Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 120: Palanquin Case (5)

However, his spiritual power didn’t work. A sharp pain pierced through his entire body as if it was being scratched with metal.

‘It’s impossible to use Memory Projection. In a situation like this, it is necessary…’

Seol Young stood still, not knowing what to do.

“I am worried about who will see it.”

The low voices of the heavenly officials brought him to his senses. And Seol Young asked them,

“What happened? Why did this harp box come out? I thought we asked you to keep…”

“We don’t know either. We are going to the shrine to investigate it.”

“I know. But do not remove the bloodstains.”

“Yes.”

The officials took it and went away. Meanwhile, Zaha kept looking his way as he was talking to the King.

As soon as they were done, he approached Seol Young and asked,

“What are those bloodstains?”

“I don’t know. Why do I have an ominous feeling about this?”

“Of course, I didn’t think it was auspicious…”

Zaha had a stern face.

“Anyway, if you force yourself to do something you can’t do, will it work? Then, when the time comes, you can no longer move, and you might have to lie down for the rest of your life. Are you going to let your three hyungs take care of you all your life?”

“No…”

“If you know that, then why? First of all, restore your spiritual power. That should be your priority.”

“But it doesn’t seem to react at all…”

“That is because you are nervous all the time. It is important for you to be calm. Go and watch the festival with your hyungs.”

“Yes.”

“If you find something, come and report it to me.”

“Yes.”

He was right.

Just from what he had seen just now, he still couldn’t use his spiritual power. Seol Young turned around and went to his hyungs, and they were all delighted.

“Seol Young! Look at this!”

Hyo Wol gave him the heavy gold coin.

Seeing his smiling face, Seol Young also smiled.

“You did it.”

“What do we use this for?”

Both Song Ok and Hyo Wol were also excited and smiling.

“I thought rich people wouldn’t care about money. However, that opinion crumbled when I saw your faces. Rather, I think the richer you are, the more you like money.”

“Normally, yes. Those who have them are more obsessed.”

“You had given me such precious money every time. Even if I have to grind my bones, I will make sure to pay you.”

“You have grown so much.”

All of them smiled.

“Then let’s go. The children are waiting.”

“Yes.”

Seol Young abandoned his thoughts and followed them. Shouldn’t it be okay for today?

The sun went down, and the four of them got out of that place.

And they moved to the forest. There were a lot of lights hanging around, and the whole place shone.

A large table was spread out in the yard, and everyone was sitting down.

Even the trainees who kept a regular and restrained schedule were enjoying themselves today.

They played games and competed with each other to show their growth. The trainees received rewards, and even those who did poorly were rewarded.

It was an exciting holiday, and when they approached Seol Young, their excitement seemed to have increased more.

Under the bright moonlight, everyone had a fun time without noticing the passing of time.

“Can we not sleep?”

The youngest of the trainees, Myung Gyung, asked with drooping eyes.

“You are already sleepy.”

They barely managed to appease him, and he made them go to sleep.

And now, only the four seniors were left.

All of this was exactly what Seol Young wanted. However, there was one thing that was different.

“Normally, there would be many bottles of alcohol…”

Song Ok mumbled in regret. What was placed in front of them were four small tea cups.

It was because Seol Young couldn’t drink.

“I am fine. Please have a drink.”

“Great-rang and Hyo Wol don’t want to either, so are you saying I should drink alone? No.”

Song Ok gulped down the tea.

“Well, this also helps the mood.”

“Yes. You are finally enlightened.”

Baek Eon smiled.

Everyone looked at the moon, which shone in their teacup.

It was noisy when the trainees were around, but now it was quiet, and yet the silence was so comforting. Even without saying anything, it made a lot of sense.

Phew….

Seol Young sighed.

The moon was bright, the wind was cold, and the tension in his body was loosening up.

Seol Young leaned comfortably against a pillar, and Hyo Wol asked,

“Do you want to sleep?”

“No. I want to stay here.”

“Wait. I thought something was familiar, but it’s the same conversation I had with Myung Gyung just now.”

“This is why the youngest is called the youngest, no matter how old he gets.”

Seol Young looked up at the sky while listening to them. There was a bright, golden full moon.

He felt the light fall on him, and the feeling on his wrist came back.

When he looked down, the complex letters shone.

‘Ah, that is how you do it.’

Seol Young realized it.

“… I succeeded.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

A soft, warm light enveloped his body.

“Do you want to lie down? Should I get you a blanket?”

Seeing Hyo Wol’s face and asking that question, a memory popped up from the depths of his consciousness.

“… it was Third-hyung.”

“What?”

“The first person I met was Third-hyung.”

Seol Young mumbled.

His memories, which had been cut to pieces, began to connect themselves.

‘It was in some village…’

It was a very hot day. It was one of those days when the wind was blowing dust, and Seol Young sat under the shade of a thick tree branch.

One of the evil spirits he had caught in a large tomb next to this place was troubling him. It kept trying to get out.

So he put it in a bamboo barrel and banged on the lid with a hard stone. When he raised his head, he saw someone in front of him.

