Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 101: Moon Palace Eight Ghosts Story (1)

Inside the palace, the sound of weaving could be heard incessantly.

The thread held in each hand was moving swiftly. Along the white weaving fabrics, the weaving song resonated gracefully.

This scenery indicated that the festival was soon approaching.

Since the time of King Yuri, weaving competitions were held at the Mid Autumn Festival and the ladies of the palace were no exception.

Seol Young crossed the busy palace. He ran into Zaha right in front of the Hwarangs’ dorms and frowned.

“Yesterday, you left me to those thugs and ran away.”

“Ran away?”

Seol Young objected.

“You see I waited right there and then the sun went down so I had no choice but to leave that place… but that isn’t important.”

“Then what is important?”

“On the way back, I saw this carriage attacked by a spirit. I ran to help, but then the lady in the carriage cut it down first. It turned out that she was the wife of the Sangdae-dong office.”

Zaha’s face hardened.

He had a playful tone up until now, but now he seemed angry, or more like he was in a bad mood.

Seol Young pretended not to realize it.

“Anyway, I was surprised. I wouldn’t have thought that she trained in using spiritual qi. She must have been training for a long time.”

“That lady…”

“I know. I heard that she is the High Governor’s older sister.”

Zaha’s eyes seemed to be on fire as he heard those words.

“You were making fun of me?”

“Yeah, right, that was an amazing secret. I had known about it for a long time because I personally brought her a gift when she was getting married.”

“….”

“Anyway, that isn’t the point. Isn’t it strange that such a lady was suddenly attacked by a spirit? In addition, all of the women around her were holding something to ward off evil spirits. There seems to be something going on.”

“There could be or could be not…”

He said it with a stiff face.

“Do not bother with it. It isn’t our business anyway.”

“It is strange.”

Seol Young pointed it out.

“If it was someone you met by chance on the road, you would have helped them. Even if it was a beggar with a disease or a thief in prison, you would have asked for the story behind them. Why are you turning away from her? Are you saying that she should be treated differently so that it doesn’t look like she is using the fame of the High Governor?”

“…”

“You must know that it makes no sense. When a person says something out of the ordinary, it means that they are in a swayed emotional state. Cool your head and think again.”

After calmly pointing that out, Seol Young added,

“I have no choice but to be somehow involved.”

“Why?”

“When we parted like that and walked away…”

He briefly recalled what happened.

It wasn’t long before the sound of footsteps followed. They were the swift steps of a person who had learned martial arts—probably a woman.

That person was deliberately informing him of their presence, as if wanting him to know.

Seol Young was going to meet Zaun anyway, so he didn’t care that the person followed him until here.

When Seol Young arrived at the dormitory, the person stopped. And then they lightly expressed their gratitude by making a sound with their bracelet and disappeared like the wind.

“Now that they know where I am staying, someone will arrive soon. When we get to the mansion of the Sangdae-dong we can investigate what happened to the High Governor’s sister.”

“…”

Zaha was silent.

There was a look of displeasure on his face, but he suppressed it. Seol Young just looked like he didn’t care.

He didn’t even ask anything. It was more like he wasn’t paying any attention to the affairs between the two. However, he only pretended to be like that on the outside. He was actually curious.

‘Will I finally be able to know the full story now?’

He thought so….

That night.

A monk was reciting the sutra.

And then there were light footsteps. Even listening to it through the wall, their behavior seemed unusual. There was no doubt that they were experts in martial arts.

One of them stood outside Seol Young’s room. After a small cough, a voice said,

“If you are willing to come with us, please come out.”

Seol Young got up without saying a word and went out.

There were several people standing behind the building. All of them were in black clothes. It seemed like they could blend in with the darkness.

Among them, an elderly man stepped forward.

“Excuse me, could you cover your eyes with this?”

He held out a long, thick cloth. Their attitude was consistently changing. There was also a hint of them being afraid of something.

Seol Young took the cloth without another word. After wrapping it around his head a couple of times, he tied it twice to reassure them.

“Thank you.”

The men in black guided Seol Young and put him into the palanquin. They were moving as if they were flying and heading somewhere.

‘Towards the South?’

Seol Young was guessing the direction.

‘Not to the mansion?’

Their direction was going round and round. At some point, he couldn’t figure out whether it was east, west, south, or north.

‘I am sure we are heading somewhere.’

So Seol Young waited patiently. Eventually, they stopped.

“Get off.”

Seol Young came out with the blindfold on, and the place was quiet.

He deliberately stepped onto the ground with a thud, and he could hear a creak and the sound of wooden floors.

At that time….

“Uh excuse me, I want to avoid getting any attention on…”

The man in black cloth spoke carefully.

“We can’t help it. So please understand with a kind heart.”

Someone put on a long robe over Seol Young. They were silk clothes that fell softly.

It must be women’s clothing.

On the other hand, another person put a skirt on him. The skirt they had him wear was what women wore when going out. From top to bottom, he had a sky-high silk draped over him to hide his masculine figure.

After thoroughly disguising him, someone grabbed Seol Young’s arm, guiding him down the path.

It was a cool place. The mixture of musk and aloe was clear, and his skirt was moving in the wind. He finally figured out where they were.

‘Palace?’

Seol Young was puzzled.

‘It should have been Lady Zaun who called me. So why bring me to the Moon Palace?’

It felt like things were not what he thought.

‘I saw her rushing to the palace the other day, so is this related to that?’

He began to think. These unidentified people took him round and round after bringing him into the palace.

At first, he concentrated on where they were taking him but soon his head began to turn dizzy. He had been in and out of the palace since his childhood as a trainee but right now he was losing his sense of direction.

Soon they stopped.

“We have brought him.”

The old guide said.

And then the sounds stopped.

The door slid open in front of Seol Young.

“Come in.”

Answered the voice of a woman.

Seol Young went inside. The people in black robes disappeared before he knew it.

There seemed to be several people in the room since the scent seemed to be all mixed up, however, no one spoke.

“Let’s talk.”

Someone said.

The silk cloth, which had been draped all the way to the floor, was lifted, and someone removed the cloth over his head.

“You can remove the blindfold now.”

Said an elderly voice.

Seol Young put his hands behind his head to untie the knot.

The fabric fell off, and a bright light stung his eyes.

Seol Young blinked a couple of times to adjust to the brightness, and then he knew.

They were in a room. It was a very closed-off place.

It looks like it was decorated with jewels everywhere, which convinced him that the owner of this room had to be a noble.

And that noble was sitting on a high chair to the side. Seol Young doubted his eyes.

There was a crown of gold on the noble’s head. Golden earrings dangled from the noble’s ears. Wearing a silk dress with gorgeous embroidery, she was….

“Royal…”

“Shh!”

Everyone turned to him.

It was an informal meeting, so they didn’t want to use official titles.

That was what it meant.

Seol Young gulped and lowered his head.

Why were the guides so careful? Why disguise him?

Now he saw it.

The person who summoned Seol Young was the queen of Silla.

Since her childhood, it has been said that she was a woman devout to Buddhism and was called Lady Yeon Hwa.

“You are here.”

The queen said, her voice trembling a little.

“Raise your head and look at me.”

Seol Young looked up as she told him, and their eyes met.

His eyes trembled as he looked at her, and she looked away.

Following her, Seol Young also looked to the side. At that moment, he was startled.