed away. Hailou noted that the Plague only targeted those with a guilty conscience. Jianxi insisted his own conscience was perfectly clear because he was an honest accountant who always spoke the truth. Hailou warned him that such stubborn righteousness would only get him killed by the ruthless syndicates in Jinfan.

Seeing that Jianxi possessed extraordinary luck by surviving the recent ordeal, Hailou decided to keep him close, knowing he would need all the luck he could get for his next move. After leaving a chilling warning to the passengers on the Bowne, Hailou tossed Jianxi onto a prepared small boat and jumped in after him, rowing toward the steamship Nan'an. Jianxi was furious, protesting that he needed to get to Jinfan to find his family, not Xiacheng.

Hailou assured him that the Nan'an was far safer and promised to help him reach Jinfan after they took a slight detour. During their journey, they formally introduced themselves, with Hailou sharing his name, Zhang Hailou, and his alias, Zhang Haiyan. Once aboard the Nan'an, Hailou instructed Jianxi to wait in the dining hall and pretend to be a drunkard to avoid suspicion.

Hailou then sneaked off to investigate the ship's clinic, hoping to find the culprit spreading the Twilight Grass among the medical staff. To his horror, he discovered that the doctors and nurses were already dead. As he examined one of the bodies, he accidentally triggered a hidden mechanism, causing the corpse's mouth to open and release a dangerous cloud of Twilight Grass powder. Realizing it was a trap, Hailou found himself locked inside the room.

Meanwhile, Jianxi was apprehended by the ship's patrolmen for traveling without a ticket. Spotting Hailou through the clinic window, Jianxi desperately ratted him out to save himself. However, a group of mysterious assassins suddenly appeared and easily slaughtered the patrolmen. The chaos allowed Hailou to break out of the room, and he managed to escape. Jianxi was shaken but relieved to see Hailou alive.

Hailou teasingly pointed out that while he was a legitimate first-class passenger, Jianxi was the one who actually lacked a ticket. Jianxi's incredibly sensitive sense of smell picked up a bizarre, heavy scent of blood coming from the clinic, and he noted that one of the fleeing assassins was definitely a woman. They ventured back to investigate the clinic. Hailou realized the killers had set the trap specifically for him, rigged to poison anyone who came to investigate.

Inside, he recovered a storage device containing the deadly Twilight Grass. Jianxi panicked, fearing the killers intended to poison the entire ship, but Hailou deduced that their targets were specifically those trying to investigate the Twilight Grass on the Nan'an. This was the true meaning of the Pitcher Plant Project—a deadly trap designed to lure and eliminate investigators. Hailou handed the toxic device to Jianxi to hide.

Looking for more clues, Hailou searched the sailor duty room and examined the Nan'an's roster. He found Song Chai's name and discovered another name, Zhang Haiyun, confirming they were members of the Southern Archives. Hailou realized the entire ship was a massive trap orchestrated to hunt down Archives agents. At least fourteen agents had already been murdered in the first and second-class cabins alone.

He suspected this grand conspiracy was a retaliatory strike by warlords for his previous actions at the Panhua Reef, and that Zhang Ruipu had intentionally sent him onto the ship to die in his place. Fearing for the safety of Zhang Haixia, who was now of no use to Zhang Ruipu, Hailou resolved to turn the ship back to Xucheng. To flush out the assassins still hiding in the third-class cabin, Hailou decided to use one of the corpses.

He forced Jianxi to carry the body into the crowded cabin, reasoning that the killers would watch Jianxi out of curiosity, allowing Hailou to spot them. Jianxi's grand entrance with a bloody corpse triggered a massive panic among the passengers, who fled to find the ship's police. While observing the chaotic crowd, Hailou noticed two women who remained completely unbothered by the dead body. One of them was the female assassin, Bai Zhu.

Hailou approached them under the guise of flirting, but Jianxi ran over and loudly identified Bai Zhu by her scent, ruining Hailou's subtle approach. Realizing they were exposed, the assassins triggered a stampede by screaming that the ship was on fire, forcing everyone to flee toward the deck. In the darkness and chaos of the crowd, Zhang Haixia, who was also on board searching for Hailou but severely weakened by his own injuries, spotted Jianxi.

On the other side of the deck, Hailou was cornered and attacked by the assassins, including an elderly man and a child. During the frantic struggle, Hailou was stabbed with a blade coated in Twilight Grass poison. Knowing his time was limited, Hailou resolved to end the fight quickly to find the culprit before the poison took full effect.

Realizing he could no longer help Hailou directly, Haixia handed all his money to Jianxi, urging him to deliver it to Zhang Hailou and revealing that Hailou was actually the legendary Plague of Nanyang.

Fleeing the pursuing assassins, Zhang Hailou used his exceptional martial arts skills to carry He Jianxi up to the third floor, slipping into Steven's private bathroom while the killers searched the lower decks. Exhausted and weak, Zhang Hailou revealed to He Jianxi that he had been poisoned. He Jianxi sarcastically remarked that as the dreaded Plague, Zhang Hailou should have planned for such a setback. Ignoring the banter, Zhang Hailou focused on their immediate survival.

