Dr. Gu diao has been poisoned by a new class of drug called "hallucinogen" , which is not easily detected when people drink it. The doctor is still in a coma, and the only way to treat him is to take him away to the academy. The narrator tells us that he has known the doctor for over a hundred years, and that he thought he had enough time to cure him of the disease before he died. He tells the narrator that he is not a "charitarian" and that his wound is not healed. He asks the narrator to take some of his blood before he changes his mind.