Five men scattered across the rugged terrain. Minjae counted three brown tunics and two coarse whites. The men shuffled across the forest floor, calling out to each other, not even making an attempt to hide. Minjae pressed her toes close to the ground until she made it to the clearing.

  She looked up at the streams of light filtering from the trees above. The sun was on its way down, and she didn't have long before the darkness set in.

  Darting from thick foliage to a semi-open clearing, Minjae moved to buy enough time so the men would be too distracted chasing her to pay attention while Gil-ae, Woo Sa-ri and Im Ji-Won made their way out of the cave to the estuary boat.

  However, it happened far sooner than she had bargained for. A wayward vine entrapped her ankle, causing her to lose balance. A muffled curse escaped her lips before she could catch herself.

  It was enough to draw attention.

  The man closest to her ambushed her from behind a thick trunk, but Minjae was ready. Far more agile than he expected her to be, he didn't even see the needle that went straight into his jugular and another between his eyes. He sank like a sack of grain onto the damp forest floor.

  One down, four more to go.

  Heart pounding, she sprinted through the clearing, letting her skirt rustle just enough. She had to get them away. A holler behind her curled a snake of fear through the pit of her stomach. They wanted to catch her, and while she wasn't sure what the purpose behind it was, she was not taking chances to find out.

  Her mind raced, piecing together what she knew of Cha Moon-sik, trying to remember everything she had learnt during her stay on the island. If he was the one who was trying to kill Gil-ae, and given the fact that he was also the one who had turned in Nam Dami, she had more hay to burn him with.

  Was his mother, the shaman, also a part of it all? Gil-ae went to the woman almost every day. If Gil-ae had not stumbled upon the men conspiring, she would have already been back home, safe and under the watch of her brother.

  Guilt assailed her as Minaje quickened her steps. The quicker she drew them away, the safer it would be. She hoped they had not discovered the partner she had sunk her needles into. She needed them to keep mistaking her for Gil-ae.

  As luck would have it, she led them away far more easily than she would have thought because the forest shadows were long, the whispers of the oaks around her misleading, and it helped that she knew the forest like a favourite garden.

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  A short, stocky man cut across her path, his brown tunic tearing through the bushy shrubs around him. Minjae pivoted and scampered down the sidehill. He let out a loud whistle. The purple in her dress blazed in the muted daylight as she ran past the tall, intimidating trees, the blood in her veins gushing so fiercely that it drowned the thudding footsteps chasing her.

  While she had planned on not getting caught, Minjae realised it was not something she could avoid. Her best bet was to outnumber and then outsmart them. Hiding behind a thick trunk, she stuck a leg out. The man right behind her tumbled, face first. Without waiting for him to get up, she picked up a rock and slammed it on the back of his head, knocking him out.

  Unfortunately, two more men were right behind him, and one of them caught her by her hair at the nape of her neck. He jerked her back towards him, slapping her hard. Minjae's head whipped to the side as she stumbled back, only to come up short as she felt the searing pain of uprooting hair. However, instead of fighting him, she calmly let him drag her even closer. His friend laughed as he looked at her, and then his eyes bulged.

  "Wait, that's-"

  Before he could finish his sentence, Minjae's needle had found the wrist of the man holding her hair. The brute yelped at the needle pinching his nerve, letting her go with a curse. Minjae pivoted, sinking a long needle in his neck as he folded on the ground, unconscious.

  Turning to the lone man, who now looked terrified of her petite form, she advanced. His eyes bulged, the whites of his eyes gleaming in the fast-receding daylight.

  "I didn't know it was you, Physician Kim. It was some lass that M-Moon- I mean, someone asked me to help capture for the Barbarians. Look, I just do what I'm ordered to do. They helped my old parents escape," he was now pleading, his breathing becoming laboured as he walked back. He could tackle a man with brute force, but she was a terrifying enigma who had the kind of skills they had no idea how to deal with.

  The man stumbled on a log and landed flat on his back. His face scrunched in terror at Minjae's fingers that held a long needle in them. "N-No, please, Physician Kim, I'll leave; I'll not hurt you -"

  "It won't hurt. If your friends find you, you'll live," Minjae said, her voice soft.

  "Not so fast, Physician Kim," a voice rang out from behind her. Minjae's fingers paused. "If you move, I'll slice this neck."

  A whimper reached her ears, making Minjae whirl in shock.

  Cha Moon-sik stood a few feet away, his sleeve-covered arm across Woo Sari's shoulders as she dangled in his grip, her feet helplessly swinging several inches from the ground. Moon-sik had the sharp side of a dagger pressed against her throat.

  The man behind her scrambled, raising himself on wobbly feet before running to Moon-sik.

  "You saved us so much trouble, Physician Kim. Grab her!" Moon-sik ordered.

  The man's eyes travelled to her fingers, paling. He shook his head desperately.

  A set of thudding footsteps signalled a third person approaching.

  And it wasn't anyone who would help them.

  Minjae met Woo Sari's terrified and apologetic gaze—and knew the fight was over.