It's been a long time since Lu Xiaoyi has had a dream. He's spent three years studying blind carving, and now he's had a weird dream. The tortoiseshell that Lu saw in his last dream doesn't appear in this one. The birthmark on Lu's left buttock disappears, and he wakes up from the dream. What's more, he can't even move his legs. He can hardly see the scar on his forehead that he got when he was little. He wants to die, but the scar seems to have gotten fainter. He tells his mom and dad to come see him. He says he'll show them the healing powers of the tortoiseshell, but they should stay calm and not share it with anyone. He also tells them that his dad is much better than before, and that his wife and father-in-law are crying because they've lost their ability to feed their family in their old age. They're both worried that the only thing that can cure the disease is the tortoise shell.