He knocked Steven unconscious, tied him to the bed, and analyzed their situation. Recognizing that first class had tight security, he knew the killers wouldn't launch a reckless attack but would instead watch the exits and systematically search the cabins. Just as they braced for the worst, an attendant slipped an invitation under the door. It was a summons from the ship owner's daughter, Miss Dong, inviting Steven to a grand ball.

Realizing this was his chance, Zhang Hailou decided to disguise himself as Steven to get close to Miss Dong and take her hostage, hoping to force the ship to turn back. Using the face-changing art he had mastered since childhood, Zhang Hailou disguised himself as Steven to infiltrate the gathering. At the lavish ball, he blended in seamlessly, brushing off inquiries about his absence by claiming he had been resting due to a sore throat.

Meanwhile, Miss Dong was locked in a tense negotiation with Warner. Warner presented a priceless Central Asian jade piece from his collection, hoping to trade it for entry and exit documents. Miss Dong, however, refused to risk her family's safety for a mere stone before their primary deal in Xiacheng was finalized. When Warner tried to pressure her by bragging about his ruthless killers, she realized he was attempting to use her as leverage against her father.

Observing from the shadows, Zhang Hailou prepared to take out the armed guards at the door to seize Miss Dong. But his plans were shattered when Zhang Haiqi appeared. Having taught him the face-changing art herself, she recognized him instantly. A fierce struggle ensued between the two, and outmatched by his former mentor, Zhang Hailou was forced to flee, dropping his human-skin mask behind. Following the chaotic escape, Warner rushed in to find his precious jade missing.

Believing Zhang Haiqi had orchestrated the theft to double-cross him, he demanded answers. Zhang Haiqi, keeping Zhang Hailou's true identity a secret, assured Warner that the thief could not leave the ship with the jade. To appease him, she demanded command of his armed unit, promising to recover the artifact before the ship docked. Under her orders, the ship was put into an emergency lockdown, forcing all passengers back to their rooms.

However, Zhang Haiqi's true motive lay in the sketches of the ship's bandits that Zhang Hailou had handed her during their brief clash. Under the guise of searching the cabins, she systematically tracked down and eliminated every single bandit depicted in the portraits, clearing the ship of its hidden threats. The real Steven eventually regained consciousness, just as Warner's search party reached his cabin. He Jianxi was captured on the spot and dragged before Miss Dong and Warner.

Steven quickly identified He Jianxi as an accomplice of the imposter who had kidnapped him. Zhang Haiqi showed total indifference toward He Jianxi's life, leaving him at the mercy of Warner's men, while Miss Dong coldly ordered his immediate execution. However, the clever Steven, suspecting that this might be an attempt to silence the witness to cover up the theft of the jade, intervened to keep He Jianxi alive, ordering him to be locked up instead.

Keeping a close watch on the guards, Zhang Hailou found the perfect moment to slip in and rescue his companion. Now deep in hiding, He Jianxi lamented his misfortune, blaming Zhang Hailou for dragging him into a deadly conspiracy. Zhang Hailou simply welcomed him to his world and focused on a plan to stage their deaths.

He recalled his childhood training with Zhang Haixia, where their mentor had tested them with the Apple Theory—a lesson on how to shift blame and escape suspicion. Zhang Haixia had proposed taking six apples and leaving the seventh, then telling the mentor that Zhang Hailou took all seven. Since the mentor would already be furious and assume Zhang Hailou took them all, Zhang Hailou would get a beating anyway and wouldn't bother clarifying the exact number.

While Zhang Hailou had only thought of pinning the blame on a neighbor named Ergou, Zhang Haixia's scheme taught them how to successfully get off the hook. Applying this logic, Zhang Hailou decided to find two corpses and leave them on a lifeboat, making it appear as though they had fled the ship. Though He Jianxi warned him that his severe injuries made any further exertion life-threatening, Zhang Hailou insisted on searching for the decoy bodies.

During his search, Zhang Hailou crossed paths with Steven. Seeking revenge, Steven held him at gunpoint and gloated over his imminent demise, forcing Zhang Hailou to jump toward the ship's high-speed turbines to suffer a gruesome death. Keeping his composure, Zhang Hailou shattered a nearby light with a concealed blade. Plunged into sudden darkness, Warner's approaching guards mistook Steven's silhouette for the armed intruder and opened fire. Riddled with bullets, Steven plummeted into the ocean below.

Continuing through the corridors, Zhang Hailou was ambushed by another killer. With Warner's men patrolling nearby, the two engaged in a silent, brutal hand-to-hand fight, which ended with Zhang Hailou killing his opponent with his blades. Just then, He Jianxi caught up with him, bringing shocking news. He had witnessed a member of the armed unit attempting to torture the female killer, Bai Zhu.

He Jianxi had tried to intervene, but the formidable Bai Zhu had slain her captor in an instant before collapsing from her own wounds. Out of pity and fear, He Jianxi had hidden her in a lifeboat. Returning to the boat, they found Bai Zhu drifting in and out of consciousness.

Mistaking He Jianxi for an ally, she weakly warned him to head to the cargo hold, stating that everything was prepared to eliminate Miss Dong and that everyone on the ship had to die to protect their secret. Before they could gather more details, a strong burning odor filled the hallway. The killer Zhang Hailou had fought had set off explosives to destroy the electrical box, forcing the two men to flee as the guards closed in.

