This chapter opens with a soliloquy by the lingling, in which he laments the fact that he is the only one who knows the secrets of the forbidden area. He tells us that he knows the secret of the "miasma forest" because he has been spying on it since he was a child, and he knows that the "ancient demon" knows about it. He also says that he admires the way that the sun has treated him, and that he has always loved him. He says that the reason that he chose the sun is that he loves the woman he has loved the most from him. The sun has taken the woman that is the most precious from him and has made him the archmage of his rival. He shows the young ling an ancient book, which he has found, and tells him that he will soon be able to learn the secret from it.