Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 39 – Lion Dance (7)

As one could see, the sword was real.

The spirit of the Hwarang was strong and bright, and it rose from the entire body of the sword. It was definitely in conflict with the evil spirit.

“With this, he will not be able to run wild like that.”

Zaha said, looking at the sword of Sa Daham.

Seol Young suggested.

“Sell it to me.”

“Don’t want to.”

“I will pay any amount.”

“How much can a homeless man even pay?”

As if Zaha were saying not to dream of it, he then put away the sword. Well, what could he expect from this man?

Seol Young sat down. He didn’t want to play into Zaha’s plan, so he sat there, resting his chin.

And Zaha said,

“But I can let you borrow it.”

Seol Young looked at him.

“However, there are a few conditions.”

Again.

“I am not giving you my spiritual energy.”

He looked up, and judging by the look on his face, Zaha didn’t seem to be lying.

“Then what?”

“It is easier for me if you can land as many hits on the spirit as you can before you die…”

Zaha said while looking at Seol Young.

“You don’t have much strength now.”

“I know.”

Seol Young was calm.

“So I am trying to make up for it by using those items.”

“But aren’t you still lacking in strength? That hand is the biggest problem.”

Zaha raised Sa Daham’s sword and showed it to him.

“It cost me a house to get this. You will not be able to even put up a proper fight, so lending this to you is a waste. I wonder if we can find a way to fight on equal footing.”

“You will lend it if I can find a way?”

“Yes.”

Would he?

Was he telling Seol Young to find an answer to a situation with no answers? Or was he just bullying him?

Seol Young thought so, but he couldn’t give up on the sword, which held an amazing amount of pure qi.

Seol Young looked at his hand.

If he went to the Moon Palace’s infirmary, would they have medicine that could heal such wounds? But if he got caught, he would die.

Should he summon a demon’s hand and use it? Then it would be hard to disguise himself as Sa Daham, and it wouldn’t work.

That said, he could not even practice the sword with only his left hand, as it felt too restrictive.

‘Restrictive.’

Those words touched his heart. As if a bundle of some thread was being pulled out, the thoughts continued one after another.

As if he had discovered a clue.

‘It can’t be that there’s only one way to heal such wounds, right?’

He was so preoccupied with mastering the sword technique that he didn’t think about it. There are two ways to make things even when the veil is tilted on both sides.

“Found it.”

Zaha didn’t seem that confident in his words.

“For real?”

“Yes.”

Seol Young began to explain.

“How do I make things even again when I’m at a disadvantage and my opponent has the upper hand? If I cannot go up to his level, then I will bring him down to my level. If I have restrictions on me, then I will place one on my opponent too.”

Seol Young explained while drawing an image on the ground with a tree branch.

What method could he even use to place restrictions on an evil spirit?

Zaha listened without asking anything, and after he finished explaining, he said,

“Nice.”

And he threw Sa Daham’s sword.

Seol Young caught it. But he was shocked at how easily he handed it over.

He explained his plan, but he knew that Zaha wasn’t too confident in his skills, so he didn’t think that he would give the sword right away.

Holding it felt strange now. Up until recently, he couldn’t figure out what to do.

But now that he had thought of an answer, a strong weapon fell into his hands.

‘We need to change the situation so we can be equal when we fight.’

It was as if this devil here reminded him of that. He wouldn’t have listened if Zaha had told him, so he let Seol Young become aware of this by drawing his attention using the sword.

‘But why?’

Seol Young was confused. No matter how he looked at it, wasn’t it better if he could lay a trap for Seol Young and steal his spiritual power?

Or did the humanity he had cast aside start to return after he reached the capital and was surrounded by so many Hwarangs?

As of now, it is impossible to know anything about him.

“What is it?”

Zaha asked.

“What you said is just a plan. If we cannot convince that monk, it is a waste.”

He pointed out the flaw with a grumpy face.

“Are you sure you have the confidence to convince that coward?”

“… we just need to try.”

And they headed to Seol Young’s room.

Do Cheol couldn’t sleep at night because he was afraid that the evil spirit would come to him in his dreams. But it was difficult for him to stay awake, given his massive frame and laid-back attitude.

And this time, too, he was nodding off in the place for Buddhists, and when the door opened, he was startled and looked around.

“Is the training done? The High Governor is also here, what is…”

“Monk, calm down.”

Zaha cut off his words.

“Seol Young-rang has something to say to you, monk.”

“Uh? To me? What is this about?”

“Please listen carefully.”

Seol Young put down the sword with a green hue in front of the monk.

“This is the sword of Sa Daham. It was said that the sword was destroyed after the spirit of the fake monk was sealed inside it. But this sword seems to be imbued with the spirit of Sa Daham and is feared by that fake monk.”

“Ah, no wonder it doesn’t look normal.”

Do Cheol was admiring the weapon despite being afraid.

“Then we will be fighting soon?”

“Right. When the Sword Dance begins, I will call the monk’s spirit to come over to the Sacred Forest. And if I fail to do it, then the other Hwarangs can protect you.”

