Coi walked back to Phan Thiet by the little-known routes of back roads and trails she had trekked days earlier, covering another one hundred and sixty kilometers in four days and three nights while dodging patrols, bandits, and packs of wild dogs. With feverish eyes and drawn cheeks, Coi arrived at the shrine, her feet blistered and bloodied, her skin cracked and sunburned, barely alive, having walked more than forty kilometers per day for eight consecutive days.
