We kept vigil by the Sea of the Dead, foregoing the campfire we’d used the night before. No spiders appeared, leaving the cold as our only adversary. I’d donned my slicker, thinking it would ward off the lake’s biting chill. But when the wind howled, slicing across my face and plunging into my chest, the coat felt flimsy indeed. I had no choice but to curl into a ball, pressing tightly against Xiao Shu to siphon off a measure of warmth. It instantly brought to mind an incident from junior high.

It was winter then, too, and the classroom had no heating, no AC, nothing to combat the cold. We sat rigid at our double desks, scribbling homework, our hands and feet stiff. My deskmate, shivering violently, edged closer to my side. At first, I was startled—why would a girl sit so near me? Half a minute later, I understood: huddling together truly did make a difference. So, I let her lean there. Soon, rumors about us started circulating among the classmates, though neither of us offered a denial. It wasn't needed; there was nothing to explain. The sole impetus for our closeness was the bitter cold, seeking shared warmth.

And so, now, I shamelessly leaned into Xiao Shu, not giving a thought to whether he felt uncomfortable. If leaning against another person shared warmth, why hoard one's own body heat? It cost everyone nothing, the only potential side effect being that two grown boys might be mistaken for lovers. However, as we sat like this, only the reader—and not the world around us—could witness it, and most readers would understand.

While I was lost in these meandering thoughts, Xiao Shu suddenly shifted, pulling away from where he sat. Pressed close to his side, I lost my balance and tumbled heavily onto the ground—a seemingly sarcastic commentary on my recent musings.

“What’s wrong?” I scrambled up from the dirt, rubbing my aching shoulder.

“I heard a sound. I’ll check,” he said, moving cautiously toward the forest, apparently unconcerned with the liberty I’d just taken.

He left. The cold wind immediately whistled back into my clothes, raising gooseflesh and starting a tremor that shook my frame. I couldn't bear sitting still any longer. I jumped up and followed him to the edge of the woods.

The wind rustled through the trees, creating a soft susurrus. I cupped my ears, which were tingling from the cold, and hopped on the spot, asking, “Really? Besides the leaves, I heard absolutely nothing.”

“Yes! It sounded like two monkeys chattering very close by, and then they vanished quickly,” Xiao Shu stated, his expression serious.

“Monkeys?” My mind flashed to the scout who had fled and the two riders I’d glimpsed flashing across the plain. I wondered if this monkey tribe differed from ordinary simians, if they possessed social structures akin to humans.

“En, like they were whispering secrets, then darted away. We should wait for dawn before heading into the woods,” he said, returning to the embankment and quietly sitting where he had been. This time, he took off his coat and tossed it to me. “Put this on. My constitution is better than yours; I can handle the cold.”

I blushed as I draped the coat over myself, suddenly too mortified to lean close to him again. Yet, in the pitch black of the night, no one could discern my embarrassment.

As I sat, I drifted off. In my dream, that scene reappeared: my older sister and mother grasping each other’s hands, unable to resist some unseen force, once again separated by that door. Just as I lunged forward to smash the door open, I felt a sharp, rhythmic thwack against my back, a sudden, jarring pain.

I snapped my eyes open. It was fully light. Xiao Shu was bound, hands tied behind him, crouching to one side. A troop of Golden-Haired Great Apes was mercilessly beating my back with tree branches.