“If you fail?”

Do Cheol seemed surprised.

“Seol Young-rang, what do you mean? Amitabha! Do not ever think that! You will be successful in your actions.”

“I would like that too…”

Seol Young looked at the naïve monk.

“That doesn’t rest in my hands, though.”

“Then who?”

“You, monk Do Cheol.”

“Me?”

He asked, looking confused. This was the important part.

So Seol Young spoke slowly.

“When an evil spirit preys on someone, we aren’t the only ones who fight it. The person involved also has to fight in his own way. A fight with the heart. Can you resist the demonic nature or not…”

“Yes, I know. In Buddhism, we call it ‘anti-demonic.’”

Do Cheol was in deep thought.

“Amitabha. In fact, I have lost all feelings. The Buddha told us to be merciful and help the evil spirits.”

He spoke in a serious tone.

“When the Demon King Pasoon attacked the Bodhi tree, Buddha changed all the weapons of the Demon King into flowers so that the Demon King could no longer kill. The Demon King was able to gain enlightenment and change his mind. If that is the case, then I should also show such mercy to the evil spirit…”

He touched the rosary and shook his head.

“But the fake monk is different. He isn’t like the usual evil spirits we are told about. He is so strong and terrifying. I feel lost. What would Buddha have done in such a situation?”

“In that case, even Buddha wouldn’t have shown mercy.”

Seol Young replied.

“Although I don’t know much about your God’s teachings, I have wandered around since I was a child and picked up various things. And didn’t the Buddha appear in various incarnations and help beings become enlightened?”

“Right. Yes.”

“I heard that among his incarnations, there is one called the Dirty Vajra King. His head touched the sky, and his face was always contorted with anger, and his hands held many weapons.”

“Yes. It is said to be a frightening vision to see.”

“As such, that incarnation isn’t as merciful as Buddha and is said to punish evil beings, which anyone would fear. Monk, sometimes punishing is right. Like Buddha’s punishment.”

“Buddha’s retribution, you mean.”

Do Cheol mumbled, ‘retribution.’ He repeated it to himself several times.

He finally looked like he had some courage. The look of fear was slowly disappearing from his face.

Seol Young continued,

“Bad things like them shouldn’t exist in our world. They are harming innocent people. Think of your friend—wasn’t he a man who liked to carve Buddha statues? However, an evil spirit killed him just to gain power. He had to die young, without knowing why. Isn’t that unfair?”

Do Cheol’s eyes turned red.

“Seol Young-rang is right. The fake monk is strong and scary, but we cannot leave him like this. Buddha’s retribution is needed.”

He clenched his fists, and his hands were trembling.

“But what do I do? I am a coward.”

“…”

Zaha stared at him, specifically at his huge size and his big fists.

“You should fight earnestly….”

“Isn’t that why we have incarnations?”

Seol Young spoke, making sure Zaha didn’t say anything wrong.

“Just like what we said earlier, sometimes even Buddha decides to change from his benevolent image and takes up strong forms. Think about it, monk. If you could be an incarnation, what form would you borrow? In what form will you try to take down the evil?”

Do Cheol thought deeply and said,

“I have been thinking about it since I was little. The strongest and scariest in the world…”

His eyes were bright.

“Exactly.”

The day of the Sword Dance was bright.

Do Cheol stayed up all night reading Buddhist teachings and fell asleep at some point.

When he came to his senses, he was in the temple. So he immediately hid under the altar of Buddha.

Someone’s feet could be seen from under the cloth covering the altar. He could see leather boots that were worn by warriors, and the soles were soaked in blood as if the shoes came from a slaughterhouse.

Do Cheol’s heart sank.

The owner of the feet walked around the altar. Even if he walked around the room, he would return to the altar and stand there.

And suddenly, he bent down and looked under the altar.

And he saw Sa Daham’s face.

Their eyes met, and Do Cheol almost screamed. Fortunately, thanks to the thick cloth, Do Cheol couldn’t be seen.

However, the spirit seemed suspicious, considering how he continued to stare.

Do Cheol turned more and more miserable, and the breath he was holding was reaching its limit. It looked like he was going to die from suffocation. He closed his eyes and prayed.

‘Heavenly Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha…’

With all his might, he called for the various avatars of Buddha.

His earnest prayers took effect, and he was able to escape from the dream he was trapped in. But now he saw another being in the room.

And the sound of Do Cheol’s prayer made him angry.

In the dark, he opened his eyes, and a ferocious monster roared.

“…!”

Do Cheol woke up in surprise.

From the looks of it, he had been sitting down for a while.

‘There was someone here.’

Do Cheol felt chills rise.

If the stern-looking face hadn’t screamed and woken him up, he would have been caught by the fake monk’s spirit.

‘Such a good monster.’

He rushed out.

Seol Young sat on the bench right in front of Sa Daham’s sword, which was being inspected, and Do Cheol approached him.

“You are amazing! You knew that I would fall asleep, and you prepared it all in advance!”

“..?”

Seol Young looked at him with a puzzled face.