In this chapter, we learn that the protagonist is going to investigate a murder in an ancient village in the mountains of Guangdong province. He is accompanied by a group of people who have come to visit him because he has been injured in an accident. The group includes a taxi driver, a civil affairs official, a hospital official, and a bridgeman. The bridgeman tells the protagonist that the village is located at an edge of the mountains and that it has been inhabited by ethnic minorities for thousands of years. He tells the group that he hopes to find the key to the mystery of the Kwan-Yin temple, which is believed to be located on the mountain. He also tells the story of how the village has been infested with poisonous insects since ancient times.