Seeing this, Mousse hurriedly pulled out a piece of flatbread he had bought along the way and had left over, intending to give it to the child. But the middle-aged man waved his hand, indicating that the child had not fainted because of physical reasons.
"Mostly, he was overcome with grief. Seeing his own father and mother murdered right in front of him—even an adult couldn't bear that! Let alone a child so young?"
It turned out that after the child exposed his skills, he immediately drew the village head's attention. Upon arriving, the latter at once ordered his men to tie the child up and send him to the county seat.
Who could have expected the little boy to knock down several brawny household guards, all of whom had some training, with just a few punches and kicks? Even the village head, a trained fighter himself, could not subdue him for a while.
But the village head quickly came up with a countermeasure. He had the child's parents tied up and brought over to threaten him. The child could only obediently surrender, after which the village head ordered him tied to a wooden post and beaten until he was covered in wounds.
Yet after venting his anger, the village head instead became increasingly uneasy. Afraid that the child might escape and return for revenge, and thinking that sending him to the county seat might not even earn him a reward while costing him travel expenses, he simply ordered firewood piled up, intending to burn this "little demon" alive right there in the village.
Though the child was young, he was stubborn to the bone. Even after being beaten bloody all over, he did not beg for mercy. Instead, he spat out a few harsh words.
The village head grew