Summary
One day, as a wealthy merchant was walking down the street, he saw an old man being taken away by officials. "What has this old man done?" he asked. The official replied, "He killed the master he served." The merchant looked at him with contempt.
Next, he found a young man being exiled and asked again, "What did this young man do?" The official said, "He stole someone else's belongings." The merchant recognized the young man's face and thought, "He must have committed the crime out of desperation," so he gave a gold coin to the official to help the man. The young man bowed deeply and said, "I will never forget your kindness," and then left.
A few months later, a general amnesty was declared, and the old man was also released. Although the merchant wanted to help those in trouble, he could not assist the old man due to his serious crime.
One summer night, while the merchant was gazing at the moon on the porch, a dark figure appeared. Several suspicious men surrounded the merchant and ordered, "Take him to our hideout." He was carried deep into the mountains, where the leader shouted, "Make him sit on the firewood. We will burn him alive."
"What have I done to you?" the merchant asked. The leader showed him the face of his enemy and said, "I will not forget your contemptuous gaze. I will burn you alive," revealing his anger. In that instant, the merchant was seized by fear.
At that moment, arrows rained down on the bandits, causing chaos. Another group of thieves came to the merchant's aid and extinguished the fire. The leader explained to the merchant, "I wanted to repay your kindness by helping you. I heard that you were targeted by the older leader and was watching over you, but I arrived too late."
The merchant nodded deeply and regretted his foolishness, realizing that "the mouth is the source of disaster." Having been rescued, he once again felt the importance of helping one another.