With their path blocked, they were forced to retreat into the cargo hold, only to realize too late that it was a deadly trap swarming with hidden assassins. Zhang Hailou's severe wounds reopened under the strain, but they had no choice but to fight. Leveraging He Jianxi's extraordinary sense of smell, they navigated the pitch-black hold. He Jianxi first located the corpse of a crew member, which, alongside the dying Bai Zhu, provided the two decoy bodies they needed.

He then detected dozens of killers lurking behind the cargo crates, warning Zhang Hailou to avoid the rigged wooden boxes. Using He Jianxi's sensory guidance, Zhang Hailou braced himself for a desperate, life-or-death battle against the remaining assassins.

During the chaotic struggle in the cargo hold, Zhang Hailou fought desperately against the onslaught of assassins. He Jianxi remained in the shadows, using his keen senses to monitor the surroundings and warn Zhang Hailou of incoming threats, shouting that the attackers were trying to wear him down. However, the killers eventually noticed He Jianxi and charged at him. Zhang Haiqi suddenly intervened from the darkness, effortlessly dispatching the threat and saving He Jianxi's life.

Rather than revealing herself, she remained in the background, leaving He Jianxi safe but deeply anxious about the unfolding battle. Zhang Hailou's heart shattered when he discovered the lifeless body of Zhang Haixia. Overwhelmed by grief, his defenses slipped, and an assassin lunged from behind to ambush him. Mustering every ounce of his remaining strength, Zhang Hailou turned and eliminated the attacker before collapsing from his severe injuries. Zhang Haiqi stepped forward to finish off the final assassin.

Looking down at the unconscious young man, she realized he had not let her down and was no traitor. To protect him from further harm, she carefully fitted Steven's human-skin mask onto his face, ensuring the crew would mistake him for the wealthy foreigner. Soon after, Zhang Haiqi handed the precious jade over to Warner, refusing to explain who her pursuers were and instructing him to simply fulfill his end of their bargain.

Sensing the terrifying scale of the conflict, Warner ordered his men to clear the cargo hold, tally their losses, and take Zhang Hailou away for medical treatment. Believing him to be Steven, the crew administered the finest medicines. In the days that followed, He Jianxi stayed by Zhang Hailou's bedside, offering constant care. Though Zhang Hailou's remarkable physical constitution allowed him to recover quickly, the realization of Zhang Haixia's death left him entirely broken, refusing to eat or drink.

He Jianxi faithfully brought food to the room, trying to coax his companion back to life. He pondered why Zhang Haiqi had spared them and allowed them to stay in such luxury rather than executing them. To ease his companion's despair, He Jianxi shared his own tragic past, recounting how his former boss had committed suicide right in front of him due to the prohibition laws.

Left with nowhere else to turn, he had to flee to Jinfan to seek his brother. He gently reminded Zhang Hailou that while tragedy is sometimes unavoidable, those who survive must find the strength to go on, not just for themselves but for those they have lost. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, Zhang Hailou remembered his mentor's teachings.

In his memory, his mentor drew a snake, warning him that his true nature was like a serpent that would devour everything if left unchecked. His mentor had cautioned that learning to master this nature would carry a heavy price, but reminded him that he was fortunate to have Zhang Haixia by his side to keep him grounded.

Driven by a need for vengeance, Zhang Hailou slipped out of his room and learned the location of the captured assassins from the crew. After knocking out the guard, he entered the holding cell and confronted one of the surviving killers, demanding to know the truth behind Zhang Haixia's death. The assassin eventually recognized the description of the paralyzed young man, admitting they had to hunt him down twice before they could finally end his life.

The captive revealed that they had replaced the young girl, Zhang Haijiao, with their own agent during the initial negotiations with Zhang Ruipu. However, Zhang Haixia's brilliant mind allowed him to realize that they were not allied with Zhang Ruipu. Even after being poisoned and suffering broken legs, Zhang Haixia had managed to wound their men and escape into the third-class cabin on the Nan'an, pushing them to their absolute limits before he died.

The assassin also confirmed that the girl posing as Zhang Haijiao was actually Bai Zhu, a master of disguise and bone-shrinking. Since her body was never recovered, she had likely escaped. Before delivering the final blow, Zhang Hailou demanded to know who had ordered the hit on the Archives members.

The assassin claimed not to know the identity of the mastermind but confessed they were instructed to spread the Twilight Grass, lure the Southern Archives members onto the ship, and execute them all. Overcome with rage, Zhang Hailou beat the killer to death. He returned to his quarters covered in blood, but having finally avenged his family, he sat down to eat, bringing immense relief to He Jianxi.

Zhang Hailou explained to He Jianxi that the conspiracy was far from over. He revealed that the warlord forces who had originally excavated the shipwreck in search of the Twilight Grass were also connected to the Evil God. With the poison resurfacing and Archives agents being hunted, he vowed to uncover the truth behind the Panhua Reef Case. He Jianxi recalled hearing rumors about the reef being a haunted place.

