Snout to the ground, only a wagging tail seen above the tall grasses, the dog diligently tracked through the field. Finally, barking loudly he stopped in front of the dilapidated shed. He growled, scratching at the doors with his paws and rushed in as soon as Dae Man kicked the door open.

"They are not here."

Once inside, the dog sniffed the hey, whining and borrowing deeper into the pressed spot where the kids' bodies left their imprint; finally he collapsed on the dry grass breathing heavily, exhausted from the heat. Choi Young pored him water, which he loudly slurped.

"Snow, where are the boys?" Asked Choi Young, stroking the dog's back.

The dog looked up at his master and barked. Then got up and sniffed the air. Checking the perimeter of the shack, he continued to move back and force to the door and the haystack, clearly confused.

Choi Young observed his behavior thoughtfully. "Perhaps, they stayed here and then left again," he mentioned to Dae Man. "Let's see if he can find where they went."

He whistled and the dog came over immediately, waiting for a treat. "Here," Choi Young pulled a tasty morsel from his pocket. "Good dog." After the dog devoured the food, he followed Choi Young outside. "Snow, search," commanded the General again.

Snow barked in response and put his muzzle to the ground. He spent some time deciphering the scents and then ran to the side of the shed. He checked around the right corner and then the left side. Everybody waited weary.

Finally the dog seemed to have settled on something. He came over to Choi Young and whined, rubbing his head against the man's thigh. "What is it, Snow?" Asked the man, lowering on one knee and tenderly rubbing behind the dog's ears. Tail between his legs, the dog licked the man's palm vigorously. "You don't know, do you?"

The General got up. "There could only be one explanation. They returned the same way they left," he said firmly.

Choi Young got up on the horse. "Snow, search," he ordered once more and pointed the dog toward the direction they just has come. The canine followed, stopping in the middle of the field, working hard to track the scent and then picked up the pace again back toward the town.

Choi Young addressed his men, "You guys ask around and Dae Man and I will head to the town administrator. Hopefully, we will get our answers there."

"Daejang, can we trust a dog?" Asked Dae Man with anxiety.

"Don't worry. Snow is well trained. The good news is, they were at the shack and then returned back to the town. It is a small place and I'm sure we can locate them before the end of the day."

"I hope so."

. . .

An imposing rider dressed in uniform, with a white dog following beside, attracted spectators. Choi Young waited for somebody in charge to approach him, which was always inevitable in these small towns.

Like on command, two policemen appeared in front of him. "What is your business here?"

"Good day, officers. I am trying to find two little boys who have gone missing."

"Two boys?" The men looked at each other, happy to have found such an easy solution to the mystery of the rider. "We just apprehended two kids these morning. They should be in holding."

Choi Young raised his brow, unpleasantly surprised. "Can you show me the way?"

The report of the chidren's arrest did not sit well with him, but if he could sort out Yuan and its unending plotting against Goreyo soverity, he could surely get two children out of jail. There was one silver lining in this situation - he managed to bypass a potentially annoying conversation with the town head and hopefully find Soon Uk and Soon Hwon at the same time.

Dae Man's shadow appeared on the right from Choi Young; even after being promoted from a scout to a full fledged commander, Woodlachi still preferred travel on the roofs to the roads when he had a chance.

. . .

"The little thieves are here." The man pointed to a small door on the side of the administrative building that housed a police station, hall of records and an administrator's office.

Dae Man had to bend down not to hit his head on the low doorpost. A small room smelled of urine and mold. Wooden stakes rammed into the ground were spaced closely together to create prison bars. Bare ground was covered with wet patches of hay. In the dark corner two little pairs of eyes watched as he entered.

"Aboji!" The kids screamed and ran up to the bars separating them from the visitor.

"Sun Uk, Sun Hwon," cried out Dae Man, his eyes feeling with tears. He kneeled besides the bars and threaded his hands through the narrow openings between the wooden poles to comfort the kids who were crying. "I was so worried."

"We are sorry, father."

Their hands stretched out to grab onto his clothing as he kept wiping their tears off.

Sun Uk clutched his father's hand tightly, afraid to let go. "We will never misbehave again. Please help us."

"Are you hurt?"

The kids did not answer, avoiding looking at him. It was hard to make out anything in the darkness, but Sun Uk seemed to have a large bruise under his eye and Sun Hwon had dried blood under his nose. Dae Man heavily sighed.

"What did you boys do?"

Sun Hwon started crying again. "Nothing. We did not take any rice. They took away our things and then the soldiers put us here."

"The officer was so angry. He said we are thieves and will have to be punished. We did not steal anything," clarified Sun Uk.

"We know stealing is bad." They both affirmed.

"What rice?" Mumbled confused Dae Man.

. . .

The policeman curiously paced outside, dying to find out what was going on. He was expecting praise or commendation for catching criminals. But he did not dare come closer because a tall and very scary man guarded the entrance to the holding cell. He looked rather relaxed, but his face was menacing and the way his hand leisurely rested on the hilt of his sword suggested that he was not opposed to using it.

"Sir. May I ask, why such an interest in petty theft? We have those all the time in our town."

Choi Young did not dignify his question with an answer. He glared down at the officer, who immediately lowered his eyes and shuffled back to keep a respectable distance.

Choi Young was beginning to worry since Dae Man should have returned already. He hoped the kids were not harmed, otherwise things would not be looking good for those involved in the arrest.

"Daejang," he heard Dae Man's call.

"Wait here," he ordered the official and bent almost halfway to pass under the low threshold. His assessment of the prison condition matched his expectation of such a place. When he saw the boys, he could only shake his head. The kids appeared so small and out of place in the holding cell. They did not look him in the eye, clearly humiliated by their predicament.

"I'm sorry my friend, I will tell him to release them right away," he addressed Dae Man. "Are they OK?"

"A bloody nose and a couple of bruises."

"All the limps intact and heads attached to the bodies," concluded assessment Choi Young.

"It could be worse," they both said at the same time and laughed. It was the usual saying among Woodlachi they picked up from Choi Young, who in turn learned it from his doctor-wife.

"Daejang, they are accused of stealing rice. They said there was no rice where they stayed. The shed was old and filled with broken things. The items they borrowed from the Woodalchi barracks were also taken as proof of them being thieves."

"That's something for us to discuss and it should not even be the reason for the arrest."

"That's what I think. This whole rice accusation smells fishy."

"I agree."

"How do you want to handle it?" Inquired Choi Young.

Dae Man's eyes flared. "I will deal it with myself."

"Very well. I will go and find out more about the incident."