After seven days in Chungcheong, the concubines, including Sungmin, are ordered to return to the Palace, while the King and the Queen will prolong their stay to inspect government operations in the province. The trip to Chungcheong from the Palace took nearly a day, so the trip back is estimated to take the same amount of time. Just as Sungmin expected, the trip barely even started when Jang Sugui started complaining about the duration of the trip as well as the dull life of Chungcheong.

- It has been years since I had the chance to get out of the Palace, and I have to go to this small, boring little town? There is not even a remotely decent silk shop or jewelry store!

- Mama - Jang Sugui's head court lady tries to calm her down - If His Highness hears these words, he will be displeased. Besides, Chungcheong is not Hanyang. Even without the drought, life here cannot be compared to the luxurious life of Hanyang.

Jang Sugui sneers at her court lady.

- Not speaking of the shops here, why is the food just as dull and tasteless as the people here? Am I a commoner who can just eat any food served by people who know nothing about food and taste!?

This time, the court lady gives into Jang Sugui's endless whining and can only reply with 'yes, mama' every once in a while when she finishes talking.

Inside his palanquin, Sungmin ignores all the fuss that Jang Sugui has been making ever since started the trip. He has been used to all of her drama and whining, so ignoring it is now his go-to method of dealing with her. Sungmin takes out a map from the sleeve of his shirt. His father had sent him this map of the route from Hanyang to Chungcheong before Sungmin went on the trip, so he could have been prepared for every situation possible. Sungmin looks at the map carefully. On the outskirts of Hanyang, the name Yangjae Forest is marked red on the map, which means that there is possible danger in the area. His father had also mapped out in detail nearby escape routes and safe places, so that in any case, Sungmin would be fully prepared.

Sungmin thinks carefully again about the news of recent robberies and murders around Yangjae forest. The details of the crimes are too comprehensive to be only rumours. So the crimes must be in some way real. But what has been baffling to local investigators is the fact that no one has ever seen any member of the gang. Their lair has never been found, and no member has ever been caught in action. Every time investigators go into the forest, all they find is the dead silence and thick fog which is the signature of Yangjae forest. The fog is so thick that they would always get disoriented, sometimes get lost in the forest for days, yet only feeling like minutes.

Outside Sungmin's window, the sky is getting darker, which means that it is about time they get to Yangjae forest.

It is less than one hour into the forest when Sungmin realises something strange.

Everything has suddenly gone quiet. Dead silence. As if Sungmin has somehow gone deaf in both ears. He tries to test his hearing by clearing his throat. His hearing is perfectly normal, so the dead silence has come only from outside.

Sungmin is about to call for Jongwoon when his palanquin abruptly stops. Faced with a series of bizarre things happening at once, Sungmin carefully opens the door to the palanquin.

In front of his eyes, a plain white fills the air. The fog is so thick that he cannot see his hands even though they have been raised to his face. 

Sungmin raises his voice to call for Jongwoon but receives no answer. The royal guards are nowhere to be found. As he starts walking around the place, he immediately stumbles over what seems to be a human leg. 

As the fog is too thick to see anyone's face, Sungmin starts touching up and down the body to identify who it is. Plain and simple clothes. No weapon. No armour. This must be one of his four palanquin carriers. Sungmin quickly searches nearby, and just as he expects, the rest of the palanquin carriers are all lying on the ground, without any pulse.

- Jongwoon! 

Sungmin calls out for Jongwoon again, and this time is replied with a firm 'Mama' from a few feet away from him. Immediately, Sungmin hears Jongwoon rush through the fog to stand in front of him. After that, four other figures also rush to his side, making a protective circle around Sungmin.

- Stand back, mama.

Jongwoon's voice suddenly sounds more sturdy and commanding than ever before.

The sounds of swords being pulled out of their covers fill Sungmin's ears. Jongwoon's sword as well as the others' shine a cold light before Sungmin's eyes, and Sungmin can vaguely see the clothes of the four figures standing around him. The clothes belong to the four new servants in his residence: Himchan, Hoseok, Hyunwoo and Jaesung, all of whom he has brought with him on the trip. What surprises Sungmin is that they all seem to be ordinary servants, helping out in the kitchen and doing heavy cleaning stuff. Sungmin did not know that they were trained in martial arts. Could it be that his father had put more people in the Palace to protect him without ever telling him?

The dead silence around six of them suddenly is crushed by the sound of something sharp tearing through the air, aiming right at Sungmin.

The sound of a sword blocking the trajectory of the object.

- What was it, Jongwoon? - Sungmin asks.

- It was a dart, mama.

'So the attack was planned', Sungmin thinks to himself.

Following the intercepted dart, more than 50 others are thrown towards their direction. Sungmin's five protectors immediately intercept each one of them. But the darts seem to keep coming without any sign of stopping soon. Then all of a sudden, the sounds of the darts stop, replaced by the sounds of footsteps rushing towards them. Judging by the sound alone, Sungmin estimates there must be no less than 40 of them.

