This chapter opens with a soliloquy in which the young heroine tries to convince herself that she is worthy of the position of lead in the harem. She is afraid that if she lets the prince take the lead, she will not be able to control him. She also fears that if the prince returns to the west, he will start a war with the evil god, and the world will again be in chaos. She tells the prince that she has heard that the master aunt is planning to bring her to the western part of the country to marry a wealthy merchant. She says that she will save her master and bring the mistress back to the palace. The young heroine wonders where her master is, and she wonders if it is monkey hair. She wonders if the master is the supreme master, and wonders if she should report it to her master. She then wonders if there is a stain on the monkey's hair, which she thinks is the master's. The prince shows her a magnifying glass, which contains a poem written by the west. He tells her that he is near the border with China and that bandits have recently robbed the people in the border town of Quing.