In this chapter, we are introduced to the world of the novel, which is ruled by the story and art of the jingjian. The narrator tells us that he is blind and crippled, and that the characters in the novel look the same. He wonders why the doctor is giving him so much trouble, and wonders if he would have done anything differently if he had been an elder. He also wonders if it is better to live than to die, since there is nothing after death.