Meanwhile, the ship's intercom announced their arrival in Xiacheng, marking Zhang Hailou's return to his homeland after more than a decade—the very place where the story of the Southern Archives had first begun. Before leaving the vessel, Zhang Hailou went to search for Miss Dong but found her quarters empty. Inside, he discovered a coffin containing Zhang Haixia's body, along with a written note from her.

Her message spoke of the harshness of the world and suggested they go their separate ways, though she left an address where he could find her if his questions remained unanswered, despite her warning that it was best they did not meet. Zhang Hailou dressed in his archive uniform, secured his brother's body onto his back, and prepared to disembark.

At the same time, Miss Dong's subordinate reported the murder of the captive assassin, asking if they should initiate a lockdown. Miss Dong declined, instructing them to simply hand the bodies over to the ship police as planned. Carrying his brother's weight on his shoulders, Zhang Hailou stepped off the ship onto the bustling pier of Xiacheng, followed by an exhausted He Jianxi. Looking out at the familiar sights of his childhood home, Zhang Hailou softly whispered to his brother that they had finally made it back.

Zhang Hailou and He Jianxi finally arrived in Xiacheng, exhausted from their long journey. As they stepped ashore, Zhang Hailou looked around, his mind drifting back to a memory of Zhang Haixia. He recalled how he had promised to take him to Balongzhou to make a name for themselves, so they could eventually return to Xiacheng in glory to see their mentor.

Shaking off the painful memory, Zhang Hailou turned to He Jianxi, who was preparing to leave for Jinfan to search for his brother. Zhang Hailou stuffed his remaining money into He Jianxi's hands, urging him to use it to secure a larger, safer ship. Though He Jianxi initially refused on principle, Zhang Hailou insisted, stating that all debts and grudges had been settled, before bidding him farewell.

As Zhang Hailou walked away, He Jianxi suddenly remembered the man on the ship who had originally given him the money, telling him to hand it to Zhang Hailou and calling him the "Plague of Nanyang." Realizing that the deceased man Zhang Hailou was carrying on his back was that very benefactor, He Jianxi turned around and shouted, trying to stop him. However, Zhang Hailou had already vanished into the crowd.

Desperate, He Jianxi began asking passersby if they had seen a uniformed man carrying someone on his back. His search led him to a strange man who recognized him from the ship. When He Jianxi asked for directions, the man made an unsettling request, offering to exchange his own money for He Jianxi's under one condition: he wanted to borrow He Jianxi's face. Terrified by the bizarre proposal, He Jianxi called him a lunatic and quickly fled.

Meanwhile, Zhang Haiqi, still posing as Miss Dong, disembarked from the ship. Her father, Mr. Dong, was waiting to receive her. Landon Warner, who had escorted her, tried to introduce himself to Mr. Dong in hopes of securing a future business partnership. However, Mr. Dong politely declined, explaining that he was too old and no longer did business with foreigners, and was simply waiting for his daughter to inherit the family business.

Warner then brought up the incident on the Nan'an, praising Miss Dong's bravery in using his musketeers to capture pirates, but subtly threatened them by mentioning the unidentified corpses found in the cargo. He pointedly asked if he should tell the police those bodies were related to the Dong family.

Mr. Dong calmly but firmly countered the threat, stating that while he had made many enemies, anyone who dared to scheme against him in his hometown would not leave Xiacheng alive. Mr. Dong then ushered Warner to a separate car so he could speak with his daughter in private. Inside their carriage, he questioned her sudden return with so many foreigners. He then handed over the intelligence she had requested, including a decrypted telegram she had sent from the Nan'an.

The message, encrypted with a military code, had been sent to a highly secretive warlord unit last seen near Beilian, led by a man named Mo Yungao. The decrypted text delivered a chilling update: the members of the Southern Archives had been eliminated and their bodies recovered, with a meeting planned in Xiacheng. Hearing this, Zhang Haiqi realized that Mo Yungao was the mastermind behind the attacks on her organization, and she grimly foretold a coming bloodbath in Xiacheng.

Oblivious to these developments, Zhang Hailou carried Zhang Haixia back to their childhood home. To his dismay, the residence had been converted into a dried seafood shop. The current shopkeeper told him he had run the business for years and had never seen anyone else live there. Realizing his mentor had moved without leaving a word, Zhang Hailou pushed his cart toward the Danan Telegraph Office, which had served as the secret headquarters for the Southern Archives.

He recalled their childhood, when Zhang Haiqi had explained that they disguised the secret agency within a redundant department, hiding like hermit crabs to avoid detection. However, when he arrived, he found that the building was now a bank. The clerk inside insisted it had always been a bank, leaving Zhang Hailou deeply unsettled. Refusing to give up, Zhang Hailou went directly to the Nanyang Maritime Supervisory Office.

He asked the receptionist for the new location of the Southern Archives, explaining that it was a secret division under their administration. The receptionist checked with senior commissioners who had worked there for over twenty years, only to return with the news that no such archive had ever existed. Infuriated, Zhang Hailou left Zhang Haixia outside and barged into the office, presenting his agent badge.

When the commissioner dismissed the badge and stated they only handled ship crews, Zhang Hailou lost his temper. He grabbed the commissioner by the neck, demanding the truth. Seeing the genuine terror in the man's eyes, Zhang Hailou realized he was not lying. He released his grip, but slunk away only after secretly pocketing the commissioner's keys.

