Won Soo knew it had been too easy.

Granted, Mi Nam—no, her name was Nara, he reminded himself—had been quite frightening in her performance as a vengeful virgin ghost.

But it would take more than a cross-dressing ghost to scare away a band of angry robbers bent on revenge.

If only his young master had not run off in the first place!

The servant cowered as the men who had chased him, Young Min, and Kim Nara in Bird Village stomped past his hiding place. He could recognize some of them, but they had added more to their numbers in the short week since he had last seen them.

He should have been back at the horse stables, waiting for his young master to return. But then she had shown up.

"Keep an eye on them," the gumiho had said. "Make sure they don't start any trouble."

She had snarled and revealed her more vulpine features for a moment, effectively scaring Won Soo speechless. But really, the servant thought, she hadn't needed to go that far. He was, after all, ensuring his master's safety by following the thugs. Even though he was very, very intimidated by the large, brawny men, he would have done anything for Young Min.

So he would continue to follow the robbers, and make sure his young master did not get hurt.

Their first stop had been for drinks. And their second stop. When, after drinking more soju than Won Soo thought possible, the men then went into a third establishment, the servant couldn't help but roll his eyes. At this rate, the thugs would be more dangerous to themselves than to his master.

This time, however, the men did more than just ogle passing gisaengs and toast to their safe arrival in the town.

"Ya!" one of the robbers slurred at a man passing by. "Do you know of a noble named Park Young Min? He lives in this town, doesn't he?"

The other man replied that he couldn't be of help and continued on his way. Yet that didn't seem to deter the robber from asking another man at a nearby table.

"Ya!" he tried again, bunching up his sleeves to show the large biceps beneath. "Do you know where I can find that nobleman? We have a score to settle with him, after what he did to my brothers."

The other man's complexion turned a frightening shade of white and he shook his head vehemently.

Displeased with the response, a different thug stood up and stumbled over to the man's table.

"It's a small village," the second robber growled. Even drunk, he was menacing, perhaps even more so. "Surely you must have heard of the son of the Minister of Justice."

The man being interrogated gulped and tried to shy away. "I really don't know who you're talking about," he protested, just as Biceps came over to join his friend.

"Oh, but we think you do," Biceps replied, putting a well-muscled arm across the man's shoulders in what would have in any other circumstance been a friendly gesture. "Now spill."

The man looked up at the second robber, and then over to the table where six more pairs of beady eyes were glaring at him. Won Soo, hiding in the corner, held his breath.

"I—" for a moment, it looked as though the man would plead ignorance. Then the second robber drew a knife from his belt.

"Up the street!" the man blurted. "I saw him go up the street, after a pack of bounty hunters. They were heading towards the Oh Estate."

Without so much as a thank you, the man with the knife turned to his comrades and motioned for them to get moving. The other robbers scrambled to stand up, and Biceps and Knife-Wielder withdrew to follow the group out onto the street.

Won Soo jumped up, shaking with nervous energy, fists clenched at his sides. He had half a mind to go right up to the rat who had just put his master into so much danger and give him a good reprimanding. But there was no time. Young Min was in danger, and Won Soo needed to go help him.

The servant scurried up the path after the thieves, determined to reach his young master before they did. Yet, for all their drunken revelry earlier, the men moved hastily, presumably in the anticipation of getting their revenge at last.

The road widened and the shops of the marketplace gave way to small houses. As the robbers and Won Soo continued on, the houses became more and more opulent. Old trees lined the road and gave a nice shade, but also provided ample spots for the servant to hide as he snuck behind the thieves.

Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted their progress.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

The thunderous noise ricocheted off the surrounding white-bricked walls and shook the reddening leaves of the trees. It sounded like someone was knocking on a very large, wooden door, somewhere further down the street.

Then there was shouting.

"Seok Ji Hoon!"

Won Soo gasped upon hearing Young Min's voice, but thankfully the robbers were too focused on the noise up ahead to have noticed the servant cowering in the shade behind them.

"Seok Ji Hoon!" Young Min called again. "Come out and talk with me!"

Won Soo only just held back the urge to shout a warning, and instead followed the robbers as they resumed their approach. As they turned a corner, Won Soo could finally see his young master, standing outside the gates of what Won Soo recognized to be Oh Jimin's large estate. The enormous wooden doors of the property had opened, and a gray-haired nobleman was standing on the other side, talking with Young Min. Was this Seok Ji Hoon, Won Soo wondered?

As the robbers—and Won Soo—snuck closer to eavesdrop, the servant started to pick up on the non-shouting parts of their conversation.

