Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (Hwanhon: Bichgwa Geurimja / 환혼: 빛과 그림자)

ALCHEMY OF SOULS PART 2

You and I…

have liked each other for a long time.

What?

I remember when we exchanged this yin-and-yang jade.

You remember what?

Last time, you made up a nonexistent witness.

Are you making up memories now?

"They are bird's eggs."

"I will choose first."

"I pick red. You can have the blue one."

I will choose first.

I pick red. You can have the blue one.

See?

I am not lying this time.

How did you know that?

It came to me as soon as I held this jade.

Why you?

Maybe…

because I am a priestess with great divine powers.

There is no way that memory is mine.

It probably belongs to the owner of this blue jade.

This yin-and-yang jade

is from Jinyowon, is it not?

I must have seen it there when I was young.

I got these flashbacks when I saw it, so I thought they were my memories.

But it turns out they were the owner's.

Her memory remains…

inside that jade?

I guess I really am a powerful priestess.

I can see memories that remain in objects.

I was hoping you would be happy that I started getting my powers back,

but you came running thinking it was her.

You must be disappointed.

Yes.

I am greatly disappointed.

I will put this back where I found it.

It collapsed again.

Why did you raise that stone tower in the mountain?

Were you not mourning her death? Were you praying she would come back?

You really knocked it down well.

Do not try to fix what you have already broken.

I really did not touch it. It collapsed on its own.

Is that so?

So you were not using your powers to merely disappoint me?

I am telling the truth.

I found this jade by chance,

and when I first had a flashback, I thought it was my memory.

If you had come before I even realized anything,

I would have been happy.

Good to know that I am not the only one who is disappointed.

How could you think that memory was yours?

Because you have what was hers?

Did you get any other flashbacks like this?

No.

That was all I saw.

Taking a peek at someone else's memory is not exactly enjoyable, you see.

Take it.

Why? You said you felt elated when you thought it was yours.

Tell me if you see anything else.

Like you said, we liked each other for a long time.

I am dying to know how she felt

right before she died.

I cannot see anything else.

Let go. You are hurting me.

Keep the jade.

You will see more as you regain powers.

Are you putting me in between you and that dead girl?

You did that yourself by calling me with that.

Thanks to this, I have found another use for you.

I buried questions in that stone tower,

thinking I would never hear answers to them.

I might be able to hear them through you.

I called you hoping you would not come.

You should not have come.

So this is why no one believed it

when they heard about our marriage.

I was excited about nothing.

You got what you wanted by marrying me.

You escaped from Jinyowon,

found a place to stay, and gained freedom.

You are right.

I feel more at ease now that I have nothing to look forward to.

I guess this stone tower was your real wife.

I will make sure

to build it back to how it was.

Do as you wish.

That jerk.

So this stone tower is his lawful wife, while I am his second wife?

He should have told me.

Then I would not have gotten jealous of this stone tower.

This is all Uk's fault.

That horrible, mean jerk.

I should have known that he was a rotten jerk

the first time I met him.

No, wait.

He would be "a rotten husband."

Gosh, I am hungry.

What was that? A wolf?

I hope there are no tigers on this mountain.

Fine! Just come and eat me alive!

If a tiger eats me alive,

then maybe he will build a stone tower for me.

I was expecting a tiger,

but bugs came instead.

Did I summon them?

Young Lady Bu-yeon!

-My lady! -My lady!

-My lady! -Where are you?

-Young Lady Bu-yeon! -Please answer if you are there!

-My lady! -Here!

-My lady, where are you? -I am right here!

My lady, is that you?

Oh, dear.

We were worried about you, my lady.

Let us go home now.

Come on down.

-Slowly. Be careful. -Thank you.

It gets chilly here at night.

Here you go.

My goodness. Let us walk back down.

-Thank you. -Let us go.

Did something happen, my lady?

Prepare a hot bath for her as soon as we get home.

I took care of the powder incident like you told me to, Your Royal Highness.

Report to me if you hear any rumors about the Queen getting involved

with sorcery again.

Of course.

But, Your Royal Highness,

why did you bring that to the palace?

I could not leave it to die when it kept looking at me like that.

I was wary that the shaman who suggested it would curse me

so I brought it home just in case.

A shaman?

Yes, some shaman.

She told me to raise this turtle instead of having kids.

Who does she think she is?

How dare she say that to Your Royal Highness!

She likely did not know.

She thought I was a eunuch.

-She must be ignorant. -Then

I shall raise the turtle, Your Royal Highness.

No, it is too late.

It already knows that I am its owner. It only listens to me.

-It does? -Yes. Watch.

All right, Turtle.

Stick your neck out.

Did you see that?

I see.

She said it had good energy.

It is very clever. Next time, I should make him flip over.

But, Your Royal Highness, turtles die if they do that.

-Really? -Yes.

Turtle, do not ever flip on your back. That is an order.

It is not flipping over.

That is one handsome turtle.

They call me Naksu, for wherever I go, heads fall to the ground.

I will shift my soul into a new body and return.

Help!

Help!

-Help! -Look!

-Swim this way! -Over here!

-Keep swimming! -Come on!

Naksu is here!

Naksu is here!

Naksu became a grotesque

and killed everyone at Lake Gyeongcheondaeho!

She said she would shift souls and return!

Naksu is here! Run away!

Hurry up and run! Save yourselves!

Naksu is here!

Run away!

Escape!

Save yourselves!

-Run! -Naksu is here!

-Naksu is back! -It is Naksu!

-Naksu is back! -Hurry! Run!

Yul, is that you?

What brings you here?

I came last night.

Chwiseonru is nice, but Jeongjingak feels more like home.

What about you? Why are you here and not at your house?

I also like it better here.

Should you not prefer it elsewhere?

You have someone waiting for you at home.

You must have met her already.

Maidservant Kim insists that we have a wedding ceremony.

I am keeping myself out of trouble until then.

So it is something to congratulate, right?

Truly?

How do you feel? Do you feel better?

You were severely ill before you left.

You still do not look well.

I am still tired from the journey.

That is even stranger.

It has been days already. That is not like you.

The air feels cold here in Jeongjingak since it has been empty for too long.

It is hot outside, but it is chilly in here.

It is probably because of me.

The ice stone attracts wraiths, so the air around me always feels cold.