This chapter opens with a description of the scent of the blood-qi pill. It is a watered down version of the "sacred heart pill" . The narrator explains that he also has a pill that he would like to offer the emperor. The emperor is confident enough to give his gift to the messenger immediately after jiu-xingshan. The messenger is shocked to learn that the messenger has a gift for the emperor, but the messenger refuses to look at the gift. He throws the gift onto the ground and says he will not give it to the emperor because the emperor has no time to accept such insignificant gifts. The messengers are shocked to hear that the man is from a backwater village and that he wants to return the gift for his master. They are shocked that he has such a desire to return his gift, and the messenger is even more shocked when he finds out that the gift is the sacred-heart-pill. He is horrified to find out that it is the same thing as the "blood-qi-pill" and that it has a much stronger smell. He swears that he did not break the gift and asks the messenger to explain this to his master