Chapter 57 (2/2)
If there was a silver lining among the dark clouds, it'd be the fact that Seol Ji-Hu possessed somewhat okay level of knowledge on performing Jesa. The experience was supposedly the best teacher there was - he had been partic.i.p.ating in ‘Jesa' three times a year, so he was more or less familiar with the whole thing.
Once the preparation were over, Ian approached the youth and asked him.
”Perchance, are there anything we must be keep in mind during the ceremony?” (Ian)
Seol Ji-Hu thought for a little while, before opening his mouth.
”There is something my father used to tell me all the time. He said that one's sincere heart is half of the ceremony itself.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”One's sincere heart is half the ceremony….. They are meaningful words.” (Ian)
”Thank you. I know it's kind of annoying, but please, do your utmost to wholeheartedly partic.i.p.ate in the Jesa. The ceremony itself isn't difficult, anyway. It's fine if you wish to console her in your mind, or beg for her forgiveness, as long as you don't do it half-heartedly.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
In all honestly, even Seol Ji-Hu wasn't confident of this thing working. However, since they were going to do it anyway, he wanted them to do it properly.
”Well, then. I shall start the ceremony with ‘Chohon' first.” (Seol Ji-Hu) (TL note at the end. Y'know what, there will be a lot of notes at the end….)
”Chohon?” (Ian)
”It means calling for the soul of the departed…. Well, just think of it as a part of the ceremony, please.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu smiled wryly and stood before the altar.
And then, the Jesa finally went underway. There were Jobs of Priests and Chief Priests in Paradise so such a sight wasn't as rare as one would think, but considering the fact that the their opponent this time was a vengeful spirit, this event would surely qualify as somewhat bizarre and uncommon even in this world.
Just as Seol Ji-Hu had said, the shortened Jesa didn't last that long. Next up was ‘Sejan' - was.h.i.+ng of the cup with alcohol before filling it back up three times, kowtowing before the tomb, and in between all that, moving the utensils to different dishes of food on the altar.
After that was ‘Yus.h.i.+k', and followed by ‘Sas.h.i.+n'. The final step in the ceremony, ‘Bunchook', had to be satisfied with burning of the paper with the woman's consciousness written on.
”Here I am, doing something really unexpected.” (Cho Hong)
When the Jesa was over, Cho Hong softly muttered to herself.
”Hey, Seol. Can I eat those?” (Hugo)
Hugo spoke while pointing at the food on the altar. Now that he mentioned it, the lunch hour had flew past them a long time ago.
”Yes. With the ceremony over, you can.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Oh, so that's how it was. I hope the ceremony worked, though.” (Hugo)
Hugo spoke as if in pa.s.sing, and reached out towards the altar.
Now that the whole thing was over, the pressure Seol Ji-Hu felt increased by a hundred fold.
‘What should I do if it doesn't work?' (Seol Ji-Hu)
Would the kings of the past have felt this way after performing the rain-calling rituals? While trying to calm his palpitating heart, Seol Ji-Hu activated his ‘Nine Eyes'.
‘….Ah.'
The tomb remained jet-black. Nothing had changed. But, it happened then.
”Argh, ptooi! Pttooi!!” (Hugo)
Hugo frowned deeply and spat to the ground. Cho Hong had been standing next to him and freaked out immediately.
”Hey, you dumba*s!! Watch it!” (Cho Hong)
”W-what the h.e.l.l is going on here? Why do they taste like c.r.a.ppy?” (Hugo)
Hugo looked at the dried meat in his hand and angrily spat out.
”What's wrong with the taste?” (Cho Hong)
”Well, uh, how should I say this, it's like chewing sand, you know?” (Hugo)
”What?” (Cho Hong)
With a somewhat unconvinced expression, Cho Hong lightly bit into the same dried meat - and began grandly frowning as well.
”Ptooi! What the f*ck is this?” (Cho Hong)
”What's going on?” (Dylan)
After hearing this commotion, Dylan and the rest of the expedition team got closer, and they put various food items in their mouths as well. And all of their reactions were roughly the same. The food was not spoiled at all, yet they had lost all flavour, so much so that it was impossible to eat any of them now.
Seol Ji-Hu stared at the unfolding situation with a pair of dazed eyes, before hurriedly s.h.i.+fting them back to the tomb. And then, almost out of reflex, he held his breath.
