Episode 204

Seol Young protested.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I did this once or twice?”

“Ah, right, Seol Young-rang?”

Ignoring his reaction, Seol Young held out his hand.

“Come on, please. Because I know you have the skull ashes.”

In a state of shock, he was able to look into the form of the God of Cataclysm again. That only meant that the link to the other side hadn’t been severed.

Therefore, it was possible to guess that Zaha had safely taken back the skull ashes. And when he didn’t move, Seol Young urged him again,

“Come on now.”

“Nothing matters.”

He cut off his words.

“Seol Young-rang, people like us are ignoring the effect of sorcery too much, right? What you want to do isn’t such a careless thing.”

“It’s something normal people shouldn’t be doing. People like me…”

“Enough. Do you think I am stupid? What you want to do is get in contact with it to see its vision. When you come into contact with evil spirits, their nature flows into your heart. Even when we first met it during the painter’s case, didn’t we avoid direct contact and try to communicate with it using a bell and string? It was only after you convinced it that you were able to contact the spirit.”

“….”

“But now you want to do it with the God of Cataclysm itself, not just any ordinary spirit? Even if people are fools, there is a limit to it.”

“….”

He had nothing more to respond with. After remembering each one of them well, he didn’t think Zaha would talk back like this.

Seol Young let out a small sigh.

“Anyway, since the ritual ended like that, there is no other way. If we could find out her true secret through Memory Projection, wouldn’t we know something? If it is a normal Memory Projection that people attempt, it is bound not to work….”

Seol Young glanced at Zaha.

“Can’t the both of us do it? The High Governor has her demonic qi, so you can defend with it, and I will do my thing. That way, we can uncover her secret while avoiding danger. We have to do as much as we can.”

The moment he said that, his eyes turned bright. He wasn’t fully recovered, but his body was excited.

“You were having a hard time even saying a few words…”

Zaha said, as if it were absurd.

“It seems like Seol Young-rang is talking nonsense because you are weak now. There are things you need to see, so look at them and then talk.”

In a way, it was like he was saying he would change his mind when he saw it.

Seol Young asked,

“What is it?”

“You will know when you see it. As soon as they heard your voice, all the trainees must have gone and informed those who are needed, so all you need to do is move.”

“Wait. Can I meet my hyungs first? They must be worried sick.”

“They are there too.”

“Uh?”

Just what was this?

He had this questioning look, but Zaha didn’t say anything.

“I understand.”

Seol Young waited for the dizziness to subside completely, and as they talked, the darkness slowly changed.

He could now see that this place was the Hwarangs’ building. It was a room where the Hwarangs and trainees on duty slept.

‘It must have been an emergency that they didn’t even think of putting me elsewhere.’

Considering how he collapsed like that, this was expected, so he wondered how he couldn’t overcome the pain and decided to die.

His body was crushed by a strong force, and he should have been crushed without a trace. As Seol Young had witnessed several times, the human would turn into a handful of flesh.

However, in case of an emergency, he also set up the zodiac, and thanks to the protection of the Tree God, he avoided such an end.

Still, how strong it must have been for his skin to burst with blood flowing out, unable to withstand the pressure…

Seol Young looked down at the parts of his body that were tightly wrapped in cloth.

“Everyone must have been shocked.”

“I told them you would be fine, so they calmed down a bit…”

Zaha shrugged.

“It wasn’t even a moment that there was a fuss. Because everyone thought you had died. Not to mention the reaction of your hyungs, Seo Gem-rang and Hwa Un-rang, who broke the door and ran…”

While picking things up, he said,

“Even Mu Won-rang was surprised.”

“…”

He remembered the words he said to him before the ritual.

‘Strangely enough, I wanted to say those words…’

No matter how much they didn’t like each other, for Seol Young to die right after saying he was sorry, he must have felt bad. Mu Won was that kind of person.

‘How do I fix this?’

Seol Young got up.

“The circle must have also been messed up, right?”

“It went well on the other side, so do not worry about it.”

“Really? That is fortunate.”

After saying that, he reached his hand to the folded clothes next to the bed.

Zaha asked,

“It will be difficult to change in your state. Do you want me to call the helpers?”

“No.”

Seol Young shook his head.

“I need to inform my hyungs that I am fine, and asking for help now would be like lying to them. I will do it on my own.”

“Such a useless, stubborn nature….”

Zaha mumbled and went out.

Seol Young felt that the blood on his wounds hadn’t hardened yet, so as he changed his clothes, he rubbed his hand over the wounds. And then he felt doubtful.

Now dressed up, he went up to Zaha and asked,

“Did the High Governor think that I was dead?”

“No, would I be called the High Governor if I didn’t know that?”

Zaha smiled.

“But you collapsed in front of my eyes, with blood flowing on the ground. Who would consider it a prank? I thought it was right when people say that the young ones need to be hit on the back of their heads at times to get some senses into them after saying they want to live together.”

“What?”

Seol Young thought it was absurd.

“Who says that? If you remember that, then you shouldn’t have done it at the time. Who was it that shook my hand and turned around to leave?”

“You know one thing and don’t know the other. Do you think I left you alone to die? You went out in front of the very evil spirit after saying, ‘We should live together’ and to ‘Die alone.’ And doing so…”

Zaha answered and then stopped.

‘Didn’t that work out well, though?’

According to the words he said, he felt he was right, but then he thought of what must have happened, so he stayed silent.

“Well…”

Seol Young slowly strutted down the hall and said,

“Just tell me this one thing. I think I said something before I fainted. What was it?”