"An agreement?" Won Soo heard the man he suspected to be Ji Hoon say in disbelief. The older man threw back his head and laughed outright. "No. There will be no agreement. I will not trade her, especially not to you, and I refuse to lift her sentence. The brat deserves her punishment, and I am the only one who will ensure it is properly given."

Won Soo furrowed his brow, puzzling over who the 'her' was that Ji Hoon had mentioned.

"I cannot let you leave with her," Young Min replied, just as Biceps held up a hand for the other robbers to stop their approach. Won Soo nervously alternated his gaze from watching Young Min, to watching the robbers watching Young Min. Tension practically crackled in the air like the energy before a thunderstorm.

"If you won't leave of your own will, I'll have to force you," Ji Hoon replied. The man stepped back, enough for Won Soo to catch a glimpse of the three brawny men behind him. One of the men cracked his knuckles with a menacing leer, and another one with a dragon tattoo on his shoulder took a step forward.

Warily, Young Min took a step back, a hand reaching for his sword.

Won Soo tensed, ready to spring into action. His master was still affected by the curse, and would not last long against the three men—or the horde of robbers behind him, for that matter. But then—

"Stop!"

Won Soo jumped in surprise. A young woman approached the doorway—Lady Jimin! Won Soo also caught a glimpse of her servant, Sujin, standing behind her.

"What is going on here?" Jimin demanded. She didn't so much as smile in Young Min's direction—in fact, Won Soo noted, she ignored him entirely.

"This man wants to negotiate over my property," Ji Hoon sniffed indignantly.

"If I could just talk to her—" Young Min began.

"Kim Nara is my slave by law!" Ji Hoon interrupted. Won Soo distantly registered his mouth dropping open in surprise. Nara was here? And she was a slave?

"Jimin," Won Soo's master implored, turning to the young woman. "I have no right to ask this of you, but please—I need to see her. It is of the utmost importance. This is really a crucial matter—please."

But Jimin, much to Won Soo's shock, turned on her heel and stormed back across the yard. Sujin gave an apologetic bow and scurried off after her, leaving Young Min standing in bitter silence.

"Well, then," Ji Hoon said with a smug smile. "Will you leave on your own? Or shall I have my men get rid of you?"

Young Min drew his sword. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Excellent," the knuckle-cracking thug said, stepping up next to his tattooed friend. "We were looking forward to a fight."

"Yes," said Ji Hoon's third man, coming forward to join the other two. "It's just a pity it won't be a very long one."

"Enough talk," Young Min snapped.

His words were the only incentive needed for the three thugs to jump into motion. The three of them stepped out from behind the gateway and began circling Young Min, looking for an opening to attack.

Won Soo found himself frozen to the spot. What to do—what to do?! He wanted to help his master, but he didn't even know how to fight!

The dragon-tattooed thug was the first to strike, ducking in from behind Young Min in his blind spot and landing a hard-packed punch to his ribs. Young Min stumbled but managed to turn and send the man back with a swipe of his blade. Now, however, he had left his back open to the two other men, and they began to close in for the kill.

That was when the drunken band of robbers decided to step in.

"Ya!" Biceps bellowed from across the street. Ji Hoon's men turned to face him, but Won Soo was relieved to see that Young Min wasn't so distracted. Instead, his young master kept his sword leveled before him, gaze darting from person-to-person.

"What do you lot want?" Knuckle-Cracker shouted back.

"What do we want?" Biceps growled. "We want you to step away from that man! He's ours to kill!"

Knuckle-Cracker looked like he was about to shout some obscenities at them, but then the tattooed man—Won Soo decided to call him Yong, after his inked dragon—held up a placating hand.

"You are free to try and take him from us," Yong said in an icy voice that made Won Soo shudder. "But in the end, we will be the ones to kill him."

"You think you can beat us?" Knife-Wielder laughed from the group of robbers. "We have more than twice as many men as you, and we're stronger!"

The hard smile that snuck onto Yong's face made Won Soo want to grab his young master and run back into the mountains. The servant decided he would rather face ten gumihos at that point than a street full of bloodthirsty criminals.

"There are more of you, yes," Yong said. "And whether you are stronger or not remains to be seen. But we undoubtedly have more skill than you ever will, and that is all that really counts."

Knife-Wielder grabbed another knife from his belt and held both blades out in front of him. "Well, we can't say we didn't give you a chance," he said. Then he lunged forward.

Won Soo watched with wide eyes as the band of robbers surged towards Ji Hoon's men and Young Min. Knuckle-Cracker was still trying fighting the young master, but Yong and the third man were preoccupied fending off the new attackers.

