Is that the alchemy of souls?
Is my soul being shifted right now?
My soul did not shift.
What happened?
Jang Uk.
Uk!
So you have shifted souls with my pupil, Gil-ju.
Mu-deok.
I may have been too weak to protect him from you.
But I will make sure to end your life.
I did not know
you cared about Jang Uk that much.
Shut it!
Master!
It is me, Jang Uk.
We did not shift souls.
Look into my eyes.
It is me, right?
I am the only one who can look at you from this close.
Do you recognize me?
He had the blue mark on his body.
His soul must have re-entered his body.
Then why am I fine?
You are wrong.
You have changed as well. Look.
You do not have the bracelet, yet you are not trembling.
You are right. I can move it freely now.
The Soul Ejector helped surge your energy.
The poison opened your gate of energy, and the Soul Ejector surged your energy.
Uk, you truly are astoundingly lucky.
I am certain that I saw you there.
What?
Why?
Why are you fine?
You must have failed due to your weak energy.
You are a soul shifter as well.
Naksu, you will also
be petrified and perish eventually.
Just like me
and your father.
My father?
That is right.
The constellation recorder mage.
Cho Chung!
My father…
was a soul shifter?
The four families were not the ones who killed your entire family.
It was your father. He had run wild and murdered them all.
Stay inside and do not come out.
If you see your father, run away.
Do not let him catch you.
Both you and your father were exploited
and will eventually be petrified and die.
Was the man who shifted my father's soul,
the Danju,
Jin Mu of Cheonbugwan?
Jin Mu is not our true Danju.
The real Danju is someone else.
-And who is that? -The true Danju
can prevent you from running wild
since the real Danju possesses the ice stone.
So who is the real Danju?
Mu-deok, are you all right?
I am fine.
Go after him. Hurry!
I must get out of here
before the poison from the sorcery spreads.
Search the area.
-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.
It is empty.
It felt the energy of the sorcery.
Master Heo was right. This Sapsali was indeed Gwigu.
Did the alchemy of souls really take place here?
What are those?
They were on the ground.
Maybe this is the Soul Ejector.
This bracelet…
Is this not Young Master Jang's binding bracelet?
Why is this here?
Does this mean Uk was here?
They fought here.
Do you think something happened to him?
Please return to Songrim and report what you saw here.
Dang-gu, go inside the fortress and look for Uk.
-I will search this area. -All right.
How did the Songrim mages know to come here?
You are a soul shifter as well.
Naksu, you will also
be petrified and perish eventually.
Just like me
and your father.
Father.
Both you and your father…
were exploited and will eventually
be petrified and die.
Why?
Why is it you again?
Is that the soul shifter?
No, she is Uk's maid.
I accidentally hurt her, so I must get her treated.
Goodness, what a day.
Gosh. Business was good today.
I must refill my energy, or I will be petrified.
-Are you done? -Yes, I am.
Then let us have a drink.
-All right. -Hurry up!
Let us go.
I cannot return if I cause a commotion.
I need to find somewhere quiet where I can take their energy.
Please move aside.
Right. Please go ahead.
Master.
You cannot fool us with those obvious tricks.
You have been following her ever since you entered the capital.
That man has been following us.
You followed her all the way to this inn.
We just shared the same destination, that is all.
Do not lie.
You were staring at her the entire time!
I was not.
Sun-i.
Do not embarrass him anymore.
To follow me to my accommodation was rude and uncomfortable.
If you do not want me to find another inn this late,
please leave.
Lady.
Why do you think I was following you?
You are neither my debtor
nor someone I know, so why do you think I followed you?
-That is because she is very-- -Shut up, Sun-i.
I want you to answer me.
Many men have given me trouble because they followed me due to my looks.
So I thought
you were just one of them.
I see.
You are wrong.
Your looks did not impress me,
and I did not follow you either.
If that is the case,
I am sorry.
Then may I go upstairs now?
-Young Lady Heo. -Yes?
You must eat.
Did that scum--
I mean…
Are you that embarrassed that you might run into him again?
That is not why.
I just do not feel well.
You should change into dry clothes.
I will get some porridge for you.
Are you all right?
What was that?
Were you after him?
Yes.
I am glad that you are unscathed.
Wait.
Thank you.
If you feel unwell,
visit Sejukwon in Songrim.
Do you know Sejukwon?
I am Sejukwon's…
Heo Yun-ok.
Seeing that you have it instead of your friend,
I am guessing that friend is gone.
You knew…
who I was all along.
Are you all right?
Hey, are you all right?
Try getting up. Slowly.
