The Fox Wife

Content Warning: This section includes references to suicide.

Kuro finds Snow and Tagtaa in the forest, and he guides them back to the house. Along the way, Tagtaa asks Kuro how he knows Shiro. Kuro keeps his answers vague, intimating only that they were childhood friends, despite Shiro being the type to look only after himself. When they arrive, Bohai is anxiously waiting for them, as he saw someone without a shadow. When he and Tagtaa leave, Kuro tells Snow how haunted the boy looks. Shiro finds Snow. When they’re alone, he reveals that Bektu is in Moji and asks Snow to wait before paying him a visit. Snow does not listen and gathers regular clothing to go see him.

Bao buys a train ticket to Dalian. He hears how a man who’d been planning to sell a woman to the pleasure district found himself unconscious next to railway tracks. Bao believes that the woman is the same fox lady that Mr. Wang is desperately trying to find. He feels energized by his hunt, a feeling he hasn’t known in a long time. He recalls how his wife had been a timid and nervous companion who needed his approval for everything and how, despite his mediocre career, he’s not had any real hardships despite what he believes to be his impending doom.