This chapter's epigraph is from the opening lines of the novel, which are the same as the epigraph for this chapter. The epigraph says that if you are dying to stay, then live here. This is a reference to the fact that sheng is dying to live, but he is also dying to be with his sister, who has come to live with the mirage demon. She tells sheng that she will have to watch sheng behave according to the wishes of the demon, and that he will need to drink blood in order to remain alive. Worried about her sister's health, sheng tells her that since she came to the demon's house, this will be her job. When sheng asks her why she is calling him "aunt rong," she tells him that she is his mother and that she has always called him "sheng'er." Worried that her sister will not be able to finish the medicine she has made for sheng, she pulls down her mask and starts to eat red dates. She wonders how black lotuses are getting along with each other up there, and she wonders if it is raining outside. When she is finished, she tells siao that the kitchen is empty and that there is not even a grain of sugar in it. She says that she cannot thank her sister for making her medicine, but that