In this chapter, the thief and the boy discuss how difficult it is to survive without stealing from others. The thief says that he has a son who is about the same age as him, and that the boy is waiting for him in the other side of the village. The boy tells the thief that he is eating his own vomit, and the thief tells him to go outside and have a meal. He also tells the boy that they have a job for him: the old lady from the tavern. The old lady will torture and kill the boy if he does not comply with her orders. He says that they could get twenty to thirty silver pieces for the boy. He then tells the story of the " fountain of youth," which is believed to give people eternal life. The fountain, he says, is full of people who drink from it, and they are granted eternal life if they do not stop drinking. He adds that they should go to the forest and kill a fearsome saint who could wipe out the entire army in four days. When the boy tells him that the palace is the target of their mission, the boy apologizes, saying that he went ahead on his own 30 years ago, even though he had been betrayed and hurt by others. He asks the boy to come back home and be careful, but the boy says he trusts the old man to catch his son. He tells his father that he would never have forgiven him if he had saved him from his son's death.