With his home, his job, and the very existence of the Archives erased, a shattered Zhang Hailou sat by the road next to Zhang Haixia's body. He lamented that they had sent thirty-six regular monthly report telegrams since returning from Panhua Reef without receiving a single reply, wondering if the mastermind behind the toxic weed had wiped out the Archives completely. He then pulled out the invitation card Miss Dong had left him.

Reading the words warning him that it was best they did not meet, he flipped the card over and noticed the stamped emblem of the Southern Archives on the back. Realizing she held the answers, he immediately wheeled the cart toward the Dong Residence. At the mansion, Zhang Hailou was escorted into a private room. Miss Dong stood with her back turned to him.

She remarked that he had arrived much sooner than expected and asked if his self-treated wounds had healed. Zhang Hailou ignored the small talk, demanding to know why she had left him clues about the hermit crabs and the Southern Archives. He asked where his mentor, Zhang Haiqi, and the rest of the Archives had gone. When she feigned ignorance and suggested he had merely had a dream, Zhang Hailou grew desperate.

He offered to do whatever she required, pleading only for acknowledgment that the Archives had existed, so his partner would not have died in vain. Seeing his anguish, she offered to tell him a story about two partner agents: one smart and one a troublemaker. During a mission on Panhua Reef, the two had infiltrated an enemy stronghold.

Instead of retreating after gathering evidence, the troublemaker had recklessly revealed his identity, asking the enemy if they had heard of a man named Zhang Haiyan of the Southern Archives to gather more information. This single blunder allowed their enemies to locate the Archives' headquarters, leading to a swift, overnight massacre of almost all its agents. The troublemaker survived, while his brilliant partner did not.

She then directed his attention to the document on his right—the closing report of the Panhua Reef case written by his late partner. Zhang Hailou picked it up and read Zhang Haixia's words, which detailed how their identities and the Archives' information had been leaked during the operation. At the end of the report, Zhang Haixia had written that he was willing to bear full responsibility for the oversight.

The realization that his own carelessness had caused the destruction of the Archives and the death of his beloved partner left Zhang Hailou utterly devastated. As she told him he was free to leave, Zhang Hailou stared at her back in stunned disbelief, asking one final question about who she really was.

In the Dong Residence, Zhang Hailou is devastated by the revelation of his past mistakes. He demands to know who the woman posing as Miss Dong really is and where his master, Zhang Haiqi, is. She coldly lies to him, claiming his master is dead along with everyone else except the two of them.

Refusing to believe his formidable master could be gone, Hailou protests, but she tells him the Southern Archives is no more and dismisses him, saying no one will hold him accountable or care about him anymore. Pointing out his low-level status, she states he does not even qualify for the proper burial rites reserved for senior members. Although she says he can take Zhang Haixia’s body, she asks what he could possibly do for his brother in his current state.

Defeated and knowing he cannot properly care for his brother, Hailou watches helplessly as Haixia is wheeled away. Meanwhile, Bai Zhu is revealed to have survived her ordeal on the Nan'an. Two fishermen discover her washed ashore and light a torch to check on her. Soon after, Lu Junxiang, the adjutant of Mo Yungao, arrives to interrogate her about the ship's fate. Bai Zhu agrees to cooperate on one condition: she must see her sister, Bai Yu. Lu Junxiang agrees.

She explains that while thirty-two Southern Archives members were cornered in Nanyang, most were poisoned to death by the Twilight Grass, but some survivors with antibodies only experienced hallucinations. She further discloses that Zhang Haiqi had boarded the Nan'an disguised as the Ship King's daughter and wiped out their entire unit, leaving only Bai Zhu alive.

Armed with the revelation that Zhang Haiqi has returned to Xiacheng and is currently hiding at the Dong Residence, Lu Junxiang orders his men to ruthlessly execute Bai Zhu, as she is no longer of any use to him. Grief-stricken and riddled with guilt, Zhang Hailou trades a personal item to acquire two coffins. Dragging them to the seashore, he prepares to drown himself. However, Zhang Haiqi arrives just in time to stop him.

Finally recognizing his master, Hailou is overcome with emotion, but Zhang Haiqi strikes him furiously. She castigates him as a waste, expressing deep shame for having trained such a troublesome student. When Hailou begs her to kill him to atone for Haixia and the Archives, she coldly asks if his death would bring anyone back.

She then reveals that because Haixia held a higher rank, he knew about the danger to the Archives but deliberately kept Hailou in the dark to protect him. Realizing the immense burden Haixia carried for his sake, Hailou is shattered. Zhang Haiqi admonishes him, stating that while a foolish man only fears consequences, he must now start sowing good deeds if he hopes for a better outcome, especially since Haixia is no longer around to shield him.

Though critical of his suicide attempt, Zhang Haiqi acknowledges that Hailou at least possesses a conscience. She prompts him to think whether the brilliant Haixia would truly allow himself to be killed so easily. She reveals a closely guarded Archives secret: Haixia is not entirely dead but is suspended in a state between life and death.

