Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 122: Palanquin Case (7)

Looking back now, his vision was shaking.

It must have been the scene he saw with his own eyes. The moment he saw the scene, he realized how shocking it was.

As he slowly traced back the memory, something fluttered in the background as Hyo Wol collapsed.

It was a flag with the sun and moon on it.

“… sunrise?”

“There was a sunrise flag? So it was a sacrificial ritual?”

Zaha said right then.

The Great Heaven’s Ceremony.

It was a ritual held for heaven by offering a sacrifice, and the Hwarangs had to attend it.

He only realized it now—the reason why he felt it was so special, like there was an event happening.

It was because the sunrise flag was fluttering behind. And he unconsciously saw the flag, which was only taken out during rituals, so he made a quick guess.

“For now, it looks like it isn’t going to happen tomorrow. Then, think of your Third-rang now.”

“Yes.”

Seol Young recalled the scene of Hyo Wol collapsing.

“His chest is bloody. I can hear Second-rang’s shout from the side. I cannot see his face, though…”

“How did Hyo Wol-rang fall? Did he collapse? To the back? To the front?”

Hyo Wol was standing upright before he collapsed forward. Seol Young closed his eyes and gestured.

“In front. Like this.”

“Good. Then what I want to ask you this. Did the arrow get stuck in his chest?”

Seol Young was shocked by those words. He only realized it at that moment.

“… there was none.”

He could see how distracted his emotions made him.

He was so shocked to see the red blood flow out of his chest that he missed the most important thing. There was nothing stuck to Hyo Wol’s chest at all.

“There was no arrow.”

Seol Young opened his eyes.

“It is the same as a fake arrow.”

And he finally realized it.

“Let’s try something out.”

There was a scroll across them. He quickly grabbed it and set it on top of the harp box.

When he let go of the scroll, it fell forward, similar to how Hyo Wol collapsed.

“This. It was like this.”

Seol Young told Zaha.

“Third-rang was kept inside the harp box, and the moment the lid was opened, he fell out.”

“That means Hyo Wol-rang didn’t die from the arrow shot by Song Ok-rang on that day.”

Zaha said.

“He was killed by the harp box.”

That gave them another clue.

Seol Young nodded.

“I don’t know for sure, but from what I saw, it seemed like Second-rang shot the arrow at Third-rang. But in fact, it was the harp box that killed him. Maybe I had mistaken everything.”

“Why would Hyo Wol-rang even die on that day? Is it a premonition of murder? If blood flows from the harp box, will a person die?”

“Maybe something like that? If I make a guess based on what I have seen and heard while catching evil spirits….”

Seol Young gathered his thoughts as he frowned.

“First, the person called ‘Kkap’ shoots an arrow at the top of the harp box. Second, the blood of the person called ‘Eul’ flows down. After that, third, ‘Eul’ must be dragged into the harp box and dies. Is that how this powerful curse activates, then?”

So he did his own interpretation.

“Anyway, I discovered a new fact that I couldn’t see earlier. The harp box was present at the place where the ritual was held.”

“What?”

Zaha frowned.

“Did the ancestral rite to thank for the auspiciousness turn into a sacrificial ritual? Since the Hwarangs participate in it, there is a reason for Song Ok-rang and Hyo Wol-rang to be there, but it is strange.”

“Everything is weird. But… still, what is it? What is more strange about it?”

“Before I parted ways with the head of the Great Heavenly Pavilion, we had already agreed that the ceremony would be held in their shrine and only their people could attend. And she decided to tell His Highness about it today at the banquet.”

“But is it suddenly going to be opened to the public after that? Did that also change the ritual? And for some reason, my third hyung ends up in that place?”

Seol Young was enraged now.

“There’s nothing more to learn about the truth. There is nothing more to know. This harp box is a monster that kills people. We need to destroy it right now.”

“I agree with that…”

While saying what he wanted to do, Zaha pulled out his sword, took a couple of steps back, and swung his sword.

A golden light shone like a whirlwind and hit the harp box.

Swish!

It should have been broken without a sound, but nothing happened. The light vanished as if the air sucked it in, and the harp box was still fine.

“See.”

Zaha went to one side of the wall and looked at the various weapons there. Iron clubs, spears, and hammers…

Zaha brought a mace of thorns and swung it around as he slammed it against the harp box. He used pure physical force, but there wasn’t a single scratch on it.

Seol Young asked,

“So neither spiritual nor physical power works?”

“Not just that.”

Zaha pointed to the top of the ceiling, and there were things there too. A thick rosary, a fan, and a bell.

“What are those now?”

