Southern Archives: Salt and Shrimp, a Lifetime Together

The thing Zhang Haiyan regrets most in his life is letting go of Zhang Haixia’s hand in the thick fog of Pan Hua Sea Reef.

He regrets being so reckless in his youth that he insisted on investigating the Pan Hua Sea Reef case. He regrets letting his big mouth expose the entire Southern Archives, and most of all, he regrets watching Zhang Haixia take several knife wounds and collapse in a pool of blood aboard the Nan’an. After Zhang Haixia died, Zhang Haiyan became a true member of the Zhang family, gaining longevity and strength, but none of it could bring back the senior brother who had patiently and gently covered for him from his wheelchair all his life.

Then he died. When he opened his eyes again, it was 1916, just before the Pan Hua Sea Reef mission.

Zhang Haixia was standing right in front of him, alive and well, able to walk on both legs, with clear eyes and even enough time to complain about what kind of trouble he’d gotten into this time. In this life, Zhang Haiyan swore: whatever the Twilight Grass, the Nan’an, or Mo Yungao might be, anyone who wanted to hurt Zhang Haixia would have to step over his dead body first.

But he didn’t know that he wasn’t the only one who had been reborn.

Zhang Haixia’s unusually keen nose seemed to have picked up something amiss: something about Zhang Haiyan, the future, and the bloody events that had yet to happen.

Note: Salt and Shrimp pairing, with lots of liberties taken with canon. Please don’t read if that’s not your thing.