“Of course it isn’t a dream!” Gray shouted.

Gray finally had a chance to perform acupuncture on Old Onion. He let Spoon watch.

Onion lay down in the back room of Gray’s home. Gray was going to insert the silver needle into the acupuncture point called “life-gate.”

“You were there last time. You know the way, just go ahead,” Onion said.

His words immediately reminded Gray that when he got lost in Deserted Village, he had had a similar feeling—a little excited and a little scared. When he noticed Spoon’s encouraging expression, he plucked up his courage and inserted the needle.

“Oh, yeah! It’s like coming home! Good for you, Gray!” Onion said. “Don’t hesitate. You always do it right, because you’re Gray.”

Gray’s tears gushed out, and he hurriedly wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

Although the needle was in Onion’s body, Gray himself felt a shock—he was almost numb all over. When he finally came to his senses, Spoon had disappeared.

Before Gray could stop him, Onion sat up with a needle still in his body. Not knowing what to do, Gray stared nervously at the old man, who seemed perfectly at ease.

“Relax,” Onion said as he got dressed. “I’ve had acupuncture before. The silver needle is an old friend of mine. It doesn’t bother me at all.”

“But I should pull it out.”

“No, don’t pull it out. It’s doing very well inside me, and my back doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m going to work now.”

Watching Onion walk out the door, Gray was puzzled. Then Spoon came out from behind the cupboard.

“Why did you hide?” Gray asked.

“I was scared. When you weren’t looking, Grandpa Onion took the longest silver needle from your bag and stuck it into his body. He did it skillfully, but it made me feel dizzy and I couldn’t stand still, so I hid. Just now I’ve been wondering, What is this silver needle therapy all about? Can you explain it to me?”

“I don’t know. I’m just a novice. The human body is full of acupuncture points, and silver needles can be inserted anywhere . . . It isn’t only the patient who feels an electrical sensation; people nearby feel it, too . . . Sorry, I don’t know what I’m talking about. Spoon, please forget what I just said.”

“But I think you’re explaining it really well. Gray, I must have been electrified—the left side of my face was numb. Amazing!”

Spoon was so excited that her face reddened. She asked Gray to insert a needle in her “shoulder well,” because her shoulder sometimes ached.

Gray sterilized the silver needle, and stuck it into Spoon’s shoulder well.

Spoon yawned, “I woke up.”

Gray asked how she felt, and she said again, “I woke up.”

Spoon suddenly saw the woman Qiu who had taught her about herbs. So this was what she looked like! Spoon realized that she hadn’t seen Qiu because she’d been sound asleep all along. As soon as the needle entered her body, she woke up and saw Qiu. In fact, Qiu had always been there, busy with her work in the fields. The herbs clung to her as if intoxicated. Spoon burst out, “Auntie Qiu, I can see you!”