When Zhang Qishan returned, the case of the Panhua Sea Reef was concluded.

Mo Yungao, who had once been on the brink of death, encountered a strange individual who was unlike ordinary people. This stranger saved him and used his own blood to help him out of a predicament.

Later, by chance, Mo Yungao settled in Beihai. As time passed, he could not forget the strange individual. At that time, he had asked the stranger whether his extraordinary abilities were innate or acquired, and the stranger told him they were acquired. This planted a seed of discontent in Mo Yungao’s heart. After gaining power, he acquired much but feared losing it, so he hoped to see the stranger again to inquire about the method. To this end, he did not hesitate to spread a plague to force the stranger to appear.

In order to obtain the same disease that had spread during that time, he researched and, while in Nanyang, hijacked ships to excavate shipwrecks and found five buckets of disease seedlings. When he encountered obstacles from the Nanyang Archives, he planned the Nanyang Incident to experiment with the spread of the disease seedlings and massacred the Nanyang Archives staff. Zhang Haiyan and Zhang Haiqi survived and obtained evidence of Mo Yungao’s actions on a train that year.

Zhang Qishan, the defense officer from Changsha, went to Beihai to take over Mo Yungao’s territory, using ruthless methods to replace the guards and executing his trusted aides. When Mo Yungao returned to Beihai from Nanjing, the territory had already changed hands. Zhang Qishan set up an ambush at the dock to capture Mo Yungao, who fled into the deep mountains of western Guangxi, disappearing without a trace.

In Mo Yungao’s residence, many nameless corpses were discovered. Mo Yungao had a penchant for nerve gas, and among these corpses, several were highly suspected to be members of the Zhang family, but they were highly decomposed, their hands chopped off, making identification impossible.

At this point in the story, one can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Zhang Qishan returned to Changsha, hoping to recruit Zhang Haiyan and Zhang Haiqi to help rebuild the Nanyang Archives. Naturally, Zhang Haiyan could not be a soldier and could not bear the weight of a real military uniform; he had not accepted military status, but wearing a half-authentic uniform made him a sort of law enforcement officer.

Mo Yungao had not been captured and had entered the deep mountains. The vendetta against Zhang Haixia could not be counted as avenged. At this moment, there was still a follow-up, but the threat had been lifted. The plague teams in various places had confiscated and burned all the disease seedlings. At this time, He Jianxi was searching for Zhang Haiyan in Xiamen and eventually found his way to Haili Bank, where he fortuitously obtained a position as an assistant manager. He was still unraveling the mystery of Zhang Haixia’s money paintings, and He Jianxi’s story was just beginning. These money paintings play a crucial role in the subsequent story, but the timing remains elusive, which must be emphasized again.

If everything were so perfect, the story would be too idealistic; life is always filled with heartache, not here, then there.

Zhang Haiqi slept for seven days and nights. The military doctor administered nutritional fluids to her to prevent dehydration. He informed Zhang Haiyan that this was a deep coma.

Zhang Qishan brought back all the materials related to Mo Yungao in Beihai and discovered the reasons behind it. However, due to missing documents in the archives, only a rough patchwork could be made. The facts might be more complicated.

The German nerve gas was not produced in Germany; its origin was unknown, but it seemed capable of damaging the texture of the blood of the Zhang family. Mo Yungao only mentioned in his records that he had obtained it by chance, and there was only one canister. The specific situation could only be known by capturing Mo Yungao.

Zhang Haiqi would age at an astonishing rate, much like the strange tales in folklore. According to the military doctor’s estimate, she had only two months to live.

Why the Zhang family came and why they seek immortality is shrouded in mystery, and even the members of the Zhang family may not fully understand it. Zhang Qishan reminded the two individuals that the Northeast Zhang family had lost contact. Since they now knew the whereabouts of the clan leader, the only possibility for a turnaround was to find the clan leader.

Zhang Haiqi was unwilling to go to the southern border again. Her life had been long and exciting enough, and now, suddenly facing death, she felt a sense of calm and anticipation. Eternal youth is an endless enjoyment; in fact, immortality is not as burdensome as one might think. However, when your life is long enough and you have bid farewell to many people, you will inevitably look forward to the moment of reunion with those in the world. Moreover, she felt no fear of death.

But Zhang Haiyan could not accept it. He had accepted that his adoptive mother would remain youthful forever, but he also knew that this miraculous situation would come to an end in two months.

Zhang Haiqi hoped to be buried in a cemetery in Xiamen, alongside those she had bid farewell to. She also wished to help Zhang Haiyan rebuild the Nanyang Archive before her death, so that he would have a place to belong.

Zhang Haiyan, amidst the bitter winds and rain, came alone to Zhang Haiqi’s side. The people around him came and went, but there were only one or two individuals; now, he felt like floating duckweed, drifting away. He stared blankly at the Xiang River, unable to comprehend.

At this moment, a fortune teller, a friend of Zhang Qishan, read the divination for this matter. Those familiar with him knew he was called Qi Tiezui.

Qi Tiezui told the two that the east, west, and north were places of death, while the southern border was a place of despair. They should go to the southern border, as a dead place could not bring life back, but a place of despair could offer a chance to live. The divination indicated that the old woman’s flowers bloom, fallen leaves meet the spring branches again, Wu and Yue settle their scores, new grudges and old loves return to the vast sea, the divination falls on withered branches, rolling three times under the tree, gains and losses are both fulfilled.

This was the most miraculous divination in the Eight Doors of Qimen, which Qi Tiezui had seen no more than three times in his life. Its meaning represented the best and worst states of life, reaching a peak at the same time.

If one has some understanding of people and the fate of life, they might be able to infer the signs of such a state. However, Qi Tiezui also knew that those who could experience such a life were certainly not ordinary people, akin to killing the one you love most to obtain what you desire most. What he saw in Zhang Haiyan was an unpredictable situation.

Qi Tiezui advised Zhang Haiqi that while one could seek death, if one sought death, they should not consult the divination; the one consulting must still have a trace of desire to live. She wanted a reason, whatever that reason might be; since she knew she was searching, she should go to the southern border. Because the world changes, if one day she suddenly did not want to die, it would be best to be on the path of self-rescue.

Thus, Zhang Haiqi agreed to let Zhang Haiyan go to the southern border. They agreed not to mention illness on the way, treating it as a journey. Zhang Haiqi had no choice but to comply. The southern border was vast, with the Ten Thousand Great Mountains; finding the clan leader was no easy task. Mo Yungao intended to unleash a plague across the nation, feeling he might have a glimmer of hope, while Zhang Haiyan could only take one step at a time.

So the two prepared sufficient food and funds, and Zhang Qishan provided them with pass documents for smooth passage and assistance. Finally, the two set off on the road to find their boss.

Thus, the case of the Panhua Haijiao came to an end, and the case of the Southern Border Bailujing officially began.

If you take a closer look at the hexagram of the Qi Tie Zui, there are many intriguing aspects that can be analyzed. Mo Yun Gao, He Jian Xi, and the multitude of beings—under the orchestration of fate—what kind of intersections will occur? The Tusi, the bride, the Yi village, the mysterious true intentions of the Zhang family, the whereabouts and identity of the clan leader, and why the real Bai Le Jing has remained unseen for a century in front of others.

We can take our time to explore this further.

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The timeline and the overall timeline of the Tomb Raiding Notes are still being adjusted and will certainly be made reasonable. Thank you for your understanding. Tomorrow, I will make smooth revisions to the previous text.