Summary
When Li Lan enters the tunnel, it seems dark to her, even though Fan comments that she can see quite clearly, making Li Lan realize that she will need Fan’s help to get out as well. Fan’s transportation isn’t nearly as nice as Li Lan’s and it causes them to move more slowly, but after a while, sitting on the horse begins to tire Li Lan. Fan shares her fears that she will face punishment if sent to the Courts of Hell because of her overstaying in the afterlife, and Li Lan realizing that she has been stealing qi from her former lover as well. The next day they arrive and go their separate ways, with Li Lan leaving Fan with some money, as Fan emphasizes that she cannot stay too long. Upon coming across an old man who tells her that all of the places here correspond somewhat to places in the living Malacca, she decides to try and search for her mother. She finds three houses, then knocks on the second house’s door out of curiosity.
The door is opened by a woman who tells Li Lan that her mother is long gone, assuming that Li Lan is related because of how similar she looks. Revealing that she is Li Lan’s grandfather’s third concubine, she tells Li Lan about how her mother is currently living with the Lim family. The woman says that she died fighting Li Lan’s mother, and in revenge, she sent smallpox to the Pan household to kill her. Deeply shaken, Li Lan heads to the Lim mansion, securing a place to sleep by claiming that she is there to work. The next morning, she learns that the old master, Lim Tian Ching’s grandfather, is still in the Plains of the Dead, and meets the cook’s assistant, a tiny old woman who goes by the name of Auntie Three.
Several days into the job, Li Lan goes to serve breakfast and comes face-to-face with three people: the Old Master Lim, a beautiful woman Li Lan realizes must be her mother, and the old man from before, who she learns is named Master Awyoung. Recognizing her, Master Awyoung accuses her of being a spy and has her locked up. Li Lan tries to escape her cell and ends up blowing on the scale to try and summon Er Lang. Surprisingly, it works, although Er Lang cannot be there physically. The two of them continue to discuss the investigation and it is revealed that Master Awyoung has long overstayed his time in the Plains of the Dead. Helping her to escape her prison, Er Lang reminds Li Lan that she must hurry to reunite with her body, gives her directions to go investigate Master Awyoung’s apartments, and tells her to meet him again at dusk.
She makes her way to Master Awyoung’s apartments and hides, overhearing a conversation between Master Awyoung and her mother, confirming that they are involved in treason. She is almost caught but is rescued by Auntie Three, who listens to the bare bones of Li Lan’s story and then helps her by making her a map of the compound. They decide to meet in Auntie Three’s room later while Li Lan goes to spy on Lim Tian Ching’s room. Hiding in the atrium of the family’s private apartments, Li Lan discovers that Lim Tian Ching has returned and overhears a conversation between him and the Old Master confirming the smuggling. She notices a letter that seems useful, but when she goes to get it, she exposes herself and is recaptured.
Li Lan is imprisoned in Lim Tian Ching’s bedroom, where the two of them argue about whether Tian Bai was involved in his murder and Li Lan learns that Isabel was Tian Bai’s mistress. When dusk comes, Li Lan calls for Er Lang and hands over the evidence she’s collected. Not having the strength to rescue her himself, Er Lang creates a distraction so she can escape, with Li Lan relying on Auntie Three’s map to find her way out of the house.
Finding Auntie Three at the gate with her horse, Li Lan is shocked when Auntie Three refers to her by her real name, since she has been using a pseudonym this whole time. Feeling betrayed, Li Lan confronts Auntie Three, only for Auntie Three to reveal that she is, in fact, Li Lan’s mother, who has aged so much because she traded part of her spirit essence to protect Li Lan from smallpox. Li Lan attempts to convince her mother to escape with her, but she refuses; they part, with Li Lan’s mother giving her meat to ward off demonic pursuers and promising to see her again.
She begins to ride her horse Chendana to the tunnel at the exit to the Plains of the Dead, but Chendana stops unexpectedly and Li Lan searches around her to find Er Lang’s injured spirit form. Despite being told to go ahead, Li Lan insists on helping Er Lang onto her house, leaving behind Auntie Three’s meat to give them time to escape. They ride for the entrance, but are too late, as flying beasts sweep down on them right before they enter. As the beasts swarm, Er Lang wraps himself around Li Lan then changes into his true form of a dragon (or loong) and flies off to draw the birds away from her. Li Lan watches the mass of wings drift away and then fall, weeping for the loss of her friend before she continues ahead to meet up with Fan. Fan, realizing Li Lan has lied, is intrigued by the news that Li Lan has a living body, and as they’re heading back, Fan tricks Li Lan into exiting the tunnel at the wrong time.
Analysis
From the very moment that they enter the Plains of the Dead, the difference between Fan and Li Lan begins to show itself. Firstly, Li Lan's inability to see through the tunnel proves how she's not supposed to be where she is, versus Fan seeing blazing lights, since she is far behind time. Li Lan, despite her faults, is a fundamentally honest person, which stands in sharp contrast to the revelations that Fan shares about stealing qi from her former lover. Fan is clearly a selfish person invested in only her own ends, a fact that will come to harm Li Lan very soon.
From there, Li Lan meets two unsavory individuals: the man who is later revealed to be Master Awyoung, and her grandfather's third concubine. While Master Awyoung does not become a threat to her until later, Li Lan discovers that her grandfather's third concubine has been a threat to her before she was even born. The story of how she haunted the Pan household then sent smallpox in revenge for an imagined insult and an unfortunate death shows how, unbeknownst to Li Lan, the spirit world has been involved in her family for a very long time. Yet despite being understandably shaken, Li Lan proves her strength of character by continuing onto the Lim mansion to try and complete her mission. Her natural inquisitiveness drives her to search out her mother in the faith that her mother is a good person, and her loyalty drives her to keep her word to Er Lang.
When Li Lan is caught spying, she shows even more persistence by trying to figure out ways to escape the jail, even going so far as to try and use Er Lang's scale to physically dig her way out. She's also willing to try everything, which is what leads her to blow on the scale. Er Lang's arrival hints that he might be more powerful than it initially seemed, and that he is capable of walking through both the spirit and physical worlds, providing more evidence that he is far from human. But regardless of his tendency toward mischief and his supernatural powers, he is focused on obtaining justice for the heavenly forces and avoiding war. And despite the fact that he is very aware of Li Lan's impulsiveness, he also trusts her to get the job done.
Li Lan does complete her tasks, although there are more than a few bumps along the road. She gets caught twice again but manages to find what she needs. For the first time in the book, Li Lan is given the space to truly accomplish something and use her talents for good. Most people in Li Lan's life want to use her as a pawn to achieve their own ends, from Lim Tian Ching trying to use her as a companion in the afterlife to her father having to use her to avoid debt. But here, Li Lan gets the chance to be an active participant in making a significant difference, and it clearly appeals to her: despite being scared often, she does not regret participating in Er Lang's investigation.
The end of this section is very much concerned with the disruption of the personal relationships Li Lan has made while in the spirit world. Her first "friend" in the spirit world, Fan, betrays her, while Er Lang shows himself to be an honest friend by sacrificing himself for her, even though as a mortal, she is technically less "important" than he is. Instead of her mother being the cruel Second Wife, Li Lan discovers that her mother is the woman who has been kind to her the entire time she has been in the Lim household. At the end of this third section, Li Lan is literally lost: both in the geographic sense, but also in the personal sense. All of the things that usually orient her have changed.