The five servants are quick to fight off the attackers. Sungmin carefully studies the moves of the other four servants. Their techniques are not from Seowangmyeong. Neither are they from a school which he recognises. But they do not seem to be the enemy here, so Sungmin lets them fight alongside Jongwoon. Seeing that the five have got the situation under control, Sungmin quickly searches nearby for Park Bin and Jang Sugui's palanquins. They were not too far from him when they entered the forest, so they must still be close at the moment.

When Sungmin gets to the part of the forest where the fog seems to be thinner, he hears the whispers of two women in a palanquin. This is no doubt Park Bin and Jang Sugui, so Sungmin approaches the palanquin and cautiously opens the door.

- Ahhhhh!!!

Jang Sugui's voice is shrill and panicky.

- Jang Sugui, it is only me.

Sungmin quickly reassures her. 

Next to Jang Sugui, Park Bin looks calmer, but glares at Sungmin like she is looking at a ghost.

- Park Bin mama, Jang Sugui, don't be scared. It is okay. We have got the attackers under control...

Sungmin has barely finished his sentence when he suddenly feels his head spinning and drowsy. His head suddenly feels like it is a thousand pounds.

Sungmin immediately realises another important element in the rumours regarding the bandits. How none of the victims had the capacity to fight back or escape. How the local investigators had never seen the bandits even once. How every time they entered the forest, they would get disoriented lose track of time.

- Jongwoon! - Sungmin yells out to his trusted servant - There's poison in the fog!

But he hears no response from Jongwoon. Sungmin quickly tears out a piece of his clothing and covers his nose and mouth. Just when he is about to return to where Jongwoon and the four servants were fighting, five other darts are sharply thrown towards him. He swiftly turns to avoid the darts. If his speculation is correct, the darts must be poisoned too. No wonder none of the victims had ever escaped from these bandits. They are using every method possible to trap and attack their victims.

Sungmin quickly realises that the darts are immediately followed by a series of footsteps coming in their direction.

- Park Bin mama, Jang Sugui, cover your noses and mouths.

As Jang Sugui still looks more panicked than ever, Sungmin pulls out a small dagger that he has been hiding in his sock and put it in her hands.

- Use this only when you absolutely have to. 

But the footsteps have arrived faster than Sungmin expected, so he stands in front of the palanquin to protect both of them. Sungmin looks around, but his five servants are nowhere to be found.

The bandits quickly charge forward to attack Sungmin. He immediately incapacitates one of them and takes away his sword. Even though Sungmin's skills can defeat them one-on-one, at the moment, there are simply too many of them. After he has just knocked down ten of them, ten more arrive from another direction.

Sungmin's breath is getting more and more heavy. His head keeps spinning, and he gets more and more dizzy every second. With the current situation, he estimates he can only take ten or twenty more until the poison completely knocks him out. Perhaps he can hold off until Jongwoon or the royal guards find them. Perhaps the fog is too thick that they have lost track of them. Perhaps they are still looking for a way out of the fog, and will soon find Sungmin and the two concubines.

An incredibly heavily built bandit with a large blade steps in front of the gang and charges toward Sungmin. Judging by his skills and actions, Sungmin can guess that he is the leader of the gang. All his attention is paid toward the man. His blade is heavy and sharp. His moves are quite swift for a man with a heavy build like himself. 

With one quick move, the man aims the blade at Sungmin's neck.

'Want my head? Not that easy.'

Sungmin swiftly bends down his back to avoid the blade. This time, the blade is aimed straight at top of Sungmin's head. He quickly raises his sword to block the blade but finds that the man's strength is not to be underestimated. He gathers all the strength that he has left to block the blade, when suddenly, Sungmin feels an overwhelming pain in his back. The pain of his flesh being torn through to his bone. The pain starts from his back and travels to his limps and the rest of his body, incapacitating him. The heavy man immediately takes this opportunity to stab Sungmin in the chest, but misses Sungmin's chest and hits Sungmin's shoulder instead.

Sungmin falls down on the ground as the pain in his back and his shoulder have started to paralyse him. The heavy man slowly approaches him and aims for his head one more time, but is again intercepted with Sungmin's bare hands, and hits his chest. This time, Sungmin has used up all of his breath, and his body fails to move according to his command. He can clearly smell his own blood pouring out from his three wounds and his mouth.

The heavy man raises his blade again. This time, Sungmin is sure that he will hit wherever he is aiming for. He can easily take Sungmin's head without any struggle from him. Then, suddenly, a flying object aiming directly at the heavy man's blade takes away the blade and pins it on a nearby tree.

The heavy man is about to look up to see what had hit him when two more flying objects hit his head and his shoulders, knocking him on the ground.

Sungmin can vaguely hear rushing footsteps throughout the forest toward them. Then, the screams of the bandits and their voices telling each other to retrieve. He tries his best to look at the dark and tall figure that is approaching him.

But Sungmin already feels like he is quickly descending into a darkness. His vision is getting more and more blurry. Around him, the sound of rushing footsteps and people screaming is slowly fading. He can only feel a familiar warmth start to wrap around him before he quickly falls into the deepest sleep he has ever had.