Episode ten:

A sore feeling woke Kyuhyun up from his unconsciousness. The young lad growled as he pushed himself from his laying position. He rose his right hand towards the back of his head. Palpating at where he felt the hurtful throbbing, the young monk let out a sigh at the sensation of the small bump under his fingers.

"What happened?" He breathed out lowly as he took into his surroundings.

He furrowed his eyes as he saw that night had fallen. Then when he turned his eyes toward the cracking sound coming from his right, the young monk gasped at the sight of two men looking at him. They were not the typical fellows men he encountered in his land. Fierce eyes and aura of danger. He could not help shivering at the dark aura emanating from their whole beings.

And when one of them started to talk, it was in another language than his.

"Do you think he is a threat to Bocchan?" The man standing next to the other man said in a strange language. The man's eyes never was unlocked from his figure as if the latter was scrutinizing his every move, deciphering the kind of man he was while calculating his retaliation.

Moving, Kyuhyun could not. He feared of being ostracized for doing something wrong. So, the young monk stayed still waiting to hear more from those two men.

"Who knows! I caught him tearing up into those portraits of Bocchan and his companion." The man who was sitting in front of the campfire added quietly as he hold some paper sheets in his hands, showing them to his fellow friend.

Bocchan...

That word sounded familiar to him. And when realization hit him, Kyuhyun knew where those men came from. The land of Yamato. And they could only relate to Jaejoong as he often heard Changmin calling the young boy with that same title during the laps of time they spent together between the enclosure of the Beopjusa temple when they were confined in their master's quarter.

"What are you going to do to me?" He dared to ask not knowing if those two men could understand him, but his behavior could not hide his fear as Kyuhyun just crawled back carefully, making some distance between them and his person by instinct.

The standing man took the paper sheets in his companion's hand. Then, he walked toward the scaredy cat who just crawled over again on his , trying to put some more distance between the stranger and him. However, he did not have any way out as his back bumped into a hard trunk of a tree.

His luck...

The man put one knee on the ground and shoved the paper sheet in to his face. "Why did you do this?" He asked with a stern voice as the young monk could hear a forte accent in his tone, showing the paper sheet in his hand to the young monk.

"I... I..." Kyuhyun gulped harshly, not knowing what to say. If he explained wrongly, the young monk could say goodbye to his life. And if he was clever enough, he could spare some time before his demise.

"Why?" The man insisted fiercely.

"Kenta, being forceful will not make him cooperate." His companion said quietly as he stirred the woods in the fire with a stick, keeping the flame alive.

Kyuhyun set his eyes on the other man who seemed to be more nicer than the one who was in front of him. The young monk saw the stranger taking a small wooden bucket and plugged it into the pot over the fire. Then, the man from the Yamato land stood from his seat and walked toward them quietly.

"Here." The stranger said with a smile as he tended the bucket to the monk. "Do not be afraid of us. We only want to know your reason behind your act."

"I... I know Jaejoong." Kyuhyun said as he took the jug in his trembling hands.

At the name of the child boy, the two men went silence as they were watching the young fellow monk carefully, with their hand wrapped around the handle of their swords, ready to cut him into pieces.

"He... he and Yunho..." The young monk paused and sighed. How could he explain who was Yunho for the pretty boy? "Things happen and Yunho became Jaejoong's companion... husband... kind of... I... I do not know what to say more about that..." Kyuhyun let out. Then he took a long breath before continuing his explanations. "Jaejoong and Yunho... they were framed by some people from the Beopjusa temple... And those pictures of them... I was trying to get rid of them. I just wanted to help them." He added as he looked up at the man still standing next to his fellow companion.

"Not enemy?" The man crouching down in front of the monk asked his fellow companion, wanting to confirm what he could understand from this foreign language.

"Not enemy..." Kyuhyun shook his head. "I am not Jaejoong's enemy. I... I know Yunho since we were children. He is my childhood friend. I... I... God! If Xiah was here he could explain things better." He finally let out, frustrated. But he was hoping that with the name of the demonic man spelling from his mouth they were willing to believe him.

The two men from the Yamato land glanced at each other for a while. Then, the man named Kenta drew his swords and pressed the blade under the poor monk's chin, hurting him a bit as a stain of blood was stained on the shining blade from the light of the moonlight.

"I... I told you the truth!" The monk cried as he leaned back forward against the trunk of the tree behind him, the bucket of soup falling from his hands by fear. "I am not an enemy... I am just a poor monk who has finished his ordination two years ago. I am not the best at my discipline but I am willing to do better in the near future. I... I... Please... please believe me." He choked in his words as fear took over him.

