Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 126: Palanquin Case (11)

On the other hand, Seol Young was nervous.

‘He is really committed.’

If the fact of stealing the treasure was discovered, everything would be over. Seol Young was willing to leave here, but Zaha didn’t seem to want to.

They got out of there and moved slowly without making any noise. When they reached the entrance, he put his ear to the wall to check and it was quiet.

Nod.

After exchanging signals with Zaha, he opened the passage and they got out of there. Just before leaving, Zaha reached out and took a ritual candle.

How natural his actions were in stealing. Seol Young couldn’t help but think to himself.

‘if he goes in there a couple more times, then this place would be ruined.’

It truly was a misfortune for this place that Zaha had stepped foot here.

When they left, both of them had calm faces and didn’t look like thieves at all.

They left the palace and went to Zaha’s place.

He told the couple to lock the doors and keep watch outside.

It was dark because it was already sunset.

“Now then…”

The first thing Zaha did was light up the place.

He brought a mirror stand and placed the mirror he had stolen there. Then Seol Young wrote Hyo Wol’s name on the paper and handed it to him.

“Priest, here.”

“Watch carefully from now on.”

Zaha lit the candle he had brought from the shrine in front of the mirror. The flame burned slowly and touched the paper.

“I am asking you to show me in detail the most important moment that will come for this person.”

The smoke reflected on the mirror, and at some point, the actual smoke and the smoke being reflected began to move differently, and it spread on the surface of the mirror and formed an image.

Seol Young’s eyes went wide.

The blurry image was becoming clearer. The sunrise flag.

The ritual.

Hyo Wol’s back could be seen between the flags.

‘Third-hyung….’

Seol Young stared at it. However, some things were a bit different.

Hyo Wol hurriedly ran to the harp box as if he was being chased by something. His movements looked stiff, but he was lightning fast.

Nobody stopped him.

Zaha couldn’t be seen there, but Seol Young was there. He tried to hold Hyo Wol but missed him by a second.

In the blink of an eye, Hyo Wol ran into the harp box, and it was as if he was possessed by something.

“What is it?”

Seol Young couldn’t understand.

“Why did he have to run into it in a hurry? Was he possessed? It is my first time seeing it. Third-rang has such a positive outlook and character so he isn’t the type to be influenced by the mood of…”

“Well…”

Zaha also stared into the mirror. The top of the harp box rattled, and then it stopped moving.

It seemed as if the scene had frozen. The smoke from the burning paper began to dissipate before they realized it.

“All done.”

Zaha extinguished the ritual candle.

“What we need to do is stop him. If we stop him from doing what he is being made to do, the power of this harp box might break. I will protect the harp box from opening, so you watch over your third hyung.”

“I understand.”

Hyo Wol’s life was at stake. Even if no one said anything, he was going to watch Hyo Wol very closely.

Seol Young promised that to himself. Yet there was this strange feeling of uneasiness in the corner of his heart.

Without realizing it, his fingers fiddled with his wrist, and a golden light shone.

It glowed around his fingertips, and the spell around his wrist was changing.

Ah.

Seol Young hurriedly pulled his fingers back, and the light flickered.

‘What is this?’

Before Zaha saw it and said something, he put his hand back. Now that he didn’t have spiritual power, he was wary of everything.

It might not be obvious to others, but Seol Young knew how careful he was being.

And considering what he was doing, he had to be as careful as he could.

Seol Young got up.

“Then let’s go. We have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Right.”

Zaha was lost in thought.

“But will you be fine? The streets at night are scary, and with a bruised hand like that, you will be an open target.”

It sounded like he was worried but no.

Bruised hands at night meant that goblins would catch young trainees. Seol Young would be fine if he saw them, and he could handle himself.

“What do we do? Can you go alone? Should I leave you? What do you want to do?”

Zaha mumbled.

“Enough!”

Seol Young cut him off and turned around.

He didn’t even want to answer him anymore, but,

“If not, I can ask Bibi and Chunchun.”

And so, unknowingly, Seol Young asked,

“Who is that?”

“You don’t know them? They are very scary people who used to dominate this place. In fact, this house is called Bichun House because of them. I just live on top of them.”

What was that supposed to mean?

He went out, thinking it was odd, and saw the married couple standing there, looking a bit embarrassed.

And then he realized it, Bibi and Chunchun.

“Are you the real owners of this house?”

He thought it couldn’t be so, but he still decided to ask.

“Haha! As if that can be.”

“Right….”

“If you are okay with it, shall we drop you off at your place?”

“No.”

Seol Young declined them, and it wasn’t because of his pride. In a state with no spiritual power, he would have to find other means to live.

Seol Young walked alone on the night street towards his place, and when a person is blind, their other senses are known to develop.

Similarly, Seol Young’s sense of his qi running through his skin felt more sensitive. Even if he couldn’t see ghosts and other beings, he could still somehow intimidate them with his sword.

He arrived at his place after a little struggle against the evil spirits and felt exhausted.

