Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 62: Peach Blossom Girl (18)

At the Heavenly House, which stores the most valuable treasures of the Silla royal family.

In the deepest part, there was a room where ancestral rites were held. A place where the supposed mysterious Gods that had descended from the sky were enshrined.

In the middle of this room was a jade flute.

A long time ago, during the reign of King Sin Mun, a dragon appeared and offered bamboo to the King. The King made a flute out of it, and then all the worries and concerns of the nation were solved.

That was why it was called the Ten Thousand Wave Clearing Flute because it pushed away the troubles in the nation.

And this mysterious flute was now within the palace. A dark aura leaked out from the flute, and black smoke slowly increased and spread around the body of the flute.

“Still, it seems to have faded a little…”

The official of this place looked at the flute with a serious face.

“I don’t know. It seems to be the same…”

“It definitely faded.”

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol said in unison.

“Isn’t that right, Governor?”

“…”

The Governor stared at the flute for a while and then said,

“The flow of energy is not something that can be judged with the human eye. It is judged by the sky.”

And he turned to Seol Young.

“But it sure seems like something changed, right?”

“I don’t know.”

Seol Young gave an honest answer.

The Governor looked at Seol Young for a moment, and then he asked the official to move as he said,

“It is unfortunate that an innocent woman left without being able to resolve her grief… since the crimes committed by the wicked were revealed and punished, it can be said that justice was served, albeit belatedly. And it is thanks to Seol Young-rang’s work.”

Seol Young lowered his head.

“I was only able to respond quickly because of the words of Beom Hyun-rang from the Black Tortoise.”

“I’ve heard about it.”

The Governor smiled, which was quite rare.

“Like the revelations, supernatural calamities have been happening four times in a row. But you have solved all of them.”

And then he added,

“Since we have prevented more innocent lives from being sacrificed and have eradicated the evil spirits that reappeared on this land, I don’t think there could have been a better solution.”

And he looked at Seol Young.

“To be honest, I was skeptical at first. I had no choice but to let it be because there was nothing I could do to prevent you from being forced out. But now I admit that I was wrong.”

He looked around and said,

“Seol Young-rang raised the honor of the Hwarangs. Don’t the White Tiger Spirit Troops agree? You raised a good Hwarang.”

The faces of the three Hwarangs brightened.

As Seol Young was forced to leave, they were constantly worried about the past events and what would happen to him.

“Thank you, Governor.”

The four of them stood side by side and bowed. After that, they all went outside.

As they were walking, Jin Rim said,

“Ah, I heard you went to my office that morning, but you didn’t go inside because I was busy.”

“Ah…”

Seol Young remembered.

The Governor must be referring to the day when they heard about the murders from Beom Hyun.

“It wasn’t anything special. I was just going to report what had happened.”

“I see. Also, because people talk like something huge happened…”

He pursed his eyebrows as he said,

“Don’t you think that the High Governor has gotten a little weird?”

Seol Young was a bit shocked.

Baek Eon calmly asked,

“What made you say that?”

“Because it seems like he has completely changed as a person.”

Jin Rim responded.

“As everyone knows, he loved the nighttime, but ever since he came back, he doesn’t come out after sunset.”

“Well, since he has been living in the mountains for eight years, isn’t it just a habit of waking up and going to bed early?”

Baek Eon replied.

“Is that so? But it is kind of strange. The last time I saw him, his coat was crooked, so I tried to fix it to be polite, but he didn’t allow me.”

“Could it be that he’s grown accustomed to chasing wild animals in the mountains?”

“Is that so? Then…”

Jin Rim’s face darkened.

“To hear that he didn’t even come into today’s meeting and just left. After all this time, when he looks at us, he must be remembering all the terrible memories, right? He had no choice but to come back here, but maybe he doesn’t even want to see our faces or hear our voices…”

“No.”

Seol Young abruptly said.

Everyone looked puzzled.

“It isn’t that. He said that he had to go outside on that day because of me, but he listened attentively and paid attention to everything I did. And to give you his opinion on things, and he said that he should give you the right answer…”

Seol Young began to search through his memories.

“He said that it seems that our Hwarangs are looking for places where there are clean lands without spirits and using them as training grounds, and everyone is feeling concerned with the rumors that are spreading everywhere. So he said that it would be better to send the Black Tortoise Troops to win the public’s sentiment.”

“Aha…”

Jin Rim was surprised, as if he had learned an amazing thing.