The colour of the tomb began to change slowly. From pitch-black to red, from red to orange, and finally, from orange to yellow.
‘It's the Attention Required!' (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu clenched his fist real tightly and shouted out.
”Master Ian!” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Ian had already pulled out a paper and was in waiting. Dylan was also quick on the uptake, so he hurriedly yanked out a blade of weed growing on the tomb and brought it to Seol. The youth tightly wrapped the weed around the quill pen and placed it on the blank paper.
A short while after, the quill pen suddenly stood upright.
Was it being confused? It seemed to hesitate for a long time, before it began inscribing words rather cautiously.
If there was one noticeable difference from before, the pen didn't swish around like a madman and instead it moved slowly and carefully, as if the writer was hesitant over something.
Not too long after, the pen fell down. Even then, the quill pen continued to scratch at the paper as if it wanted to write something else. However, it suddenly stopped moving and turned to a handful of dust.
‘Please….' (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu had confirmed with his ‘Nine Eyes', but he couldn't rest easy just because it was the yellow colour. As his throat dried up, Seol Ji-Hu swallowed his saliva and began reading the words written on the paper.
– A first time in a long time I ate food first time my stomach is full
Really? You understand me? Really? Really, really?
Right those b*stards they are bad I angry I resent I want to be consoled totally unfair
You know me grateful first black haired man thank you Really what should I do now
You can come inside it fine take things I don't need anyway
Ah and don't touch around my coffin keepsakes please my favour
The paper had nearly-illegible letters scribbled on it. It was like reading a rambling of a drunk. However, they still did their job and conveyed the underlying message.
”What the………” (Samuel)
Samuel's jaw dropped to the floor.
”….I really can't believe it.” (Samuel)
This whole thing only had a fifty-fifty shot. Even for someone like Ian who had experienced all sorts of hards.h.i.+ps and crazy events, the current situation was something he hadn't run into yet.
”An event like this is worthy of making a report to the Magic Tower. Truly, my man. Just who are you really?” (Ian)
Ian gazed at the youth with eyes that had went past being marvelled and straight into sheer respect.
”Seol, there is something I'm really curious about.” (Hugo)
Hugo chuckled and stared at Seol Ji-Hu.
”Just who were you back on Earth?” (Hugo)
Seol Ji-Hu pretended to not hear anything. Obviously he couldn't tell them anything at all.
”This expedition is full of surprises, one after the other. I'm learning a lot here.” (Dylan)
Dylan shook his head wryly.
Seol Ji-Hu looked at the tomb with sympathetic eyes. After the method he didn't hold much hope for actually worked, he was feeling rather happy, but at the same time, he also felt sorry for the spirit.
‘Just how lonely and scared must she been….' (Seol Ji-Hu)
….For her anger to soften so much with nothing but a simple little appeas.e.m.e.nt ceremony? It was her circ.u.mstances, her surroundings that forced her fragile young soul into darkness. Could it be that her personality before her untimely death had been gentle and kind?
‘If I ever find an opportunity….' (Seol Ji-Hu)
He even thought about coming here once or twice every year to perform Jesa if he could.
Thinking like this, Seol Ji-Hu began to slowly put away the altar.
The owner had consented. So the only remaining thing was to enter.
Creak…
After opening the front gate, the expedition carefully entered the interior of the tomb. Although it was dark inside, Ian used ‘light' magic to illuminate the way.
Unexpectedly, the interior layout wasn't complicated. They continued down a corridor and encountered another door, and beyond that, there was a large room resembling a cavity.
Samuel cautiously entered first, before his steps came to an abrupt halt, a loud exclamation escaping from his mouth.
”Wow!!” (Samuel)
”W-what now! What?!” (Alex)
Alex also formed a shocked expression.
The room was dome-shaped with diameter of around 20 metres. At the highest point of the arched ceiling, it was at least 4-5 metres high.
But, what shocked the expedition most were all the valuables displayed on the walls.
Many decorative items were hanging on the circular wall, and every single one of them were adorned with priceless jewels. Some of them even shone in the distinct dull red l.u.s.tre of gold, too.
However, the highlight were the two sarcophagi located on top of the altar in the middle of the room. The one on the right didn't have any distinguis.h.i.+ng features, but the one on the left was truly eye-catchingly incredulous.
Not only was it made out of top-quality marble that could accept intricate, metaphysical carvings, it was draped with a red fabric with gold embroidery. And on top of all these, a beautiful longsword and a sleek s.h.i.+eld rested there, too.