Seol Young hid his necklace.

What appeared in front of him was a certain boy who had brought a white horse.

His face was white, his eyes were bright, and there was a wry smile on his lips. His pure white horse and his white robe with black patterns gave him a picturesque appearance.

When their eyes met, the boy smiled. And he opened his mouth.

“You, maybe this….”

“… want this?”

The boy showed his statue of a Heavenly Horse. It looked exquisite and had cheap jade in both eyes, and it was something that any child would want.

But Seol Young wasn’t a child.

“I will give this to you if you answer my question.”

The boy kindly said.

He had a handsome face. His attire was cool, and he had a smile without any wrinkles. Above all, he treated him like a child.

With all of that, Seol Young’s judgment of him became twisted.

‘Huh.’

He decided ignoring him would be the best way, but then two more horses came running, raising up a cloud of dust.

Two boys jumped off the horses. One had this elegant feature and a soft voice, while the other had thick eyebrows and wide eyes and was clearly hot-tempered.

All of them were wearing the same white robe with a black pattern. It seemed like they belonged to the same troop, and they held swords.

‘The White Tiger Spirit Troops!’

Seol Young remembered the name.

“Hyungs!”

The boy who came first turned to his colleagues, and Seol Young heard their conversation.

“Did you find something out?”

“Only this child is around. I tried asking him.”

“He won’t. Look at him using his head like a clever scammer.”

“Second-rang, it wouldn’t be right for us to say such things to a child who never harmed us.”

The gentle-looking guy scolded the thick-browed one. He seemed to be the captain. And Seol Young continued to listen to their conversation.

These three Hwarangs seemed to have come to catch the evil spirit of the swamp. It was an evil spirit that ate people.

‘But I caught it.’

Seol Young looked at the three of them.

That evil spirit that ate people had a powerful orb within its body, and to get that orb, he had been lurking around for days.

‘And isn’t the first one to find it the winner?’

Should he chase them away?

He thought so, but Seol Young lived in Mount Toham, and there were Hwarangs called the Blue Dragons there. He knew about their rules.

And behind the Hwarangs who were young, there were always elders, and they could be people with a bad temper. And then he thought,

‘I’d better use this opportunity.’

After fighting the spirit, they would be drained of their energies. Then he could kill them and take the orb away.

His evil plan was all set. He got up from the branch and gestured to the head boy.

“Hm?”

He seemed surprised.

“Look. Wasn’t he a kid who couldn’t speak?”

Of course, he deliberately pretended not to speak in case someone noticed his power. And he conveyed his thoughts through his gestures.

‘I will guide you to the swamp.’

And they soon understood him.

“Fine. Let us follow the child.”

And the head boy turned to him first.

“We will give you money if you guide us properly.”

The cheerful-looking one held up a money pouch, and the boy with thick eyebrows laughed. They all seemed to think that Seol Young couldn’t speak and was stupid. And Seol Young thought he would just punish them with his hands.

However, both sides were terribly wrong about each other…

Recalling that made him smile.

Song Ok said,

“Great-rang, the youngest is smiling while sleeping.”

“I am not sleeping.”

Seol Young shook his head.

“I was just thinking about what happened in the past. When we first met….”

And the missing parts began to connect in his head.

Seol Young went with the three of them to the swamp, but not everything went as planned, and eventually, when a crisis occurred, he revealed his strength.

A child who looked less than ten years old possessed tremendous spiritual power.

The three were surprised.

After everyone worked together to get out of the swamp, Baek Eon said,

“You have amazing talent. You will grow better if you are taught right. Since you were born with outstanding skills, how about using them for good?”

“No.”

Seol Young coldly shot back at him.

But Baek Eon didn’t care. He took out a wooden plaque with a plum pattern engraved on it and held it.

“If you change your mind, show this to any Hwarang and ask for Baek Eon of the White Tiger Troops.”

And the boy with thick eyebrows said,

“It is a pity to give it to this guy. He will definitely throw it to the ground.”

He was really going to throw it, but since he said that, Seol Young held onto it.

‘Do you think I will do anything you say?’

He glared at them, not throwing the plaque, and they went away.

But after a few steps, the cheerful guy came back.

“Ah, right.”

He put the Heavenly Horse and the money pouch on the ground.

“I am Hyo Wol. It means Morning Moon. Now, whenever you see the moon at dawn, you will think of me. And you will remember what our Baek Eon-rang said.”

And he smiled, making Seol Young look dumbfounded.

And that was before he was called the Ghost Demon King…

Seol Young mumbled.

“Third-rang. What would have happened if I had followed you back right then?”

“Now he is even talking in his sleep.”

Hyo Wol gently helped him get up.

“Go in and sleep.”

Seol Young opened his eyes and saw Hyo Wol smiling. He tried to say something…

At that moment, something blurred.

His eyes widened.

In the hallucination, he saw Hyo Wol’s body collapsing, with red blood staining his chest.

[I shot it!]

Song Ok’s sorrowful voice could be heard.

[I killed our third!]

…. What?

Seol Young was shocked.