"He is on our side."

Kyuhyun would never think that one day he would be this happy to see the white haired man walking into the scene. While the two men from the Yamato land bowed their respect to the man named Xiah with one knee on the earthy ground and one arm crossed over their chest.

"What happened?" Xiah asked in the Yamato language.

The man Kyuhyun did not know the name was explaining everything to their commander in the Yamato language. Then, the demonic man took the paper sheet in his hand and nodded as he saw the feminine version of his Hamingu tori drawn on the sheet.

"Do you know those monks?" Xiah demanded as he set his eyes on the scared monk. Kyuhyun nodded. "Your friends?"

"No!" The young monk shook his head eagerly. "They are Master Ilwoo's disciples. And the man was under the care of the Head Master Song before he took his own disciples once he got up in grade. I swear! I swear! I just wanted to find Jaejoong and Yunho before something bad happens to them. I was sent by my master. Master Sunho."

Xiah nodded before turning to his men telling them something in the language of the Yamato. Then, the two men bowed as they were accepting some orders from the man.

"Fill your stomach for tonight. Tomorrow you are going to join them in their hunt." Xiah said quietly as he stood next to the fire, his eyes locked on the flame coming from the campfire. "As you are the only one knowing how those men look like, you will lead my men to those people's demise." The demonic man snorted as he threw those portraits into the fire, making the flame grow bigger. And under the light from the fire, the feature of the one the Samguk Sagi high populace feared the most in this world filled the area with his imposing aura. "As for those people from the Beopjusa temple, they need to know their place. In this world where exist predators and preys, they are not belonging into the high ranging of this chain of laws but only insignificant beings easily broken under my wills." He let out with a grim smirk painting on his lips.

And at this moment, the white daemon in his gory armor, bloodthirsty and enraged waiting silently the appropriate time to strangle his prey under his hateful and bloody claw hands was the most scary thing the young monk had seen in all his life.

Kyuhyun said nothing as he knew he had no choice to make facing the demonic man. The young monk could only pray for his own safety. He was never a pugilist even if he knew some martial arts coming from the Beopjusa temple. The young fellow was a peaceable person and never once used force on anyone.

Looking up at the man, the young monk felt suffocated by the dark aura emanating from this white haired man as it made him numb and paralyze from fear. Going against the demonic man could only make him lose his own life.

And at this moment, Kyuhyun saw the turning point of his quiet and peaceful life.

Could he bear the sight of those monks being killed in front of his eyes?

Running errant was one thing, but walking around the town in search for fresh vegetables and good meats to make a good deed in order to feed that fake monk's stomach for the sake of his Yunho, the child boy felt like doing more than a favor. He jutted up his lips and mumbled something under his chin.

"I feel like a servant." He let out a sigh. In all his life, Jaejoong, son of the most wanted enemy and fearless Seiitaishôgun in all the Yamato land, never had done any kind of this ungrateful and low tasks. Normally, people served him not the contrary. "Aish!" He grunted and stumped his feet onto the ground, paying no mind at his surroundings. He was a spoiled child after all. Then, he balled his hands into fists as he nodded, giving himself some courage. "For my Yunho!" And with new determination, the pretty child walked to the grand avenue where was located the street market. He, then, took the straight path toward one of the numerous selling vegetable stales. Jaejoong crouched down at the level of the old ahjumma who was rearranging her numerous basket filled with vegetables from her own small field. "How much for this beachu?" He asked as he showed her a fresh green cabbage.

"For you I give you a discount. Two for three chôns." She said with a smile and showed her right hand with her five fingers spread fully.

"It's cheap." Jaejoong nodded with a smile. All his needs were taking care by Eita as the man provided the child of the white Yong money for his living. And the boy used it not only for him but also for Yunho. Even if the latter was suspicious of how he got all that money from, however, his companion never said anything. Only trusting his young wife who was more wiser than him. "Why not giving me this entire basket for ten chôns?" He asked as he pointed his forefinger toward the five cabbages in the wicker basket.

"Deal!" The older woman laughed. She wasn't going to complain as she was gaining more than losing her day with this pretty young lad. And she was more eager to deal with this only one customer than others who were ready to rip her off if it was in their advantage. Not this little one who always gave her more than she asked for. Despite his poor accoutrement, she suspected this pretty child to be the infant of a good but wealthy foreign liege. And if he wanted to be kept unknown of the populace, she wasn't going to leak his real identity.

