Side Story 2: The Angel Who Attracts the Plague God

Side Story 2: The Angel Who Attracts the Plague God

In the pub, Zhang Haiyan ordered some bread and dipped it in his beer before slowly eating it.

There were a lot of Chinese people both inside and outside the pub who were unwilling to leave. They obviously wanted to know how things would develop.

The long-haired priest Madison had his chin in his hand as he looked at Zhang Haiyan. It was making Zhang Haiyan increasingly uncomfortable.

As he ate, Zhang Haiyan felt his appetite slowly disappear.

His shackles hadnt been removed yet, and many people around them were pointing at them. It didnt matter to Zhang Haiyan since he had always lived like this, but Madisons gaze was making him feel unsettled for the first time.

Youre a precious gem in this world, Madison exclaimed after he had stared at Zhang Haiyan for a while. He then pinched the bridge of his nose and continued, Youre really a precious gem in this world. Its fortunate that I rescued you; otherwise, there wouldve been one less gem in the world.

As Zhang Haiyan chewed on the bread, the sound of the others around them became more irritable.

Im a despicable man, Father Ma (1). If youre a collector of despicable people, then youve reached the peak of your achievements today. Otherwise, Im useless to you, Zhang Haiyan said.

Madison ordered another glass of beer and pushed it over to Zhang Haiyan before saying, Mr. A Bin was almost beheaded just now. But now when youre drinking beer, every sip you take is the same amount. Although Ive been watching you for a long time, every sip you take is the same. Deep down, Mr. A Bin is an extremely cautious person. That critical moment between life and death had no effect on you.

Zhang Haiyan looked down at his beer glass and thought to himself, is that so?

He didnt show any reaction in front of Madison, but he immediately knew that the other man was right. He was drinking his beer like this because he planned to make a run for it later. He didnt want to drink too fast in case he messed things up. Moreover, his mouth wasnt like that of others. He couldnt drink in gulps.

He had developed this habit of eating steadily when he was in Xiamen.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, maybe I shouldnt make a run for it. I can just kill this foreigner instead.

Madison had no idea that the other person was planning to kill him and kept on talking, Many people cant see that. A Bin, Im the only one who knows you arent an ordinary person. You must have made many stories in China before you came to the South Sea.

I didnt even want to come here in the first place, Zhang Haiyan thought to himself.

Madison ordered another beer and pushed it over to Zhang Haiyan. Have you made a decision? Do you want to give birth to a child?

Zhang Haiyan looked at the Chinese people around him and whispered, Let me repeat it again. That word is pronounced interrogate, not give birth. They mean totally different things. (2)

Zhang Haiyan was almost frightened to death when Madison asked him to give birth to a child earlier. He thought he had some supernatural constitution which enabled him to get pregnant. Or that Madison wanted him to have a baby with a woman in order to practice some kind of western sorcery. He had heard a lot of these western legends before. Similar to some Chinese herbal medicines, the key to this kind of sorcery was goat horns or the skin of five-legged lizard skins, which were things that you couldnt come by at all. Maybe Madison needed a biracial child descended from an Asian man and an island woman.

Zhang Haiyan later discovered that Madison meant interrogate.

Zhang Haiyan had an unfortunate childhood and didnt like to force children to do things, so he didnt plan on helping Madison.

But Madison had been keeping his eyes on him as he waited for an answer.

He interrogated corpses.

In other words, Zhang Haiyan could hear the sounds of corpses.

Of course, this was total nonsense. He couldnt hear the sounds of corpses at all. But it didnt matter. As Madison had speculated, Zhang Haiyan always had his own ideas.

Zhang Haiyan didnt know what his job was exactly. How he came to be in the South Sea and what he did there could be written and made into a lengthy tome.

He had summed it up once: he was actually a spy.

He didnt work for any authorities and no one had hired him. But someone would give him some missions every month and he would complete them. Then he would send the results and the information he found back to China via a large ship. But the things he investigated had nothing to do with political interests. What he investigated were all strange phenomena and rumors in various places.

The organization he worked for was called the Southern Archives. It wasnt clear as to who established it or what its background was.

He was only a few years old when the Archives took him in. He only remembered that the person who had trained him told him that this Archives contained all the facts in southern China.

There was a very simple purpose for collecting these facts: the creator of the Archives believed that there were big conspirators in the world, so there had to be treacherous actions, strange phenomena, and legends that came about because of them. If someone was trying to hide and commit big conspiracies, then investigating all the strange phenomena was the best way to expose them.

When he thought of his experiences back then, Zhang Haiyan still felt sad. He hadnt returned to his homeland for many years. He would stand by the sea and stare off into space for a long time, not knowing when he could return. But he had to admit that there were indeed too many unbelievable things happening in the South Sea.

When he first came here, most of what happened were rumors and some folk conspiracies. But in recent years, countless strange things had happened explosively. It seemed that the thing the Southern Archives was waiting for was about to happen.

A group of white people suddenly entered the southern jungles of Perak, looking for a place on an ancient map. As a member of the Southern Archives, he had to look into it.

It took the two of them three days to return to Madisons church, where Zhang Haiyan saw Nanres body. The little girls eyes were closed and her body was covered in blood stains.

Madison looked at Zhang Haiyan. Can you hear her?

Zhang Haiyan nodded. She said, Dad, thank you. Zhang Haiyan picked the stiff corpse up and then walked towards the house. Dont follow me. Let me ask her questions alone, Zhang Haiyan said, but Madison was already squatting on the ground with tears streaming down his face.

Zhang Haiyan looked at Nanres face. The little girl had been beaten violently and the bruises on her wrists had turned black. A large piece of her scalp had been stripped off.

An angel who brings good luck. But the scalp of this angel will attract the plague god. Zhang Haiyan put the little girls body on the ground and opened his bag that contained a set of special instruments. He then began to calmly measure the little girls facial features.

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TN Notes:

(1) Madison had been talking to Zhang Haiyan in Chinese. To Zhang Haiyan, Madison sounded like Ma Dison. Thats why he called him Father Ma.

(2) Madison didnt pronounce the Chinese words correctly. The Chinese word for giving birth is pronounced as shng, and the word for interrogate is pronounced as shn.