Xingyin wakes in a guarded room, bound with magic-suppressing bracelets. She still has her flute, but the pearls and bow are gone. She remembers Wenzhi’s strange eyes and gathers hairpins for weapons. Wenzhi arrives, still with silver eyes. She attacks him, and they fight; he disarms her and admits that his black eyes were a disguise. He reveals that he is a prince of the Cloud Wall, which Celestials call the Demon Realm. Xingyin confronts him about his deceit and abduction, but he points out that she agreed to come home with him, and that she also lied about her identity.

Xingyin realizes he is a Mind Talent. They argue over the ethics of Mind magic: Xingyin hates it, Wenzhi views it as a neutral tool. He also reveals his motivations: Wenzhi wants to be Crown Prince in order to protect his loved ones from his terrible half-brother. The king—their father—agreed, as long as Wenzhi helps him overthrow the Celestial Kingdom and brings him the dragons’ pearls. Wenzhi snuck into the Celestial Kingdom army, used the magic-suppressing ore from the Xiangliu’s mountain to make shackles, orchestrated the merfolk rebellion through Renyu, kidnapped Princess Fengmei (as the mysterious archer), and allied with Lady Hualing to kill Liwei.