Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 94: Flute Of Foreboding (14)

The palace had been noisy since the morning.

“I heard that ghosts appeared all over the capital last night!”

It happened during the Hwarangs’ night training, so no one got hurt, thanks to the many Hwarangs and trainees present. However, there weren’t just one or two people who said they saw ghosts.

“I heard that a ghost appeared and howled all night long before the fall of…”

“Well, ghosts even entered the palace and shouted that the place was doomed.”

Some people were whispering about it. In this messy situation, the Great Heavenly Pavilion moved by performing a ritual of asking the heavens’ help, and the pavilion presented the results right away.

“This is a song. In other words, it is a disaster caused by strange songs. There is a song resounding everywhere that shouldn’t be heard in this world because it awakens the dead.”

At her words, all the Hwarangs went stiff.

When she made that announcement, another rumor began to spread.

The Pied Piper Crown Prince.

That he was the cause of all of this.

Some said he was the descendant of the ancient Gaya people. And some said that he was the son left behind by a princess who died unjustly and was now plotting a rebellion. Besides those, all sorts of rumors spread.

“What the hell are the Hwarangs doing? Is it true that they tried to catch him but missed him several times?”

“Why are the people who need to clear such messy situations acting so carelessly? They still haven’t found out anything about this incident!”

As if they had been waiting for it, the people began to accuse the Hwarangs. They were discussing that if there really was a traitor among the Hwarangs, then the capital guards should be assigned instead.

Amidst all of that, there were two people riding horses out of the palace.

One was dressed in white and had a pipa on his back. The other, dressed in black, followed like a shadow.

When they saw a man running from the other side, they stopped their horses. It was a man in black travel clothes with dust all over him, and a box hung from his horse’s back.

“Seon Jong-rang!”

“High Governor!”

Seon Jong, a member of the Golden Rings, got off and bowed.

“Did you get the information? Hurry up and give me the keepsakes.”

Zaha said as he jumped off the horse.

“I will have to check it right away.”

Seol Young also jumped off.

“Check…”

Seon Jong looked puzzled.

“I heard that Seol Young-rang was looking for something, but we couldn’t find much.”

“Uh?”

“Both Cheon Jin-rang and Juk Hyung-rang never had a piece of paper on them.”

There was no paper.

Seol Young felt discouraged by this. He thought that the paper could be found somewhere, and the Hwarang continued,

“But as Seol Young-rang said, there was an item that the four Hwarangs had in common.”

“Is that so?”

Seol Young-face turned red, and Zaha asked,

“What is it?”

“Here.”

Seon Jong opened the box and took out a pouch.

Was it a curse? A Guardian Spirit?

They thought it had to be one of them.

But no.

It was a small wooden box with a lid. One was large, and the other three were small.

It seemed to be an ointment.

“Is this a paste for wounds?”

“Yes, it is the golden paste, which is known to be effective. Originally, Cheon Jin-rang had it, but it seems that he gave it to the other three Hwarangs in small amounts.”

Seol Young looked at the golden paste.

[Here, now]

This golden paste was what the Black Tortoises and the Vermillion Birds were sharing.

“How about Seo Jun-rang and Hae Cheon-rang?”

Because of those words, they thought he was asking about the paper. But that wasn’t it.

“… wound.”

Seol Young mumbled.

“I meant to show me their wounds.”

The different pieces that were not connected became one.

An old man who was the only survivor.

He had a wound.

The Hwarang who thought something was strange and drew something.

He also had a wound.

The reason for sharing the healing paste so suddenly.

It was because of the wound.

His entire train of thought was wrong from the start.

“What kind of wound was it?”

Zaha mumbled as if he hadn’t expected it.

“What kind of wound was it?”

Among the neatly packed things, one item caught Seol Young’s attention.

It was a long piece of cloth used by the Black Tortoise Hwarangs to tie around their sleeves.

“This…”

Seol Young picked it up as if possessed, and Zaha asked,

“What?”

“I saw this before Seo Jun-rang died.”

Seo Jun-rang’s energy could be felt in the fabric.

Seol Young used Memory Projection right away.

The cloth obscured the vision.

‘I can’t look.’

Seo Jun’s thoughts and pain.

‘… I need to let them know!’

The face of Seo Geom, his younger brother, came to his mind.

Seol Young opened his eyes.

“Seo Jun-rang covered his eyes with this cloth and killed the others. He had a reason why he couldn’t look at them.”

“Not to look at them… We should be careful then.”

“Yes.”

Seol Young nodded.

“Seo Jun-rang was worried about his younger brother until the end. We need to tell Seo Geom-rang about this. Seon Jong-rang, could you pass on our conversation just now to the Governor?”

“I will.”

The Hwarang rearranged the belongings. Seol Young and Zaha parted ways with him, and they headed straight for Mount Toham.

When they arrived at the base of the Blue Dragons, Euljae greeted them.

“Seo Geom went out to search again.”

And when he said that, he frowned.

“But something has been weighing heavily on my heart…”

Seol Young asked,

“What is it?”

“It’s probably because he was asking me about something that happened in the past, and it got me thinking. When he was seven years old, there was a time when the two of them went out on a night trip on the orders of their father.”

“Wait, if he was seven years…”

Zaha intervened.

“Didn’t Seo Jun ask Seo Geom? About him remembering where they went when he was seven?”

“Did he? Why did he ask that so suddenly? He came to me a while ago and asked me about it, which made me flustered. I was surprised to find out he still remembered…”

Seol Young asked,

“Where is that place?”

“It’s at the old ancestral site where sacrifices were made to the mountain Gods near Myung Hwal….”

Euljae’s expression changed as he spoke.

“I don’t know for what reason Seo Jun brought it up! There has to be a reason!”

He hastily turned around.

“I need to go!”

Zaha dissuaded him.

“Lord Euljae, you cannot leave this place. We don’t know what will happen. Shouldn’t you be protecting this place?”

“I-I understand.”

Since they had to rush, the two of them borrowed the Blue Dragons’ horses and rode them toward that place.

There was an octagonal building inside the ritual place, surrounded by a wall. Before they could even get off their horses, they heard a shout,

“Stop it now, please!”

“I need to play it… the Thousand Waves of Peace…”

“It is not that. Hyung, you stole the flute and are playing it! It is not bringing any peace. You are only waking up the dead! Hyung, you cannot play it anymore!”

“Seo Geom-rang!”

Seol Young ran inside. Seo Geom had lost his reasoning.

“Look! Hyung, you are dead!”

He put down the item he brought with him in front of Seo Jun. It was the ancestral tablet with his name on it.

Seo Jun’s eyes widened. His eyes were fixed on the tablet, as if he had forgotten everything.

Then Seo Geom raised his sword, and white flames blazed on it.

It was the Asura Flames. It was the skill of the Blue Dragon Troops that could destroy the opponent at all costs but also burn the caster in the process.

It was used again.

“Wait!”

Seol Young intervened without another thought.

“Seo Geom-rang! Stop! If you kill your brother, you will regret it forever.”

Seo Geom looked at the flames. His eyes were burning as strongly as the flames.

It was like his words weren’t working. At that moment….

“Kuak!”

Seo Jun screamed as he tried to attack, and Seol Young used the Ghost Bondage in a hurry. Blue letters appeared and turned into ropes, tying down Seo Jun.

But Seo Jun struggled so much that the spell broke.

“Move!”

Seo Geom tried to swing his sword.

At the same time….

“Seo Geom-rang!”

Zaha shouted from behind.