This chapter opens with a soliloquy by the young man. He tells the reader that he's been starving for a long time. He compares the food to a "fifth-grade" education. He says that the herbs in the marketplace are "starved in golden attire" , which means that they're not very nutritious. He also says that if they were from the "seven imperial families," then only the "monarch sect" would wear golden garments . The young man says that he and the others are getting three more days to live. He's glad that they have more time to live, because otherwise, he'd be eating the herbs himself. He doesn't want to eat the herbs, he says, because he hates "bets" . He only ever gambled once in his life, and ended up losing, so he never gambled again. He adds that the four men have been killing people with the herbs since he caught them, but they've said they'll go around looking for more herbs for him. So why does he want to kill them? He says he would be ungrateful if he took their lives. They'll show them the herbs of due to him with herbs, and he forgives them for their crime of murder. He then asks if they can make a deal. They can let him go and follow him. He wants to know why they would want to enslave him, since they can produce so much herbs. They don't have to, since he'll give them ten chances instead of one. He asks if this kid is stronger than the old man, and if he can beat them head-to-head. He wonders if the kid is just the first "move of demon spell," and wonders if he really thinks that he can defeat them.