When the Sea Turned to Silver

The stonecutter notices that his treatment has improved since Amah’s arrival, observing that most people respect her as the Storyteller. He then asks Amah to tell him a story about food, and she shares The Story of the Stolen Bite of Peach:

For Emperor Zu’s birthday, his mother, the “Immortal Queen Mother of the Heavens,” gifts him a peach that would grant him 999 extra years of life, as he is too flawed for immortality. After the Queen Mother leaves, Zu demands that a servant bring the peach to him. However, before the peach reaches the emperor, someone from the crowd steals it and takes a bite. The thief is one of the emperor’s magistrates, distantly related through marriage. Infuriated, the emperor orders the magistrate’s execution, but the man argues that since he has eaten the peach, he is now immune to death from old age or illness. The emperor counters that the magistrate is only protected from natural causes, not execution. In response, the magistrate reminds Zu that the peach was a gift, and the Queen Mother would disapprove if the emperor’s first act after receiving it were to order a death. Reluctantly, the emperor spares the magistrate, though he laments not having had the first bite himself.

The stonecutter then notes that despite the peach, Emperor Zu did not live for an additional 999 years and was instead killed by Emperor Shang’s troops. Curious, the stonecutter wonders what became of the magistrate, but Amah remains evasive in her response.

Yishan and Pinmei walk through the corridor toward the soldiers’ camp. They scan the area, focusing on a tent guarded by two soldiers. Yishan devises a plan to enter the tent from the back, intending to use a knife to cut through the fabric. Just as he begins slicing the tent, someone suddenly grabs his hand.

Yanna quickly tells them to be quiet and demands to know why they are trying to sneak into the commander’s camp. After Pinmei and Yishan explain that they are searching for a prisoner, Yanna informs them the emperor already sent all the prisoners to the Vast Wall. Curious, Yishan asks what Yanna is searching for. She reveals that she is looking for the king’s son, who had been sent to hide in a northern village where the emperor had recently attacked. Yanna adds that Pinmei’s story gave her the courage to take this bold action. Suddenly, the commander shouts, and the tent is sliced open from the inside.

Yanna quickly grabs Pinmei and Yishan, shoving them behind a nearby sculpture. She offers to leave first, planning to distract the guards so they can slip away and return to Lady Meng. Before leaving, Yanna urges them to escape Bright Moonlight as soon as possible, warning them to avoid the western side of the walkway. With a final request, she asks Pinmei to include her in a story.

Pinmei and Yishan take off running, but the soldiers immediately pursue them. One of the soldiers catches hold of Pinmei’s coat, but Yishan yanks her free. In a panicked rush, Pinmei grabs Yishan and continues pulling him forward. Suddenly, the soldiers stop their chase. Only then does Pinmei realize they have unknowingly crossed onto the forbidden western side of the walkway.

The soldiers watch Pinmei and Yishan grimly but remain stationed in place, flanking the corridor. Pinmei and Yishan cautiously reach a nearby pavilion, spotting two shadowed figures. As Pinmei recognizes them as the king and the emperor, she and Yishan accept that they have already been sentenced to death for using the forbidden western walkway and move closer to eavesdrop on their conversation.

After a prolonged struggle, the Black Tortoise of Winter collapses, utterly exhausted. Unable to move any further, he resolves to seek assistance.

Pinmei and Yishan cautiously move closer to the king and the emperor, concealing themselves behind a statue. They silently witness the king offering the Tiger Emperor the dragon’s pearl from their vantage point. The emperor laughs scornfully at KaeJae, declaring that the dragon’s pearl is not a Luminous Stone and suggesting that KaeJae might find it at the “Crystal Palace at Sea Bottom” (156). He ridicules the king’s intelligence, believing that KaeJae thinks less of the emperor because KaeJae can read the Paper of Answers, but the emperor cannot. The emperor reveals that he asked the Paper for the secret of immortality, and the paper responded “stories,” which led to him to abduct Amah. Skeptical of the Paper’s answer, the emperor dismisses the notion that stories hold the key to immortality. He then demands that KaeJae ask the Paper if the emperor will achieve immortality. The king reads the Paper, which answers yes.

Pinmei is horrified at the prospect of the emperor achieving immortality. The emperor attempts to ask additional questions, but the Paper can only provide one answer per night and only in the light of a full moon. With this limitation, the emperor departs, making plans for the future. After a considerable wait, the king approaches the statue and tells Pinmei and Yishan to come out.