Zaha stopped walking. He had a strange expression on his face.

“It must have been something.”

“What was it about?”

“How would I know if I didn’t know for what situation it was?”

“So what was it?”

He asked again, but Zaha didn’t answer him. He didn’t have any intention of telling him.

“Let us go there for now.”

Zaha moved again.

‘I will have to find out later.’

Seol Young silently followed him.

It was hard for him to walk for a long time since he was running low on energy, but fortunately, their destination wasn’t that far. It was just another room in the same building.

It was the conference room.

“High Governor. Seol young-rang.”

The young people in golden clothes greeted them and opened the door. Through the door, which opened on both sides, they saw several people sitting.

All the leaders and the Governor were seated. For some reason, Song Ok and Hyo Wol were also there. And there was also an unexpected person.

Seol Young was puzzled.

‘Why is the Great Heavenly Pavilion Head here?’

He couldn’t even guess her thoughts. In the silence, Jin Rim said,

“Seol Young-rang, I am glad you woke up safely.”

“I am sorry to have caused such worries.”

Seol Young bowed his head to everyone.

And then he looked at his hyungs.

“…”

Their faces were full of joy, but there was also a sense of tension.

Something was definitely out of the ordinary.

In the midst of the silence, Baek Eon opened his mouth.

“It is the White Tigers’ teaching to overcome any ordeal, so all this time, I just continued to watch Seol Young-rang go through hardships. But I think he got what he deserved for it.”

No one refuted it, and Seol Young figured it out then.

‘I did more than enough.’

What Zaha said was also the opinion of the Hwarangs and everyone else. The ritual failed, and Seol Young collapsed, but it seemed like he had proven something.

It was that he did his very best.

“When it was first revealed that Seol Young-rang was the evil spirit, there were suspicions even among the Hwarangs, and everyone’s opinions weren’t the same.”

Jin Rim spoke in a heavy voice.

“But now, the suspicions have died down, and the opinions of the Hwarangs are the same. So we all went to the shrine together and presented our opinions to the Pavilion Head. And she responded without refuting it.”

“Just as the heavenly qi changes with time, the revelations also change according to what humans do.”

And so she said,

“I also asked the sky once again, wanting to clear the doubts that arose in my heart. It is impossible to ask the same question twice. But surprisingly, a new revelation came through my dream.”

‘I had a dream too.’

He remembered what she said to Zaha.

Was it that dream?

“I wrote down the contents of what it was and sealed it so that no one can open it. And when the Governor came with the leaders the other day, I finally opened it in front of them.”

She lifted the seal on the tray in front of her, and she unfolded it again for Seol Young to see.

And it was written there,

‘It is success no matter what happens.’

Seol Young tried to interpret it.

“It is success when things are done, and success when things are not done too.”

“In other words, if the ritual was successful, it was actually a plan working for the evil spirit, and if it failed, it meant that Seol Young-rang isn’t the evil spirit.”

Jin Rim said,

“Seol Young-rang, the false accusation against you has been cleared.”

“Hm?”

The Pavilion Head got up.

“Governor, the revelation of the heavens has never been wrong. The first one was right too. It’s just that Seol Young-rang’s fate has changed.”

Then she got up and handed the bundle of clothes that was lying on the side to Seol Young.

It was a white robe with a black pattern visible through the gap between the knots. It was the White Tiger Troops’ uniform.

“I will tell the King about this.”

She immediately turned around and walked away as Zaha mumbled,

“It is so convenient that you can just change your words whenever. Let’s quit being Hwarangs and work in the pavilion. But of course, I will be the head.”

“She is the one who established the King’s power. Can you do that?”

Seo Geom and Hwa Un laughed at Jin Rim’s words. And Seol Young just stood there blankly.

‘Is this why?’

He finally understood what Zaha said then.

‘I will change my mind when you find out the false charges are cleared and your position is handed over.’

That was why he said to go once.

To prove his innocence through failure. If he thought about it, this made sense.

Seol Young looked down at the uniform that was given to him. How long had he been desperate for this?

Since he started these difficult tasks, he wanted to clear himself of the charges, so he felt deeply moved.

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol were looking at him with mixed emotions.

‘But…’

Seol Young who touched it, put the uniform down.

“Not yet.”

What?

Everyone looked puzzled. And he continued,

“It is true that I started it to clear my name, but it isn’t over just because my name is cleared. I mean, nothing has been solved yet. Even if everyone says I did my job, I cannot agree to that. I will return proudly after finishing what I started.”

And silence fell.

There was no one who didn’t know how desperately Seol Young wanted to go back to the White Tiger Troops. Even so, they thought he would return only after solving the problem at hand.

And in a way, they knew it had to do more with himself.

“Did you hear that?”

Zaha sighed.

“Seol Young-rang firmly believes that no one can solve this problem unless he does it. Who can stop his stubborn attitude?”

And he looked at Baek Song Wol.

“You know what your youngest said after opening his eyes? Well, I will look into the Memory Projection of the God of Cataclysm…”

Seol Young was shocked.

He was telling his hyungs?

The three brothers were startled.

“Uh? What?”

“Of the God of Cataclysm?”

Hyo Wol and Song Ok shouted loudly and Baek Eon…

“One moment.”

After politely asking for understanding from everyone who was there, he gave the orders with a grim face.

“Catch him.”

“Yes!”

Song Ok and Hyo Wol approached Seol Young like lightning and caught his arms.