The church of Madesun is located in Wenzhena. To get from Wenzhena to the rainforest, one must pass through a village called Wubang and a former Dutch logging station. This logging station is now a supply center manned by the British, providing provisions for those heading to the rainforest and transporting mahogany and furs out from the rainforest. There is even a post office here for expedition teams to send specimens back home.

The journey is quiet; the body of Nanre makes Madesun taciturn, and Zhang Haiyan does not ask him to help carry the corpse. The two silently proceed, and at least on the first day, no tracking skills are required; they can reach Wubang. It will take another day to get from Wubang to the logging station.

They are currently staying overnight at a temple outside the village of Wubang. The local monks, upon discovering the body on their backs, express great sympathy. They chant scriptures for Nanre throughout the night. Zhang Haiyan, meanwhile, sits on the roof of the temple, gazing at the rice fields under the setting sun. He notices a very small building across from the Wubang temple, about half a person’s height, resembling another temple, with more pronounced characteristics of Southeast Asian architecture, which also seems to be a place of worship.

“This is a ‘Jiangtou’ temple,” Madesun says from behind him. “I’ve been here before. This temple enshrines the skin of an unknown animal, wrapped in a cocoon made of a strange grass, offered by a Jiangtou master who has been here for over 200 years.”

Zhang Haiyan turns to look at him. “Westerners also believe in Jiangtou? Oh, you are in the same line of work.”

Jiangtou is an eerie form of witchcraft prevalent in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and beyond. There are no written records about it, making it very mysterious. The legends surrounding Jiangtou are often bizarre, but no one can clearly explain what Jiangtou is or what it can accomplish.

Jiangtou masters are an extremely mysterious profession, or rather, they are so mysterious that they have been demonized. In folklore, Jiangtou masters often resemble specters rather than humans.

Madesun sits beside him, his golden long hair tied into a bun, and says, “It’s not like that, Ah Bin. I am a registered clergyman. I serve God and hear confessions, but I don’t help people solve practical problems.”

Zhang Haiyan stares at the Jiangtou temple, which, under the reflection of the mountains, looks like a solitary grave.

“I know what this Jiangtou temple is for. The locals told me that the rainforest is right next to this temple. When the Dutch came, they started logging the rainforest, and these areas turned into rice fields. As a result, after the rainy season, many strange corpses would wash out from the forest, carrying plagues, causing many deaths. So, a Jiangtou master set up this temple to intimidate the plagues in the forest,” Madesun continues.

“Have you ever been into the rainforest?” Zhang Haiyan asks him.

“I have ventured in a little, visiting some tribes,” Madesun replies. “I have some notes; would you like to see them? I heard your English is very good.”

Zhang Haiyan shakes his head. Yes, he can speak many languages and dialects, which is necessary for his work, but he doesn’t need any notes about the rainforest. He knows the dangers hidden in the southern rainforest of Perak.

It was an unknown area, where the tropical rainforest grew wildly at a speed perceptible to the body, with no paths or landmarks to refer to. The route you walked a week ago would be completely different a week later.

Ma Dexun fell silent for a moment and handed his drink to Zhang Haiyan. This was a strong liquor he used to love, but he had long since stopped drinking. After Nan Ruo’s death, he had betrayed his promise and started drinking again: “Are you a voodoo practitioner? Can you turn Nan Ruo back to the way she was?”

Zhang Haiyan looked at the drink, barely able to conceal his terror, thinking, “Oh no, he wants a closer relationship.” He forced a smile and said, “No.”

Foreigners like him are either very reclusive or exceptionally enthusiastic. Ma Dexun was clearly the latter; enthusiastic foreigners need to draw energy from the crowd, which is why he came to Perak to help the children. But Zhang Haiyan was different; he needed solitude to recharge.

Ma Dexun gazed at the sunset, glanced at the bottle, and prepared to pour out his thoughts. Zhang Haiyan instantly jumped down from the rooftop and walked toward the voodoo temple. Arriving at that strange little building, he saw the grass cocoon, roughly the size of a baby’s swaddling.

The next day, as they were leaving, Ma Dexun noticed that on Zhang Haiyan’s back, besides Nan Ruo’s corpse, there was also a bundle the size of a baby. The two headed to the edge of the rainforest, and as the bundle loosened, Ma Dexun realized it was the grass cocoon from the voodoo temple.

Ma Dexun was struck again, pointing at the grass cocoon. “You—you—you—”

“Don’t worry, I’ve replaced it with another stone; the outside looks exactly the same, they won’t find out. It’s been over 200 years; no one would dare to touch it. Who remembers what’s inside?”

“You actually stole the offerings from the voodoo temple; aren’t you afraid of being cursed?”

“Don’t worry, the greatest evil you’ll encounter in this life is me; there won’t be anything greater than me.” Zhang Haiyan patted the grass cocoon behind him with satisfaction. “This thing has great power; don’t annoy me, or I’ll make you eat it.”

“This, this isn’t right.” Ma Dexun found it hard to organize his thoughts in Chinese.

“Then you either return it, or do you still want revenge?”

Ma Dexun was stunned for a moment, and Zhang Haiyan stopped paying attention to him, quickening his pace. Ma Dexun struggled to keep up behind him.

“What do you want this thing for?”

“Trust me, this thing has a special reason for being outside the rainforest; it must be useful.”

“What’s ‘ji ba’?”

All the way, Ma Dexun’s chatter seemed to have been opened up by this grass cocoon, and he rambled on and on, so Zhang Haiyan walked quickly, and soon they reached the logging station. At this point, Zhang Haiyan confirmed that this guy was naturally suited to be a pastor; he just loved to talk too much. But he must be a good father; Nan Ruo’s ten years of life must have been happy.

He’s a foreigner with a childlike heart.

“Ah Bin, I heard that when you were in Penang, you were a lively person. Why have you become like this? What happened to you over the years?”

“Nothing much.”

“Ah Bin, I’m a priest; you can confess to me, and I won’t mention what you say to anyone.”

“Maybe one day.”

“Ah Bin, Ah Bin, Ah Bin, Ah Bin!”

Zhang Haiyan walked towards the post office at the lumber station, his face pale with anger. He patted Nan Re on the shoulder and whispered to her, “Don’t be afraid, girl. Once we get into the rainforest, I’ll first bring your father down to see you, and then I’ll take my revenge for you.”

“Ah Bin!”

Zhang Haiyan couldn’t help but feel annoyed. He glanced back at Ma Dexun, who was about to explode with anger, but then he noticed a change in Ma Dexun’s expression. Ma Dexun was looking at a pile of goods outside the post office, where a chubby white man was amusing a little girl who had just arrived on a horse, teaching her how to tie knots. The girl looked to be only about 8 or 9 years old. The chubby man kept glancing at the girl’s ankles while occasionally looking at her parents standing nearby. The girl’s parents were oblivious to the gaze of Ma Dexun and the others.

“What’s wrong?”

“That’s him,” Ma Dexun said. “One of the twelve, named Wei Tuoma, a farrier.” Ma Dexun’s hand tightened around the knife at his waist. “Why hasn’t he gone into the rainforest?”