The chapter opens with a description of the fireflies that have arrived at Grandma's house. They're still in the form of venomous insects, and they're waiting for their grandmother to return. The fireflies tell us that they were originally born in the summer, but that they died in the winter, so they've been living in this form ever since. Grandma never came back, and the only thing that keeps them alive is that she's never come back. So they have no choice, but to wait and see if she comes back. Hmm...what if she doesn't come back at all? The fireflies wonder what the relationship between Grandma and Shenmu is.