[They follow him out, much dispersed but dogged.

The scenery warps weirdly as he leaves the cave itself. Instead of walking out into the landscape, the landscape shifts and becomes something else, without ever stopping being a landscape at all. The rocks are teeth, claws; the bilious moon, an eye; the shadows, fur...

He is next to the huli jing. A truly enormous hole has been blasted in its side, emitting the smoke.]