Original subtitles

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION

CHILD ACTORS AND ANIMALS WERE FILMED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAFETY GUIDELINES

He is not here.

He is nowhere near this house.

Where in the world did Gangcheori go?

You had that terrible fever through the night.

Take the day off. Must you go to the palace today?

The nation will not fall just because you are absent.

You should stay with me a bit longer.

I must see His Majesty.

Yeo-ri, let us go.

Yes, my lord.

I shall be off, Mother.

All right.

Gosh. That really is my Gap.

That is him, all right.

I cannot believe this.

It really is Lord Yoon Gap.

The look in his eyes is different.

This is what I have been praying for.

Lord Yoon Gap has truly returned.

Yeo-ri.

Thank you.

Pardon? For what?

You looked after my mother

and kept my body safe.

That was…

not my doing.

Yes. He was responsible.

The malevolent deity named Gangcheori, was it?

My lord, how did this happen?

You were held captive by the Eight-foot-tall Ghost.

How…

I do not know, either.

The realm beyond life was hazy and obscured.

I found it difficult to think clearly.

However…

there is something I am certain of.

And what might that be?

I have come back…

because there was something I needed to tell you.

Back then,

I felt a great sense of urgency

after seeing the royal family on the verge of peril

and His Majesty suffering so.

I was planning to tell you

everything after we arrived at the Capital.

I… deceived you.

I pushed you into danger with the Eight-foot-tall Ghost.

I am sorry, Yeo-ri.

Perhaps…

I tried so hard to save you

because I wanted to hear you say such words to me.

I am very happy…

to have you back, my lord.

This…

is not mine.

That…

was intended for another.

I see.

Your Majesty,

please forgive this unfaithful servant.

I offer you my delayed greetings

after I failed to obey your royal command.

He is indeed Examiner Yoon Gap.

What are you saying?

Are you saying he is no longer Gangcheori the Imugi,

and has reverted back to Examiner Yoon Gap

just like that?

Yes.

Yoon Gap…

has returned?

Your Majesty.

I longed to offer up my futile existence

to become kindling in your honor to lend Your Majesty my meager support,

but I failed to do so.

You really are…

Yoon Gap.

The Yoon Gap that I cherished so…

has returned to me.

Yes, Your Majesty.

It is I.

Your unfaithful servant…

has finally returned.

Gap.

Are you okay, Your Majesty?

My goodness, Your Majesty!

My reaction was delayed

because his acts of insolence have been so frequent as of late.

Such insolence!

Forgive me, Your Majesty.

As soon as I felt your royal frame,

I experienced unbearable pain.

Thus…

What do you mean?

Your Majesty, it is because of the Ghostbane Stone.

Ghostbane Stone…

This is it.

It is a stone that wards off ghosts.

I learned about it, thanks to Yeo-ri.

I hear this Ghostbane Stone of the Dragon King

is what kept me safe

from the Eight-foot-tall Ghost all these years.

Ghostbane Stone…

Stone of the Dragon King…

So it was because of that…

But did you not say this Ghostbane Stone warded off ghosts?

Then, why is it having an effect on Yoon Gap who is alive and well?

The soul of the deceased has returned to the body,

but this body has already experienced death once.

Thus,

that is why he cannot approach the Ghostbane Stone.

Regardless, I remain delighted by your return.

You lost your life while carrying out my royal command.

You must have experienced such sorrow.

I have felt sorry…

time and time again.

Your Majesty.

What do you think of the finalized state-owned slave reform?

Your Majesty.

I am truly in awe.

You supplemented with commoners to counter

the bureaus' slave labor deficit, voiding the distinction of slaves.

Your Majesty has faithfully acted in the best interest of the people.

Now that the opponents of the reform have been subdued,

you will forge this into reality.

Do you truly believe that?

Yes, Your Majesty.

You will achieve that noble pursuit you seek.

After all,

you are one of those mortals

I come across occasionally.

That damn Imugi rascal…

Without you around,

His Majesty experienced all sorts of discomfort.

You will inevitably be weary of public scrutiny for a while.

Rumors of your insanity ran rampant in the palace.

By the way, are you sure you will be all right?

Your body has found a new master overnight

and I heard you had a fever through the night.

