Requiem of Subdued Souls

Gaebyun City.

This port, which was close to the capital, was a Silla trading port.

A watchtower loomed over the bedrock place, overlooking the sea. Along the seashore, a solid wooden fence stood around like an iron wall.

In the port, there were several sailing ships from foreign countries, such as the Tang Dynasty and more.

When the ships docked, workers would rush like bees and quickly unload the cargo. It was a busy and lively place.

There was an old man with a knack for getting through the middle of this mess. He was a well-informed person about the situation in this place.

When they arrived in front of the main tower with a direct view of the sea, the man stopped.

“I thought so.”

He looked back and said politely. In the vicinity of this port, it wasn’t uncommon to see noble kids from the capital.

And so were these two young lords.

They were dressed in pale yellow and light blue clothes with decorative swords like the nobles, and there was absolute restraint in their movements.

The little young lord had a stern expression and spoke with only a few words, so the man only talked with the big young lord.

The big young lord had a good personality, joked well, laughed, and spent money well too. So when they parted, he felt confused.

‘That kind-looking and ignorant young Lord chose this place, but some other young men are already here.’

The chief of this place was worried, so instead of leaving right away, he peered inside the dining area.

At that moment…

“You are here?”

All the ferocious-looking young men in dark clothes stood up. They politely bowed to the young lord, who was ‘kind-looking and ignorant of the world.’

“…?”

The chief was at a loss for words.

“Seo Geom-rang! What is this? I tried so hard to act while coming this way. Did you decide to let the information out?”

“Ah, I am sorry. When I saw the High Governor, my body just moved by itself, and I greeted…”

Seo Geom and the Blue Dragon Troop’s Hwarangs were taken aback when Zaha reprimanded them. Seol Young quietly sat down and looked around.

They were sitting on the seats in the guest house and watching the scene closely.

It was to protect innocent people from evil. However, Seol Young frowned too much, so he ended up making people misunderstand him.

He had heard of the thing that went around the port city, but he couldn’t feel it.

“Still, maybe it’s because we are guarding this place that nothing has happened yet.”

Seo Geom reported.

“Right, you did a lot.”

Zaha nodded his head.

“Now go back and train. Be sure to change your clothes before that because the people seem to be afraid.”

“Yes.”

The Hwarangs hurriedly moved out, but Seo Geom didn’t go out with them. He looked at Seol Young and hesitated for a moment.

Zaha asked.

“Do you have anything to say to Seol Young-rang?”

“…”

Seo Geom hesitated before speaking.

“Seol Young-rang, since we are training in the upper part of the river…”

“This incident will not affect the training of your troops.”

“That isn’t the thing. You can contact us if you need any support.”

“….?”

At those unexpected words, Seol Young looked puzzled.

Zaha intervened.

“Seo Geom-rang, what do you mean? If Seol Young-rang is just as how we were informed, then all of this is just a ruse to cause a rift in the nation…”

Seo Gyeom continued,

“Since Seol Young-rang is still in the middle of clearing up his name, and as the head of a troop, I cannot act rashly. But..”

He glanced at Seol Young again.

“Our troops owe a lot to Seol Young-rang, so we need to pay him back. It has nothing to do with whether or not Seol Young-rang is an evil spirit.”

Seol Young looked at Seo Geom. Recently, he had a chance to think about his old grudge against the Blue Dragon Troops as he recovered his memories.

The resentment and anger of that time were still alive, so his heart felt like it was being tugged.

But still, this was amazing.

‘To say something that would be quite embarrassing if someone heard it. It seems that he really intends to repay me.’

He understood it…

The problem was that he wasn’t in a position to receive support now.

“It is fine. There is no need.”

Seol Young said, and Seo Gem flinched.

He meant it literally.

But it didn’t sound like that to Seo Geom’s ears. When Seol Young cut off what he said with the intention of helping, he looked flustered.

“Ah… right. I get it.”

Seo Geom said goodbye to Zaha and left immediately.

“At this moment, it would have been nice if the Blue Dragon Troops did something nasty instead of this.”

Seol Young mumbled.

Then he looked at Zaha, and his expression was strange.

“Why?”

“No.”

