A creak, the sound of boots treading wood, drifted from the distance, accompanied by heavy, ragged breaths.

Through the chaotic beam of the flashlight, I saw Grandpa and the others climbing steadily up the wooden walkway until they reached its very end.

It was a grotto that opened out from a vault in the tree canopy, connecting to the space on the level above. The walkway dissolved into a staircase beneath the cavern entrance, offering direct ascent.

I saw Muyun leading the group. Without hesitation, he scrambled up the stairs and forcefully shoved aside a layer of wooden planks covering the opening, slipping through first.

Grandpa, surrounded by his retinue, followed in file.

Daxiong brought up the rear. He fired a couple of random shots into the darkness and cursed twice before attempting to squeeze through. However, due to his considerable girth, his rear end got wedged in the opening. It took the combined might of the people above them a Herculean effort to haul him in as well.

Seeing that everyone connected to Grandpa had entered the upper level of the tree hollow, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and slowly straightened up, rubbing my arms and knees stiff from nervous tension.

I took two steps forward, moving out from under the shadow of the enormous fungus above, and said to *, "Let's go, we should follow them."

yanked me back, saying, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? That thing was just circling right above us!"

I offered him a faint smile and replied, "It's fine, that thing is actually quite easy to handle."

looked at me with suspicion, perhaps unaccustomed to seeing me so self-assured, and asked, "What makes you say that?"

I paused in thought, then said to him, "Do you remember how those Yù tried desperately to blow out the flames in our hands?"

nodded, saying, "Yes, I never could figure that out."

I continued, "Flames that small posed no actual threat to those monsters. The only explanation is that these flames attract their natural predators. And since one of the Yù was snatched away by something in the trees at that moment, I deduced their predator must be something capable of flight."

stroked his chin, clearly finding my logic sound, then furrowed his brow and asked, "And then?"

I crouched down, gathering a small amount of the powder that had fallen from the sky from the ground and showed it to *, saying, "Think about it: creatures active at night that can fly are generally limited to owls, bats, and..."

Before I could finish that sentence, a sudden, fierce wind roared from above, and a colossal shape dove toward us.

reacted instantly, slamming his hands onto my shoulders, forcing me down. A sharp zzzt sound tore from his shoulder, and the contents of his backpack exploded outward like scattered blossoms.

Startled, I quickly asked, "Are you alright?"

shook his head, whispering, "Don't move!"

As he spoke, I heard the frantic flapping of wings erupting from all directions, punctuated by intermittent flashes of dim, crimson light shimmering everywhere.

breathed heavily, visibly tense, and said to me, "It seems this tree hollow has other exits. These monsters are returning to the nest now. What do we do?"

Hearing him and observing the chaos around us, I felt a knot of anxiety tighten in my own chest. If my hypothesis was correct, we stood a chance of escape, as I was intimately familiar with that animal. But if my guess was wrong, given the sheer force of the attack, survival would be impossible.

So, I stopped playing games. I urged *, "Quick! Find the flare!"

immediately fumbled for his pack behind him, only to freeze mid-reach as he remembered the recent assault had shredded the bag, scattering its contents everywhere.

frantically switched on his flashlight to search, but this action agitated the countless dark shapes swirling overhead. They began to beat their wings furiously and charge in our direction.

Knowing the situation had become critical, I snatched the flashlight from *’s hand and hurled it away.

The beam cut an arc through the air, and before it even hit the ground, a blast of gale-force wind erupted nearby. Several massive, black shapes, perhaps five or six meters long, descended from the sky, smashing down precisely where the flashlight had landed. Instantly, we were plunged back into absolute blackness.

We were knocked to the ground by the sudden hurricane and the accompanying spray of grit and debris, shaken badly.

But there was no time to recover. I rolled over immediately, fumbling blindly in the dark to help * locate the signal flare gun.

Unfortunately, the contents of *’s backpack were a complete jumble, and our rising panic only made it impossible to find the flare gun.

Just as our anxiety peaked, a series of strange, high-pitched chirps echoed from somewhere deep within the fungus thicket. Something was charging toward us.

I recognized the sound as belonging to those green-spined monsters. My heart sank halfway. I muttered, "What the hell! With the natural predators right here, how did these things get in?"

whispered back, "They must be the prey the flying monsters dragged back. But they seem to have switched targets to us now, so the prey escaped!"

Realization dawned on me; there was no other logical explanation.

At this moment, enormous shadows wheeled menacingly overhead, countless giant monsters circling, while from the nearby fungus patch, the shrieks of the green-spined creatures grew rapidly closer. We were trapped in yet another dire predicament.

However, compared to our previous encounters, * and I maintained an unusual calm. He said to me, "You keep searching. I'll handle these Yù."

Though separated by only a meter or two, I could not see * at all, only hearing a rustling sound, as if he were drawing the pistol from his hip. But then, I heard two distinct clicks—the sound of a misfire—followed by * swearing: "Damn it, I forgot, there’s no ammo left!"

Then I heard him seem to crouch down, picking up the wooden stake we had used earlier as an ice axe, followed by a snap as he drew the military knife from his boot.

I knew he was preparing for a close-quarters brawl, and that he wouldn't last long. So, I began sweeping my hands wildly across the ground, frantically searching for the flare gun.

Simultaneously, the fungi near us began to crackle and splinter underfoot as a dozen heavy footfalls charged rapidly into our proximity.

I heard the low growls of the green-spined monsters, the sharp sounds of * swinging his makeshift club, and his own labored gasps for air.

Then, with a dull thud, something heavy fell right beside me.

The object let out a muffled grunt through its nostrils, and a strained voice immediately asked, "Have you found it yet?"

I was stunned. It was *’s voice. He must have been injured.

I immediately reached out to help him up, but the moment my hand made contact, I recoiled in shock. His arm was slick with blood, and hot, flowing blood poured down his limb, drenching my own arm like a spring.

A wave of dread and sheer panic surged through me, leaving me momentarily paralyzed. * had sustained a grievous wound!

Just then, the frenzied stomping footsteps rushed toward us again.

I moved to shield *, my knee accidentally brushing against something cold and hard. Feeling around, I realized with a jolt that it was the flare gun—the very thing I had been desperately searching for was right in front of me!

I pulled back the bolt and confirmed there was one round loaded. Without hesitation, I fired diagonally upward.

The crimson flare ascended into the sky, trailing an intensely scorching light that illuminated the entire tree hollow as if it were high noon.

I could finally see the things circling overhead. Just as I suspected, they were gigantic, black moths, each five or six meters long. They propelled themselves through the cavern, beating triangular wings that were hard and jet-black, their texture resembling metal that caught an oily sheen.

Beneath each of their broad wings was a spot of dark red luminescence, shaped eerily like an animal’s eye. These red markings were repeated on their black abdomens and on their bifurcated hind legs, which resembled steel forks.

The human face we had seen earlier was composed of the spots on the wings, the abdomen, and the rear legs—no wonder the 'face' had such a large nose.

I recognized these moths. They were not common insects; no modern biology texts listed them. However, I had seen them documented in a nameless, ancient book. They were a species of moth called the Míng.

In ancient writings describing demons and spirits that plague humanity, the term “Míng-Yù” appears. People generally believed Míng and Yù were two separate, symbiotic specters, but that old book clearly recorded that the Míng, while preferring human flesh, usually subsisted by capturing the Yù. Therefore, the green-spined monsters were indeed called Yù.