Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 14: Evil Moon (14)

The sword of a Hwarang couldn’t be touched carelessly.

That was because the sword was guarded.

If one practiced the sword for a long time, it would be imbued with a spirit. This was called ‘Sword Command.’

The name of the spirit in the sword was the name of the sword. Seol Young’s sword spirit was Blue Rainbow.

And Zaha’s meant death or dead. It meant no life, no pain, no agony, and a state of nirvana too.

There should be a very strong spirit within that sword, a spirit of destruction and chaos that would kill countless demons.

It could be called a God. It wasn’t like they kept it in the treasury for nothing.

Dead Slayer would not forgive its owner for deviating into the wrong path. It was clear that the moment the sword was held, there would be an uproar.

‘That is probably why he came for the sword in a hurry. He wanted to take care of the sword before it exposed his wrongdoing.’

The story fit right.

Seol Young continued to watch Zaha.

“Yes, we took very good care of the sword, and it has been eight long years, so why not check it?”

“It looks fine to…”

The official seemed to want some kind of confirmation that the sword was good.

But Zaha was evading the process. He just wanted to take the sword and leave. And when he was delaying it like that…

“Did the High Governor truly return?”

There came a high-pitched voice like a bell, and a group of people appeared.

This made Seol Young go stiff. Standing in front was a woman. The woman had curled hair and a golden crown, cloud patterns on her clothes, and a young yet dignified look.

The Head of Great Heaven.

The head of the Pavilion of Great Heaven observed the sky, sun, moon, and stars to predict the important happenings within the nation.

That person was here.

Actually, she had to be well over sixty, but still, on the outside, she looked like a young person.

In the world, it was said that she wouldn’t grow old because she was like a messenger who gave information about the will of heaven.

And that wasn’t the only mysterious thing about her.

She played an important role in putting the current king on the throne.

The king was originally just in the succession order, but then she gave him some revelations.

-Perform the sacrifice according to my words, and you will be king.

And he did. He ascended too.

As a result, the Pavilion was given the right to exercise power for the first time in history.

That must be why she is here.

“High Governor.”

She looked straight at Zaha.

There was a faint change in his expression.

Even though she had heard of it, she couldn’t believe she was seeing him in person.

“To be back here after eight long years, there are so many things I want to ask you. But I’ll do that later and make one request first.”

She said, with her eyes wide open.

“Could you please pull the sword out right here?”

Seol Young was surprised, as he didn’t expect her to make that request.

‘Is the Great Heavenly Head also doubtful?’

Did she really notice it too? Maybe the Governor and the others couldn’t, but she…

“Well…”

Zaha spoke in an irritated tone.

“Do I have any obligations to follow your orders?”

“I never said it was an order. It is a request.”

The lady spoke sternly.

“As you may know, there have been several strange things happening within and around the palace. Eventually, the evil spirits even managed to invade the palace. Now that the High Governor is back, I would like to request something. Please purify the land with the aura of your Dead Slayer Sword.”

“Are you asking me to take it out and drive the evil away?”

“Why are you stuck on those words? Can you really not grant me such a small request? If the High Governor is not going to do this, then I have no choice but to think of other ways.”

“You can do what you want.”

He tried to leave with the sword, but she boldly blocked him.

“That right there. Can’t the High Governor just pull the sword out?”

At those words, the officials and guards around them were shocked and looked at Zaha with troubled eyes.

Zaha thought this was absurd.

“What nonsense are you say—”

“Then pull the sword out.”

“I don’t want to.”

“In that case, I will reveal the truth to everyone! The High Governor cannot pull out his own sword!”

She raised her voice loudly.

As Zaha avoided her, all the members of the Heavenly Hall turned to look at her. She had an expression that said, ‘caught you.’

“Pull the sword out right now! If not, I will inform His Highness! Hwarang! You leave now!”

“Yes!”

The man was ready to run and inform the king.

Zaha looked troubled now.

“Why would you bother His Highness with such senseless words? Fine. Should I just do what you want me to?”

He finally put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

But unlike his words, he couldn’t pull it out.

“Can you not pull it out?”

She shouted again, making every guard surround Zaha. He was being prevented from escaping.

Zaha reluctantly clenched his hand.

“…”

Seol Young felt a bit lost at this.

He did want to expose the identity of this man, who was pretending to be good toward people.

But this didn’t seem right.

He despised the woman’s decision to intervene in the affairs of the Hwarang troops.

He couldn’t help it.

And Seol Young’s hands moved in the air, forming a spirit qi circle. It was a talisman.

