Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 50: Peach Blossom Girl (6)

“Was it Mr. Jeong or Mr. Seok? It is so vague now…”

The elder of the village began talking.

“A long time ago, there was this very beautiful child in this village. The child had lost her parents and was living in someone else’s home, but because of her personality, she was able to get along well with the others and didn’t get discouraged by her situation.”

As the girl grew up, she became more beautiful.

Her face was white and flushed, and she looked exactly like a peach blossom, so people would call her Dohwa. 1

As a result, rumors spread that the legendary Do Hwa-rang had reincarnated in this village.

“When it came to Dohwa, who was from our village, there was no one who didn’t know about her. Everyone who came to see her had heard about her beauty and would come just to get a glimpse of her.”

And, as expected, she was stunning, and more rumors circulated. And it reached the ears of a man named Kim Heum, a famous visitor of brothel houses in the city.

“Kim Heum was said to be the son of a great noble family, and his mother was married to some high-ranking official and the adopted son of the Great General…..”

“Like the Great General?”

“Yes, I heard something like that.”

The General Guards2 of the capital and such were the highest commanding officers of the Nine Oath Towers and supervised the security of the city.

And if he were the adopted son of such a high-ranking officer, then there was nothing he didn’t know about.

“As soon as Kim Heum saw Dohwa, he fell in love with her. He was determined to get his hands on her at all costs, and he wanted her before anyone else would take her.”

Since she was an orphan and a commoner, she had no one to help her. So he scared the family that Dohwa was living with and drove them away as he made his way into her room.

Dohwa was shocked and drew her sword to resist him, and as she fought back, she managed to stab him and escape.

“The blade was said to have scratched his left cheek and then gone further to the side of his face. He would have died if she had touched his neck with that force.”

Kim Heum was furious at her.

He ordered all his subordinates to chase after her, so she was immediately caught.

“At that time, in the middle of the river, there was this small island made of soil, and it had a banquet hall where nobles would gather to play. But it was soon abandoned when people drowned there each year. Kim Heum and his gang dragged Dohwa there.”

“Kim Heum and his gang?”

“They were the friends he usually hung out with. They used to call themselves the Seven Stars of the Capital, but in reality, they were just idiots and bums who had gathered together.”

The seven of them had assaulted and harassed Dohwa to their hearts’ content, and even after doing all of that, their anger wasn’t resolved, so they decided to kill her in the most horrifying ways they could think of.

While coming up with ways to torture her, someone had an idea—to use the dice for the drinking penalty game, which is a tool for drinking parties.

“It is the fourteen-sided dice that you know.”

It was a playful punishment, but it could cause pain when used with bad intentions.

Kim Heum’s gang tortured her through that. To them, it might have been a pleasant banquet.

“Dohwa died with her body feeling helpless. And she cursed them until the moment she died. As she cursed them and coughed up blood, she said that if she died, she would avenge herself and that she would make them suffer in the same manner.”

Even so, no one cared about her and thought it would end like that.

But…

Exactly seven days after Kim Heum’s servants buried her body, the man disappeared.

He went to a brothel but never came back, and three days later, Kim Heum’s body was found in the Gul Yeon river. His body was damaged to the extent that no one would even dare look at it.

The worst was his leg.

What happened to him was unknown, but his feet were almost gone. From the shin down, it looked like bones covered with blood but without any skin.

“Everyone who saw the body knew it. They thought a strong, giant-like creature had dragged Kim Heum alive by grabbing his hair for three days. And that wasn’t all. Even the tongue in his mouth was crushed by something. It didn’t have its actual shape.”

“Dance without making a sound.”

Seol Young remembered it right away.

A punishment on the dice.

The elder continued.

“It wasn’t the work of a person, and everyone knew it. In our village, everyone began to whisper secretly. Dohwa has started her revenge.”

As if to prove that, the second and third murders happened.

The murder victims were, of course, the members of the gang that took part in Dohwa’s murder.

One of them had cuts in his body that had bugs sewn into them. His hands were hacked, so he couldn’t scratch and open his wounds to let the bugs out. He experienced excruciating pain until he died.

Hearing all of this, Zaha said,

“Do not throw it away even if a dirty thing is handed.”

The other case was more bizarre. His body was intact, but just the skeleton above his neck remained, and blood and flesh were stuck to both of his hands.

According to the physician who examined his body, his face seemed to have been tormented for a long time by being scratched or itched. In the end, he went mad and tore off the skin of his own face.

“Endure even if your face is tickled?”

Zaha nodded at Seol Young’s words.

