Farmers Are the Foundation of the World
“Mount Dae…”
Just as Sa Unsik had said, there was indeed a sect on Mount Dae in Qinghai. It was home to one of the most famous and powerful factions in the entire martial world—the Demonic Cult.
But that was not what had left Yoo Eunhyeon so stunned.
A martial artist…
It was the first true martial artist he had ever laid eyes on, and his mouth hung open in pure astonishment. Even knowing the man before him had come from the Demonic Cult, Eunhyeon had no real grasp of just how wicked that place was supposed to be. He could not help his reaction.
So that was why the energy rolling off him felt so much like nature itself—and yet so strangely unsettling. Because he was a martial artist…
Thinking this, Eunhyeon looked the man over once more.
Now that he paid closer attention, a faint shimmer—like heat haze—wavered around the stranger. A few days earlier, after Su Hwa-seon had taken that pill, Eunhyeon had seen a similar ripple of light around her. This looked much the same.
Both of them resemble the energy of nature…
The resemblance ended there, however. The aura that clung to his mother had been warm and gentle. The power radiating from Sa Unsik felt distinctly, unnervingly cold.
“Judging by the look of you, little brother, you know nothing of martial arts. Am I wrong?”
“No, sir. My family has farmed this land our whole lives.”
“And you are alone here now?”
By this point anyone could have guessed that Eunhyeon was the only person left in the household. If someone else had been inside, they would have come out long ago to see what was happening.
“Yes. My grandfather and father have already passed.”
There was nothing particularly secret about it, so Eunhyeon answered honestly.
“Ah… so that’s how it is…”
The sigh seemed heavy with unspoken meaning, but Eunhyeon could not read that far.
Sa Unsik appeared to weigh something for a moment before speaking again.
“Did you have a hand in shaping this place as well?”
“For the past five years I’ve looked after everything myself—made it what it is.”
“Mmm… I see.”
Something shifted in Sa Unsik’s expression as he listened. A quiet, expectant light entered his eyes.
“Martial arts, put simply, is the art of taking the power of nature into one’s body and making use of it. You are a farmer. Who better than you to understand nature’s strength?”
Eunhyeon could not begin to guess why the man had suddenly launched into a lecture on martial arts. Still, the subject itself was interesting enough that he simply nodded.
“That’s true. It’s terrifying.”
As a farmer, Eunhyeon knew nature’s terror far better than its strength. He knew it so thoroughly that the knowledge overflowed. No matter how much of the work was done by human hands, it was still nature that decided whether a year would bring abundance or famine. All their endless labor was simply an attempt to dodge the worst and coax the best from what nature allowed. In the end, everything rested in nature’s hands.
“Of course it is never easy. How could a man take the raw, savage power of nature straight into his body? He must convert it, little by little, into what we call inner energy, and store it carefully.”
Sa Unsik’s explanation was simple enough that even a complete novice like Eunhyeon could follow every word.
“I see. So once you’ve condensed nature’s power inside you, you can split the sky like a typhoon or tear mountains and rivers apart like an earthquake.”
“Oh-ho…”
A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Sa Unsik’s face at the answer. It quickly melted into a light smile.
“Exactly. Did I not say so a moment ago? I have rarely seen a place where the forces of nature are woven together so perfectly as they are here. And if people themselves created this place, then is it not, in a way, the same as martial arts—man shaping the power of nature with his own hands? That is why I wished to speak with those who made it.”
“Ah…”
Once it was put that way, Eunhyeon understood the man’s reaction. Even he, a simple farmer, had grown curious when someone compared farming to martial arts. Why would a martial artist feel any differently? Of course Sa Unsik found it fascinating.
“Well then. What do you think of all this, little brother?”
“Pardon?”
The sudden question made Eunhyeon lift his head in confusion. Why ask him something like that? Then the earlier words returned to him. If Sa Unsik wanted to talk with the people who had made this place, that included Eunhyeon himself, didn’t it?
“I… I don’t really…”
He could not bring himself to answer. The unexpected demand had wiped his mind completely blank.
Watching Eunhyeon’s lips move soundlessly, Sa Unsik spoke with quiet resignation, as though he had expected exactly this.
“I wander the world hoping I might stumble upon even a small spark of enlightenment, yet it is never easy… Very well. Little brother, thank you all the same for letting me enjoy this fine view.”
