Xiu Is Bitten by the Nine-Legged Spider

Xiu Is Bitten by the Nine-Legged Spider marks the moment Daji’s repeated attempts to reach her chosen target succeed. The attack begins with a distinction Daji has made between the sisters: Xiu is the girl she wants, while Mulan is an obstacle who has thwarted the spiders before. When Xiu cries out, Mulan rushes in, turning a concealed approach into an openly recognized attack and setting the sisters’ danger in view.

Causes and Background

The scene opens from the perspective of a spider-transformed participant who dislikes the change: in that form, her sight dims and the world resolves into smoky shapes. Even with impaired vision, she can follow Daji, whose white spider form stands out in the darkness. The group’s repeated failures weigh on Daji. The narration makes clear that they have attempted this many times, across years, and have repeatedly been thwarted; the immediate attack is therefore part of a longstanding pursuit rather than an isolated encounter.

Daji directs the spiders toward the “right girl.” She considers Mulan a persistent nuisance, blaming her clumsy movements for interrupting them, and dismisses her as incapable of saving the Emperor. The important distinction is not simply that the sisters are both present, but that Daji assigns them different significance: Mulan keeps obstructing the plan, whereas Xiu is the person Daji intends to reach. Daji’s impatient tapping and the flashing of her eyes communicate that instruction to the others before they move.

The Approach and Attack

The spiders leave the shadows and move toward Xiu, whom the narration identifies through her connection to embroidery threads and woven cloth. They cross the floor and climb the table, advancing without being noticed. Daji’s spider legs disappear into the folds of Xiu’s dress as the pursuers draw closer than they have managed before. The sequence stretches out the approach—movement, observation, and another movement—so that their near success becomes apparent before Xiu knows they are there.

Daji then leaps from the sleeve onto Xiu’s hand and bites her. The account keeps the action brief: Xiu gasps and screams, while the glint in the spider’s eyes signals Daji’s satisfaction at finally reaching her. The repeated pursuit changes at this point from threatened approach to completed attack. The spiders have not merely found the intended girl; Daji has reached her before anyone intervenes.

Mulan’s Arrival and the Sisters’ Roles

The door flies open as the attack is discovered. Mulan rushes into the room and asks what has happened. Xiu calls her by name and identifies the nine-legged spider as the one that bit her, grasping Mulan’s strong arms as she speaks. That exchange makes the danger legible to Mulan: what had been a hidden approach is now an acknowledged attack, and Xiu has directly named both the attacker and what it did.

The sisters’ different positions in the scene sharpen the earlier contrast. Mulan is the person whose sudden movements have repeatedly disrupted Daji’s attempts; now she is also the first person shown entering after Xiu cries out. Xiu, meanwhile, is the target Daji had distinguished from her sister. The attack therefore brings the two strands together: Daji’s effort to reach Xiu and Mulan’s continuing presence in the way of that effort.

Narrative Significance

The scene builds its suspense from the gap between the spiders’ knowledge and Xiu’s. Daji and her companions recognize the intended target and approach in secret; Xiu does not identify the threat until it is upon her. The reader, meanwhile, is allowed to follow the spiders’ progress step by step, from the shadows to the table and the folds of the dress. The delayed discovery makes their success feel like a reversal of the earlier pattern of repeated frustration.

The encounter also establishes that the spiders’ pursuit has a specific purpose: Daji does not regard Mulan as the girl she wants, and her words connect the desired girl with the possibility of saving the Emperor. The attack on Xiu converts that stated objective into an immediate personal danger, while Mulan’s entrance signals that the pursuit will no longer remain concealed. The scene ends with Xiu identifying the spider and calling for her sister, not with the danger resolved.