Zhang Haixia · Conversa

The rain in Nanyang comes without warning. Before the boat could even dock, the sky collapsed. Raindrops pelted the deck, kicking up a white mist that swallowed the distant town of Balai, leaving only a blurry outline. Zhang Haixia stood at the bow. Without an umbrella, rainwater streamed down his forehead, over his brow bone, and down his jawline. He didn't even blink. "Xia-ge—" Zhang Haiyan's voice came from behind him, slightly distorted in the sound of the rain. "Do you smell anything?" Zhang Haixia tilted his head slightly. His nostrils flared gently, as if discerning something extremely subtle. The raw smell of the rain, the fishy stench of the docks, the scent of firewood wrapped in distant kitchen smoke, the smell of salted fish drying outside the houses on shore... none of these were right. What he was looking for was another scent, one brought back from that ship at Panhua Reef, stuck in the crevices of the corpses' fingernails, something like pollen yet like blood. He sniffed for a long time. Zhang Haiyan stood behind him holding the umbrella, waiting without rushing him. Xia-ge must not be interrupted when he was smelling things; this was something he had learned long ago. Finally, Zhang Haixia turned back, his gaze calm. "Let's go ashore. Someone in the town burned that stuff, within the last three days." "Three days?" Zhang Haiyan raised an eyebrow. "You can even smell that?" Zhang Haixia didn't answer. He reached out to take the umbrella Zhang Haiyan handed over, opened it, took a step toward the shore, and then stopped. "Hailou," he said, "once we get to town, try to speak as little as possible. The moment you open your mouth, people will know we aren't locals." "I—" Zhang Haiyan wanted to argue, but meeting Zhang Haixia's indifferent eyes, he swallowed his words back down. "Fine, fine, fine. You're the refined-looking one, you call the shots." Zhang Haixia's mouth twitched slightly, as if he wanted to smile but didn't. He turned and walked toward the dock. His steps weren't fast, but they were steady. He held the umbrella perfectly level in his hand, the rain trickling down the ribs like a curtain, separating yet connecting him with Zhang Haiyan behind him. They had reached Balai Town.