In this chapter, we learn about a speech talisman, which is a magical device that spirits can use to speak like other spirits. The speech talismans are usually free, but now they have to pay for them. This is a big problem for the narrator, because he wants to buy the speech talisman for his little bear. He wants to know if the little bear has any spiritual powers, but the narrator can't figure out how to use a spell to get him to speak. The narrator tells the old man to try and hit him with a small spell. The old man says that he's lived a long time, but he hasn't heard of spirits being found in the barren mountain near the city. He says that since the bear is so young, he must have been very smart. He also says that the bear must be a national treasure, and that he has the soul of shut-in, too. He asks where he found the bear, and the narrator says he found him yesterday on peach mountain. He's been living in the city for over a hundred years, so he knows where spirits are found. He tells the narrator to give the bear a spell, so that he can speak like a spirit beast. The little bear is all, "I can talk now, and keep hitting me." The narrator asks if he has taken the bear to the spirit beasts hall yet, and he says he has, but that shishujian li has said that the