Subdued Soul Chronicle

The Wonhwa Tower was this orthodox stone tower that had a three-tier structured floor with a tower-like body and a top.

As Seol Young stared at it, Hwa Un approached him,

“Looking at Jeok Ryun-rang’s reaction, I have the same suspicion as well. But Leader Mok Yun cannot be confined there. Even the seal containing the spiritual power of a hundred priests will not have an effect on an innocent soul.”

And his words made sense.

Mok Yun’s soul wasn’t bound to this tower. Then what was it?

Seol Young raised his spiritual qi and put his hand on the tower.

At that moment, a powerful force erupted from the tower.

Puak!

With a sound, Seol Young flew back and landed between the trees. And those who were around were shocked at what had just happened.

“Seol Young-rang…”

“Seol Young…”

Everyone opened their mouths and began to mumble.

“It is fine. I am fine.”

Seol Young got up almost right away.

“I forgot that a seal shouldn’t be tampered with like this. It shouldn’t be done like this. I will call Jeok Ryun-rang again.”

Zaha asked.

“Again?”

“Yes. I have control over her now. Actually, it was possible for me to control her before, too. It was just that I wasn’t used to it. I am being honest. If you don’t believe me, ask. Because I remember everything that happened. What everyone said to me and did.”

“…”

Zaha and his hyungs all went quiet. Then Seol Young looked back at the tower.

“Jeok Ryun-rang must have calmed down a bit now. By showing her the altar, it made her realize that leader Mok Yun was not a traitor. And now we can finally talk.”

Seol Young called her right away.

His hair turned white, and his vision seemed like it was turning red.

“Mok Yun! Bring that traitor out right now! You bastards deserve to be cursed!”

A voice filled with anger came out.

Seol Young was taken aback.

“Traitor? Didn’t you see the altar earlier? Why are you like this despite being told the truth?”

“End this right now! How dare you scheme with him and betray me!”

Both of their voices could be heard.

Then the wind rose, the soil blew up, and the grasses were uprooted and blown away.

Seol Young’s hand tried to move like it wanted to destroy everything.

“Stop!”

Seol Young subdued Jeok Ryun and drove her out again. A piercing cry came again.

Looking at the mess, he was speechless.

He had dealt with many evil spirits until now, but she was the first one that was this powerful.

Seol Young was stunned.

“What is this? Why are you doing this? You have definitely realized the truth, so why are you acting like this…”

His head was hurting.

“I need to rest. Let us take a break and think about it together.”

Baek Eon got close to him.

“Do you realize how pale your face is? I still don’t understand what you are doing, but you are consuming a lot of spiritual power. The line around your neck is still the same as before. Are you really hoping to make your neck fall off?”

Then he looked at Hwa Un and asked,

“Could you get us some cold water?”

Hwa Un couldn’t say anything.

There was the High Governor here, so how could he bring just one glass of water? Therefore, he ordered the trainees to prepare tea, and to prepare one with honey for the Ghost Demon King.

After sighing for a while, everyone looked at the tower.

“There are many strange things in this world, but the strangest thing I have seen among them is the human heart.”

Zaha said.

“Especially Jeok Ryun-rang. She is one insane ghost, isn’t she? She is beyond the standards of a normal human mind. Everyone has to think like a crazy person.”

Seol Young said, ‘Hmm,’ and frowned.

“I can guess one fact from this. The Vermillion Bird Troops have been telling her the truth for the last two hundred years, but she hasn’t once listened to them. Well, maybe she has been listening.”

“But she forgets about it right away, just like before. She hears it, becomes surprised, and then forgets it….”

Hyo Wol said that and looked at everyone.

“What could be the reason?”

“Because she is crazy.”

“She wants to deny it.”

Hwa Un and Baek Eon spoke out their thoughts, and Song Ok added,

“Isn’t it because it isn’t important?”

“It isn’t important?”

Zaha asked.

“She held a grudge for like two hundred years because of one misunderstanding about being betrayed, and now it doesn’t matter?”

“It’s just my feeling.”

Song Ok said. He was normally a simple-minded guy, so he would occasionally get the point.

‘But what he said could be right.’

Seol Young thought.

“A while ago, when the High Governor attacked her to find her weakness, her inner thoughts were shown. She wanted to see Leader Mok Yun, even if it meant taking over someone’s body.”

“But right after being released, didn’t she run away and scream that she wanted to kill him too?”

“Yes. She surely did act like that…”

While answering, he recalled when he first met Jeok Ryun.

When he used the talisman, her evil energy dissipated, and her emotions were revealed.

