Southern Archives: Memories in the Mist

[Fanfiction based on the Southern Archives TV series] [Zhang Hailou × Zhang Haixia + Republican-era male leads + Powerful bond + Mutual protection + Power struggles among the Nine Gates + Revenge and redemption]

※Dear readers, this story is a personal imagining inspired by the TV adaptation. Please be understanding if the characters differ from their original portrayals. You can also read it as a completely new, standalone story!※

※ Cover art by @Hua Ning, used with permission.※

In a turbulent Republican-era China, the South Seas churned with danger while Changsha concealed every kind of sorrow and joy. For generations, the Zhang family had guarded a hidden treasure beneath the sea, caught in the maelstrom of the Nine Gates' conflicts and the Wang family's schemes. In a world swept along by fate, everyone weighed the costs and calculated their gains. Only Zhang Hailou and Zhang Haixia, who had stood by each other since childhood, shared a bond so sincere that they became each other's only refuge and their sole way home amid the chaos.

A vicious act of treachery cruelly shattered the peaceful life they had shared for years. Zhang Haixia was gravely injured, his meridians severed and his legs paralyzed. From then on, he was confined to his bed, unable to accompany Zhang Hailou across mountains and seas or journey with him into the future. Zhang Hailou, once carefree, flamboyant, and free to roam the world, put away his defiant nature for good and gave up the freedom of the martial world and all its pleasures. He took on every storm that threatened the Zhang family, faced every open attack and hidden plot alone, and stayed by Zhang Haixia's side day and night. For one person, he willingly forsook the wider world, determined to keep him safe year after year.