When the Sea Turned to Silver

Pinmei and Yishan speculate that Amah might be with the emperor’s group. They decide to wait until nightfall, intending to sneak into the soldiers’ camp while everyone is asleep to search for her.

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.