The Farmer Who Ended Up Teaching the World’s Greatest Martial Artist
The Han Shu’s Wen Di Ji contains these words in its imperial edict: “Farmers are the great foundation of the world; the people rely upon them to live.”
That is precisely why farming is the root of all things under heaven, and a person must depend upon that root to survive.
These words apply to every principle governing the world, and martial arts are no exception.
Martial arts, like farming, demand that one first understand the root before one can master the initial moves that sprout outward. Only those who can finally feel that flow with their own bodies can continue the inner-energy vein.
In the first place, the changes of principle arise from a shift in perception. The world simply flows according to its own principles, and farming and martial arts are merely the branches that borrow from that flow.
*
On Mount Taesan, located in Shandong Province.
From ancient times it had been counted among the Five Great Peaks of the Central Plains, its rugged majesty and towering grandeur unmatched. Yet because the mountain was so treacherous, few people dared live there despite its size and renown.
“Heh!”
Deep in the heart of that mountain, a young man’s powerful shout rang out as he swung a heavy axe.
Thud!
His final strike made the tall oak that had stood guard for years sway violently. Then, unable to bear its own weight, it toppled.
Yoo Eunhyeon, the twenty-year-old youth who had just turned that exact age, straightened his body and caught the trunk with both hands.
“Ugh—ugh—ugh—aaah! Oh no, my back… at my age, already like this, what am I supposed to do?”
Looking at the axe in his grip, one might mistake him for a lumberjack. Yet his frame was rather frail, and his clothes were stained so deeply with soil that no one would ever guess his real trade.
In truth, his true vocation was that of a third-generation farmer who had settled on this remote mountain since he was born. He had merely picked up the axe for a short time of clearing brush.
“Now the wind flows freely and the natural energy is perfectly balanced. Good. This is the way it should be.”
Yoo Eunhyeon muttered the words with obvious satisfaction, then smiled faintly as he gazed at the fallen tree.
And at the exact same moment, a cool breeze that had never touched this place before swept in, as if to refresh him.
The breeze that had been blocked by the tree for so long now passed cleanly through Yoo Eunhyeon and spread evenly across the wide fields.
He had picked up the axe only because he wanted to ensure the fields received enough wind so the crops would grow better. That was the simple reason a farmer did what he did.
“When Grandfather was still alive, this tree was nowhere near this tall… Time really does fly.”
The family that first claimed this land was his grandfather, Yoo Pyo-gyeong.
Yoo Pyo-gyeong had brought only his wife and young son, Yoo Dong-gi, to the foot of Mount Taesan when he was twenty—the same age Yoo Eunhyeon was now.
Of course, there had been good reason. Sixty years earlier, a massive war known as the Great Blood War had erupted in the Murim, and a famine had followed, bringing the Central Plains to the brink of starvation.
While Murim warriors killed one another by the thousands, ordinary people starved. Yoo Pyo-gyeong had fled into these mountains to escape both the senseless fighting and the hunger.
“Now that the breeze has opened a path and the shade is perfectly controlled, the ginseng seeds should sprout well this year. Or rather, ginseng is ginseng, but… how I hate this endless farming life. How long must we be trapped in this mountain valley?”
Yoo Eunhyeon looked at the lush ginseng leaves and sighed heavily. The warmth was receding and the breeze was cooling his body, yet the good feeling vanished as quickly as it had come.
Clearing a field on such a steep mountain required no small amount of time and labor. Fortunately, the land here was rich in natural energy, so the work was not as grueling as it might have been, though there were still countless things to watch.
“Sighing won’t make the crops grow. I should stop complaining and go pick some peaches.”
Yet he had no other desire. With a fresh thought in mind, Yoo Eunhyeon rose from his seat.
Among the crops he now grew on the mountain, the orchard held the highest proportion. At first, to survive, he had planted quick-maturing vegetables such as potatoes and corn. But once the family had enough to eat, he began raising fruit trees, and now the orchard occupied the largest area of the farmland.
After walking the entire day around the fields and orchard spread across the foot of Mount Taesan, Yoo Eunhyeon finally turned toward his own home, located dead center in the middle of it all.
“I’m home.”
As he pushed open the wooden door, a woman sitting on a chair folding clothes looked up and smiled.
“Hyeon-ah, you’ve come.”
“You told me to rest, and the next thing I know you’re working!”
Yoo Eunhyeon’s brows furrowed the instant he saw her. He snatched the clothes from her hands and pulled her toward the nearby bed.
“Seriously, you keep insisting I rest, but here you are. You really are still healthy, aren’t you?”
“I feel fine enough to move, so why shouldn’t I? Besides, I’m worried.”
Yoo Eunhyeon’s mother, Su Hwa-seon, answered with a smile.
Su Hwa-seon was a beauty of such delicate and elegant grace that no one would ever guess she was the wife of a farmer.
Her resemblance to Yoo Eunhyeon was so striking that it was easy to guess where his looks had come from.
“How are the peaches? The pests seem worse this season.”
“Same as always. Still, I was hoping it would be okay this year… The weather has been hotter lately, so I sprayed the insecticide a little earlier. Maybe that’s why it hit the right timing.”
“That’s good to hear. Are the ginseng plants growing well?”
“Yes. Oh, and I cut down one of the trees on the east side. I thought it would be better to chop it.”
“That big oak? You weren’t planning to keep it to block the sunlight, were you?”
Su Hwa-seon asked in surprise. Yoo Eunhyeon simply shook his head quietly in reply.
“A willow that had grown nearby began to block the light, and the oak itself had grown too tall and blocked the breeze. Leaving it would change the water flow during rain, so for the future it’s better to cut it down.”