He shook his head.

“But where did the conversation end? You didn’t turn around and curse at him, and he didn’t shoot an arrow at you. It can be called a huge change.”

Whether it was a curse or a compliment, Seol Young sat down. Then he untied the sword from his waist and placed it on the table.

It was a sword with gorgeous work done on it, and the sheath had jade studs on the hilt.

It looked like a sword that was carried by the kids of wealthy families, but in fact, it was Zaha’s sword. It was disguised and brought into the city.

Zaha looked at it closely to see if there was a part where the original appearance of his sword could be seen, and he said,

“Sit down. Now we have to wait here until sunset.” 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒐𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝒎

“Yes.”

Seol Young also sat down and looked at Blue Rainbow.

Then he looked away.

‘I cannot believe the Ghost City is here.’

He looked at the sea in front of him.

Several military boats with their sails wide open were patrolling the place. They were guarding against an invasion.

Military ships, sailboats, and merchants were also here. And at night, this place becomes haunted?

He couldn’t believe the thought of that.

“Let’s see.”

Zaha took out the records that he had copied from the Hwarangs’ office.

“Even here, there is no explanation of what kind of space the Ghost City is. It will be different, but…”

“Right. With the Devil Lair Lord hiding in here, the Ghost City must have changed similarly to his nature.”

Seol Young guessed so too.

“The Lord of that place is the Lord of this city too.”

“Right.”

Zaha had nothing to say about that.

The Devil Lair Lord could summon ghosts and had tried to kill them. However, they were thinking of killing him in the Ghost City.

Zaha looked at the sea for a while and asked.

“The righteous weapon?”

“Nothing wrong.”

Seol Young checked again.

The ring with Oni inside had been checked a hundred times. It worked, and it could be summoned without others knowing. All that remained now was to wait.

The server at this place approached them.

“Young Lord, shall we bring in some alcohol?”

Zaha shook his head.

“I am being treated for a wound, so…”

“I can.”

Seol Young immediately said so, but he was stopped.

“This Young Lord is currently on an alcohol ban. You can bring in some tea.”

“Ah, yes.”

It was a special situation, so he thought the ban wouldn’t apply here, but that didn’t happen.

“…”

Seol Young drank tea and looked at the sea. Soon, the sky began to turn red.

“Let’s go slowly now.”

Zaha got up, and the two of them left that place.

When the sun went down, many people disappeared like lies, and there wasn’t a single seabird present.

It was similar to a haunted house, not having a single rat inside of it. Such creatures unconsciously detect them and avoid such places.

On the deserted shoreline, only the darkening water remained.

“Is this the right place?”

Zaha took out his sword from the sheath, just a little part of it, and then tried it.

The Sword Spirit responded, which meant that the space was filled with evil energy, and then it glowed in gold.

“This is right.”

Zaha looked around.

“But how do we make it appear?”

“Shouldn’t we just follow what the military officer said?”

Seol Young said.

“According to what the officer said, he took his shoes off, and when he looked up, the city appeared.”

“‘Look away and look back again.’ That might be the condition.”

It didn’t appear if you kept looking at it. It only appeared when your eyes moved. It is one of the typical characteristics of such things.

“Fine.”

Zaha turned back.

“One, two, three, and then look back again.”

“Okay.”

Seol Young also turned away.

“One, two, three.”

At the same time, they looked back, and this time, their eyes shone.

The coast, which had been shrouded in darkness until then, was now shining.

The floating market.

Paper lanterns were hung from the tents that covered the sky. Between them, pavilions rose, and various stores lined up.

The splendid brilliance they emitted cast shining pillars in the water. It was like the landscape of a dragon’s palace.

This place was the Ghost City.

But if there was one thing that was different…

“There it is.”

Zaha pointed to the middle of the Ghost City.

The snake that was biting its tail.

The flags with strange patterns were fluttering.

While standing and looking at it for a while, the Ghost City and the ghosts appeared at the sea.

Everyone headed for the Ghost City as if they were possessed. The wooden plank road leading there was filled in an instant.

Seol Young turned to Zaha,

“We need to move too.”

The two of them headed for the city by blending in with the ghosts and demonic beings.