Archives: The Nanyang Mystery Episode 2 Recap
> Archives: The Nanyang Mystery Recaps
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.