It is a monster!
A soul shifter.
It is a soul shifter!
-A soul shifter! -A soul shifter!
The real Danju is someone else.
The true Danju can prevent you from running wild.
Go on. Go to your Danju.
Gil-ju went missing?
We have not heard from him ever since he went after Jang Uk's maid.
Jang Uk's maid?
Why would he go after her?
To be honest, he had been after Jang Uk all along.
The Spirit Plaque Naksu had left was actually Jang Uk's.
He must have been after Jang Uk, thinking he was involved.
Then you should have told me sooner!
He told me to stay silent.
He must have wanted to find firm evidence first.
Order all of our mages to look for Gil-ju.
Uk's binding bracelet was found
in the spot where the alchemy of souls had taken place?
Dang-gu is looking for Young Master Jang.
Young Master Seo is searching the area around the temple.
-They were at the temple? -Yes, my lord.
I doubt Uk was capable of carrying out the alchemy of souls.
Master Lee,
what if someone else's soul has shifted into Uk's body?
Do not worry. I am sure he is fine.
She will protect him.
By the way,
where is our leader among all this chaos?
Before Uk was born…
About 20 years ago…
Did Jang Gang
perform the alchemy of souls?
The Gwanju of Cheonbugwan performing sorcery?
That is absurd.
Jin Mu told me about it.
I could not dare to hear from him,
so I came to you instead.
Madam Do-hwa…
was indeed once concerned
that the Gwanju was interested in learning a strange spell.
However, it did not last long.
He did not come home for a year.
He practiced spells with Jin Mu in the Cheonbugwan Secret Room.
However,
he stopped doing so after his wife became pregnant.
Do-hwa gave birth to the late king's son.
The late king
passed due to a severe illness and could not even move.
So how is that possible?
The alchemy of souls would have made that possible.
As a mage,
he was just briefly curious about it.
No.
He committed something
irreparable…
to Do-hwa and Uk.
A mage of Jeongjingak is urgently looking for our young master.
I did not know you were here as well.
What is it?
I think Uk
fell victim to the alchemy of souls.
What?
That is Cheonbugwan.
Could the real Danju be inside those walls?
This is the way to the royal palace.
Could the real Danju be in there?
I am from Cheonbugwan.
It must be urgent.
Let me see your face.
This is urgent. Move aside.
Let me see your face.
A soul shifter.
Go after him!
So the real Danju is inside the palace.
The ice stone, was it?
You mentioned it.
I will find that and prevent her from meeting the same fate as you.
Hold on. Is he really…
Look at him!
Is he really dead?
-Touch him. -Should I?
-Goodness! -Goodness!
He tried to enter the palace while running wild.
Did you kill him?
How could we?
An unknown mage suddenly appeared and used a spell on him.
Which family was he from? Did you see his face?
No, my lord. It was covered with a blue cloth.
However, I did see which spell he used.
It was Tansu.
-Tansu? -Yes, I am sure of it.
He flicked energy with his sword.
Tansu was the spell Naksu used.
Was there another mage who had mastered it?
I heard you caught a soul shifter who had run wild.
We came here to see who it was.
Sure. Feel free to take a look at him.
Is he not Gil-ju,
one of your men?
That is correct.
Bring his body inside and make everyone leave.
Yes, my lord.
Jin Mu was with me when the alchemy of souls took place.
He is panicking as well.
He was not aware of this alchemy of souls either.
I will take care of this since it occurred inside Cheonbugwan.
It has nothing to do with Songrim.
Sure.
However, please ask us for help
if you ever need any.
Another soul shifter had run wild?
Fortunately, he was caught and died of petrification.
And who was this soul shifter?
It was
Gil-ju, a mage of Cheonbugwan.
Gil-ju had become a soul shifter?
Then was he caught in Cheonbugwan?
He was caught in front of the palace.
He tried to enter the premises after running wild.
He was on his way here?
Then a mage suddenly appeared
and subdued him by using Tansu.
And who was this mage?
Naksu was the one who killed Gil-ju.
-What? -Naksu?
She is back!
-Naksu? -The assassin?
Last night, the mage who appeared in front of the palace used Tansu.
That was the spell Naksu used.
-Goodness. -Really?
-It was hers? -My gosh.
Hold on!
Naksu is dead.
-Right. -Right.
Everyone here witnessed her body turn to ash.
I saw it with my own two eyes.
-That is right. -True.
Unlike her body, her soul is still alive.
The Shadow Assassin has returned as a soul shifter!
-What? -Is that true?
-That cannot be. -Really?