That wasn't all.
Many accessories that emitted a quite attractive l.u.s.tre even from a casual glance were arranged neatly all around the sarcophagus, as well as on top of it. They were earrings, rings, as well as some things that looked like coins or tokens, and some others that on one had seen before.
All of them boasted the most beautiful appearance imaginable yet they also emitted rather strong magical energy as well - those had to be the artefacts from the ancient Empire that Samuel had been dearly wis.h.i.+ng for.
”This is incredible! Hey, hey man! Just how much do you think this will sell for??” (Samuel)
Samuel asked while picking up a flower from the wall. At a deeper inspection, it was a small sculpture fas.h.i.+oned out of several jewels, a gentle rainbow of colours emitting from it.
”It's really rare to find a jewel sculpture carved with such precision nowadays. h.e.l.l, I can name any price I want to an enthusiast, probably.” (Dylan)
Dylan smiled in satisfaction and replied.
”That, that, that is….” (Alex)
Ever since entering this chamber, Alex couldn't take his eyes off from the left sarcophagus. To be more precise, he was staring with wide open eyes at palm-sized item, probably a keepsake, on top of the lid.
”Alex?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
When Seol Ji-Hu lightly tapped Alex, the latter's neck trembled as he opened his mouth.
”Seol, Seol. Can, can you see that?” (Alex)
”What's the matter?” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Y-you know, that thing? If that thing's what I think is…. Then, that's unbelievably rare, and unbelievably expensive item, that. That's the equipment of dreams for a priest, right there.” (Alex)
He even closed his eyes and began shuddering in excitement as well.
”Fufu. You're rather knowledgable for a Priest, Alex.” (Ian)
Ian grinned and came closer.
”You're most likely be correct. Most of the items on the left sarcophagus are probably related to Priest profession.” (Ian)
”As I thought.” (Alex)
”The burial goods found in tombs are usually the things the dead used during their lifetime. But, this lady was not only the daughter of a famed household, she had been canonised as well. So, it'd only make sense that they prepare the goods accordingly. That is the reason why there is a noticeable difference between the two sarcophagi here.” (Ian)
While listening to Ian's explanation, Alex nodded his head like a madman. It was as if nothing else could hold his interest at the moment.
The way he avariciously stared at them, there was little doubt they were amazing items, but what a regretful thing it was, they were just pies in the sky. The spirit of the woman said it was fine to take the others, but asked them not to touch those found around her coffin, after all. They had appeased her somehow, so they shouldn't to anything to betray her.
‘It'll be more than enough to take the things on the walls.' (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu spotted Cho Hong and Hugo checking out things on the right sarcophagus, but he didn't stop them. At the moment, he had left ‘Nine Eyes' on. With the exception of items on the left coffin, everything else was in varying shades of green.
Seol Ji-Hu gathered his hands and offered a prayer towards the sarcophagus containing the woman, before turning around to head towards one of the walls. Other expedition members were too busy packing in the burial goods at the moment.
And so, some amount of time had pa.s.sed by, and most of the goods on the walls had been taken away - that's when it happened.
< 57.=”” repose=”” of=”” souls=”” (2)=””> Fin.
(TL: the Korean idiom that roughly means ”h.e.l.l hath no fury like a woman scorned”.)
(TL: ”Jesa” is the Korean-style ancestral rites ceremony, performed by the first-born son of a family to ‘placate' the souls of the ancestors, such as their dead parents, grandparents, etc. If my memory serves me correctly, there should be four times a Korean family holds a Jesah in a year, but for some reason, our MC attends only three? Hmm.)
(TL: Chohon - a Hanja word for ”summoning of the departed soul.”)
(TL: Sejan - actually, a shortened Hanja word for ”seh-jan-gang-jak” which literally means ”starting again from was.h.i.+ng the cup after drinking”)
(TL: I told you, there will be a lot of these notes. ‘Yus.h.i.+k' literally means ‘urging with one's meal'. ‘Sas.h.i.+n' is symbolic gesture of everyone partic.i.p.ating in the ceremony kowtowing twice as a sign of bidding goodbyes. ‘Bunchook' is the final part of the ceremony where the descendants burn a memo containing their wishes so they can reach their ancestors. Don't bother searching in Wikipedia, because the article that pops out isn't as comprehensive as I like.)