Spilling in and out of consciousness, Han Aeng managed to pick up a few things. One, they had poisoned her, two, they were taking her somewhere, and three, they had maltreated her like a sack of potatoes with her eyes blindfolded, hands tied up and tossed into a cart.
Slapping herself mentally and fighting against the urge to fall asleep, Han Aeng pushed her legs ever so gently till she felt a corner of what she determined to be a wagon. More particularly, the wagon used by merchants travelling with vegetables.
They do take me for a sack of potatoes, treating me so coarsely. The audacity of these people!
Using her arms as support, Han Aeng moved herself to sit upright in what limited space was there. She shuffled about, trying to make herself comfortable when they stopped moving all of a sudden, followed by incoherent chatter.
Han Aeng tilted her head, trying to hear more clearly what was happening outside and was pleasantly surprised to hear Insik scornfully taunting the assassin. "Oh wait, you are all pigs. Agio, how could I possibly substitute such a lowly beast for a human? Tsk tsk!"
Han Aeng barely could hold in her laughter, oh how she loved dear grandfather Insik.
The Leader gritted his teeth as he made his way to the elderly man, with the others following him. "Do you have a problem with us, old man?"
"Oh, I didn't know that animals understand human language. Hehe, the times sure have changed," the old man continued his verbal attacks, not minding the danger of a whole group of assassins. "But since the swines' went out of their way to ask...Yes, I do. The girl you are holding hostage, I'm taking her with me."
The assassins all laughed. Insik was but an old man all by himself; their group had a clear advantage of numbers. However, they would not be so foolish to give themselves away from a simple taunt, "Look, old man, we're just some merchant trying to sell our goods. You've got the wrong people."
Not wanting to miss out on the show, Han Aeng pushed her head out of the wagon through the fabric. Just as her head surfaced, she felt someone's hand reach in beside her and grab her by the waist, hauling her out from the wagon. While Han Aeng wanted to scream, the person dragging her away covered her mouth, muffling any sound.
She reached for the poison darts in her sleeve only to find out that there was nothing there; the darn assassins had taken her precious dart.
As her last resort and only option of alerting Insik, she tried to hit the ground to make noises. However, before her feet could touch the floor, she felt herself being lifted ever so slightly, so her legs were dangling in the air.
Han Aeng tried to fight back but whoever had taken her had a sturdy hold over her waist and mouth, completely immobilising her. Soon enough, Insik's voice faded away along with Han Aeng hope, and she stopped fighting altogether. The assassin and their hirer had won, or so she thought.
Han Aeng's mysterious kidnapper was not her kidnapper, rather her saviour. He found the perfect time to dip in and save her while Insik was distracting the assassins. He was considerably pleased to spot Han Aeng poke her head out, which saved him the efforts of looking through the other six wagons for the hostage.
Once he had brought her a safe distance away from the assassins, he finally let go of her mouth and waists, pushing her away from himself.
When Han Aeng felt the absence of her kidnappers from her back and regained her balance, she hastily ran as her life depended on it.
She was still blindfolded and hand-tied but also incredibly desperate, and running away was one of the limited things she could do. Of course, her handicaps meant he caught her before she got too far and continued to struggle to hold her back before she crashed into something.
During the struggle, Han Aeng deciphered one thing. The smell of wild primroses', which meant that the lily pond was somewhere close. Using her sheer will to not die, Han Aeng pushed with everything she's got against a tree, sending them tumbling down and crashing down straight into the lily pond.
Thanks to the water's impact, the blindfold slightly shifted, and Han Aeng's could partially see through her right eye. She used all her effort to swim to the opposite side, hoping she'd reach land before the 'assassin' could resurface and look for her. The lily pond is a lot deeper than it seems, and she knew that would take the 'assassin' by surprise when he tries to stand up.
Unfortunately for her, the young lad had fallen into the pond right next to her. Moreover, he was well aware of its depth and followed behind her as soon as he saw her pathetic attempt to swim away.
While he would let her swim to the other side, seeing her struggle to move made him think even if he gave her all week, she might not reach. Reaching his patience limit, he simply swam right below her and pushed her out of the water, effectively shocking Han Aeng. She knew she only could get so far with her hands tied and heavy clothing, but did this guy have to find her this quickly?
Why does this guy not get the hint? Leave me alone!
"Let me go !" Han Aeng commanded as soon as they surfaced.
Han Aeng couldn't see his face, as his head rested on her shoulder and his arm wrapped around her; to say she was infuriated would be an understatement. "What are you doing? Let me go!"
Not very surprisingly, Han Aeng was greeted by silence when she had expected an answer. Very naturally, she commenced struggling in his arms, splashing the water about, in her futile effort to break free. Han Aeng could sense that the poison would probably kick in again very soon, and she was nowhere near safety. Slowly but surely, Han Aeng was starting to lose her temper and rationality.
On the other hand, the young lad trying to untie her hand was also very slowly losing his tolerance with the girl. But since he didn't explain himself, he couldn't exactly blame the girl for being so aggressive. He could guess she felt distraught by her reactions and increasing aggression levels, but he didn't care.
The throbbing inside Han Aeng head made it difficult to think of anything other than survival. Furthermore, she was hungry, tired, and the poison only agitated her foul mood even more. She wanted to get away, but she was as helpless as a chicken. With all the pent up frustration, Han Aeng bit into his shoulder as hard as she could.
The young lad gave a start. Crazy girl!
"Let me go, you jerk!" She demanded once again, kicking about in frustration.
Just as Han Aeng was throwing another tantrum, the young lad managed to untie her hand. He muttered a cheeky little, "As you wish." Letting go of her and sinking into the water together.
His action had caught Han Aeng by such surprise that her free hands went unnoticed by her. The young lad observed her, waiting for her to realise her hands were free, before deciding it was best if he drew her back up for air.
"Still want me to let you go?" The young lad chuckled as he held onto Han Aeng lightly. "Yikes, that's not good."