The Field That Grows Humans
‘……They’re alive?!’
Yoo Eunhyeon narrowed his eyes at the presence he could clearly feel riding the wind. Even a rough count told him more than ten heads were quietly exhaling breath. They were so close to suspended animation that he only noticed once he stood right in front of them—yet every single head continued to draw faint, unbroken breaths.
Shaaaah.
Even though Yoo Eunhyeon stared at Ju Wongong, unable to hide his shock, the man simply lifted the watering can as if nothing were amiss and resumed soaking the field. Unable to watch any longer, Yoo Eunhyeon stepped up beside him.
“Mister, what exactly are you doing right now?”
“Heh heh. Can’t you tell just by looking? I’m feeding them medicinal liquid. Don’t you give fertilizer to crops so they grow well in the fields? It’s something similar.”
Of course it was medicinal liquid—herbs ground and steeped—but that was not what Yoo Eunhyeon was asking. He called Ju Wongong to a halt with a more urgent tone than before.
“We do give fertilizer, yes, but only when we’re talking about crops. What’s planted here isn’t crops, is it?”
“But that doesn’t mean it’s something entirely different, either.”
The voice that answered was charged with meaning, far removed from his earlier manner. Ju Wongong suddenly lifted his head and looked at Yoo Eunhyeon.
“If you want the medicinal liquid to soak in steadily, this is the best way. You have to let them hold a moderate amount for a long time, you see.”
Yoo Eunhyeon pressed his lips shut. It was true—if the liquid seeped through the soil, the medicinal effect would linger far longer.
He had closed his mouth at Ju Wongong’s confident attitude for only a moment before murmuring quietly,
“……You deliberately kept these people alive.”
Only then did Yoo Eunhyeon grasp what Ju Wongong was trying to achieve. The shocking sight had made him forget for a moment, but the man had come here because of the Jeokgang-dokshi in the first place. Wearing an unreadable smile, Ju Wongong beckoned to him.
“Come inside for now. I happen to have something to say to you.”
As if he had no intention of explaining further, Ju Wongong turned and walked straight into the house. Yoo Eunhyeon frowned, then sighed in resignation and followed.
Once he had flopped down onto the floor, Ju Wongong suddenly spoke in that same cryptic tone.
“Do you also think I’m researching the Jeokgang-dokshi?”
“……Aren’t you?”
“Hahaha! I like that honesty! After seeing that scene just now, of course you’d think so!”
Laughing heartily, Ju Wongong scooted right up in front of Yoo Eunhyeon. He glanced around once, then leaned in and whispered close to the young man’s ear.
“What I’m trying to create isn’t the Jeokgang-dokshi. It’s the Muhyeong-dok-in.”
“What does that—”
“You’ve heard the recent news that the Dang Clan is hatching schemes, I assume?”
“Yes, I’ve heard quite a bit……”
“Then there’s no need to spell everything out in tedious detail. That makes things easier.”
Ju Wongong drew a single breath and went straight to the point.
“The reason the Dang Clan has staked everything on the Muhyeong-dok-in lately is, as you know, the Demonic Cult. The Dang clansmen can no longer ignore the Cult’s relentless pressure, so they decided hidden weapons alone weren’t enough and began searching for other weapons. The Muhyeong-dok-in is poison itself yet shows no outward sign of being poison—so of course it was the perfect fit. The Demonic Cult spread baseless rumors about the Jeokgang-dokshi and the like precisely to check that development.”
Ju Wongong’s explanation was admirably concise. Yoo Eunhyeon already understood the circumstances well enough that grasping the intent came easily.
When Yoo Eunhyeon gave a light nod, Ju Wongong pressed on without pause and asked one more question.
“Do you happen to know what sidok—corpse poison—is?”
“Corpse poison…… You mean the toxic energy that seeps from a corpse, don’t you?”
“Correct. A terrifying poison.”
Affirming the answer, Ju Wongong suddenly turned his head.
“I have spent a lifetime watching countless crossroads of life and death. Wherever life exists, death inevitably follows, and what death leaves behind always ends up consuming the living. That is why the poison created by death—corpse poison—can only be called the most lethal existence to life itself.”
A deep melancholy somehow clouded Ju Wongong’s eyes as he spoke.
“That corpse poison became the greatest obstacle to creating the Muhyeong-dok-in. They may be alive, yet they do not move, so the corpse poison seeping from the skin grows denser, and the poison itself grows that much more vicious.”
“Then wouldn’t it be enough to apply preservative treatments so the corpse poison can’t come out?”
“But that is by no means easy either. Holding the corpse poison steady by stopping decay with drugs and preservatives is no ordinary task. Infusing a matching poison into them also requires skill bordering on the miraculous—so it was beyond my ability.”
