The story from before perhaps everyone remembers. After the incident with Wang Jue, a group of golden great apes abducted Xing'er and A'li from Miao Village. The old woman said the Monkey Clan resides on the eastern side of the Sea of the Dead. Xiao Shu originally planned to disguise herself as Li Xiaohao and travel to the Sea of the Dead through the corridor of the Original Shadow Villa. Unfortunately, since we lacked the necessary body suits for protection, we couldn't pass through the corridor teeming with Man-Eating Nether-Worms, so we temporarily shelved the plan. We came to Xiao Shu's Reflection Villa, hoping to find information about the body suits in the library. However, the result was deeply disappointing: crafting the suits required Mermaid Tears, and the mermaids dwelled within the Sea of the Dead. Thus, possessing the body suits and traversing the corridor of Man-Eating Nether-Worms became a classic Catch-22. Just as Xiao Shu and I were at a loss, the unexpected occurred.

The Hunchbacked Old Woman dragged the bodies of Hua Gu and A Mang into the library, letting out a strange cackle. As for me, having drunk the water she had secretly placed by the door earlier, I was afflicted with the Intestinal Piercing Gu, the parasitic insects in my stomach causing unbearable agony. She then used my body, along with Hua Gu’s and A Mang’s lives as leverage, to state her demands: we were to retrieve the Ghost Infant from the Sea of the Dead. In exchange, she produced a rare, treasured map of the Sea of the Dead and opened the passage from the Reflection Villa leading directly into the Sea of the Dead, granting us passage.

The journey to find Xing'er and A'li proved exceedingly arduous. Not only did Xiao Shu and I start off poorly, immediately running into the treacherous Hunchbacked Old Woman, but upon first arriving at the Sea of the Dead, we also encountered spiders that could spew corrosive venom. The spiders trapped Xiao Shu inside a cocoon. After exerting tremendous effort, I managed to burn the spider to death and rescue her. However, this fire attracted a fatal threat. As night fell and the bonfire was lit, I awoke from a dream to find Xiao Shu completely vanished. After searching and meeting up with her, we realized our resting place was heavily surrounded by spiders. Following a fierce battle between humans and arachnids, both sides suffered heavy losses. Under the protection of the Sea of the Dead, we managed to preserve our lives and hastened our steps to continue the quest for Xing'er and A'li.

The day had broken bright, and the pinkish horizon cast its reflection across the Sea of the Dead, lending an atmosphere faintly charged with killing intent. Yet, everything remained calm—no spiders, no monkeys, no Man-Eating Nether-Worms. Drifting along the pebble beach by the water’s edge, I felt an endless sense of wonder. If only it could always be like this—eternal peace, everlasting tranquility, a life lived forever without a care.

Xiao Shu turned her face towards the sun, showing me the scar that had healed, and said with a hint of regret, "I never once visited the Original Shadow Villa. With a scar like this, it should be easy for that old gatekeeper to recognize me, shouldn't it?"

"Indeed," I nodded, feeling a touch of regret myself. "I won't be able to disguise myself as Li Xiaohao anymore. But perhaps this makes me look more manly than before; you two brothers have become Hua Wuque and Xiao Yu'er."

"How is that possible!" Xiao Shu retorted. "Hua Wuque is human; Li Xiaohao is not. There is a fundamental difference between them."

Speaking of Li Xiaohao, my thoughts suddenly turned to Xing'er. Back in Silent Village, I recalled the Old Master saying that Li Xiaohao also grew from a Ghost Infant. If that were true, Li Xiaohao’s future was Xing'er’s tomorrow. It was hard to imagine this little one, raised single-handedly by Hua Gu, truly becoming a cold-blooded mass murderer like Li Xiaohao! Why would the Monkey Clan snatch him, and why would the Hunchbacked Old Woman seek him? What secret was truly hidden within this ghostly child? I pondered all this internally; it seemed the truth could only be uncovered once we found the Monkey Clan.