The next morning, Dr. Zhuang wonders why he hasn't brought his wife back to the city. He doesn't know how to "retrieve memory for moon chop" the missing girls, so he can't bring them back. He's also worried that the hermits are trying to kill his wife, because she's the one in the painting who saved the human child from the witch. This is why he's so worried about his wife's safety. He also worries that the people who have been trying to harm his wife might be trying to do the same to her. He wants to know what he would do if he were in love with her, and he wonders if he'd kill her without hesitation. The hermits, he says, aren't evil, and they shouldn't be coexisting with humans.