After escaping from the temple, Jaejoong had guided Salamander to the forest of Ferrest. The forest was like a maze, and it was known to confuse even experienced hunters. Jaejoong could never claim to be a great hunter, but he had Salamander and the horse had a good memory and sense of direction. Jaejoong could barely remember the path he once took from Solaris through the forest of Ferrest and into the City of the Dead when he attended a funeral two years ago. But Salamander did.

Salamander was unlike any other horse in the castle’s stable. He came from the finest breed of Gorge horses. Gorge horses were stronger than pack mules, had the stamina of three ordinary horses combined and most of all, their catlike eyes could see in the dark. But Jaejoong did not ask for Salamander to be brought to him in the temple because of the horse's strength and skills. He had decided to take Salamander with him, because he considered him a friend. Donghae didn't deserve Salamander! Three years ago when Lord Song Seung Hun brought several horses for the castle's stable, Jaejoong was allowed to choose one for himself. He chose Salamander who was still a colt at that time. Jaejoong also gave Salamander his name, reared him to adulthood and formed a bond of respect and trust with him.

If Jaejoong's luck held out, his pursuers might not be able to track him down before he reached the City of the Dead. Jaejoong believed that if he could reach the City of the Dead, he would have a better chance of escaping his pursuers. The City of the Dead had roads leading to the five regions. His pursuers would have a hard time deciding which path he had taken.

Now that he had reached the City of the Dead, his plan of spending the night in one of the crypts had to be changed since Dara vehemently protested. To settle the matter, he suggested one of the affluent mausoleums that looked more like a house to be their evening quarters. She was forced to agree because his other suggestion was sleeping in the open among the rows of tombs.

As their group made their way to one of the affluent mausoleums in the City of the Dead, Salamander halted and began making noises. Salamander had sensed something, and Jaejoong had always trusted the horse's instincts, so he stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" asked Dara.

He pressed his forefinger to his lips to stop her from talking and began to study the rows of tombstones around them and the marble mausoleums before them. A thought struck him. Had their pursuers finally caught up to them? Jaejoong raised his sword, ready to fight in case their pursuers were hiding among the larger tombstones and mausoleums.

Salamander had sensed something. But he couldn't tell Jaejoong what it was. Jaejoong turned to Cloud.

"Cloud, go up and see if there are others besides us in this city."

Cloud shot up and quickly surveyed the City of the Dead from above.

"I don’t see any soldiers," he called from above, "all I see is a big man walking toward our direction. Salamander must have smelled him."

"A big man?"

"He is also holding a scythe. A big scythe!" emphasized Cloud.

He glanced back at Dara. She would know what would happen once they encountered this man. But could he trust her? Would she really tell him the truth?

"Do you need assistance, Prince Jaejoong?" she asked sarcastically.

"Would this big man pose any danger to us?" he asked.

"If you want to know, you should ask him if he has any intention of killing you with his scythe."

Jaejoong grimaced. It was clear from Dara's words that she had seen the man through her power of foresight but was not inclined to help him. Jaejoong should never have hoped that this woman would help him. If the man with the scythe posed any danger to him, he would need to face him now rather than wait for him to attack while he's sleeping. But it could be possible that the man was not an enemy. Maybe Dara’s advice wasn’t really useless.

"Salamander, make sure that Dara doesn’t move an inch from where she’s standing. If she moves or if she makes any sound, bite off her leg!"

Salamander gave an answering snort. Dara looked stricken!

"Let’s go, Cloud!" he said before striding toward the direction where the man was. Cloud swiftly followed Jaejoong. Within minutes, Jaejoong saw the big man.

Cloud was right. The man was indeed big. Almost seven feet tall! Thinning brown hair covered his huge head which was securely placed on a thick neck and connected to broad shoulders. The man was wearing a brown working shirt. His thickly muscled chest heaved every time he used the scythe to cut off the long grasses surrounding some of the tombstones. If this man was a fighter in the Fist Fight Arena, he would be a most formidable opponent!

Jaejoong was not sure he could beat this man in Ji-sub’s fighting tournament. The man was all bones and muscles. He would be able to withstand all of Jaejoong's lethal blows and still remain standing. With his huge arms and hands, the man could easily break every bone in Jaejoong's body.

Fortunately for Jaejoong, he didn't need to fight this man with his bare hands. The Sword of Truth, could easily cut this man down and if he proved to be dangerous, Jaejoong would not hesitate to use the sword on him. But for now, he must approach the man without the sword. He slipped the sword back on his belt that temporarily acted as a sheath. One of these days he would need to buy a proper sheath for the sword.

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