The king shares with the children that the pavilion was once his painting studio but gave up painting after sending his son away. Yishan tells the king that Yanna was searching for his son, but learned that he had already been sent to the Vast Wall. The king sorrowfully responds that his son is as good as lost, explaining that the workers at the Vast Wall are treated terribly and buried beneath it when they die from the brutal conditions. He then turns to the children and asks why they have come.

Before the children can respond, the king asks what they overheard. Yishan admits they heard him read the Paper of Answers. The king urges them to leave immediately, warning that the emperor will kill them for knowing this. When Pinmei asks how the king obtained the Paper, he says it is a complicated story and instead asks if they know the tale of the first King of Bright Moonlight’s father. When Pinmei confirms, the king asks her to share her version.

Pinmei recounts The Story of the Green Tiger:

An emperor gives all the kings in his land a seed, telling them to nurture it and return with the plant at the Moon Festival. The King of Bright Moonlight’s father, a former magistrate, pressures his son to grow the best plant so he can regain power. Despite all efforts, the seed does not sprout. The night before the festival, the father gives the king a rare moonflower to deceive the emperor, but the king refuses, choosing to tell the truth. The Paper of Answers supports the king, stating that the truth cannot remain hidden. Furious, the father grabs the Paper and, in his rage, falls into a lake, transforming into a green tiger.

Yishan interrupts, claiming the king exiled his father, but Pinmei insists it only happened after the transformation. The king adds that his father had once given the Paper away but later returned the Paper and a story. The King tells The New Part of the Story of the Green Tiger:

After abdicating, KaeJae’s father wanders near a vast black lake. A tiger emerges, and an old man appears. The old man explains that the tiger gained its freedom after 60 years due to his son’s service. The tiger transforms back into a human and flees on all fours. KaeJae’s father realizes the man is the Green Tiger.

Pinmei wonders if the Green Tiger is the emperor, but KaeJae doubts it, as his father would have to be immortal. Yishan argues that KaeJae should not be aiding the emperor, and KaeJae responds that he has no choice.

Pinmei then concludes The End of the Story of the Green Tiger:

At the Moon Festival, the emperor asks who brought the bare pot. The King of Bright Moonlight confesses his failure, and though the emperor gives him a chance to blame others, the king takes full responsibility. The emperor praises his honesty and reveals he boiled all the seeds so that none could grow.

As KaeJae agrees with Yishan that he should not help the emperor, they see Lady Meng’s swallow, followed by Lady Meng herself. Before she can warn them about the emperor and the guards, an arrow strikes the swallow, turning it back into a mussel as it falls.

The king leads Lady Meng, Pinmei, and Yishan to a hidden door and urges them to leave the city immediately. He hands Pinmei the Paper of Answers, and when she hesitates, he reassures her that there are worse fates than death.

Lady Meng, Pinmei, and Yishan race through the streets, unsure how to escape the city. They ask a peddler for directions, but a soldier spots them. Panicked, they flee, knocking on doors and pleading for help, but no one responds. Just as the soldiers close in, a voice calls out to them, and they slip into a nearby house.

A servant named Haiyi, with a kind demeanor but a face deeply scarred, welcomes them in. When the soldiers knock, asking about the children, Haiyi wards them off by invoking her employers’ favor with the emperor, successfully intimidating the soldiers into leaving.

Haiyi prepares a meal for the group. When Lady Meng comments that Haiyi’s employers must be very kind, Haiyi disagrees. Pinmei, concerned about Haiyi’s safety, asks if she will get in trouble. In response, Haiyi points to her scars, explaining they are from the Stingy Rice.

Pinmei then tells The Story of the Scars of Stingy Rice:

A wealthy lord, known for flaunting his riches, refuses to help the poor. For his 60th birthday, he throws a lavish banquet, even covering the road to his house with blue silk and filling cracks with uncooked rice, forbidding anyone from taking it. When an old man passes by asking for food, the servants refuse and accuse him of theft when he takes some rice. The lord orders his men to beat the old man, but with every strike, the lord feels the pain. As the old man leaves, he blows the rice and silk away. As the rice falls, it scars the lord and his servants.

Haiyi reveals that the same fate befell herself and her employers. Hearing the group’s cries for help, she saw it as a chance to make amends. Afterward, Haiyi puts the children to bed.

The Black Tortoise of Winter contemplates reaching the Sea King for assistance. He bites off his tongue in a desperate move, and it transforms into a snake.