His Majesty also said you should not overexert yourself.

I am all right.

Thank you, Head Eunuch.

Right, I am the Head Eunuch…

Maybe I should go to the courtesan house for some grilled abalones tonight?

He could have said goodbye before leaving.

That rotten Imugi scoundrel…

You cannot hear me, right?

Can I get a "Grilled Abalone"?

Eight-foot-tall Ghost…

This must be your doing.

Let harmonious energy arrive soundly From east to west

If evil energy exists Let it be released to the west

All better?

I called you here to stop your pain.

You are…

that wicked spirit's lackey.

I have nothing to say to you.

How does it feel to reclaim your once stolen body?

Do you not feel a surge of resentment over the things you had lost?

That body will not remain yours.

It will not last long.

Pour this on the King's Ghostbane Stone.

If you do,

the Warrior Deity will ensure you keep that body for good.

What happens…

if I pour that over the Ghostbane Stone?

What will happen to His Majesty?

Why would you ask about such useless things?

Just do as you are told and that body will be yours forever.

As if I would fall for your tricks.

I would rather choose

to be a pile of ashes than put His Majesty in harm's way.

Have you not found him yet?

No.

I thought he would be at the creek he frequented,

but he was not there, either.

The soul of a deceased man returning to his body is strange enough as it is.

And now that once virile creature has suddenly gone missing.

It seems something is definitely going on.

There is no way Gangcheori would back down so easily.

His feelings for you ran deep.

I am afraid.

I am so afraid that Gangcheori will

also end up like Bibi.

- Mother. - Yes?

You must be tired. You should go and rest.

I'm not tired at all.

I've been full of energy all day. I cannot sleep.

Mother.

I will go to my room soon.

I will…

I am just worried you might leave me again

while I sleep.

You should go to sleep.

Let me look at you a bit longer. Lie down.

That body will not remain yours.

It will not last long.

You call yourself a patron deity?

How could you just abandon your disciple and disappear like this?

You wretched, malevolent deity.

Fine. It is my time to be reckless now.

So, hurry up and come here to scold me.

Come and yell at me

for daring to use such a tone with my sacred patron deity.

Even if you successfully save his soul and bring him back to life,

nothing will change until I ascend as a dragon.

Even if you ardently hold him in your heart,

I will never…

let you go.

What happened to never letting me go?

You vanished without a word.

What do I do now?

Yeo-ri.

Yeo-ri.

I am right here.

Damn Yoon Gap.

Release me at once.

Let me go.

No. You cannot go.

I cannot let you go to Yeo-ri.

I will not let you take her from me.

Let go of me already.

Yeo-ri is calling out for me.

Gangcheori.

I will never let you go.

I need to go!

You cannot!

Why can I not?

- Yeo-ri! - What?

Gangcheori?

No, Yeo-ri.

It is I.

My lord.

This rascal is really something else…

It is my body. It belongs to me.

You may not move it as you wish.

Gangcheori has been in that body with His Lord?

How did this happen?

How can you just claim someone else's body like this?

Leave… my body at once!

Damn it. I would have left it ages ago if I could.

Do you think I want to be stuck in this wimpy, little body?

Did you think I would not know you used this hand

to grab Yeo-ri's hand?

Well… I could not grab it with a foot.

A scholar must maintain a pure and chaste demeanor.

You rascal have made rags of all my clothes.

You consumed so many sweets.

You ruined my teeth, just after a few months.

"Your body, hair, and skin are a gift from your parents."

You have abused my parents' gift.

How dare you act so brazen?

Did you hear him?

He should be thanking me for stopping his body from rotting.

What a pompous prig he is. Just prattling on and on.

Prattle, prattle.

Enough.

Yeo-ri.

That was not meant for you, my lord.

Anyhow, you should stop it as well, my lord.

This is not the time for quarreling.

Yeo-ri is right.

There is no way that dogged, wicked spirit let you free for no reason.

What is he scheming?

My lord?

You were just prattling on without any issue before.

Why are you suddenly silent like a mouse?

You…

What are you scheming right now?

That damn Imugi.

I thought he would easily hold out for a few days.

But that damn Imugi was awakened already.

Gangcheori.