Showing him ancient Southern Archives records dating back to the twenty-fifth year of the Daoguang era, she explains how investigators discovered an underground realm deep beneath the mountains of Xiacheng. The Southern Archives was constructed directly above this realm to seal it off and protect the populace.

During their exploration, agents discovered a mysterious body of water that caused anyone who entered it to suffer a sudden drop in body temperature, entering a prolonged state of suspended animation with no breath or pulse. They later realized that a parasitic worm residing in the water could neutralize the deadly toxins of Haizun. Recognizing this as an effective escape mechanism, the Archives synthesized two medicines from these elements for agents to feign death during perilous missions.

To revive Haixia, Hailou needs to find the antidote, but Zhang Haiqi explains that synthesizing it requires three exceptionally rare herbs. These ingredients are locked deep inside the Archives, which she closed three years ago following the disaster at Panhua Reef to protect it from hostile forces. Although the main facility is sealed under heavy defensive mechanisms, there is a secret alternative entrance.

This entrance continuously shifts locations and is protected by a complex system designed in segments by various high-ranking agents; Haixia was the final architect of this system, meaning only Hailou has a chance of deciphering it. With a blood moon approaching that night, Haizun will soon appear, giving them a strict twelve-hour window to retrieve the herbs before Haixia is lost forever.

Instructing Hailou to locate the secret entrance on his own, Zhang Haiqi prepares to carry out her own mission for the night. Acting on his master's advice to investigate the area surrounding the former Archives site, which is now occupied by Haili Bank, Zhang Hailou disguises himself as a storyteller. Offering free tea and snacks to the locals in exchange for unusual rumors, he catches the interest of the crowd.

A resident shares a chilling tale about Hongtou Magong Temple, a temple for restless spirits where fishermen bring salvaged human bones. A local thief named Chen had attempted to repair a severely decayed wall at the temple and discovered an ancient book filled with illustrations of cracks. Days later, Chen mysteriously vanished, only to be found wedged tightly inside a narrow crevice in the wall, having been squeezed to death.

The storyteller's audience also mentions that a book bearing the title of the Southern Archives was recovered from the site, giving Hailou a vital clue to the entrance's location. That evening, Zhang Haiqi executes her plan to infiltrate Lu Junxiang's military headquarters, aiming to assassinate Mo Yungao. To turn Bai Yu against her, Lu Junxiang deceitfully informs her that her sister, Bai Zhu, was murdered by Zhang Haiqi, who left no intact corpse.

Consumed by grief and rage, Bai Yu vows to seek vengeance. At the base, Zhang Haiqi, disguised as Miss Dong, confronts an officer only to realize that Mo Yungao is absent. Triggering the explosives she secretly planted, she blows up the armory, sending the base into chaos. Lu Junxiang orders an immediate lockdown, and during the ensuing pursuit, Zhang Haiqi is shot in the arm but manages to escape into the night.

Shortly after, Lu Junxiang receives an urgent telegram from his commander, warning him that his failure to capture Zhang Haiqi and locate the Southern Archives will result in his execution. Determined to redeem himself, Lu Junxiang orders his forces to mobilize all remaining weaponry and head straight for the Dong Residence to capture her.

Zhang Haiqi returned to the Dong Mansion, heavily wounded from her previous encounter at the military base. Recognizing the imminent danger, she urged Mr. Dong to take his family and flee Xiacheng immediately, suggesting they go out to sea. However, Mr. Dong refused to leave her behind. He reasoned that because they were in the foreign concession and she was widely known as the daughter of the influential Ship King, no one would dare to make a move against them.

He believed that any gunfire would prompt immediate military intervention from neighboring consulates. Zhang Haiqi warned him that their enemy this time was a ruthless warlord, and that Lu Junxiang, a dangerous prisoner she had once captured at the Archives, would stop at nothing to kill her. Even when she confessed that she had only been using him and the identity of Miss Dong to protect herself, Mr. Dong remained steadfast in his devotion, refusing to abandon her.

Meanwhile, Warner received word from his associate that the surrounding three kilometers had been completely cleared and a warlord's army was rapidly encircling the estate. Fearing a slaughter, Warner prepared to withdraw his musketeer team. To secure his help, Zhang Haiqi enticed him by offering valuable antiques from a secret vault beneath the mansion's floorboards.

Tempted by this display of real wealth, Warner changed his mind and agreed to honor their deal, rallying his men to prepare their Maxim guns for the upcoming assault. The confrontation began swiftly as Lu Junxiang’s forces launched their attack. Using the mansion's structural layout, Zhang Haiqi expertly positioned Warner’s men at clever, hard-to-detect shooting angles, allowing them to suppress the initial wave of soldiers with their machine guns.

However, the tide turned when Lu Junxiang ordered his artillery to fire. Faced with devastating cannon fire, Zhang Haiqi realized they could not hold the perimeter and ordered a retreat into the inner rooms. In the city, while Zhang Hailou was searching for clues, He Jianxi suddenly found him. He Jianxi handed over a stack of bills, explaining that it was money left by Zhang Hailou's partner, Zhang Haixia.

