This chapter's epigraph is from the opening of the novel, which describes the internal conflict within the dark moon family. The youthfeather family is becoming stronger and stronger, and the family must not repeat the mistakes of the past. The family must properly guide the next generation, and there is no one among the descendants of the darkmoons who is a good person. This is the first time the narrator has seen the internal strife of the family. He wonders if the noble families like the youthfeathers have the same problems. He thinks that once they leave the valley, they will have left mount-beiming. He looks at the corpses and wonders why there are so many. The smell of blood is strong, but there is not a rotting smell. The people must have been dead for at least two days. The clothes of the dead look like they belong to the imperial guard, and it is obvious that they were killed by human beings. They must have killed at least one enemy with them. The only explanation for why the enemy could have killed so many people is that the enemy retreated and did not have to worry about being captured. The other explanation is that they would have been afraid of being wanted by the imperial family, who would not take the corpses lying down.