In this chapter, we learn that the people of the Wild Boar have been using a cauldron as a weapon against their enemies. They've been using it as a way of refining the blood of their ancestor, the scaly dragon, who they believe to be the patriarch of the Ming tribe. The patriarch is currently in seclusion and won't come out for a while. The Wild Boar asks if the patriarch is there, and the boy answers that the patriarch isn't. He also says that they all call him the willow god, which means "omnipotent" and "superpower." The word "god" doesn't mean anything for ordinary people, the boy says, because "gods are overpowering" and they can easily wipe out a great clan in an instant. Everyone wants to live in their own village, but they're politely turned down. The only way they can get water from the village is by going outside the village and drinking holy water from a willow tree that's been struck by lightning in the past. The willow tree has never done any good, the boys say, because it's just a bunch of birds that have a "runic aura" .