The swordsman tells the snow maiden that he is waiting for a man who will love him and who will even sacrifice his life so that he can be with her. He tells her to sing for him, and then he goes off to find the man. He describes the landscape as "phantom and shadow" and says that the heart is painted with love. He says that he sometimes wonders what if he just stayed a prince and never took on the responsibilities of the entire Ming empire from the previous emperor. He wants the man to stay at the palace with him, because he thinks that the man is a special person. He asks the man why he did not say a word before he left, and he says that since his brother and sister in law let him take care of the nation, people will judge him fairly and firmly for generations. He then tells the man that he will send him back when he has enough energy to do so.