Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 66: Praying For Rain (4)

After thinking about it for a while, there was a particularly strange change in Seo Geom’s attitude.

It seemed like he kept looking more at Zaha than at Seol Young. And Seol Young turned to Zaha,

“Did Seo Geom-rang figure something out? A reason to be suspicious of something…”

“No. We haven’t met ever since I came back.”

He frowned deeply.

“Come to think of it, Seo Geom-rang believed and followed me before. And he was the type to ask so many things. I’m not sure about now, but I guess he just really wants to talk.”

“But that makes it troublesome.”

Seol Young’s face went still.

“What if he asks a strange question? Like what had happened during the past eight years that you decided to practice alone…”

“Seo Geom-rang is persistent, but…”

Zaha’s expression hardened, and he continued,

“Well, we can just split up and give some kind of excuse.”

“Didn’t you see his expression before? It was like he wouldn’t let go of you.”

“But that is just your opinion. Let’s wait and see. There is no way he will go with us there. He will give up before that.”

Zaha said.

But was it true?

Seol Young wasn’t sure, but he decided to be alert.

Everyone could clearly see the Hwarangs from the Blue Dragon Troops walking in their blue robes.

“They are going to catch the demon in Mount Danseok!”

“It will start to rain soon!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and followed them. With the blue dragon as their symbol, they were quite popular among the people.

“Seo Geom-rang!”

Even young kids knew his name and were running around. Some were even bold enough to get close.

“Come and see.”

Seo Geom and the Hwarangs allowed them to get closer and talk with them.

Among the Hwarangs, the Blue Dragons were the most arrogant, yet they were kind when dealing with normal people.

He entertained the kids one after another and responded to their jokes, and never declined any offer they had…

Everything looked the same until Seo Geom looked for opportunities.

‘I need to talk to the High Governor…’

But each time he tried, Seol Young interfered.

If he tried to hand over some water or towel, Seol Young would intercept him. If he tried to talk with the High Governor alone, Seol Young would suddenly appear out of nowhere.

It continued to happen again and again.

It was such a strange war of nerves.

Before he knew it, they were on the riverside of Mount Seondo.

“Let us rest here for a while.”

Seo Geom stopped the party. And a few people could be seen living near the mountain. After recognizing Seol Young, the people approached him.

“Seol Young-rang!”

Since the White Tiger’s base was at Mount Seondo, he was familiar with the villagers here. And Seol Young was glad to see them, too.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course!”

The people laughed out loud.

“We are doing fine with Baek Eon-rang, Song Ok-rang, and Hyo Wol-rang protecting us.”

“Seol Young-rang, where are you going? And aren’t they the Blue Dragon Hwarangs?”

The topic changed naturally.

As the people of this village were worried about the dry days, they spoke up.

“That, Governor said…”

Seol Young talked to them, and Seo Geom watched all of this from a distance. It didn’t look like he would come back anytime soon, so Seo Geom approached Zaha.

It was a hot day, so Zaha was under the shade of a tree. As Seo Geom was approaching, he looked at him.

“What?”

‘He would never do something like that. If there is a misunderstanding, I need to clear it up and get rid of the suspicion.’

Seo Geom thought and said,

“I have a question.”

After looking at him, Zaha said,

“Actually, I know what it is.”

“You know?”

“Is it because of the arrow?”

Seo Geom was surprised. And he was suddenly confused.

‘Did he already know what I was thinking?’

He looked at Zaha, looking shocked.

“On the day of the Sword Dance, you must have thought about the arrow that was cut in half. For some reason, I helped Seol Young-rang and left that behind as evidence.”

“T-That…”

“But think about it. If I had been siding with Seol Young-rang secretly and deceived the others, would I leave out such evidence?”

Seo Geom was more confused.

“Then…?”

“I left it for you to see.”

“Uh?”

“The dragon arrow of the Blue Dragon Troops is not an ordinary arrow, so wouldn’t it be retrieved? I believed it would be, so I did it on purpose. I wanted you to take a look at that arrow.”

Seo Geom felt like his body went numb.

It seemed that he had fallen into a trap. No matter how much he thought about Zaha’s intentions, he couldn’t figure it out. And then he bowed his head.

“It is difficult, so I don’t know. Please teach me. What was I supposed to think when I saw the arrow?”

“Harmony is what you should have thought of.”

“Harmony?”

“Isn’t it the same being a Hwarang? If you have decided to accept the role, even if it means you will die, you still have to choose to carry it out until the end. After seven years, what kind of game are you playing?”

