This chapter opens with a conversation between Bai Qingyan and a young man. The young man tells Bai that the mob has framed General Ji as a demon and that the people of Langye will starve if they do not kill him. Bai tells the young man that General Ji was killed by an assassin at his wedding, and that he woke up before his burial. Bai is surprised that Bai is speaking out against General Ji, and asks him if he knows who ordered him to kill the emperor. Bai says that he does not care if the emperor is a demon or a man, as long as he takes his life.