In this chapter, the young fish tells the story of his life. When he was a baby, his father saved him and took him to his village. The village had been ravaged by earthquakes and famines for many years, but the people still treated him like their own. He learned some magic tricks from his clan, and he and his father traveled around to try to make money, but they came up empty-handed. He tells the reader that he wants to help his village, and that if he can capture the thousand-year-old scorpion king, he will teach him magic. He explains that his first attempt at capturing the gu insect king did not work, and after that, his teacher disappeared. The plague in his village is the same plague that plagues the fish, so he left for the City of Salvation.