“It seems like the Great Heavenly Pavilion head had already called several people to help. Monks, Taoists, shamans…”

“Shamans too?’

“They came here and tried to destroy it, and when they didn’t succeed, they left these things here and left. See? Even most experts failed, so don’t rush it.”

“Were all of them great?”

“You cannot see it in your current state.”

Zaha drew his sword and held it at the beads, fan, and bell.

A golden light rose, and he saw the three objects shine and bounce back. They were strong enough to bounce back from Zaha’s sword.

“It is strange. This is a shrine, a place protected by the heavens. Even if a monster is trying to do tricks, it shouldn’t work here. In the past, I thought it was all just a bluff…”

He slowly pointed at his chest.

“I can definitely feel it in my body. The fact that this place has demonic qi…. well, as long as the energy isn’t used, it shouldn’t matter.”

“Despite that, this harp box is playing so many tricks on us.”

“Right. What if this causes an accident again? Combined with the fact that the first murder is being kept a secret, the pavilion is in a lot of trouble. So, we did our best to protect it. I heard it was tied with a sacred rope, and that sacred objects were placed around it to keep it safe, and they even assigned twelve people to watch…”

“Are you saying this harp box got through all of that?”

“Yes. And I was told they don’t even know how the hell it managed to get through. What they brought out was surely a fake harp box, but it became the real one?”

“…”

Seol Young frowned.

And he suddenly brought a brazier that had a fire with him.

“Will this work?’

Zaha looked at him and smiled. In the middle of that, the golden aura on his sword shone.

“Pure qi? Similar to the Asura flames?”

“Something like that.”

The Asura flames could burn anything using the innate qi of the caster’s body and sacrifice the body of the caster to get the job done.

Would it work this time? Seol Young watched him.

However, the golden flames went out themselves as soon as they touched the top of the harp box. It didn’t even leave a scratch.

“And as expected.”

Zaha took out the necklace of the Tree Spirit God and swung it around the harp box. Yet again, there was no response.

Seol Young mumbled,

“Nothing is working…”

“You only noticed that just now?”

Zaha shrugged his shoulders.

“Isn’t that to be expected?”

Instead of answering, Seol Young looked at his wrist.

‘Same.’

There was no way he could get rid of the chain marks that sealed his spiritual power, and it was the same with the harp box.

It was a target that couldn’t be hurt with force.

There were now two things they couldn’t do.

“The chain marks on my hand and this harp box that kills people. The two seem to have a connection.”

“Right?”

Zaha said, putting the sword into its sheath.

“If my theory is right, then it can be summed up like this.. until now, the God of Cataclysm has moved by bringing up ghost stories, but this time, he or she brought up the ghost stories from within you and not from others.”

“But I lost my memories.”

“Right. For convenience, let’s call the object whose memories were erased by the Blank Demon. If, according to the evil will of the God of Cataclysm, it has revived and is reaching out to you…’

Seol Young looked at the chain marks and the harp box.

“Then what is this power? It must have been the power that the Blank Demon used in the past.”

“Yes. Buddhism, Taoism, sorcery, physical force, Nature Gods… nothing works.”

“But there is a way for us to win. The proof is…”

Zaha pointed to Seol Young.

“You.”

“Me?”

“In the past, you must have met the Blank Demon. But seeing that you are alive and well means that you safely escaped its hands, right?”

“Aha.”

That was when Seol Young realized it.

“Then there is a way. I found out the secret to its power, and I was able to beat it by using that.”

“Right! That is it!”

Zaha nodded his head.

“Now you see what I am aiming for? You quickly need to remember the secret to its identity and powers. Only then can we survive.”

“I understand.”

Seol Young replied.

It felt like the goal was becoming clearer in his foggy head. The mind was more clear now.

“Then…”

The moment Zaha opened his mouth, there was a noise outside.

“It seems like the Great Heavenly Pavilion head is back.”

The leader of this place has returned.

Where did she come from? Everyone in the crowd was nervous because of the holidays.

“Come to think…”

Seol Young lowered his voice and asked Zaha,

“You came earlier in the afternoon and have been here all this time, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then she must be nervous and worried.”

Should they use this chance?

The shrine was where the law and words of heaven were interpreted, and the secrets of this place were stored. And now, the Hwarangs, who had never stepped foot in this place, were this close, and their head had to attend the royal banquet while Zaha was able to mess around.

“Now that she is anxious, she must be enraged too. Isn’t this like leaving a cat at a fish shop? She would go insane thinking that we stole their secrets.”

“Did you steal anything?”

“I usually confirm the thoughts of others.”

A bright smile flashed on Zaha’s face, and it was the first time Seol Young had entered this place on his own.