Subdued Soul Chronicle

Several Hwarangs of the Blue Dragon Troops gathered, and Zaha shouted,

“Bring your instruments! Wait, but what instrument is that?”

“A fragrant pipa!”

Instead of Seol Young, who was lost in thought, Hyo Wol answered from below,

“Seol Young-rang uses a fragrant pipa.” ¹

“Yes!”

The trainees ran away. After a while, they came running back with the instrument in their arms.

The five-string instrument had a long neck and a round bottom that looked like a water drop.

It was a fragrant pipa.

Three of them were selected as the representative string instruments of Silla, and two of them were used by officials.

“Take this!”

Seol Young received the pipa from below the roof.

The Ghost’s Path was created by the spirits. He concentrated on the melody of the flute, which came from beyond the Ghost’s Path, and pulled a string.

A clear and distinct sound rang out.

From high to low, it was a brilliant sound in the wind. The melody of the pipa resonated through the roof they stood on, creating ripples.

And the moment the sound waves of the two met, the melody of the pipa was flattened.

Seol Young raised his hand and plucked the strings one after another before the melody he created completely faded away.

The melody of the pipa, which was about to die, came back to life once again. It grew louder and louder, shaking the air. Soon, the melodies of the two instruments began to flow side by side.

There was a unique flow in the spiritual power of the pipa.

It was clearly a technique for seeing memories.

“Right…”

Zaha nodded.

“Music Arts are normally used for offense or defense, but there is no rule saying that they cannot be used in other ways. In other words, you can use Memory Projection through this?”

“Right. I thought that in order to come into contact with the music that is formless, we need to approach it through music….”

He couldn’t say anything more. The melody of the flute was becoming louder. Seol Young put all of his focus on his fingertips.

The flute is a delicate instrument.

Depending on how one puts the instrument to their lips, how the holes are covered with their fingers, and how the wind is blown, many things could change.

Moreover, the melody that is being played now is known to make so many waves, and this meant the level of power it held was too strong.

‘I knew it would not be easy…’

When he tried to play the instrument earnestly, the sound of the pipa continued to get buried. The strings vibrated, and the sound trembled.

Seol Young infused more spiritual power. His fingertips moved along the strings, emitting a blue glow. The sound of the pipa intensified. It was clearly coming to life and resonating with the flute.

The two melodies began to echo side by side.

The sound of Seol Young’s pipa began to create a clear melody.

The Music Arts contained powerful thoughts within the flute and Seol Young’s Memory Projection.

The moment the two started to connect, the bloody mist was lifted, and the spirits disappeared. Seo Jun could now be seen playing the flute under the moonlight.

A hazy figure appeared over his back.

“It’s done! I can see something!”

Hyo Wol’s voice was excited. It was an unprecedented attempt, but it actually succeeded.

But then the sound of the pipa began to get crushed again. Seol Young couldn’t go against the melody, which was known to be divine.

‘I’m almost done, though…!’

Seol Young infused all of his spiritual power into his fingertips. However, the strings continued to vibrate, but he couldn’t properly produce a sound.

Trying to control the vibrating strings, he tapped the body of the pipa, and with that sound, he tried to scatter away the waves of the flute’s melody.

But nothing happened.

Eventually, the strings broke.

And those who were watching went pale.

The moment the balance in the music broke, it became a messy fight. The flute’s waves began to head for them.

Seol Young tried to respond with the other four strings, but they continued to break.

And the moment the last string broke, the melody of the demonic tune hit his side.

Seol Young could feel the effect it held all over his body, and his eyes turned black as if he were suffocating.

And right then, someone hit him on the back.

“Now, now, take a deep breath.”

It was Baek Eon.

‘When did he get on the roof?’

His breath, which was choking, now felt relieved. However, a strong pressure rose, pushing his body down.

“You guys, help me!”

“Yes.”

Song Ok and Hyo Wol put their hands on Seol Young’s back. Their energies flowed through him.

He barely came to his senses. In the situation where he couldn’t even speak, Seol Young signaled,

‘Quickly, another pipa…!’

He beckoned to them, and at that moment, a silver line flashed through the air with a sharp, piercing sound.