He recounted how, during a chaotic moment on the ship, Zhang Haixia had slipped the money to him to deliver. He Jianxi explained that he had nearly died in a robbery while trying to track Zhang Hailou down, but was saved by Mrs. Wesley, the president of Haili Bank. Upon learning of his quest, Mrs. Wesley mobilized her bank staff to locate Zhang Hailou.

Because Mrs. Wesley's father was a military man, she recognized that the markings on the bills formed a two-square cipher, a military decryption method used for transmitting secret intelligence. Zhang Hailou arranged the bills by their serial numbers, a technique they used during their training. Deciphering the ciphertext, he read the hidden message: "This is a trap. I have a plan. I need to disguise myself. Come save me ASAP." He realized that Zhang Haixia had faked his death.

Arranging the remaining bills revealed more clues: Danan Telegraph Office, Haili Bank, cracks, and eyes. Zhang Hailou deduced that the outer defense mechanism of the Southern Archives lay directly beneath Haili Bank. Deeply grateful, he thanked He Jianxi and rushed toward the bank, with He Jianxi quickly following. Sneaking into Haili Bank, Zhang Hailou began searching the premises. He Jianxi cautioned him not to destroy the property of Mrs. Wesley, who had been their benefactor.

Zhang Hailou apologized and focused his search on the clues of "smoke" and "cracks." Lighting a cigarette, he watched the drifting smoke to locate a draft, which led them to a crack in the floor. Inside, they discovered a hidden mechanism piece. Zhang Hailou warned He Jianxi to stay back, but they both ended up sliding down a hidden shaft.

At the bottom of the shaft, Zhang Hailou spotted a white jade door, but the moment he turned his head, the door vanished. He Jianxi, unable to see it, complained that Zhang Hailou was playing tricks on him. However, Zhang Hailou realized the "eyes" clue meant they had to keep their eyes locked on the door without blinking. By staring intently, Zhang Hailou successfully approached and opened the jade door.

As they tumbled through, He Jianxi accidentally fell on Zhang Hailou's hand. Despite the rough landing, they realized they had successfully breached the entrance. Back at the Dong Mansion, Warner reassured Zhang Haiqi that the machine guns in the passage were fully set up and could eliminate the invaders within half an hour. He reported that while three of their men had died, thirty-seven servants had been safely relocated.

Zhang Haiqi's instincts flared; she knew the mansion employed only thirty-six servants. Sensing an intruder, she rushed to the living area and found Bai Yu, disguised as a servant, slaughtering the household staff. Bai Yu threw an explosive toward them. Mr. Dong shielded Zhang Haiqi from the blast, sustaining fatal injuries. Summoning his remaining strength, he shot Bai Yu in the arm before collapsing. He died in Zhang Haiqi's arms, urging her to survive.

Grief-stricken, Zhang Haiqi led the remaining survivors into the secret underground passage, while an enraged Lu Junxiang ordered his troops to tear down the entire room to find her. Deep in the passage beneath Haili Bank, Zhang Hailou and He Jianxi continued their search.

Zhang Hailou noticed that He Jianxi's behavior was highly unusual—his acute sense of smell seemed to be gone, and his physical reflexes and skills were unexpectedly sharp, as he had managed to catch Zhang Hailou during their fall. Suspecting this might be an impostor, Zhang Hailou chose not to expose him and let him tag along. They reached a locked door at the end of the tunnel.

When He Jianxi suggested forcing it open, Zhang Hailou smelled sulfur, realizing the door was rigged with explosives. They discovered multiple containers filled with key fragments, offering thousands of possible combinations. Zhang Hailou paused to consider what Zhang Haixia would do, recalling a training exercise with their mentor, Zhang Haiqi. She had taught them that when faced with a dilemma, one must step back and think in reverse to avoid falling into a trap.

Realizing the locked door and the key fragments were merely a decoy to keep intruders trapped in endless calculations, Zhang Hailou decided to search in reverse. He bypassed the door and located the Bronze Ball Mechanism. Activating the reverse sequence, he triggered the real mechanism. The wall parted, and before them lay the breathtaking, magnificent expanse of the Southern Archives.

Zhang Hailou finally steps into the Southern Archives, a moment he has anticipated for ten years. His companion, who is posing as He Jianxi, marvels at the spectacular sight and asks what the Archives actually does. Zhang Hailou explains that it was a secret organization under the Maritime Supervisory Office, dedicated to investigating and cataloging all the bizarre anomalies of the southern lands.

Though the fake He Jianxi humorously complains about getting injured while following him, Zhang Hailou keeps them focused on their goal. They begin searching the vast chamber for a specific, highly important item. As they look through the seemingly disorganized shelves, Zhang Hailou points out that an archive of this size would be impossible to run without a strict system or an absolute photographic memory.

He recalls his mentor, Zhang Haiqi, claiming she could memorize all of it because she had all the time in the world. Remembering a clue left by his partner, Zhang Haixia, Zhang Hailou focuses on the code "549" and traces it to a specific file bag from a telegraph office branch. Inside, he discovers the first of the three required medicinal herbs. He tells his companion that hiding important items in inconspicuous places is the ultimate way to avoid detection.

