Act 12 opens with a brief prologue, in which the narrator laments the cruelties of fate. He wonders how we can be so powerless against it, and wonders if the word "tongyue" exists for this specific purpose. The narrator is interrupted by an assistant, who tells him that the town of Sanchuan is mentioned in the story, but that he should not tell anyone that he is studying. The assistant urges him to go out and fight someone,