This chapter opens with the sound of a snake's squeak. It's so close that it looks like it's not aiming at the snake, but at the same time, it seems like the snake needs help. It seems like there's a "survival of the fittest" principle at play here, but the snake is too small to be a threat to a giant python, so he follows the creature. The snake notices that the other creature is friendly, and it seems to understand what he's saying. He notices that there are some rare herbs in the forest, and he notices that one of the herbs is the star- spiritual grass, which he thinks is a valuable treasure. He also notices that a kind of mink is nearby, with a "wise soul" and the ability to understand "squeak squeak" . The two of them go off together, and the snake says that the wild mink is his "most loyal companion" , and that he has refined everything in the book, but that he hasn't yet refined everything to the alchemist's standards