Requiem of Subdued Souls

A trap.

The head of the Great Heavenly Pavillion was trying to accomplish something, and she was manipulating Seol Young with this pouch. But he wasn’t going to fall for it.

“Why aren’t you taking it?”

When Seol Young didn’t take it, she insisted.

“If it turns out that the evil entity forecasted by the heavens is the High Governor, then Seol Young-rang can get rid of the suspicion that the people and the troops have on you. I will even tell His Highness when that happens.”

Wasn’t that what Seol Young wanted too?

She looked at Seol Young.

It was true. That was what Seol Young wanted the most.

But Seol Young realized something.

“I am not an official in the pavilion, so I do not take orders from you, head.”

Seol Young spoke coldly, but she didn’t seem fazed.

“This is for the sake of the entire troops. It is the safest way to protect the nation and the royal family.”

She said firmly.

.

“In this pouch, there is evidence proving how suspicious the High Governor is. And all you need to do is open it and tell the truth to everyone. Simple, right?”

“…”

“If you don’t do just that simple thing, then the entire Hwarang troops will be shaken. And if something happens to the White Tigers because of him, will you be able to handle it?”

Seol Young’s face, which had been cold, was now shaken. And she took advantage of it.

“Think of this as a request from an adult who really cares for this nation and not an order from me.”

With that, she hurriedly left.

There were signs of people walking towards where he was, and before he could be caught, Seol Young moved.

She’s been accusing him of being bad luck, and now she’s changed her attitude towards him when she needed him?

Seol Young resented her for these actions, and of course, he was curious to know why she was hell-bent on Zaha being evil right from the start.

But that didn’t stop him from taking the pouch, so he shoved it into his pocket.

‘I have a solution too, so why should I avoid the bait she threw?’

The Wooden Ghost Face Mask was strong, but once he used it, it wasn’t something he could use again. And the ripple effect of using it was too great.

But before that, he decided to secretly steal the golden thread and find out what it was.

Why did it continue to make him feel like he was missing something important right now?

‘He is very wary, so I need to succeed on the first try. If I fail, there won’t be a second chance.’

Seol Young thought about that and headed to the Elegant Pavillion.

He was a little late as the woman delayed him, but the door was closed.

“.. since ancient times, it has been said that when a comet appears, something unusual happens…”

Inside, the voice of Hwa Un, the head of the Vermillion Bird, could be heard.

The heads of each troop had gathered for the regular meeting.

Seol Young just stood outside and waited, but he could hear everything even if he didn’t want to.

And it seemed like there was a report about some strange comet appearing at some mountain peak.

According to the rules, they needed to stop it, but it wasn’t easy to do.

And the talks continued.

Seol Young continued to listen.

Zaha suddenly appeared. The moment he saw him, the mask in his sleeve trembled. It felt like it resonated with Zaha.

Seol Young had to press his arms.

‘Not yet.’

Zaha walked his way, but he didn’t enter the hall. He just stood next to Seol Young. And after listening to the meeting for a while, he said,

“You have to read the opinions of the people. In a place where the spirit qi is too great to be used as a training ground, it’s rare to see goblins and other beings. It doesn’t matter, even if the Hwarangs do not go. Wait and see. If we send the Black Tortoise first and ask them to clear the road and fix the area, the story will continue.”

Seol Young looked at him.

“Then will you tell them?”

“If we go in now, then we will be held back for a long time, so no.” 𝚋𝚎𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎𝚕.𝚗𝚎𝚝

He smiled while softly saying it.

“But, have you stopped crying?”

Seol Young ignored his words with a cold face.

And then.

Someone else appeared.

Beom Hyun, the 5th member of the Black Tortoise Troops. They met during the painting case when Seol Young protected them from the evil spirit.

Zaha told him,

“They are inside having a meeting.”

“I didn’t come here for the Great-rang.”

“Then?”

“I am here to tell you something important.”

Beom Hyun looked around before lowering his voice.

“There is a bone picker we know.”

A ‘bone picker’ was someone who cremated people or organized the bones of a dead body.

The Black Tortoise Troops were famous for their strength.

