This chapter opens with a soliloquy by Xinhua, in which he apologizes to the soldiers for their behavior in the battle. He tells them that the princess's servant, Longyafei, has already suspected them of being spies, and that it would be better for them to hide out for a while. Xinhua then turns to the other soldiers and asks them if they saw the servant's face. They reply that they did, and Xinhua says that it was because the woman gave a good performance. He then asks if he thinks that the poem was written by the emperor, and they both agree that it is written by him. They also agree that the emperor's daughter, Lingyu, is outstanding, but that her father, feiyang, doesn't care about her. They then discuss the fact that the entire Zhan dynasty has been looking for the emperor and every time they find a lead, it is killed. They decide that since they have lost all their leads, they should just go straight to the Black Dragon Crew and tell their military commanders to prepare for battle.