At that moment…

Pat!

Light bursted.

Following Zaha’s hand, the sword came out with great force.

A golden light shone like a rainbow, and it seemed to soar high enough to touch the clouds.

“…!”

The woman was shocked.

What is this?

Seol Young was confused.

There seemed to be no problem drawing the sword. The sword spirit seemed to accept its master and soar high like the beast it was.

‘Could it be that even a spirit can be deceived? If not, what is this?’

He couldn’t understand this. But whatever it was, his actions were intentional.

Zaha knew very well that there was no problem with the sword being drawn.

Still, he deliberately dragged this on, pretended to be troubled, and raised the suspicions of others. He waited for the officials of the Heavenly Pavilion to come and surround him, and then he pulled out the sword.

As a result, everyone felt lost.

The Heavenly Hall was sensitive to aura, so they must have felt like they were hit on their heads.

“…”

But they couldn’t back down now, and seeing them like this was surely enjoyable to Zaha.

“You keep bothering me even though I said I was busy.”

He grunted and drew the sword back in.

And the woman had to back out with a red face.

“Right. I made a mistake. It has been so long that I completely forgot things, High Governor. You are a person who isn’t afraid of anything in the world! But you will not be able to get out safely this time.”

She glared at him.

“The heavens have issued a warning to all, and yet the evil spirit hasn’t been punished yet! Hwarangs, your arrogance will be repaid! Like back then…!”

She spoke some terrifying words. It was ominous and terrifying and made people’s hearts tremble, but not Zaha’s.

“Didn’t the Governor already announce it? Seol Young-rang has never committed a crime, so what will we be punished for? You keep saying it is unfair, but isn’t it natural to give one a chance to explain themselves?”

And he looked straight at her.

“I do not want outsiders to meddle in the affairs of the clans.”

He was smiling at that moment, but it didn’t really seem like a smile.

Seol Young could see why this man was hated.

“Meddle… huh!”

She eventually gnashed her teeth but withdrew.

“Strange things will continue to happen! Even if many people die because of the wrong judgment of one, can you really stay calm? I will be opening my eyes wide and watching you!”

After saying something that sounded like a curse, she turned around, and her men ran after her.

Zaha didn’t seem to care about it as the smile reappeared on his face, and Seol Young thought,

‘There was no need for me to intervene.’

Even though the person had changed, it seemed like the hatred of the Heavenly Hall was the same. One of the last residues left at the bottom of any soul is hatred.

Was there any reason for the Heavenly Hall to act up like this?

When he thought about it…

“Then, have a safe trip, High Governor.”

The official said goodbye, and Zaha left the place with Seol Young following him.

Zaha left the Moon Palace right away.

They crossed the streets of Sorabeol and walked all the way to the place where the blue water flowed.

Naturally, they moved to a crowded area.

The South City.

A marketplace in the southern part of the capital. And there was nothing one could not find there.

Everything was in abundance over there, from food to handicrafts to anything else.

And there were a lot of people, too.

Not just market alleys, but there were drinking halls, gambling halls, and even fights that would break out.

In other words, this wasn’t a good place to tail someone.

The people passing by would obscure his vision, and faces covered with hands would pass by, laughing loudly.

Suddenly the noise behind was so loud that it made Seol Young turn, and a Buddha statue began to roll over. A few porters were carrying it as they were sweating.

“Get out! Get out of the way!”

Seol Young did his best to follow despite the commotion, but he lost track at some point.

Where did he go to?

He looked around in shock, and someone came close to his face.

“I was completely wrong about you.”

He said.

“Isn’t being followed a lot more fun than following someone?”

And he smiled.

Seol Young’s heart stopped.

He was using footwork to follow, but it seemed like he knew about this.

What should he do now?

He thought of a way. Maybe it would work.

Seol Young’s hand moved fast, and he drew a talisman in the air. Dazzling light flashed and made them squint their eyes.

In the next moment…

Sring!

Something came out with an eerie sound.

Before he knew it, Zaha’s sword was in Seol Young’s hand. He secretly picked it up with his ghost-like skills.

Seol Young glared at Zaha and said.

“You need to find out what important thing I’m missing right now. If you do not tell…”

He held the sword to his throat.

“I will stab myself in the neck with your sword and die right now. I will turn into a vengeful ghost and stick to the sword. I will not be defeated with talismans, and I will curse you and harass you each time you use the sword for the rest of your life.”

“…”

Zaha looked at him with an absurd look on his face.