"Good!" The boy nodded as he loved doing some business deals with her. Jaejoong never had a grandmother as all the members of his family were only consisting of his father and himself. Of course, he did not have to mention his father's men. And he felt at ease with someone else than the people he was used to live with. So, the child boy loved to look at this nice thought of having this ahjumma as his grandmother.

"You must be careful." she said suddenly in a concerned tone as she was rearranging some radish tubers on the small rack on her right, letting her only costumer seeing her goods for the day. "I heard there's some bad people running wild at night."

"Really?" The child boy frowned, hoping that the woman was not talking about some people he knew. Jaejoong was not going to beat around the bush. He knew Xiah was looking for him since he left the Kyushu island. And the man was not walking on this Samguk Sagi land alone. The appearance of Eita in front of his person was the confirmation of his suspicion. And they weren't choirboys. They were experts in martial arts. But, they would never kill without no reason.

"Yes. They found a corpse five days ago in the nearby town." She whispered as she was looking carefully around them, drifting the pretty boy from his thought. "They said it was the doing of a couple of man and woman."

"Oh!" Jaejoong nodded quietly.

"I know about that from my son. He was there when they found the lifeless body." The older woman nodded, gossiping carefully about this kind of predicament as she felt the need to keep this kind of discussion only between the two of them. As if it was a very bad curse if others were to hear them. "So be careful pretty boy. I really like you and if something happens to you, I will feel bad for your companions. You're too young to be gone into the hereafter."

"Or you will not find a better customer like me!" Jaejoong teased the woman who hissed and hit him on his arm playfully.

"Aish! This child!" She grunted. And the pretty boy laughed softly, hiding his mouth with his right hand. "Don't cry when it's too late beautiful." The older woman chided. Then she laughed softly.

"Worry not! I will be careful." He nodded finally, being serious.

"Alright! Here! I give you this mu (radish) and some paseulli (parsley) too." She said putting the radish tuber and parsley in the wicker basket with the two cabbages quickly, working in her space.

"Thank you ahjoomuhni!" He grinned, loving this older woman more and more.

"Nae! Be carefully little one." The older woman had as she was glaring at the child boy with a smile painting on her lips.

"I will." Jaejoong said as he put only two cabbages in his basket. "I will send someone to take the rest."

"The same effeminate man like the last time?"

Jaejoong nodded with a satisfied smile, loving how he made the other man as his errand boy.

At the end, they had decided to left the beggars' hideout, the couple and Changmin had taken the path towards the capitol city of Baekje, deciding that going to Kimhae, the capitol city of Silla at this late was only a loss of time if they wanted to see the flowers festival. And Ungjin was closer to them than Kimhae.

And in his despair, within their small luggage, they could not avoid the presence of the King of beggars who had invited himself in their journey. Of course, the effeminate watchdog in the name of Kim Heechul had dragged his feet along with the excuse of being the only one who could protect the other fellow lad.

Those two were denying all Jaejoong's guessing. But the son of the white Yong was not in the wrong. His suspicions were always accurate. And if they wanted to play, the young child boy was going to play along with them until the end. However, if they were a danger for his own security, he knew that all the men following him in the ground of this Samguk Sagi were going to terminate them.

"Oh! Can I also have some buchu (chives) and gaji (eggplant)?" The child boy added with a smile.

"Of course! How much?"

The child boy narrowed his eyes for awhile and took a handful of chives in his two hands before putting them in the basket with the rest of the Napa cabbages. Then, he put the same amount of eggplants with his purchase.

"And this!" He added as he took some bulbs of ginger in his hand. The older woman nodded as she accepted the money the young boy gave her. And then, Jaejoong walked away after bowing to the woman who waved him goodbye with only a few in his basket. Being far from the older woman, Jaejoong laughed softly with a sniff. "Serve you right!" He muttered under his chin as he could imagine the fulminated expression of the Park Yoochun's watchdog with all he had bought. And it wasn't the end.

In his track, the beautiful child had bought a half dozen of chicken and a great morsel of beef. Jaejoong was going to send that King of beggars to recuperate all his chase for his payment. If he wanted to eat, he had to be of used. Then, the child boy took his time to look at every shop and stale displaying in this shopping avenue, loving all the toys and daemon masks setting in front of him. Jaejoong was still a child after all and like every child his age, he wanted to play, smile and laugh happily with no worry in his mind.

The boy giggled as he bought a windmill toy with its beautiful and bright colors. He