“I see. I understand the logic, but I still can’t quite grasp it.”
“You don’t need to see with your eyes. You feel it with your body.”
Yoo Eunhyeon said it casually, but Su Hwa-seon’s expression turned pale.
“That’s exactly why I don’t understand. Your father and I learned it the same way, yet the feeling just never comes to me…”
That was only natural. In truth, Su Hwa-seon had not been born on Mount Taesan.
One day a Murim warrior had come searching for a place with good mountain scenery to treat his sick daughter. It had turned out to be this very mountain.
During her recovery, Su Hwa-seon and young Yoo Dong-gi, around the same age, had fallen for each other. They married, and Yoo Eunhyeon had been born. Now the family had long since made this mountain their permanent home.
“If everyone could learn it that easily, it would be a skill, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re the one who’s skilled, you brat. Still, it seems you’ve reached your father’s level.”
“It’s not bragging to say I can’t raise anything.”
Yoo Eunhyeon shrugged. Su Hwa-seon smiled faintly, then let a sorrowful expression cross her face.
“I’m still sorry to leave you to raise him on your own. I’ve only been farming for a short while, and I wonder how much hardship you’ll endure…”
“I’ve been farming for more than ten years. Even if it’s tough, I’m already used to it. Stop worrying and focus on getting better. I’m twenty now.”
In truth, raising a farm alone on such a vast mountain was no easy task. Yet Yoo Eunhyeon kept comforting her with words as he grumbled.
Su Hwa-seon, who had been sipping medicinal tea that was good for the body, turned to him and said,
“Today marks exactly one year since your father passed.”
“Already? Time really flies.”
Yoo Eunhyeon spoke lightly, but he had never forgotten the day. He simply did not want to worry his mother unnecessarily.
And perhaps sensing that thought, Su Hwa-seon smiled gently and took a sip of tea, her expression turning playful once more.
“Oh dear. I wish I could see you get married soon.”
“Not that again. I’m only twenty. When I get older, I’ll handle it myself.”
“Tsk tsk. You really sound like someone who won’t even get married.”
“Who knows, maybe the Yoo clan will end with me.”
“If you knew that, you’d get married already. You brat. I’ll never get better with all this nonsense.”
“Stop talking nonsense. If getting married would make me better, I would have done it long ago.”
Yoo Eunhyeon looked at her with a helpless expression. Su Hwa-seon smiled softly again, continuing the conversation in a mixture of jest and sincerity.
“Still, you do plan to get married, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. A place where a woman can’t even see, so here I am.”
“Hehe. Don’t worry about that. This mother won’t let her son stay unmarried forever.”
“Just get better first. Stop blocking your son’s path to marriage and take care of your mother-in-law.”
Grumbling, Yoo Eunhyeon drained the last of the tea. Su Hwa-seon, who was still smiling as she watched her son, spoke once more.
“What if I introduce you to a friend instead? A young man like you shouldn’t be living like this.”
“What kind of friend can you make? A bear or a tiger living in the mountains?”
Yoo Eunhyeon began bantering. In the end Su Hwa-seon burst into loud laughter.
But that laughter was cut short. A small fit seized her, and she began coughing violently.
Yoo Eunhyeon rushed to support her at once.
“Are you all right? You weren’t this bad before your father passed. It’s getting worse and worse, isn’t it?”
Su Hwa-seon had been healthy most of the time, but every so often a fit would strike and leave her suddenly weak.
Recently the fits had become more frequent, troubling Yoo Eunhyeon deeply.
“I can’t even play with you properly, son.”
Yoo Eunhyeon sighed heavily, watching his mother force a faint smile. Worry filled his face.
“Eunhyeon-ah, come here.”
When the fit had subsided somewhat, Su Hwa-seon beckoned him with a hand. Seeing her mother look so serious, Yoo Eunhyeon sat down obediently in front of her.
“Yes. I can’t keep worrying you anymore… and I can’t delay telling you any longer.”
Yoo Eunhyeon only tilted his head, not understanding what had suddenly changed. Su Hwa-seon continued speaking calmly anyway.
“It seems I’ll soon have to return to my natal home once.”
“My parents’ house? Suddenly why… Wait, what does that have to do with my illness?”
“This is the first time I’ve told you, but this illness requires a specially prepared medicine once a month. If I don’t take it, the fits will occur and my body will slowly weaken.”
“What…?”
Yoo Eunhyeon’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar words.
“Your father used to go back to your grandparents’ house once a year to fetch that medicine, but now no one else can do it. So I have to go myself.”
“Why didn’t you tell me until now?”
“I didn’t want to worry you. I never imagined your father would leave so suddenly…”
Frustrated by Su Hwa-seon’s blunt reply, Yoo Eunhyeon pressed his fingers to his temples.
Indeed, her fits had increased noticeably in recent months. Yet he had never guessed that was the reason.
“So without the medicine the fits will never stop, right? But where on earth is there to go?”
“I kept a reserve of the medicine just in case. I’ve been managing my fits by rationing what was left, but… once I take this, I should be able to move normally.”
“So you can suddenly become healthy enough to travel? Even if another fit strikes?”
“Even at the very least, I can live like a healthy person for more than a month. You don’t need to worry too much.”
Su Hwa-seon spoke as she took out a small pill wrapped in paper. She swallowed it with the tea, closed her eyes, and began to breathe deeply.
Then a faint mist rose from her body. The mist swirled around her and slowly dissolved back into her form.
Yoo Eunhyeon’s pupils trembled slightly.
Natural energy…
The mist that had bloomed from Su Hwa-seon’s body carried a power Yoo Eunhyeon knew far too well.
Precisely the natural energy he had felt countless times while farming on this mountain.