The chapter opens with a flashback to the death of Lingzi. Lingzi's brother, ning, explains to tao that he has gone to a strange country and died. He is afraid that something is wrong with his physical body. He begs tao to come with him to the city, where he can care for him. ning explains that they have been engaged for some time, and that it is not too soon for their relationship to be moving too fast. He says that he is going to check on where Lingzi has gone, and he will make sure that she never escapes again