For a moment, Won Soo thought the outcome would be obvious—that the robbers would overtake the three men in no time and strike Young Min down on the spot. The robbers fought with knives and short swords, while Ji Hoon's men fought with punches and kicks.

Yet, it soon became apparent that perhaps there was a chance of the robbers losing after all. The drunken men had overindulged in their confidence and their drinks and were now slow on their feet. In contrast, their opponents were lightening-quick, dodging between them and striking out with unforgiving heels and knuckles. One robber was sent to the ground with a vicious roundhouse kick from Ji Hoon's third man, and Yong left three others stunned on the ground. By the time they had stood back up, Yong had moved on to attacking two others.

Biceps began to engage Knuckle-Cracker in a fierce battle for the privilege of fighting Young Min, but just as it looked like Young Min might have a chance to escape, Knife-Wielder came in, blocking the young noble's sword with one of his own blades.

I can't just stand here! Won Soo thought, looking at the mayhem around him with growing panic. In the past, the servant had let Young Min handle the fighting. This time, however, Won Soo knew that if he didn't step in to help, his young master would not emerge the victor.

"Oh!" Won Soo cried. Before he could give his brain enough time to catch on to what he was doing, the servant charged out from behind his tree and plunged into the melee with a slightly-hysterical battle cry.

Won Soo managed to tackle the first robber he came across, bowling the drunken man over to sprawl on the ground. The servant leapt over the man's flailing limbs and ducked under a blade aimed at his throat by another robber.

Someone grabbed him by the back of the shirt. Panicking, Won Soo whirled around and squirmed out of his attacker's grasp, narrowly avoiding a punch from Yong that ended up in the shirt-grabber's face. Before Yong could turn and punch him, too, Won Soo bolted over to Young Min, who was currently backed up against a wall and dueling with the knife-wielding robber.

"Young master!" Won Soo cried. Knife-Wielder whirled around to see who had made the noise, and Won Soo suddenly regretted his outburst. However, Young Min took the brief moment of distraction to cut the man's arm. At this, the robber roared and lunged back at his original target with renewed vengeance, blades glinting in the dappled sunlight.

"What...are...you doing here?" Young Min shouted back at his servant between blows. His voice was barely audible over the clash of metal-on-metal and the shouts and grunts of the other fighters around them.

"Well," Won Soo began, edging out of the way as Knuckle-Cracker and three robbers roared past. "I was supposed to warn you that there were men out to get you, but it seems my warning came too late."

"Indeed." Young Min ducked a wide swing from his opponent and winced, one hand going to his knee.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Won Soo called out.

Young Min gritted his teeth and dodged another of his opponent's blades. "Get out of here, and bring back some help!"

"But you could be dead by the time I get back!" Won Soo fretted. "Oof!"

One of the robbers had lost his weapon and instead decided to just tackle Won Soo to the ground. The large man pinned him down and circled his hands around Won Soo's neck in an unyielding grip. As the pressure on his windpipe increased, the servant's eyes began to water. Won Soo thrashed around on the ground, trying to break free. He couldn't breathe!

His hand hit something solid, and without waiting to question what it was, Won Soo grabbed the object and brought it up to whack his attacker across the side of the head.

The man dropped to the ground instantly, and as Won Soo gasped for breath, he looked at the rock in his hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Won Soo!" Young Min called, still battling Knife-Wielder. "Get out of here!"

"I won't!" Won Soo shot back, coughing to clear his throat. "I—"

The servant's eyes landed on something in the distance.

"Young master, look! Wait—don't look!" Almost too late, Won Soo realized he had been distracting from the fight going on, but Young Min thankfully kept his focus on deflecting the weapons trying to stab him.

"What is it?" Young Min called out. "I'm a bit busy at the moment!"

Although Ji Hoon had stopped watching the fight at some point and disappeared, the entrance to the estate was still standing wide open. Through the doors, Won Soo could see Sujin running across the courtyard towards them, towing a serving girl along behind her.

Won Soo squinted and looked closer. That was Nara! She was almost unrecognizable in proper women's hanbok.

Yet, before he could announce Nara's arrival, some instinct made Won Soo look to the left of the gate, just a little farther down the street, and the sight made his blood freeze.

More bad news had arrived in the form of Il Woo and his servant. The duo were standing in the shade of one of the large trees on the road, watching the fighting with some interest, but not enough to help.

Won Soo felt his hands curl into fists. If there weren't four robbers and a tattooed martial arts fighter standing in the way, Won Soo would have rushed over and knocked some sense into the both of them. Well, maybe he'd just go for Il Woo's servant, since it would be against the law for him to actually hit a nobleman.