Sa Unsik gazed up at the high sky and murmured the words like a lament. Eunhyeon felt the deep regret in them.
Perhaps that was why, in that moment, his own heart grew strangely calm and the things he had wanted to say began to fall into place.
Just as Sa Unsik turned to leave, Eunhyeon found his voice.
“Would it be all right if I told you what I thought after hearing your words, sir?”
Sa Unsik was already looking at him with an unreadable expression—curiosity mixed with something far more complicated. Eunhyeon, too busy ordering his thoughts, never noticed.
He began slowly, a little unsure of himself.
“I’m only a farmer, so I can speak of nothing but farming…”
“That is more than enough. Speak freely.”
The encouragement gave Eunhyeon the strength he needed.
“People who don’t farm often believe you have to fight nature and beat it if you want good crops. And it’s true—when you raise plants, nature throws every obstacle it can at you.”
“Obstacles?”
“Yes. Weather alone is enough of a problem, but then there are the insects, the animals, the diseases… all of them doing their best to ruin what we grow.”
“Quite a host of enemies.”
Sa Unsik gave a short, appreciative laugh.
“They’re not wrong, of course. But just fighting isn’t enough either. As you said yourself, sir—nature is not so tame that a man can simply overpower it.”
“Indeed. In martial training as well, one must tame and master one’s inner energy, never seek to battle it. Martial arts carry as much danger of running wild as they do power. You must never forget that though the force dwells in your body, its origin is not your own.”
“I understand. But farming is neither fighting nature nor taming it.”
At those words Sa Unsik’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had not expected the young man to push back against him. A moment later the tension left his face. He simply nodded, inviting Eunhyeon to continue.
“Farming is about following nature’s flow. The crops themselves are nature. The sunlight, the water, the soil that nourish them—all of it is nature. And I, the one who farms, am simply another part of that same whole. All I do is watch so the current does not grow too rough, and help it move as smoothly as it can. That is farming as I know it.”
Sa Unsik listened in silence. At some point his expression had grown still and deep. Eunhyeon watched him carefully.
He doesn’t look angry…
Even if Sa Unsik had asked first, the man was still a martial artist. Eunhyeon had heard often enough how proud they could be, and in his excitement he had spoken without weighing every word.
The silence stretched. At last Sa Unsik raised his head.
“‘Farmers are the foundation of all under heaven’…”
The murmur was something Eunhyeon knew well. Any farmer would. Without thinking, he glanced down at the book still in his hands. Sa Unsik followed his gaze and asked,
“What is that book you are holding?”
“Nothing special. It’s just the farming methods our family has recorded over the generations. That saying is written on the cover, so…”
He lifted the book so Sa Unsik could see. On the cover were the words: Farmers Are the Foundation of All Under Heaven; the People Depend Upon This for Their Livelihood.
“May I have a look?”
Eunhyeon handed it over without hesitation. As far as he was concerned there was nothing remarkable inside; he saw no reason to refuse.
Sa Unsik flipped through the pages. It did not take him long. The book simply laid out, month by month through the year, what needed to be done and what to watch for while doing it.
“Have you read it all the way through?”
He closed the volume and returned it. Eunhyeon nodded at once.
He could recite every line, understood the meaning behind each one, and put them into practice every day. If that was not reading it through, what was?
“Yes… I’ve been reading it since I was five.”
“I see.”
Sa Unsik seemed to consider something once more, then turned back toward him.
“If it would not trouble you, little brother, might I stay here a few days?”
“Pardon?”
Eunhyeon’s voice rose in surprise at the abrupt request.
Truthfully, Sa Unsik made him more than a little uncomfortable—no, a great deal uncomfortable—because of that unsettling aura that clung to him.
“I will not stay for free, of course. I will pay for my lodging.”
Sensing the hesitation, Sa Unsik drew a small pouch from his robes and produced a rather large tiger’s-eye stone.
Eunhyeon’s eyes went wide. Even a farmer knew how valuable jewels could be. He could not put an exact price on it, but even a rough guess suggested the stone was worth enough to let a man rest from farming for a year or two.
“Well? What do you say?”
Under that expectant gaze Eunhyeon swallowed hard. He had never faced a decision like this before; of course he hesitated.
He looked from the tiger’s eye to Sa Unsik, then finally stepped aside.
“Not for too long.”