When tombs collapse, the bone pickers will get into trouble, or if the buried were disturbed from their sleep, God would incur his wrath, so people would seek the Black Tortoise first. As a result, it was natural for those who made funerals for a living to contact them.

“Didn’t you hear a few days ago that Kim Yeo-chun’s son, who served all his life for the nation, suddenly died? They claimed it was some sort of disease, but it wasn’t. The bone picker we know well was the one assigned to the case.”

“The body belonged to the son of a noble, but his body was simply given up? They would normally attempt to cremate it at temples, right?”

“There was a reason for it. People say that his death was so terrifying and horrible that it couldn’t even be explained. From the perspective of a shaman, the cause appears to be the work of a ghost rather than a disease.”

“How horrible was it?”

“He said he couldn’t share the details. It is said that the child’s mother threatened to cut off the tongues of those who talked about it. Nevertheless, he kept picturing the horrifying appearance of that corpse. He couldn’t stop feeling scared, so I came to you to inform you secretly.”

“Hmm…”

Zaha frowned slightly.

“But why tell me this? It isn’t my job to handle supernatural calamities. Isn’t that what Seol Young-rang does?”

Now Beom Hyun looked awkward.

“You might think this is not worth it since a member of the Black Tortoise Troops is saying this, but… I am telling the truth. It wouldn’t hurt just to go and see if it’s strange or not.”

He told them where the location was and left.

Seol Young looked at him. He had no intention of ignoring what he heard since it also felt unusual.

If they even dared to come out and say this, then it meant that the bone picker was really scared.

“Then I need to go.”

Seol Young looked at Zaha.

“Didn’t you say everything is happening according to your plan? The same goes for this one. The end is coming soon.”

“Right? That is great.”

“Don’t talk like this is someone else’s business. Why don’t we cooperate until then? It will be good for us to quickly find out if this is one of the supernatural calamities or not.”

“What are you asking me to help you with?”

“I cannot just go and tell the family that their son’s death is suspicious.”

“Aha.”

Now Zaha understood his intention.

“Surely, you cannot say that.”

“The family is trying to cover the death of their son. Moreover, since it is the family of a high-ranking noble, it is obvious how they will respond. A Hwarang with no unit will be rejected right away.”

“So you want me to be the shield?”

They quickly agreed on it. They discussed a few things and moved straight to the family’s house.

“Who are you?”

“Don’t you know who I am? You don’t even deserve to know that. I am worthy of meeting with the Lord of this family.”

Zaha shook off the servant and went inside. He came to find out information, but far from trying to look good, he had a confident attitude as if he were a debt collector.

The mother of the child asked him with a stiff face,

“I heard that the High Governor was back. But why did you come to our house?”

Zaha knew how to banter, and when his opponent would make a loud noise, he would make even louder noises.

“Is it against the law? Isn’t it in the law to take care of family matters at home?”

He asked the lady, and she seemed like she didn’t know about it.

“What do you mean? Did my youngest son get into trouble with the Hwarangs? It cannot…”

“Not that. Even though I have resigned from the high position of Governor, this person and that person said that I shouldn’t have rest and to please do something… Even the first young master of this house, whom I have never met, is harassing me!”

Her face changed.

“What do you mean? My eldest son has passed away, so how…”

“The spirit world. First, the spirit of the young master appeared to me in my dream. He died terribly, and his mother refused to open an investigation and tried to cover up the murder. He cried all night and begged me to reveal the truth.”

Blood drained from her face.

But she was not a normal lady. She was a rich and noble one, so she calmed down pretty quickly.

“I do not understand. My son died of a disease, so why are you saying that he died horribly?”

She was determined to cover up the death of her son. And she didn’t believe Zaha’s words at all.

“The young master seemed comfortable. It seemed like he recovered from the pain, and he was back to his old self.”

Zaha said, and she nodded.

“He looked like that when he died. My child died so young, so he must have felt that it was unfair and unjust. The High Governor doesn’t have to worry.”

And Zaha went silent as Seol Young looked at him.

No one expected her to confide in them, so Seol Young said to the lady,

“We knew you would say that.”