In the streets of a small town, an old man dressed in a green robe strode along purposefully.
As he stopped to take a look around, he saw a young boy aged about six or seven years old. The boy, who had a runny nose, looked at the man curiously.
The old man took out a lollipop from his pocket and handed it over to the boy. "Can you tell me the way to Lion Ridge?" he asked, smiling at him.
The boy quickly took the lollipop and put it into his mouth. Then he looked at the old man in front of him and nodded. Then, as he realized what the man was asking, he shook his head.
"Well, do you or don't you know where it is?" asked the man, getting a little annoyed. He was starting to feel as if he were talking to himself.
The boy shook his head again.
Then a middle-aged woman came out of a nearby house. "Jim, where are you?" she called. "Your lunch is getting cold."
The boy wiped his nose on his sleeve and ran to the woman.
"There you are! What are you doing out here?" asked the woman reproachfully.
When she saw the lollipop in his hand, she frowned. "Where did you get that?" she asked. "Jim, did you steal money from me to buy it? If you keep eating candy all day, then you won't have any appetite for your dinner."
"The old man gave it to me," said the boy loudly, pointing at the man.
The woman looked over at the old man suspiciously, and then she looked at the lollipop in Jim's hand. Suddenly, her face turned red, and she shouted, "Jim, put that lollipop down! Didn't I tell you not to accept things from strangers? Have you forgotten what happened to our neighbor?"
She grabbed the boy's wrist and threw the lollipop onto the ground. "Quickly! Get inside!" she yelled.
The boy looked at the lollipop on the ground, and then tears started to flow down his face. "The old man gave me this lollipop," he shouted, scrubbing his face.
Then, afraid of his mother's scolding, he ran and hid behind the old man.
The woman was surprised that her son had taken refuge with a stranger, as it was definitely not his normal behavior. She gave the old man a strange look, thinking that he might be an enchanter.
She had heard rumors about how powerful people sometimes came to the town and kidnapped children. They would make a child follow them by just saying a few words.
Once they had the child in their possession, they would maim them and force them to beg on the streets, taking all the money they collected. Other children would be sold and live miserable lives. They would get beaten and scolded by others all day, and not even be given enough to eat.
When the woman thought of all this, she felt that the old man in front of her was a very dangerous man, and she was determined not to let anything happen to her child.
"Jim, get over here now," she ordered.
But Jim was afraid of her, and instead, he shrank back, hiding behind the man's robes.
When his mother saw this, she grew even more anxious. She stomped her feet and rushed over, wanting to grab hold of him. But just as she was about to grasp him, she felt as if her wrist had been caught by something, and she grunted in pain.
"Stop!" roared the old man.
The woman looked at him, and then she looked down and saw a large hand clamped onto her wrist. She was stunned. Here was an old man who appeared to be about sixty or seventy years old, and yet his skin was so smooth that there wasn't even a single wrinkle.
Moreover, his voice didn't sound like an old man's. Instead, it was clear and full of confidence, like a young man's voice.
He's definitely an enchanter, she thought. How else could this be happening?
Now she became even angrier. "Let go of me!" she shouted. "If you don't let go of me right now, then I'll scream and summon everyone in town."
She didn't wait for the old man to let go of her and started yelling at the top of her voice, "Help! Help me! This shameless man is assaulting me!"
What she didn't know was that the old man had a short temper, and he didn't let go of things lightly.
The old man was taken aback, unable to remember when he had last had such trouble with a woman. He had never met anyone so devious before. He shouted, "What are you talking about? If you continue to make up lies, then I'll put an end to you."
The woman was known in the town for being cunning, and she never allowed anyone to get the better of her, so now that she was being threatened by the old man, she was furious. She grabbed the man's arm with her other hand and screamed at the top of her lungs. "This man is attacking me. Help!"
The small town was usually a quiet and safe place to live in, so when the townspeople heard her cries, they all rushed out to see what was happening.
When they saw the old man holding the woman's wrist and heard the woman screaming, they became furious. They picked up poles, iron rods, chairs, and anything they could get their hands on, and then charged at the old man.
"What are you doing, old man? You should be ashamed of yourself," said a young man from the crowd. Then he waved the pole in his hand and aimed it at the old man's head.
The pole made contact, but it didn't seem to hurt the old man. Instead, the pole broke in half. The young man looked at the broken pole in his hand, feeling stunned.
Everyone was dumbfounded. Then they shook it off and started to throw their makeshift weapons at the man, hitting the back of his head, his arms, and even his legs.
With a crack, a small chair hit the back of the old man's head and snapped. The steel pipe that hit the old man's arm bent ninety degrees. And the most surprising of all was that a nail that had come off from a chair broke a man's teeth when the old man flung it back at him.
The townspeople couldn't believe what was happening in front of them.
"This old fellow is a grand master!" exclaimed one man in shock. "He can make his skin as tough as iron!"
They all started to discuss it among themselves, and then a man recognized him as the famous grand master, Arthur.
The boy hiding behind the old man gazed at him in awe.
The townspeople were all afraid of Arthur, but one by one, they reluctantly approached him and asked him to leave.
But Arthur ignored them all and looked straight at the woman. "Not only have you insulted me," he said sternly, "but you've also called all these people to attack me."
Then he raised his hand, and without hesitating, pointed at the woman's forehead.
The woman immediately fell to the ground and died on the spot.