“Anyone would notice it.”

In just a couple of days, three murders took place. Each victim was from a powerful family, and at that point, no one could keep silent about the situation.

Even though no one spoke openly about the rumors, everyone knew.

-We are next!

Three of Kim Heum’s gang members died, and only four were left.

So the four families were terrified and began to inquire about some things. As they feared that the scandal would spread and that they would be unable to fight against a spirit, they called famous shamans from all over the nation.

But they all failed.

After pouring out all of their fortunes, they found a truly magical shaman who was from Mount Jiri.

This shaman managed to tear down the pavilion and the island and exorcise the evil spirit using bowls of fresh blood.

“And then, soon after that, the incident was buried. It was because the four surviving people silenced everyone. But can a crime simply be forgotten?”

The village elder continued.

“The people who live here have not forgotten about it. Every time we see that river, fear rises within us. In the end, she couldn’t get her revenge, right? So we were afraid that she would be back someday, so I always tell the kids about it…”

After saying that, he glanced outside.

“But really, another corpse just appeared. The old people living here knew it the moment we saw the body. Dohwa is back…”

He blurted out those words, and this made things clear.

Seol Young asked him,

“Among the four who escaped Dohwa’s revenge, was there a person called Kim Yeo-chun?”

“You don’t have to ask it. The son got punished instead of the father. Isn’t the reaction of that lady of the house the proof for it?”

Zaha said,

“We still have to check.”

Seol Young looked at the elder.

“Kim Yeo-chun… I do not remember it well, but the name sounds familiar.”

The elder answered carefully.

Kim Yeo-chun must have avoided her anger at the time of the incident. However, that made Dohwa come back for her revenge.

Apparently, the extinct evil spirit had suddenly returned and caused the same things to happen…

It wasn’t shocking.

The important thing was if Dohwa was indeed that woman—the woman who caused the mask incident within the palace and the one with talismans covering her face whom shamans couldn’t exorcise.

According to the elder, to exorcise Dohwa, many famous shamans were invited, but they all failed.

‘Then there is no way that they aren’t the same woman…’

Seol Young was deep in thought, and the silence continued.

The elder saw that the two of them were lost in thought, so he didn’t speak further.

“Ah, the tea is getting cold.”

He slowly reached out and emptied his teacup. Then he picked up the kettle, which was still warm, and poured more tea.

Seol Young looked at it and continued. Why was the water flowing from the kettle turning red like blood?

“What?”

The old man was startled and dropped the kettle.

A pile of red peach petals was rolling out of the teapot, and in an instant, it filled the entire room.

“Avoid it!”

The two made sure to get the old man out of there and pulled out their swords. The petals, overflowing with anger, surrounded them. The way the petals were twirling wildly around them had a certain meaning.

Zaha asked,

“What is she saying?”

“A warning. If you know about the incident, don’t stop me.”

Well, right.

She was asking the Hwarangs not to intervene with her revenge.

“She is saying, do not get involved in this, and I will not harm you.”

Seol Young could feel a bit of dignity in her intentions.

Despite being an evil spirit, she didn’t want to touch those who weren’t involved in the issue. He could feel her strong will from this.

Such a personality, but if they drew their swords, this would all end.

She was here, vowing to take revenge on all of the people who had harassed her, and is now trying to keep her word.

“She is asking why her anger isn’t justified. Even though they committed brutal murder in the past, they didn’t get punished and were able to live and die in peace, so shouldn’t their descendants pay for their sins? Isn’t that enough justification?”

It was as if she could still hear the laughter of those people as they assaulted and brutally killed her.

And she was right. Three of the seven paid for their wrongdoings, while four didn’t.

Even a person like Kim Yeo-chun died while having a dignified position in life, despite the crime he committed.

From her side, she wanted them to vomit blood.

Seol Young sympathized with her anger. The hatred and anger at those who used their power to back their wrong deeds.

‘But…’

Seol Young looked at Zaha.

He had a smile that looked like he was thinking something about this situation.

He didn’t know what Zaha was thinking, but he had already decided.

“Fair or not? Do not ask me. It isn’t something for me to judge.”

Seol Young told her.

“When a person who isn’t qualified starts to even think about that, from that moment on, his heart will sway. I know that path well since I have been on it before, so I choose not to make a judgment.”

He held his sword.

“I am someone who draws a clear line between the two worlds.”

The Blue Rainbow Sword pierced the center of the wildly swirling petals.

And Dohwa was furious.

TL/N: Peach blossom.

TL/N: This a special post for guards who are below the Great General.