Minli and Dragon take off in the direction the compass indicates, trudging through grey, rocky terrain. In the distance, they spy a bright yellow spot of landscape that looks like gold. Minli doesn’t have the proper clothing for the cold weather, and Dragon wants to get her warmer clothes, but they stop before reaching the village to spend the night in a cave. Minli builds a fire, and as Dragon sleeps, she stays awake thinking about Ma and Ba and the ways they’ve sacrificed for and protected her. She thinks about the buffalo boy, who doesn’t have these same protections but still seems happy, nonetheless. She feels guilty and ashamed and is unable to sleep. Suddenly, she hears a noise outside the cave. When she steps outside, she sees the frightening Green Tiger.

Ma and Ba eat dinner in their hut as the wind blows hard outside: “The wind continued to slap the house and trees, the whole earth seemed to shudder at the screeching wind. Only the moon above was still” (161). The goldfish senses a peculiar anxiety in the weather: “‘There is fear in the wind,’ the fish said, ‘great worry,’” (160).