Having lost Xing'er and A-Li, the few of us returned to the main hall in utter dismay, gathering around the large monkey.

"If you hadn't taken so long coming out just now, Xing'er and A-Li wouldn't have been snatched by the monkeys," Hua Gu complained, her voice laced with frustration.

Her lament only deepened my own gloom. I had been inside changing, and by the time I emerged, no one had managed to notify me. To pin the entire responsibility on me felt profoundly unfair.

Fortunately, Xiao Shu and Old He were nearby, murmuring words of appeasement. "Everyone did their best," Xiao Shu offered. "Don't worry, Hua Gu, we’ll figure out how to get the two children back together."

At that moment, only the Old Woman remained supremely calm, sitting in her rocking chair, leisurely smoking, as if the commotion that had just transpired were nothing more than a trivial matter.

Hua Gu straightened the tables and chairs in the main hall, tidying up quickly. She then went to the courtyard, helped the Old Woman inside, and settled her back into her chair. Suddenly, she dropped to her knees, kowtowing three times to the Old Woman, her voice pleading, "Grandmother, I beg you, please guide us and save the two children."

The suddenness of her kneeling froze the atmosphere in the room. The three of us remained silent, six eyes fixed on Hua Gu kneeling on the floor, unsure how to react.

Only the Old Woman remained unperturbed, exhaling smoke rings while speaking slowly, "Fate dictates everything. If one can be saved, the ghost infant might not be. You must try to accept this."

Hearing her words, it was clear the Old Woman knew everything that had just transpired. Seeing her composure sparked a wave of admiration in me. I inwardly fretted: if this encyclopedia of an elder were to succumb to the Soul-Devouring Styx Worm and pass away, it would be an immense loss for us all.

Hua Gu stared blankly after the Old Woman spoke. After a long silence, her lips trembled, and she suddenly burst into tears. The torrent was like a torrential downpour, streaming uncontrollably, a grief so profound it seemed it could shake heaven and earth. It moved the three of us men to sadness as well. It was understandable; anyone losing their spouse and beloved child on the same day would suffer unbearable pain, let alone a frail woman.

"Grandmother, is there truly no way? Those apes didn't look like they intended to harm them. We must save both Xing'er and A-Li," Xiao Shu insisted, unable to stand by silently, speaking with resolute finality.

"Alas," the Old Woman sighed, stroking Hua Gu’s head, and told her with deep pity, "The only advantage to living a long time is knowing more. That group just now were guards of the Monkey Clan. The Monkey Clan is a faction of the Demon Realm, living for generations in the valleys east of the Sea of Lost Souls. They have their own monarch and social hierarchy, stubbornly isolationist. They would never seek enmity with humans unless absolutely forced."

The Sea of Lost Souls again, I thought. Nothing seems to escape its entanglement; I wondered which malignant star I had offended this time.

"Why did they snatch A-Li and Xing'er?" Xiao Shu asked curiously—the very question I wanted to voice, but he spoke first.

"I don't know," the Old Woman shook her head. "Only they can tell you the reason. However, if they have taken the two children to their lair, once the ghost infant reaches the Sea of Lost Souls and smells that scent of blood, his savage nature will erupt, and he will revert to a bloodthirsty ghoul-child. At that point, any living person will become his target, including those who raised him."

Hearing this, I instinctively touched the severed stump of my right palm, recalling the moment Xing'er bit off my finger above the Sea of Lost Souls, and an involuntary shudder ran through me.