Gangcheori!

Gangcheori and Lord Yoon Gap are trapped in one body together.

How is this even possible?

The Eight-foot-tall Ghost must be behind this.

It feels like he is using my lord to plot something.

What should I do?

That damn Imugi rascal…

Stop…

Stop it.

This is not mine.

That…

was intended for another.

Nothing could have happened overnight…

My goodness.

It appears our Gap is really back indeed.

Look at how neatly he folded his bedding.

Gap was always like this before.

He was only messy after he lost his mind.

He has always been this orderly.

The Ghostbane Stone…

What is wrong, Yeo-ri?

You're as pale as a ghost.

His Lord wants the Ghostbane Stone?

Is it the Eight-foot-tall Ghost?

My goodness.

What's wrong, Yeo-ri?

SINBU: A PASS FOR THE PALACE

My lord, you cannot.

- My goodness! - I am sorry.

You should watch where you are going!

My lord…

My goodness, what am I going to do now?

Your Majesty, what are you writing?

I was struck with an excellent idea

after hearing your thoughts on the slave reform plans yesterday.

Step up here for a moment.

Here. Take a look.

I am honored to have you record my humble opinion in such a manner.

I am most obliged.

I have been struck with another one.

Goodness me.

Yeo-ri insisted with such zeal

that I keep this with me at all times, so I have.

But it is just impossible to get any writing done with it.

My lord.

Please.

Yes, so if we proceed as such,

the people do not need to worry about being implicated as slaves

and public sentiment toward the king waning will not be a concern.

Both the state and private domains will be content.

No!

Be careful, Your Majesty.

The bottle has completely shattered.

Are you all right, Your Majesty?

Are you all right?

Damn it.

My goodness.

Sure.

What in the world is this?

Is this alcohol?

Sang-deuk!

- Hurry. This bottle shattered. - Yes, my lord.

Stop right there!

Please let me take care of it!

My lord?

Gangcheori!

My lord.

Stay back, Yeo-ri.

Do not look at me.

Unbeknownst to me,

I grew resentful of my stolen life and my heart grew wicked.

I fell for his ruse.

He said my body would be mine if I spilled alcohol on the Ghostbane Stone.

I let my heart grow beastly.

You are wrong.

I was not the one who grabbed your hand in that last moment.

It was you.

No!

You…

did not let your heart grow wicked.

It does not change the fact I was initially willing

to do that to His Majesty.

I…

tried to harm His Majesty.

If I continue,

I will end up betraying His Majesty

and become a sinner condemned by history

The Eight-foot-tall Ghost has me by the throat

and we do not know how he will use me next time.

Before…

I become a detestable, evil spirit,

you must let me go.

Yeo-ri.

Please guide me to the afterlife.

My lord.

That moron.

I offer him a chance to reclaim his body for good and he still refuses.

But it does not matter.

Things have gotten a bit messy,

but now we know the Ghostbane Stone was what was in the Warrior Deity's way.

Getting rid of that will be a breeze.

My goodness. You are home early today.

The food is all done. Hurry and wash up.

Gap.

Why…

are you here?

What happened to my Gap?

Why are you back?

Yeo-ri.

This is not my Gap.

He is not my Gap!

Where is my Gap? Why are you back?

What did you do to my poor boy? Why are you back here?

My poor Gap… My son…

Please return my Gap to me.

Please return him to me.

Please return my Gap to me. Please, I beg you.

I am sorry, Mother.

Where did my Gap go?

I am truly sorry.

My Gap! Give me back my son!

Return him to me. Please…

An ablution rite.

A ceremony that cleanses the soul.

Through this ceremony, Lord Yoon Gap…

will wash away

all the karma from his lifetime.

The spirit of the deceased Yoon Gap we wish to guide today.

Of all endeavors to cleanse the three karmic deeds,

nothing exceeds the purification of the heart

and when it comes to the purification of all things,

nothing compares to pure water.

In accordance with The sacred law of the Buddha

The ritual altar of ablution Has been prepared

May the soul of the deceased Yoon Gap

Be cleansed of defilement,

All at once

May he attain unchanging purity

And ascend to rebirth

In the Pure Land

Now,

His Lord has…

My lord.

I am sorry.

