Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin were filled with lingering fear after narrowly escaping disaster, their spirits shattered. Xie Xun saw how truly bedraggled they looked and grabbed Zhou Liyu with one hand and Cai Wensen with the other, urging them to lie down on Zhuifeng. "Let's go, get back to the camp and treat the wounds first."
Xie Xun turned back, put on his gloves, and picked up all the darts scattered around. Gathering them together, he threw them into a crevice and covered it with weeds.
By the time they returned to the camp, dusk had not yet fully settled. In spring, after the sun descends, there remains a lengthy stretch of gray twilight before nightfall. Fang Chuning and Xie Jue were standing by the river fishing; one dressed in black, the other in white, their silhouettes elegant. When they saw Xie Xun returning with young men who were barely recognizable, Fang Chuning glanced at the four swollen faces and frowned. "How did you end up stung by poisonous bees like this?"
