Minli and Da-A-Fu ride Dragon toward Never-Ending mountain, and though the weather is cold and the terrain difficult, Minli enjoys herself. It’s fun riding Dragon, and the twins’ joy is contagious. Da-A-Fu tell the story of how their ancestors first came to this land.

Long ago, Da-A-Fu’s ancestors learned that Magistrate Tiger was angry with them. He believed they tricked him when they sent him the paper of happiness, and he sought to punish them by destroying their village (these are the same villagers from “The Story of the Paper of Happiness” in Chapter 15).

Hearing of Magistrate Tiger’s lethal plan, the patriarch of the family, Ye Ye, ordered the townspeople to prepare a picnic and fetch their kites—if this was to be their last day alive, they would not run away but would enjoy their final hours together. The townspeople embarked together to the mountain for a day of revelry. The children didn’t want to bring their kites down at the end of the day, so they cut the strings and let the kites soar toward the moon.

Afraid and sad, the people began their descent down the mountain, believing they were walking toward certain destruction.