Starry River of the Sky

The neighbors go inside to continue their conversation, leaving the children to rejoice. Rendi thinks about leaving but decides not to do so yet because the weather is so hot. The children’s joy is short-lived because they realize that although the two families’ quarrel is over, there is no way to contact Jiming. Rendi asks Peiyi about Mr. Shan. She explains that he used to be grumpy and spent all his time reading a certain book, but after his last trip away from the inn, he returned without his book and has been confused ever since.

A few days later, new guests arrive at the inn—a group of rough-looking traders and a duke with his entourage. As he tends to the horses, Rendi realizes that he can stow away in one of the duke’s fancy carriages, but “somehow, the thought did not fill Rendi with the happiness he expected” (134). Needing help in the dining room, the innkeeper drags Rendi inside, and the boy is horrified to realize that the duke is the one from his story.