Yeo-ri.

You are not to blame for my death.

If it becomes your fault,

my intentions in fighting for His Majesty's noble cause

becomes meaningless.

Though I am saddened,

I have no regrets about my life.

Yeo-ri.

Is my Gap here?

He is, is he not?

Gap.

Gap!

Gap, please don't go.

Don't leave me here alone.

Gap…

Mother…

Gap, please don't go.

Mother.

Thank you for giving birth to me.

Living as your son

was my greatest joy.

YOON GAP

Yoon Gap…

has left us in the end.

YOON GAP

Why did you not tell Yeo-ri?

You also had feelings for her.

She has already given her heart to another.

If I tell her, just to satisfy my own greed,

I will only end up distressing her.

How annoyingly cool you are.

Have a safe journey.

For you led a beautifully steadfast life like that of an evergreen pine,

you will move on to a peaceful place.

Please take good care…

of Mother and Yeo-ri.

Have you lost your mind?

How could you ask me to do such a thing?

I am going to end up losing my head as a heinous traitor

before that Imugi ever has a chance at my throat.

Then, are you saying you cannot do it?

How could anyone sane do such things to the King and the Prince?

Se-won.

Grab the bottles. We are done here.

What do you think you are doing right now?

I know I am blind, but I always believed I had a good eye for judging character.

Maybe not.

I should continue my search for someone

with greater mental fortitude.

This nation might be small, but surely,

there must be at least one other for the Chief State Councillor's seat.

Hold on… Stop.

Those are some mighty callused hands.

Do you know how to wield a sword?

Pardon?

The Warrior Deity is quite pleased with you.

Your Majesty!

Your Highness.

- Oh, my! - You got it, Your Highness.

Gwang's legs have become much stronger since last we played.

I almost found it difficult to keep up with his running.

In a matter of a few months,

he had another growth spurt.

It has been a year already, not months.

Pardon?

It has been over a year since His Majesty played

a game like that with the Prince.

Has it been a year already?

Yes.

It appears I have been quite a heartless father.

Ma'am.

We are heading out now.

Do not skip any meals. Be sure to eat well.

Let's go.

Come on.

She knows you are not Lord Yoon Gap now.

It would be too cruel to her

if we stay here.

Pardon? You only have one room left?

The merchants here for the market tomorrow have filled up the rest.

It is also the smallest room in the corner.

Do you still want it?

Well?

What are we going to do tomorrow? We cannot continue sleeping at taverns.

Ask that King to buy you a house.

You have saved his family countless times already.

It is one order after the other without reward.

You deserve a few houses, at least.

Then, you should talk to His Majesty.

Even if it is not a mansion,

a small two-room house would be more than enough.

Yoon Gap must have…

crossed the River of the Afterlife by now.

Yes.

Your initial reason to face the Eight-foot-tall Ghost is now gone.

Right.

And yet…

you will continue to pursue him?

You are right.

It started with Lord Yoon Gap.

But my grandma still remains his captive.

Regardless of everything else,

I know now.

I know this is what I must do.

And I also pity the Eight-foot-tall Ghost for suffering so,

while letting his grudge fester

for all those years.

I want to purify and free Cheon Geum-hwi

from his pain and suffering,

along with the countless grudges

of the villagers of Yongdam

that remain tied to him.

Why do you remain by the door?

Come in. You will catch a cold.

No. I like it here just fine.

You do not need to know. Just trust me.

Why? Are you scared I will devour you?

You can sleep on that side.

You are surprisingly naive sometimes. Did you know that?

You dare refer to your sacred patron deity as naive?

Do you want to see how naive

I could really be?

No, thanks.

If I ask you…

to let it all go and run away with me…

would you?

Now, I cannot return this body to Yoon Gap

and I still have no way to escape it,

so maybe…

I just embrace it

and postpone all that ascension business.

Maybe…

I just become an ordinary mortal.

How would you like to live 100 years with me?

How could we even run without dealing with that damn ghost?

Wherever we go,

he would follow us with vindictive intent.

I was not being serious.

Gangcheori.

I…

You two aren't wed yet.

You should not be sharing a room already.

Come on.

Day will break at this rate.

Let us get a move on.