An arrow.

It was flying straight towards Seo Jun.

“Who shot the arrow….?”

Everyone was shocked, and they saw Seo Geom standing while holding a bow.

“See that? Hyung has almost killed another person.”

He spoke in a cold tone.

“I am reminded of Baek Eon-rang’s words earlier. My older brother was afraid of arrows when he was alive. It was because, when he was young, Father would tie him to a post and shoot him with an arrow to correct his habits. So when the arrows fly towards him, he will be stuck. Men, shoot!”

“Yes!”

All the Hwarangs lifted their bows.

‘No!’

Seol Young couldn’t speak, so he looked around but couldn’t find Zaha.

When did the man disappear? Didn’t he hear what was happening?

It was then….

“Stop!”

Euljae shouted loudly and ran towards them.

“Put down your bows right now!”

He wondered how the person who was knocked down earlier was now running so suddenly…

…but behind him was Zaha.

“What are you doing? He is your one and only blood sibling! How can a younger brother just shoot his older brother down? Do you not have a heart? You cannot even hear how sad the tune of his flute is!”

His screams halted Seo Geom, but that was only for a second.

“We need to get the flute back first! Shoot!”

He gave the order again.

“NO!”

Euljae spread his arms wide, blocking them. This shocked everyone.

Suddenly, an arrow was shot by one of the trainees, and then a scream followed.

It was done by mistake. The arrow went for Seo Jun.

Zaha and Baek Eon swung their swords at the same time. Their sword qi shot from both sides and stopped the arrow.

But…

Seo Jun was nowhere to be seen. Seo Geom was right.

The arrow brought out Seo Jun’s fear.

Driven into a corner, he pushed himself to the limit. He broke through the restrictions of space and suddenly disappeared.

‘In the end, things ended up like this.’

At that moment, something went through Seol Young’s chest, and the pressure on his body went away only after that.

“Done! It’s done!”

Baek Eon handed him a handkerchief as blood came out of his mouth.

Meanwhile, the trainee who had shot the arrow bowed his head.

“I apologize. We lost Seo Jun-rang because of me.”

“It is not your fault… Hyung is… He would have run away anyway.”

Seo Geom gritted his teeth and said that.

It was then…..

“What is all of this? Seo Jun-rang?”

A voice rang out. Everyone was so preoccupied with the commotion that they didn’t even realize someone had arrived.

“Governor!”

Except for Zaha, everyone bowed their heads.

Jin Rim had brought several Hwarangs with him, and it seemed like they came through the sealed gate, and no one noticed it.

Even in the midst of that, Seol Young couldn’t help but think,

’The closed doors of the Blue Dragons seem to mean ‘Please break through!’

Zaha stepped forward.

“Why did the Governor come all the way here?”

“Actually, I got too tired of waiting. The High Governor told me that I would be informed once the monster that has been captured in the mountain is figured out, but there has been no news until now…”

Right.

Hence, everyone rushed over to the Blue Dragons since there wasn’t any information sent back.

“But everyone seems to have gathered here. Even the White Tigers…”

Jin Rim shook his head.

“Was it Seo Jun-rang? Did I hear it right? Why are you talking about him now?”

“This…”

So they told Jin Rim everything.

At the words that he heard, Jin Rim’s eyes and those of the Hwarangs with him widened in shock.

“Seo Jun-rang was surely cremated, so…?”

“We will catch him soon, so the Governor will be able to see it for himself.”

Seo Geom answered.

“Now that we know his weakness, all we need to do is defend our bodies with Ice Arts and shoot arrows at him. It will be over this time.”

In the middle of the plan on how they could catch him…

“…”

…. Zaha, Seol Young, and his three hyungs exchanged glances.

For a moment, they surely managed to see his memories, which meant that Seol Young’s theory was right.

Seo Jun realized he was no longer limited by space, which complicated the situation even more. However, the more Seol Young did his best, the more his opponent raged.

No matter how difficult the opponent was, he was determined to make the truth of their deaths clear.

Making up his mind, he said,

“I have to tell you something.”

1. TL/N:Korean pipa ️