But Naksu is female.
It was a man who killed Gil-ju.
He was a tall, young man with a blue cloth covering his face.
Naksu shifted souls, right?
She must have shifted souls with that tall man.
Then she must have become stronger.
She was powerful to begin with.
But she has become invincible thanks to shifting into a strong body.
Murdering Gil-ju is her revenge
on Cheonbugwan for burning her body
and killing her men.
Why us?
Songrim was the one who killed Naksu.
"The invincible Naksu dressed in blue cloth has returned,
and Songrim is her next target."
This is the rumor that I have been hearing.
The soul shifter was caught only a few hours ago.
How is it we already have such absurd rumors?
Such rumors tend to spread like wildfire and be exaggerated.
And the rumor is reasonable.
The mage who killed Gil-ju used Tansu,
and that is exactly the spell Naksu used.
Who said she was the only one who could use it?
I could master it right now if I wanted to.
If this rumor spreads within Songrim,
I will hold you responsible. So make sure that never happens.
Yes, my lord.
I am truly relieved that it was not Young Master Jang
who had shifted souls and died.
But then why did we find his belongings there?
We will know once we find him.
You do not look too well.
You should
go home and wait for him there.
Are you feeling very unwell?
I was so surprised that the honey biscuit I had last night
is giving me indigestion.
I was so shocked when I heard about his soul shifting
that even my soul exited and entered my body again.
Is it really back?
Is that you, Maidservant Kim?
No, my lord. I am Maidservant Park.
If I could, I would like to slap Young Master Park's back for shocking me.
Slap mine instead.
I can allow that for Maidservant Park.
Go on.
I have pretty strong hands.
It will hurt.
I will not be a baby about it,
so go on.
Goodness.
This means you have already hit me once.
Why?
Are you going to do something to make me upset?
Then take it back.
Hit me back.
Go on.
Hurry up.
I do not want…
to hurt you.
As Songrim's leader,
there will come a time when I will have to be cold and heartless.
But I truly
do not want to hurt you.
Is your heart troubled
because of what you asked me yesterday regarding Master Jang Gang?
There has been chaos lately.
But I have failed to be objective
as the leader.
Your slap helped me come to my senses.
I must act wisely from now on.
Feel free to hit me every now and then
as Maidservant Park.
If it is you,
I can allow that.
Why are you here?
Master Heo ordered me to trace the root of the sorcery.
And this is what I found here.
I must have left it behind.
Do you not need it anymore?
No, I am fine now.
I almost lost that Jin family treasure.
Thank you for finding it.
You also left something else.
Are you not looking for Mu-deok?
Where is she?
I found her hiding in the forest.
She was injured and bleeding profusely.
Mu-deok.
Young Master.
How could you leave me behind?
What?
You ran away and left me behind.
Go along with it.
Right. I did indeed run away.
That is right.
We had spotted the soul shifter when we took shelter from the rain.
But thanks to you,
I almost got ripped into shreds by that soul shifter.
I am sorry.
I was too terrified that I did not think twice and ran away.
Yul mistook Mu-deok for the soul shifter and almost killed her.
Had he not treated her right away, she would have died.
Yul.
Thanks for rescuing and treating Mu-deok.
Did you really run away and leave her behind?
Had I fought, I would have died.
We need to be selfish at times.
Why are you staring at me? Do you not agree?
In any case, I am glad
that both of us are fine.
Right.
I heard you are hiding in Danhyanggok.
Did you hear that our leader made Songrim
take responsibility for the dishonor you made?
Jeez, I am sick of this.
Why would he do that when I am not from Songrim?
The duel with the Crown Prince is in two weeks.
Do not enter the fortress or cause any more trouble until then.
Just lie low.
Thank you for treating me.
Uk seems fine without the binding bracelet.
I guess he can control his energy now.
He risked his life and got what he wanted once again.
And you were by his side again.
If you were so bothered by that you should have just let me die.
Next time,
I might have to do just that.
Mu-deok.
Coming, Young Master.
Bye.
Uk was unscathed.
That is a relief.
Did he see
who was with Gil-ju when the latter shifted souls?
That person was probably the one in the blue cloth.
He was too busy running away to look back.
Did you ask his maid?
She must have witnessed the spell.
Mu-deok…
She probably will not know even if she saw it.
She is an ordinary maid who does not know such spells.
What happened to your hand?
Did you injure it?
The Soul Ejector I had touched yesterday had some leftover poison from the sorcery.
But I am fine.
I shall take my leave.
Why did you want to see me this time?
I heard you had taken my wedding gifts that had arrived.