Yes, ma'am.

Why did she wait if she was going to drag us

back in the dead of night anyway--

Exactly. Why did you have to choose a tavern in the middle of nowhere

and make me search the whole Capital in the dead of night?

- What is she saying? - Shush.

Unbelievable.

- Did you find out? - Yes.

His Majesty plans to go outside the Capital.

Outside the Capital?

Where exactly?

I am unsure of the details.

He has always been quite secretive.

However, I hear the Queen Dowager, the Queen,

and even the Prince is to accompany him.

I, too, am to accompany the royal guards.

I shall report back in detail afterward.

SPIRIT TABLET OF THE LATE CHEON GEUM-HWI

Have Yeo-ri and Imugi Gangcheori arrived?

They said they would go directly to Jinseung Temple with Venerable Gaseop.

We should head out as well.

Your Highness, His Majesty is here for you.

Your Majesty.

What brings you to the Queen's Palace?

No matter how hard I think it over,

I believe this is right.

Your Majesty, is that not the Ghostbane Stone?

Why are you giving it to me?

You also carry a member

of the royal bloodline in your womb.

Furthermore, the ghost has targeted you once before.

Hence, you should hold onto it.

No, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty's safety comes before mine or that of the unborn child.

At today's passage rite,

I will be making a plea for forgiveness to the Eight-foot-tall Ghost

on behalf of my ancestors who greatly wronged him.

However, if I approach him with the very thing that repels him,

that would be duplicitous.

CHEON GEUM-HWI

Grandma.

Are you performing an afterlife ritual?

Yes.

It appears the top house across the bridge,

is dealing with a troublesome evil spirit.

Why did you stick an identification tablet and a talisman inside your overcoat?

When you do,

a shaman can summon the Grim Reaper

to take the evil spirit directly to the underworld.

The Grim Reaper needs a clear record that contains the name

and the date of death for the deceased.

However,

this method

does not relieve the grudge of the ghost

and…

the shaman could instantly die

if things go awry.

It must…

It must be used as a last resort.

What if you end up dying instantly?

For I know that evil spirit's true identity,

I will be fine.

Look!

The caragana has blossomed.

The buds were definitely tightly shut just last night,

but this morning,

I saw that they all fully bloomed.

Since you made a special request of me,

I ran over as soon as I saw them.

My lady!

You should not scurry off like that.

It will only get me in trouble later.

When did I scurry off?

You are just a slow walker.

Damn it.

Thanks.

My lord.

This is exactly why I said we should just forget about that rotten jerk…

now.

As if they were scheduled,

the flowers just happened to bloom on the 100th anniversary

of the Eight-foot-tall Ghost's birth.

You did not even like coming to the palace from the start.

You came because of me.

I am already plenty thankful for all that you have done.

Yeo-ri already knows that

in order to banish the Eight-foot-tall Ghost

the luminous pearl must be completely drained.

With her temperament,

she will do something reckless to keep me out of harm's way.

Hence, this will just be

a precaution, in case Yeo-ri ends up in peril.

SPIRIT TABLET OF THE LATE CHEON GEUM-HWI

Oh, spirit of the departed

We wholeheartedly

Recite Buddha's name

May the karmic hindrances of ignorance

Be dispelled

May the light of prajna shine…

May you be reborn in the Pure Land

May everyone present today

attain Buddhahood.

Eight-foot-tall Ghost, come to me.

I shall purify and absolve you of your sorrows.

He is here.

The Eight-foot-tall Ghost.

Yeo-ri.

Something feels off. Something has gone amiss.

Stay back.

- Stop him! - Keep His Majesty safe!

- Your Majesty. - Your Majesty…

I am able to touch them without trouble. The King's and the Prince's.

Your most trusted could be behind it.

Were you really behind this?

They caught the scoundrels who did that to the Queen!

Did you never fear the judgment of the gods?

You and that brat

will soon be done for.

Is this the only way now?

I could end up dying.

You are still the fairest mortal I have ever known.

Hence, it breaks my heart.

Bear witness to how they all meet their demise.

Apprehend Examiner Yoon Gap and Eyeglass Artisan Yeo-ri,

and behead them immediately!

Subtitle translation by: Justin S. Kim