Summary

In “Returning Beasts,” the narrator stated that the beasts were the descendants of ancient tomb robbers. They hid during the day and only appeared during night. They worked to build and maintain the underworld beneath Yong’an, the City of the Dead, and they were the only ones who know the location of the deceased.

The narrator went to the Dolphin Bar with Zhong Liang. A returning beast came in and tried to grab the bartender, but then he saw the narrator and ran away. She and Zhong Liang chased the returning beast because she wanted to see if he could take her to see the soul of her professor. They finally found the returning beast, but he had been stabbed in the heart by someone else.

After the police ruled the death an unfortunate mugging, the narrator and Zhong Liang...