Side Story 4: The Sorcery Temple

Side Story 4: The Sorcery Temple

Madisons church was in Wenxiena, so they had to pass through a village called Wubang and a logging station built by the Dutch before they entered the rainforest.

The logging station was now a distribution center where the English were stationed. The center provided supplies for people who were going into the rainforest and was also in charge of transporting mahoganies and fur out of the rainforest. There was even a post office for expedition teams to transport specimens back to their countries.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

The two men were silent as they walked. Madison had become quiet and taciturn because of Nanres body. Zhang Haiyan didnt ask him to help carry the body as they continued moving forward silently. That first days itinerary didnt require any tracking skills since they just had to focus on getting to Wubang. Once they reached Wubang, it would take another day for them to get to the logging station.

They were staying the night in a temple outside Wubang Village. The local monks had felt very sympathetic towards them when they found that there was a corpse on Zhang Haiyans back.

They chanted sutras for Nanre all night long while Zhang Haiyan sat on the temples roof and watched the sun set over the nearby rice fields.

He noticed that there was a very small building across from the temples door. It was about half a person high and also looked like a temple. The South Sea styles characteristics were more obvious and there was something being worshiped in it.

Thats a sorcery temple. Madison said from behind him. Ive been here before. That temple worships a piece of skin from an unknown animal. The whole piece of skin is wrapped in a strange kind of grass that forms a cocoon around it. A sorcerer put it there more than two hundred years ago.

Zhang Haiyan looked back at him. Do foreigners believe in sorcery as well? Oh, you basically work in the same business.

There was a kind of mysterious sorcery that was popular in Southeast Asian regions such as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Africa. There werent any written records about it and it was very obscure. The legends of this sorcery technique were often incredible, and no one was able to explain what it was or what it could accomplish.

Sorcery was an extremely mysterious profession. In other words, it was so mysterious that the practitioners were often demonized. Most of the time, sorcerers in folklore were more like evil ghosts instead of human beings.

Madison's long blond hair was tied up in a bun as he sat down next to him and said, Its not like that, A Bin. I'm a registered priest. I serve God and listen to peoples confessions, but I dont help people solve practical problems.

Zhang Haiyan stared at the sorcery temple. It looked like a tomb with multiple mountains around it.

I know what this sorcery temples purpose is. The locals told me that the rainforest is right on the edge of this temple. After the Dutch came, they began to cut down the rainforest and turned these places into rice fields. As a result, many strange corpses would flow out of the forest after the rainy season. They carried the plague with them and many people died. So, a sorcerer built this temple here to keep the plague in the forest, Madison continued.

Have you ever entered the rainforest? Zhang Haiyan asked him.

I have gone into the rainforest, but I didnt go far. I visited some of the tribes there, Madison said. I made some notes about it. Would you like to read them? I heard that your English is very good.

Zhang Haiyan shook his head. Madison was right. He could speak many languages and dialects due to his job, but he didnt need any notes about the rainforest. He was already aware of the dangers hidden in southern Peraks rainforests.

It was an unknown territory. The tropical rainforests grew wildly at a speed that even the human body could perceive. There werent any paths or landmarks to refer to, and even the path you took a week ago would be completely different a week later.

Madison was silent for a while before he offered his wine to Zhang Haiyan. This was the wine he liked to drink before, but he had stopped drinking a long time ago.

This was a foreigner with childlike curiosity.

A Bin, when I asked around about you, I heard that you were a very energetic person in Penang. What have you been through all these years that made you become someone like this?

Nothing happened.

A Bin, Im a priest. You can confess to me. I wont tell anyone what youve told me.

Well see about that.

A Bin, A Bin, A Bin, A Bin!

Zhang Haiyans face was solemn as he walked toward the logging station. He patted Nanre and whispered to her, Dont be scared, little girl. After we enter the rainforest, Ill send your father to the underworld so he can reunite with you. Then I will avenge you.

A Bin!

Zhang Haiyan couldnt help feeling annoyed and looked back at Madison. But just as he was about to get angry, he saw that Madisons expression had changed.

Madison was looking at a pile of goods outside the post office where a fat white man was teasing a little Malay girl. The man was teaching the little girl how to tie knots. The little girl seemed to be only eight or nine years old. The fat man sometimes looked at the girls ankles and then at her parents who were off to the side. The little girls parents didnt notice the looks that Madison and Zhang Haiyan were giving them.

Whats wrong?

Its him, Madison said. Hes one of twelve people. His name is Wade. Hes a farrier (1). Madison put his hand on the knife by his waist. Why didnt he enter the rainforest?

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TN Notes:

(1) Person who takes care of horses' hooves (like trimming them) and puts shoes on them.

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Tiffanys Notes: Someone managed to be more talkative than Zhang Haiyan. Thats surprising lol. I cant believe Haiyan was like, Oh, he wants to be sentimental with me. Id better jump off the roof.

Merebear's Notes: Tiffany's being all positive while I'm over here like "KILL HIM!!!!! Save the little girl, Haiyan!!!" lol