“The Hwarang troops are truly looking for a place with pure qi to train in… I only thought about following the traditions, but I never thought about the people. The High Governor has helped me a lot.”

He nodded deeply.

“We need to change the training grounds. To the places reputed to be evil and scary for the people all over the nation.”

The High Governor had the personality of not being able to do anything else when one thought came to mind, so he turned around and left.

His steps were a lot lighter now.

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol turned toward Seol Young.

“What?”

“N-Nothing.”

Hyo Wol turned around.

“What are you doing? Didn’t you say you had to go to the market?”

“Uh. I did say that…”

“Let’s go together.”

Baek Eon said,

“Did you eat? It will be difficult to do on your own.”

Then he carefully asked,

“They wouldn’t hate you or anything, right?”

“No. Not at…”

Seol Young shook his head.

“They will like it. I will like it too.”

“Then let’s go.”

Baek Eon took the lead, pulling his arm.

They immediately left the palace.

In the crowded market, Seol Young took out his tablets.

“First, here.”

He stopped at a paper vendor.

Seeing the quality of the white paper, one of the papers wriggled.

“He said he only wants one…”

“What?”

Song Ok also bought a package. And Seol Young was shocked at the amount of money he spent.

After that, they went around and bought a pair of pretty silk shoes and a piece of fresh meat.

And they bought fancy hairpins with shiny beads and a jade ring.

These were all items that the dead courtesans would like.

The people looked at the four men strangely as they confidently walked around buying such things. All of the items they bought didn’t suit the Hwarangs.

But the four of them didn’t care at all. They bought all the items the spirits would like and hugged them happily.

“They were loyal souls. And I want to perform the ancestral rites properly for them.”

“Yes. Can we all bow together?”

“Of course.”

Seol Young looked at the three people who were smiling.

Suddenly, an old memory came to mind.

“When we first met…”

“Why are you bringing it up so suddenly?”

“I just thought of it. Back then, I was quite mean to all of you. However, all three of you weren’t angry and gave me genuine advice from the bottom of your hearts. And yet I never listened… but you all saved me like that.”

“What are you talking like that for?”

Song Ok shook his head.

“If that is the case, we all think the same way. We didn’t save you. You saved us.”

“Yes.”

Hyo Wol also chimed in.

“You saved us first. Otherwise, we couldn’t even have come out of that cave alive.”

And he grinned.

“We all thought you were a very good kid. Would we have been able to accept you as quickly if it hadn’t been for that? Actually, I already thought about it when Great-rang carried you that day. You are our youngest, and…”

“Right. I thought I’d try to ask permission from the master to take you in and treat you. Didn’t Great-rang think the same?”

Baek Eon smiled without answering.

Every moment felt vivid at that time. He hadn’t forgotten a single moment in the past seven years.

But…

It could have never happened too.

And the White Tiger Troops could have disappeared too.

He could have never met the three of them smiling like this right now… It was his first time feeling this way.

While he was blankly standing there, someone gently tugged on his collar, and as he turned, he found a girl.

“How was the scent you bought last time? Won’t you buy one today? At that time, you had a rich young master with you.”

The girl asked with a cute smile and asked him.

Seol Young stared blankly at the girl with an incense basket.

Then he looked at the silk bundles, grain bags, and colorful dolls in his arms.

The last time he had come to the market, he was carrying a bunch of incense, earthenware, and bird cages.

He didn’t know at the time why they bought it…

“When one dies, I guess people want this and that.”

“Huh? Ah… I think so.”

“That scent gave me a headache.”

“Yes. It is expensive but not that great.”

“Do you have any nice incense?”

“Of course! Bluewood, concave… and more, just pick anything.”

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol were watching from the side.

After that girl went away, Hyo Wol said,

“You are speaking a lot of nonsense these days. Are you down with something?”

“It isn’t that…”

Seol Young looked at the three of them.

Right. To his older, brother-like figures, he should tell them everything.

But it would be absurd, and without realizing it, he blurted out,

“I think I need to meet with the lady of the High Governor’s house.”

He suddenly felt certain of it.

The voice of resentment he heard in the memories. A voice that asked how it happened.

It must be the voice of Zaha’s sister, Zaun.

And he had to meet her.

“Of course not right now. I cannot visit her now since I have some work to do, but I think it would be better to visit her sooner than later…”

“Right.”

Baek Eon smiled.

“It isn’t difficult. Once the rites are over, let’s talk about it.”

He gently patted Seol Young on the back and turned around. The four of them walked while carrying all the items.

Even on the streets, the dull sunset began to fall.