While searching, the fake He Jianxi finds a personnel roster of the Archives and points out that every member listed shares the surname Zhang, jokingly asking if it is a family business. Zhang Hailou explains that "Zhang" is a common name used to help them blend in, adding that he too was an orphan who adopted the name. He notes that the family members are exceptionally long-lived, which explains the high number of elderly staff on the roster.

The fake He Jianxi then pulls out a document detailing Zhang Haiqi's role as the Director. Years ago, during the late Qing Dynasty, Zhang Haiqi had strategically allowed supernatural rumors about the Danan Telegraph Office to spread. Since they were secretly excavating the Archives beneath a busy district, she used tales of Western soul-summoning witchcraft to keep civilians away and secure their operation.

Realizing how little he truly knows about his mentor and the organization, Zhang Hailou returns the document and presses forward, determined to find the remaining two herbs before leaving. As they proceed deeper, they find themselves in a humid, abandoned corridor. Zhang Hailou explains that the section was sealed off after face-changing spies infiltrated the Archives. Suddenly, both of their previous wounds split open, bleeding profusely.

Zhang Hailou realizes the blades from the previous jade gate were coated in bat saliva, which prevents blood from clotting. The warm, humid air of the chamber accelerates the bleeding, and the ceiling above begins actively absorbing their blood. Zhang Hailou tests the ceiling with his blade, only to find it impenetrable, while the entrance behind them locks tight. Realizing they are trapped like rats, the fake He Jianxi panics.

Zhang Hailou explains that the room is a giant negative-pressure chamber designed to draw out their blood like a syringe. To escape, Zhang Hailou must solve the double-encryption cipher left by Zhang Haixia. While the first layer uses a two-square cipher, the second layer remains a mystery. Desperate, he recalls Zhang Haixia's old advice: whenever faced with an insurmountable obstacle, to take three steps back and trust that a fallback plan was waiting.

Applying this logic to the banknote, Zhang Hailou realizes the second layer is a skip-pattern cipher. By shifting each letter three places back before applying the two-square cipher, he decodes the word "dry." This activates the mechanism, opening the door and revealing the second medicinal herb. Meanwhile, back in the concession, military commander Lu Junxiang commands his men to demolish the walls of the room, exposing a hidden underground passage.

The sight of the dark tunnel triggers his deepest psychological demons. Years ago, Zhang Haiqi had captured him for his heinous crimes and thrown him into this subterranean vault, a place rumored to be filled with monsters from which no one returned alive. Lu Junxiang managed to crawl out, but the ordeal cost him his arm and left his groin mangled and bloody. Awakening on the streets, ruined and humiliated, he vowed to destroy Zhang Haiqi.

In the present, Lu Junxiang's forces attempt to storm Zhang Haiqi's position, but they are pinned down by Warner's devastating Maxim machine guns. Desperate to turn the tide, Lu Junxiang decides to deploy the forbidden Twilight Grass. Although his subordinate, Bai Yu, warns him that there are strict orders forbidding its unauthorized use, Lu Junxiang is too consumed by madness to care. Under his orders, Bai Yu retrieves the chemical. Lu Junxiang hurls the container at Zhang Haiqi's position.

Warner's men shoot the bottle, shattering it and releasing a toxic cloud. The lethal fumes poison everyone in the area, allowing only Zhang Haiqi to flee into the deeper tunnels. Back in the depths of the Archives, Zhang Hailou prepares to unlock the final mechanism for the third herb. Sensing an opportunity, the fake He Jianxi draws a blade and stabs him in the back. Anticipating the betrayal, Zhang Hailou feigns death.

When the imposter leans over to check his breathing, Zhang Hailou spits out a hidden razor blade, slashing the attacker's neck. The imposter rips off his human-skin mask, and Zhang Hailou demands to know the whereabouts of his real cousin, He Jianxi. The imposter admits that the real He Jianxi is unharmed. Relieved, Zhang Hailou confronts the fake companion, explaining that he had suspected him for a long time.

He notes that the imposter smelled of blood, unlike his gentle cousin. Furthermore, during the Bronze Ball Mechanism trial, the imposter failed to detect the smell of gunpowder before Zhang Hailou did, despite He Jianxi's legendary sense of smell, and the imposter had mysteriously grown taller. Zhang Hailou admits he only tolerated the deception for entertainment and because he wasn't sure if the imposter was an ally sent by his mentor.

With the mask off, a brutal life-and-death struggle ensues, ending with the imposter's defeat. Zhang Hailou approaches the ancient stone monument marking the deepest boundary of the Archives. He decodes the carvings, which reveal that during the twenty-fifth year of the republic, abnormal movements in Xiacheng led the Director to discover a mysterious subterranean realm.

To prevent seawater from flooding the secrets of the underground, they constructed the Southern Archives here, securing the passage with two massive layers of Dragon-Severing Stones. Zhang Hailou triggers the final switch. As the mechanism turns, the outer underground structures of the concession begin to fail. Rushing seawater begins pouring into the tunnels. Lu Junxiang's subordinates warn him of the imminent collapse, but the crazed commander orders them to ignore the flooding and hunt down Zhang Haiqi.

Escaping through the collapsing tunnels, Zhang Haiqi feels the seawater rising and realizes that while Zhang Hailou has successfully unlocked the Archives, the entire structure is about to be completely submerged, leaving him with no time to escape.