"Young Min!" a familiar voice cried out.

Won Soo looked up to see Nara stopped wide-eyed at the gate, with Jimin's servant fidgeting nervously at her side as both took in the spectacle before them.

This time, the shout did prove to be too much of a distraction for Young Min, and Knife-Wielder lunged as soon as the noble's guard was down.

"Look out!" Won Soo cried, just in time for Young Min to spin around and raise his sword to block.

"Won Soo, get her out of here!" Young Min growled, gripping the hilt of his sword as leverage against the pressure his opponent was forcing on the blade.

Won Soo glowered at Nara, and she scowled right back. "No!" they both shouted.

"You both could get killed out here!" Young Min yelled, finally throwing off the weight of his opponent and lashing out with his sword. The robber jumped back and the metal skimmed the fabric of his shirtfront.

"So could you!" Won Soo retorted.

"I'm—" swipe, stumble, dodge, "—fine! At this rate, they might just end up killing each other and I'll get away without a scratch!" His comment earned him an angry roar from his opponent and a renewed assault. Young Min was forced back against the onslaught, and Won Soo watched from the sidelines worriedly. How much longer could his master hold out against the pain from his curse?

"Fine," Won Soo said at last, running over and grabbing Nara by the elbow.

"What are you doing?" she snapped, trying to twist away. "He needs our help!"

"You're not going to help by risking your life standing here," Won Soo told her. "Once I get you a safe distance away, I'm coming back to help him."

Nara's lips pressed into a firm, dissatisfied line. Won Soo could tell she hated to admit it, but he was right.

"All right," she agreed. Her gaze dropped down to the rock still clutched in Won Soo's hand. "But first, give me that."

Without waiting for an answer, she plucked the object from Won Soo's grasp and lobbed it in the direction of Knife-Wielder's head. The stone struck at an odd angle, but left a gash, and the robber cried out in pain and anger.  The incident gave Young Min just enough time to duck out of the corner he had been forced into and into a more open space.

"Time to go," Won Soo urged, hurrying Nara through the chaos. They ducked through the gleaming metal and flying fists that surrounded them and sprinted to the other side of the street, a good distance away from the fight.

"Stay here," Won Soo told Nara. "I'll go help Young Min fight off the robbers." That he didn't know how he was going to do so wouldn't stop him from trying anyway.

At this point, all three of Ji Hoon's men were still standing, but two of the robbers had been knocked unconscious and lay sprawled in the middle of the road. Still, the fighting did not look like it would be coming to an end anytime soon. There were just too many—Young Min would never be able to fend them all off.

Just then, one of the two robbers that had been fighting Yong broke away and came charging at Young Min instead, sword raised.

Time slowed and the surrounding landscape blurred into unimportance as Won Soo watched the weapon flying towards his master's unprotected side. Young Min was still too caught up in battling the other robber to notice the additional opponent. By the time he did, it would be too late.

A heartbeat passed, and a decision was made. It had never been a choice to begin with.

Won Soo lunged forward.

Pain lanced through his side—sharp, cold, and biting. Won Soo gasped for breath and fell to his knees, and suddenly time sped back up to its original pace.

Hot, red blood covered his clothes, ran through his fingers and onto the ground. Had that been a scream? Was someone calling his name? Sound faded to silence and the colors and shapes blurring around him began to spot with dark patches.

Pebbles were digging into his cheek. He must have passed out. Won Soo found himself lying on the ground, facing up to where he had left Nara—only now she wasn't alone. Il Woo had approached her, and Nara stepped back. Were those tears? And where was Young Min?

His vision flickered again before being consumed entirely by black.

~~~~~~************~~~~~~~~

Hi!  Sorry for the long delay between updates.  This one was a bit of a doozy--lots of characters, and some with not even their real names.  Maybe I should make a character guide...

So, I wrote this chapter pretty quickly, but it's one of the longest so far.  I was thinking of splitting it into two parts, but there didn't seem to be a good place to stop in my opinion.  Anyway, what do you think?  I'm getting closer to the end! (although exactly how much closer I don't know. I don't usually map stories out first--primary reason being my characters end up changing the plot halfway through what I was originally planning it to be, and this story is no exception.  Anyone else have characters like that?  Hey, Nara!  Get back here with my plot!)

Dedication to 0mime0--thanks for your support!  I highly recommend checking out her amazing stories. Best part (besides their amazingness?)?  A lot of them are already completed, so you don't have to wait for any pesky updates!  :D