Anger, hate, rage, and…

There was something behind them.

But when he went closer to take a look, Jeok Ryun cut him down to block him. After that, she only showed anger and hatred.

And Seol Young told everyone about it.

“There are other emotions hidden beneath that anger. You need to see it.”

“Fine.”

Zaha nodded.

“Let us call her again. Don’t do anything this time and focus on her hidden emotions.”

After saying that to Seol Young, he looked at the White Tiger Troops.

“You people will suppress her.”

“Yes.”

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol stood around Seol Young. Then each of them drew their swords and raised their spiritual qi.

Their troops’ blue energy surrounded Seol Young. At the same time, they were protecting him. It was like they were prepared to strike the evil at any time.

Seol Young once again summoned her, and she tried to run rampant again.

“I am a Wonhwa! Put your swords down!”

“Those days ended two hundred years ago.”

Zaha raised his sword.

“Remember this?”

Zaha threatened her with a golden flame, and Jeok Ryun glared at him.

“Find me the traitor! Bring Mok Yun in front of me! If not, I will kill you!”

Right now.

Anger, hatred, and revenge were swirling in her heart…

And Seol Young looked into the dark side of those emotions. There was another very strong emotion lurking there.

“I feel something. The feelings that had been hidden from…”

“Their relationship?”

Hwa Un asked.

“Was she in love with Leader Mok Yun?”

“No. This…”

Seol Young recognized the identity of the emotion.

It was happiness.

“Happiness? What happiness…?”

At that moment.

The veil that covered her heart was lifted.

At an empty barracks, Mok Yun was bound. The surroundings were covered in blood.

Jeok Ryun took down all the soldiers who were suspected to be spies. Appearing like a demon drenched in blood, she questioned Mok Yun,

“Hurry up and explain!”

Her voice came out of Seol Young’s mouth.

“Speak! Say you are not a spy!”

But Mok Yun couldn’t even look at her.

“So you really betrayed me.”

Jeok Ryun’s inner thoughts flowed through Seol Young’s mouth.

‘I wonder if he lied even if he didn’t want to. Or is he being cold? Even though we were so happy, it is all over.’

She looked at Mok Yun.

But at that moment, his wounds that were caused by being caught came into view. He was a man who hadn’t had a single part of him untouched before.

Jeok Ryun felt bad enough that she wanted to heal him. The feeling was so intense that it blinded all her emotions, and at that moment, she realized,

‘Ah, I cannot ever hate this person….’

It was an amazing feeling. Even the fact that she had been betrayed didn’t change her thoughts.

Because he was the first person to reach out to her.

‘Even though he doesn’t love me…’

She thought back to when they first met. Recalling Mok Yun’s smile over his fan, she also smiled.

Puak!

And her sword pierced Mok Yun in the chest. And at that moment, she felt a sense of joy.

Although her heart was cold as ice, the two of them were tangled through karma…

‘Now, you can never escape from my hands.’

Jeok Ryun’s soul felt happy.

No wars, no plans, even their death was…

Nothing mattered.

“Even though I am dying like this, I will wander around the Nine Heavens and curse you forever! How could you, a noble, betray me, a Wonhwa!”

-Not even death can separate us now.

“Do not touch me! You cunning bastards, under the name of the Vermillion Bird Troops! After following the traitor, everyone will burn in hell!”

-All your descendants will always remember me.

“Call Mok Yun! He betrayed me, and I will make him pay!”

-Look now. Even death cannot separate us.

She was smiling as she cursed.

As if the two of them were walking in the capital side by side with their hearts filled with happiness, she was smiling.

And at some point, she was singing.

“Your collar is red, and the heart is faint…”

This song was from the Book of Poetry. The collar was blue in the original lyrics.

But she changed it to red because of her situation. The tender love soon grew into a whisper and disappeared.

Then Seol Young opened his eyes.

“…”

Silence flowed.

It wasn’t that no one understood what happened. All of Jeok Ryun’s feelings were conveyed through Seol Young’s mouth.

And now everyone was speechless at the truth that they couldn’t have imagined.

“Is this what crazy love is like?”

Hyo Wol mumbled.

“It seems simple, but it’s not simple.”

Zaha said,

“If her heart was like this, then what happened to Leader Mok Yun?”

Seol Young looked at the tower. Jeok Ryun was trying to find him within the tower.

Unless she was trapped in…

He suddenly thought.

Seol Young approached the tower. And it started spinning backward toward the tower on the opposite side.

While everyone was looking at it with wide eyes, a figure appeared.

It was a man in a red robe and fan in his hand.