This chapter's epigraph comes from a conversation between Qianxhe and the old blacksmith. The old blacksmith tells the young blacksmith to take a closer look at the horns, which he says are "nothing special" . The young blacksmith says that he can "forge anything" with the horns. The blacksmith asks if the young man is threatening him, and the blacksmith replies that he's not. He's been in Green Lake town for "ten or twenty" years, and he doesn't want to stay there all this time. He wants to be the "king of blacksmiths" , which is why he can't keep up with the younger blacksmiths. He says he wants to go to "big cities" and become the blacksmith of the future. He promises to do anything for the blacksmith as long as he agrees to this.