Yoo Eunhyeon’s gaze quietly settled. He, too, could think of no other method. As if sensing that thought, Ju Wongong let out a short chuckle.
“So I decided to find another way.”
At the unexpected words, Yoo Eunhyeon tilted his head. Ju Wongong simply pointed at the heads planted in a row and said,
“Do you know why I planted these things in the ground?”
“To make them absorb the medicinal liquid, isn’t it?”
“Of course that’s part of it. But that isn’t the only reason I did this.”
Ju Wongong scooped up a handful of the surrounding soil. Even at a glance the earth looked dead—nothing, not even a weed, seemed likely to grow there. When Yoo Eunhyeon unconsciously furrowed his brow, Ju Wongong burst out laughing.
“When I first heard it from Yu-ryeon I wasn’t sure, but a farmer really is different! To recognize it right away like this!”
After that cryptic remark, Ju Wongong dusted the soil from his hand.
“Yes. The answer I found was the great earth itself—the land. I only recently realized that the land can be used to neutralize corpse poison.”
“Using the land?”
Yoo Eunhyeon still looked as though he had not fully grasped the meaning. Seeing that, Ju Wongong smiled faintly.
“How do people usually dispose of a corpse?”
“Burn it, or bury it in the ground.”
“Why do they do that?”
“If you leave a corpse as it is, it rots and the poison…… Ah!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Yoo Eunhyeon understood Ju Wongong’s intent in a single flash. Methods of dealing with the dead had been fixed since ancient times: burn them so no trace remains, or bury them so that time slowly returns them to the soil. Both paths aimed at the same end—to keep the poison left by death, corpse poison, from spreading through the world.
While Yoo Eunhyeon still wore a look of astonishment, Ju Wongong slowly nodded at the sight.
“Burning with fire is quick and certain. But it is no different from suppressing poison with medicine—the body cannot endure it. Burying in the earth, however, is different. Very slowly, yet surely, it washes the corpse poison away.”
Ju Wongong’s gaze turned toward the field outside the window.
“Amazingly, the great earth is gentle enough to leave a corpse’s traces yet strong enough to quell toxic energy at the same time. So I thought: with the power of the soil, couldn’t I gradually tame a toxic energy equal to corpse poison?”
“……Indeed. The earth raises all things, yet at the same time it also swallows all things.”
Yoo Eunhyeon murmured low. Ju Wongong’s words carried the full weight of a life spent as a farmer.
“That is why I have buried those people in the ground like that, little by little making them adapt to the poison. The Dang Clan has accepted the method as well.”
“……It’s like a field that raises humans.”
A brief silence fell. Then Ju Wongong laughed.
“Heh heh. Your words are not wrong. Since we are not using corpses but holding living people just short of death while taming them to poison, calling it a field that raises humans is no exaggeration.”
He slowly lifted his gaze and looked at Yoo Eunhyeon.
“Then you already know what I am about to ask of you, without my needing to say it.”
The gaze was heavy and relentless. In truth, Yoo Eunhyeon had roughly guessed the man’s intention from the moment Ju Wongong first spoke of corpse poison. He met those eyes for a while, then finally frowned slightly.
“I have raised every sort of thing from the soil…… but I have never raised people.”
“Who in the world has experience with that? If it is something no one has ever done, then the person who has worked with the soil is the closest to it.”
“Still, whether it’s possible……”
“I am not asking you to take it on alone. I will be responsible for the medicine and the poison; you need only handle the earth.”
Silence stretched for a moment. The choice before him was no different from walking of his own free will into a vast whirlpool. His head was screaming that he should refuse. Yet from a corner of his heart a different voice rose.
“……All right. If I’m going to take it on, I’ll do it properly.”
At last Yoo Eunhyeon opened his mouth. Ju Wongong’s eyes flashed.
“You truly mean to help me?”
“This is not something to take lightly. I will give it my best effort. But once I set foot in, I want to cut off anything that might trip us up beforehand and then proceed.”
“Anything that might trip us up?”
Ju Wongong’s eyes widened at the words. Without speaking, Yoo Eunhyeon pointed outside. Following the tip of his finger, Ju Wongong saw two women.
“Dad! We’re here!”
Already not far from the house, Ju Yu-ryeon and Yeo U-hui were waving as they approached. Understanding at last, Ju Wongong laughed heartily.
“Heh heh! So that’s what you meant! You want me to convince my wife and Yu-ryeon first, is that it?”
“That’s right.”
“Good. I also find it more comfortable to pour my mind into one thing at a time. Let’s go. Time will not wait for us.”
With that, Ju Wongong stepped out the door without hesitation, and Yoo Eunhyeon silently followed behind him.