Only then did Seo Geom realize it.

The arrow was bait.

Zaha deliberately left it there and made an opportunity for him to bring it up.

He was concerned about all of the five troops, along with the White Tiger Troops.

‘No wonder.’

It was very much like him. He hadn’t seen this man for eight years, and he had forgotten about it.

But…

Seo Geom shook his head.

“I understand what the High Governor is saying. You are emphasizing that as Hwarangs, all of us should be one.”

“I am glad you remember. I thought you forgot.”

“I know this is out of line, but I would like to ask something.”

Seo Geom looked at Zaha and asked,

“High Governor, do you know what happened between the Blue Dragon Troops and Seol Young-rang eight years ago?”

“I don’t know the details, but…”

Zaha shrugged and said,

“There must have been a fight.”

“It wasn’t just a fight. You need to know that.”

Seo Geom was a man with pride, so he didn’t speak about his feelings to others, but he wanted someone to know.

And there was no reason to hesitate if it was Zaha.

“Eight years ago, after my father passed away, didn’t I inherit the leader position of the Blue Dragon Troops?”

“Right. Hyung was the same…”

“… Yes. Anyway, no matter how hard I tried, I felt like I was still lacking, so I made the decision to head into closed training for a year.”

“Closed training?”

“Yes. The High Governor doesn’t know it because it happened after you left.”

Seo Geom started talking.

“My uncle took over the position of leader while I was training. And then, due to a mistake, the Hwarangs and the guards on our side ended up killing several innocent subordinates of the Ghost Demon King.”

“That, if it…”

“Since the Blue Dragon Troops were located on Mount Toham that day, it was only a matter of time before we had to fight the Ghost Demon King. But I didn’t expect it to happen right away. Although no one in our troops had a good opinion of the Ghost Demon King, it was a mistake we were willing to accept.”

And so, they prepared a gift and sent it to their enemy to convey their apology.

“But he didn’t accept our apology, and because his anger had reached its peak, he demanded the arms of the Hwarangs and the guards who attacked his subordinates.”

Of course, that request was denied, and as a result, both sides fought several battles.

Naturally, there were wounded on both sides, and the fight was finally about to come to an end.

“One day, we were caught in this massive plan made by him. As a result, our main training area, which had generations of memories, was trampled on by the demons.”

Despite all of this, Seo Geom was still inside the closed training, so he didn’t know about any of it. And his training only ended months later.

“I gladly cleared the rocks and came out. Do you know what kind of sight I saw? The Xuan Xu Hall was reduced to ashes.”

“You mean the library of the Blue Dragons?”

“Yes, High Governor. Even during the war, the books that were known to be the most valuable were lost. It was the same in other places. Most places were repaired, but the traces stayed everywhere else.”

As if the memory of that day was vivid in his mind, Seo Geom pursed his lips.

“Of course, after hearing that, I didn’t want to stay still, but even so, it was the first time that the Blue Dragon True Troops had suffered such a disgrace.”

He clenched his fist.

“I cannot help but think. Even if I were there, would I have been able to stop the crimes he committed? He set the library on fire and pulled down the signboard of our troops and broke it into pieces. The flag of our troops was thrown into the mud.…”

“It seems bad.”

Zaha mumbled.

“I didn’t think it was like that.”

“See. No one must have been able to tell such a story. Because the shame we suffered is…”

“I know. I know. But since the White Tiger Troops accepted such a being as their member, you didn’t have the chance to go after his soul. You must have been so upset?”

As soon as Zaha understood him, Seo Geom looked up. But then he came to his senses.

Who was this person?

He couldn’t forget that fact.

“No, High Governor. The rules are the rules.”

Seo Geom said,

“Honestly, when Seol Young-rang turned into a white-robed Hwarang, it wasn’t like I didn’t want to fight him. But how can we be rash with the High Governor paying attention to him? And I just wanted to say that the harmony that you expect is not possible now.”

“Right. Right.”

Zaha nodded.

“But you see, I didn’t expect it to be this serious. Seo Geom-rang deserves to be angry for the things that happened seven years ago, right? Your emotions are…”

He spoke with a serious face.

“It can’t be helped. In the end, I have no choice but to make a decision.”

“Uh?”

Seo Geom doubted his ears.

“A decision? That…”

“It is fine. All you have to do is not tell the Governor anything. How about it?”

Zaha whispered in a low voice.

Seo Geom’s eyes widened.

“Really?”