Alchemy of Souls (환혼)

ALCHEMY OF SOULS

Daeho once suffered from a long and unusual drought.

It was so bad that it even caused Lake Gyeongcheondaeho

to completely dry up.

The mages of Daeho performed a grand rite

to fill the lake back up with energy.

Then enormous hailstones started falling from the sky.

But among the many hailstones,

there was one that did not melt.

This unmelting hailstone first turned into fire,

then stone,

and then water.

Then it turned back into its original form, ice.

In that process, it produced black powder.

This powder was called the Soul Ejector, which was used in the alchemy of souls.

The power of the Soul Ejector was truly astonishing.

One could bring the dead back to life by summoning back their souls.

One could shift souls from one body to another.

One could even expel the soul of the living

and steal their energy.

Eventually, that boundless power ended up causing chaos.

In order to possess the unmelting ice that produced the Soul Ejector,

the battle of mages turned into bloodshed, and Daeho became a living hell.

The man who ended the long-lasting battle

was Master Seo Gyeong, the founder of Songrim.

I was his pupil.

That ice stone sounds amazing.

Where is it? I would like to see it.

It is an extremely frightening stone.

Sorcery using the stone's power

created wicked things that could hurt people.

Boy, where did you get that wooden doll?

I found it up in the mountain.

Would you like to trade it for this?

Yes.

This is a relic cursed with sorcery.

-What was that? -What was that?

That was a dangerous item created with sorcery.

I know what they are. They are called relics.

Jinyowon has lots of them.

That is right.

Inside Jinyowon, there are relics that are much more dangerous.

There, you will find many peculiar items

that were made with the power of the ice stone.

They sit there waiting for an opportunity to come out into the world again.

Should I take you in?

No, thank you.

I may be a filthy girl whom everyone avoids,

but I refuse to serve just anyone.

Damn it. How dare she.

She should have been grateful.

This batch of cinnamon and ginger wine has quite a strong scent of cinnamon.

Thank you, Your Royal Highness.

It smells of cinnamon.

That impudent girl.

Is there something bothering you?

The filth from Filthy Mu-deok must have gotten on me.

The stench will not go away.

It smells wonderful.

Forget it. Get out.

Leave already.

Yes, Your Royal Highness.

I showed her mercy and saved her from trouble.

I even gave her my sachet and a silk dress.

How ungrateful of her.

-I am grateful. -I told you to leave…

Filthy Mu-deok?

How did you get in here?

I have that sachet you gave me.

You must be here because you need something from me again.

You have been thinking about me, Your Royal Highness,

so I came to see you.

Are you saying you can read my mind?

Good.

Have a glass of cinnamon and ginger wine that is a lot stronger than the last one.

It smells wonderful.

It does?

I must say, I really like this place.

I hope you continue to think of me just like you did today.

I will come to visit whenever you do.

The palace is a great place.

You get to dress in silk,

and it is filled with different kinds of aromatic wine.

But do you know why I keep thinking of you?

Because you are Filthy Mu-deok.

But right now, you do not reek of filth.

Your Royal Highness.

Who are you?

You caught me.

Something wicked just came in here.

-Search around. -Yes, Your Royal Highness.

Why did it show up looking like Mu-deok?

Search every corner again.

-Yes, my lady. -Yes, my lady.

The Crown Prince is here.

The Crown Prince?

I am in search of someone.

I was told that she would be here.

Is there something going on? There seems to be a disturbance.

A maid caused trouble and disappeared, so we were looking for her.

A maid?

She does not work for us.

Her name is Mu-deok. She serves the Jang family.

She is whom I am looking for.

Did something happen?

That maid…

accidentally broke the yin-and-yang jade that was going to be used

to make my wedding rings.

I told you to be careful.

What will you do now?

I apologize, my lady.

Please forgive me.

I will ask her owner to come here.

Take her away and lock her up in the annex.

I am sorry!

Forgive me, my lady!

She must have been scared about getting punished.

While she was locked up, she stole the jade and ran away.

Seeing as we still have not found her,

it looks as if she has already fled this place.

She got scared and ran away?

A bold girl like her?

Mages from Jeongjingak are here to visit.

Your Royal Highness, what brings you here?

What about you, Yul?

To look for someone.

Did you also come here looking for Mu-deok?

Yes.

I am here for Mu-deok.

She broke the yin-and-yang jade,

then ran away with it to avoid getting punished.

But why did you not get the wedding rings made?

I went to Chwiseonru to lend you my hand, but I heard you already had left.

I just decided to postpone it.

Yul, why are you looking for Mu-deok?

I also saw the exact same illusion as you, Your Royal Highness.

How did you enter Songrim?

I came because you kept longing for me.

What do you mean?

You were longing for the one you met at Danhyanggok.

Stop fooling around.

I was longing for you?

-I have never done that. -You are lying.

You kept the whistle.

The broken leg did not bother you.

And you were not scared to get scolded.

Because you liked her a lot.

Continue to think about her like that.

Then I will come to see you.

You…

are not human.

Are you going to get rid of me?

Then you will never get to see me again.

It was not her. It was an illusion.

Does that mean what I saw was also an illusion?

It was odd, so I went to Chwiseonru looking for Mu-deok.

They told me she was dragged here.

She was not dragged here. She was here to run an errand.

And she disappeared with something precious.

We are in search of a thief, not an illusion.

There is her owner.

Is Master Lee not here today again?

He is a man who wanders like the wind.

He left me the dog and left.

Was Gwigu also made from the ice stone?

Master Seo Gyeong made this with the energy from the ice stone

in hopes of finding traces of sorcery.

Uk broke Gwigu's pottery,

so Master Lee summoned the spirit from Jinyowon

and put it inside this dog.

Do you really not know where Master Seo Gyeong

sealed the ice stone?

I do not know.

Do you think the alchemy of souls started to occur again

because someone managed to unseal the ice stone?

The only way for someone to shift souls without mastering Hwansu

is by using the ice stone.

I am certain that someone unsealed the ice stone

and brought it out into the world again.

Well, that is not good.

We cannot let the disaster from 200 years ago repeat itself.

We must find the ice stone.

I was given orders to give this to you.

I thought you were going to lie low for a while.

Are you planning on shifting another person's soul?

Tell them that I safely received this.

I will.

Hurry up and find a eunuch who can replace him.

Your soul will be shifted into that body, so choose wisely.

Yes, sir.

I did not serve the Danju

just to shift my soul into a eunuch's body.

I will use Naksu

to get the body I want.

My maid has committed a disgraceful act.

I am fully responsible as her master.

I apologize.

You must be upset about having lost the jade to be used for the wedding rings.

I pleaded to my mother for that yin-and-yang jade.

Yin-and-yang jade wedding rings