‘Now, it is tomorrow.’

Ever since he had lost his power, he had been collecting his memories one after another. If he could break the harp tomorrow, he would probably get another piece of his memory back.

That was what he thought, but his heart was feeling reluctant.

‘Let’s calm down.’

He rubbed his arms and turned around. With a feeling of drowsiness taking over his body, the light of the full moon he had seen with his hyungs yesterday seemed to shine through.

His consciousness sank into the depths, but at that moment, a scene suddenly came to his mind.

The demonic beings who had fallen were covered in blood. Each of them had a scar on their chest, but the weapon was nowhere to be found. They looked like puncture marks.

If ‘he’ waved his hand, everyone would die.

[Almighty… presence!]

Came a loud voice, and Seol Young jumped up. His heart was beating insanely fast.

‘It cannot be stopped!’

As if to refute it, another thought flashed through his mind.

-Hyo Wol-rang will never die. Because I will stop it.

Zaha said that.

His gaze, which had been looking at the Life and Death mirror, also came to his mind. Now that he thought about it, he was searching hard for something with his golden eyes.

‘What are you searching for?’

He was trying not to get anxious.

Seol Young rummaged through his sleeve and pulled out the small plum blossom—Hyo Wol’s righteous weapon.

Seeing that, he remembered the face of his third hyung, who smiled brightly.

‘Teacher, protect us all.’

Seol Young held it in his hand and calmed himself.

“Ghosts can never defeat people. The reason they cause fear, trick people into not seeing the truth, and constantly toy with our hearts is because they don’t have the confidence to overcome us.”

He mumbled that over and over again like an incantation and stayed up all night.

Then, when it was time for the ritual, he headed to the Moon Palace.

“Now, Seol Young….”

A voice called out cautiously from right next to him. And Seol Young turned his face, puzzled, and looked at that person. Hyo Wol was pointing at his sleeve with a puzzled face.

“Seol Young, will you let go of this?”

“Ah, yes.”

Unconsciously, he was holding onto the sleeve of his third hyung again.

Was that the 15th time? He forcefully took his hand back, but Seol Young’s body followed Hyo Wol like a shadow.

“Seol Young-rang! What are you doing? Will you still be like this even when the ritual starts?”

What did the Pavilion Head say? Then, with her eyes, she asked,

‘You are really solving this, right? If you cannot, I will assume there is something wrong.’

It was that look, and Seol Young just looked at her, pretending to be calm.

And he looked behind her.

Zaha was standing next to the harp box.

He would not leave that place until the ritual was over.

‘Just do this. Do it like this….’

Seol Young thought.

‘But why do I feel anxious?’

He could feel Hyo Wol’s righteous weapon in his hand. Having it made him feel a little less anxious. And he thought that he would never be able to let go of it.

He had been holding it since last night.

‘Then why is this…’

Seol Young turned his gaze.

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol were right next to each other, and they were talking with the Pavilion Head.

Yet, his heart pounded.

‘Why…’

He squeezed the small plum blossom again with his left hand.

However, at that moment, his vision shook, and a scene appeared before his eyes.

He felt the familiar sensation in his hand.

He couldn’t believe it.

‘….Memory Projection?’

Why did it suddenly happen when he lost his spiritual power?

That was one thing…

‘Then this thing belongs to a dead person?’

His blood went cold.

‘NO!’

But the images were pouring through his head.

It was Hyo Wol’s time.

He broke through the flags, hurriedly jumped into the harp box, and slammed the lid shut.

‘What?’

Hyo Wol’s thoughts seemed to be vivid, like they were being conveyed to him.

At that time, there was a loud noise outside the harp box. Amidst the buzzing noise, someone’s voice could be clearly heard.

“W-What is that, suddenly….”

It was Song Ok’s voice.

‘…….???’

Seol Young listened.

‘These words….’

Hyo Wol was shocked.

‘This…?’

“Then, shoot!”

At that moment, he heard another voice.

The voice came from Hwang Soo, who assisted the King.

“Yes.”

Song Ok replied with a calm face, and it made Seol Young turn pale.

In the Memory Projection, it was the time of the festival. Song Ok, who was picked from the lottery, was about to shoot the harp box.

“What?! Why did you go back at that time?”

Hyo Wol barely turned around and tapped on the harp box.

“Strange! Open it!”

But the harp box didn’t budge.

“Second-rang! Don’t shoot!”

Hyo Wol desperately yelled.

“Stop! You shouldn’t shoot the arrow! Ahhh! Seol Young!!!”

At that moment, there was this booming sound, and a sharp arrow struck the harp box, and he could feel the piercing pain in his heart.

Hyo Wol’s body fell forward. Warm blood covered his chest and flowed through the hole the arrow pierced.

Then his sight went black.

‘….!’

Seol Young was in shock. Now he knew the secret.

No, he already knew it, but something kept preventing him from recalling it.

The time inside the harp flowed differently!