Why did you do that?
Were you worried I would destroy them?
I will keep them stored and give them back during your next wedding.
Just throw them away.
Marriage is out of the picture for me.
Do not be so embarrassed.
Your wedding was prepared in secret, so not many know of it.
Really?
Cho-yeon!
I heard you are getting married.
I heard you bought gifts and hired a craftsman for your rings.
I guess word got out.
Congratulations.
Congratulations, Young Master Park.
-Me? -I know you two are getting married.
He received the wedding gifts
and went with you to get your rings.
Right?
There was an absurd rumor about you marrying Uk again.
No, right?
You are marrying Young Master Park, right?
That is true.
But please keep it quiet
since it is a secret.
All right.
See you later.
I told you it was Dang-gu.
You are right. She would be crazy to wed Uk again.
Tell me about it.
Young Master Park.
Why did you say yes?
This is better than getting rejected by Uk twice.
Let us say you broke it off with me this time.
After all, it will just be a rumor.
Will you be all right with that?
You will be embarrassed.
That is fine by me.
Filthy Mu-deok?
Are you back here again? Were you unharmed?
Sorry?
Forget it. Move aside.
Are you looking for Mu-deok again?
Never mind. Her dress just looked familiar.
Mu-deok sold it to us.
-She sold it? -Yes, Your Royal Highness.
She said a thoughtless, young man had given it to her.
She sold it saying
that he was well-off and would not want it back.
Did she really say that?
That is right. Filthy Mu-deok and silk do not go hand in hand.
Watch what you say.
Sorry?
That is a nickname that I have given her. Only I can call her that.
So do not call her that.
I am sorry, Your Royal Highness.
Also…
she did not look too bad in that silk dress.
She looked much better than you in that blue cloth.
You must not like this.
What is that?
Everyone here was wearing one.
This is Naksu's cloth.
Whose cloth?
Naksu, the soul shifter, killed a mage of Cheonbugwan in front of the palace.
Naksu had a blue cloth like this one.
This blue cloth has become a trend within the capital's walls.
-Come and buy Naksu's blue cloth. -I got one.
It will prevent your soul from getting shifted.
-This one. -Take it.
I would like one too.
-This is Naksu's cloth. -Try this on.
Naksu, the soul shifter in blue?
Everyone thinks Naksu has returned from the dead.
But thanks to Naksu in Blue,
they have lost interest in Uk's duel with the Crown Prince.
I wonder where Uk and Mu-deok are.
They were not in Danhyanggok either.
I am sure they are safe.
They will return after two weeks.
By the way, Yul…
I got one too. Do you want to try it on?
All right.
Who in the world could it be?
This Naksu in blue cloth who uses Tansu?
Did you say this was the soul shifters' grave?
Then he must be buried here.
Your father.
As a little girl,
I thought he was unjustly murdered by the mages of the four families.
Jin Mu took me under his wing, and I called him Danju.
However…
my father was a soul shifter who used sorcery.
And I was used and abandoned.
Like Gil-ju said,
I will eventually run wild as well.
Once I become petrified,
will you leave me here?
I found out where the real Danju was.
Inside the palace. The true Danju is in there.
Please tell me about the ice stone.
Are you certain
that the ice stone was indeed destroyed
by Master Seo Gyeong and the leader of Jinyowon 200 years ago?
Are you sure…
it is not somewhere in Songrim?
Hello, Danju.
Gil-ju wanted the ice stone and headed to the palace to see me.
I was not aware
that Gil-ju knew who the real Danju was.
The day the Choi family regains power,
Songrim, the cause of our family's downfall, gets destroyed,
and I control Daeho, is approaching.
And I have been waiting for that day with bated breath.
We must find and kill the one who killed Gil-ju in front of the palace.
That individual may have waited for Gil-ju to go there,
knowing the latter was after the ice stone.
If that individual knows that the ice stone is in there,
you must find
and kill them.
I do not know who it is,
but the Danju inside the palace has the ice stone.
And with that, Gil-ju said a soul shifter may not run wild.
Are you saying we should enter the royal palace and look for the Danju?
It is impossible in my current state.
I am a low-class mage that was rejected by Jeongjingak.
However, I will keep climbing up.
And I will eventually enter the palace walls.
Master.
I will find
that ice stone for you.
Uk.
Your master is neither strong enough to pull you up
nor support you from the bottom.
You were never like that to begin with.
You always pushed me to my death.
But whenever you did that, I found myself on a whole new level.
Keep doing that
and stay by my side.
Fine.
