A wounded Atsufusa calls for the Prince, offering vital intelligence. But what could be worth risking another ambush to hear? When the Prince ignores Sumio's advice, Yukiya's wits become his only lifeline.

Yukiya and the Prince find a remote farming village devastated by vicious monkeys. A lone girl survives the attack, but is she the innocent victim she seems? Yukiya suspects an even darker side to this unprecedented disaster.

The missing water merchant is found at last—as a mutilated corpse bearing a written confession. The Prince rushes to investigate the dry well at the root of his strange story, but Yukiya isn't ready to clear Koume of suspicion just yet.