I will do that and push you
to your death if you stop.
I will find Uk and make sure he does not come to fight the duel.
Do not bother.
If he wants to come,
let him.
It is a formal match among mages.
We cannot intervene even if one of them dies.
If death occurs,
then that is that.
Will you not stop it?
The Unanimous Assembly asked Uk to fight
on Songrim's behalf.
Whether he becomes a coward and runs away
or honorably dies during the duel,
I will only watch as the leader of Songrim.
His Majesty and the Queen are here.
One month ago, Go Won, Daeho's royal Go family member,
challenged Jang Uk, the eldest son of the Jang family, to a duel.
And Songrim received the challenge on Uk's behalf.
Whoever signs the paper
cannot hold his opponent responsible
for their death even if that occurs.
The match will commence at noon.
If he does not show up by then,
we will accept his defeat.
You must mention the punishment he will get if he does not show up.
If Jang Uk does not show up today,
his right to become Cheonbugwan's next Gwanju…
will be lost.
Come here.
What are in those crocks?
They are full of water.
Crocks full of water?
My lord, it is noon.
Close the Training Center's door.
I must announce
his defeat.
Close the door.
Jang Uk is here!
Young Master…
Young Master.
It will be all right.
JANG UK
Now that you have signed the paper,
no one can intervene
even if you die while fighting.
I am aware of that.
Mother.
Please use our plaque to stop this duel.
He will surely die in the Crown Prince's hands.
He showed up because he was ready to die.
Your wedding has fallen through.
His fate has nothing to do with us now.
You may commence the duel.
First, do not do anything and just defend.
If you make the first move with your current skills,
you will die.
You must only attack him
when he loses his focus.
I trust that he has placed them.
Did you say you could enter Songrim whenever you pleased?
Yes. Why?
I have a favor.
Could you put some water in the Training Center
so that he can use Tansu during the duel?
I feel uneasy about those crocks.
Break them.
Young Master.
Tansu.
Your Royal Highness.
The match
has ended.
This is cheating. It does not count!
That was Tansu.
Only those who have reached Chisu can do it.
How could he have mastered that when his gate of energy just opened?
I am certain
that a master has helped him in secret.
How could anyone have possibly helped him
when all of us were watching?
Do not be stubborn!
Jang Uk, tell us yourself.
Is it true that you have learned Tansu
by reaching Chisu in such a short time?
That is not true.
I do not know how to gather my energy.
I can only use Tansu if there is water.
I only learned how to flick the water.
Then who taught you that?
Someone must have taught you that skill.
No one did.
Look at him.
He is being ridiculous,
claiming that he learned it single-handedly.
I spotted some water crocks in this building.
Who placed them here?
Was it your master?
I trained by myself.
I will not buy that!
Jang Uk, explain yourself.
Who helped you train all this time?
It was me.
I was with him.
Everything he just said is true.
And who are you?
How dare you intervene?
Silence!
He is Hemp Master Lee,
a pupil of Master Seo Gyeong.
Greet him this instant!
Goodness. Hello, master.
I saw everything during my time in Danhyanggok with him.
He practiced flicking waterdrops all day long.
And by his side
was no one other than his maid.
Master Lee has vouched for him.
Do you have any other objections?
Let us go, Your Majesty.
Bring Jang Uk into Cheonbugwan.
The son of Gwanju Jang Gang is incredible indeed.
Since you do not have a master yet, Cheonbugwan will happily accept you.
Do not be ridiculous.
If anything, I should be his master.
I opened his gate of energy and gave him a torrent of my energy.
Uk, come to Sejukwon.
I will teach you what I know.
How about joining Jinyowon?
As Cho-yeon's former betrothed,
we will consider you family and teach you our spells.
Jang Uk.
If you wish to join Songrim Jeongjingak,
we will accept you.
Mu-deok.
They all want me. Where should I go?
You should join Songrim for now,
Young Master.
I, Jang Uk, the eldest son of the Jang family,
will join Songrim Jeongjingak.
Young Master Jang has become a mage of Jeongjingak.
We have a welcome ceremony for our newest mage, Jang Uk.
I hate your master so much, it is gut-wrenching.
Of course.
If that love is fickle, then I do not need it.
Please let me in.
Mu-deok.
I must be with my young master.
For now, go home and wait.
Young Master Jang snuck out and has come home.
Young Master! Wait there.
-I will go to you. -I found the exam papers.
No matter what happens,
I will go into Songrim, where Young Master Jang is.
Mu-deok.
I can do anything if it means being able to see you.
Subtitle translation by: Soo-ji Kim