Poisonous Plants

After failing the higher civil service examination and returning home, Bangja and I had various conversations to relieve the boredom of walking.

I mostly listened and Bangja did the talking, so I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to call him a chatterbox or a blabbermouth instead of Bangja.

I was also able to obtain fragmented information about “me.” Putting it all together, it seems I was born and raised in a rare, right-minded family.

After deciding to live my original life, the hardest thing was having to act against my nature.

There was nothing more troublesome than being placed in an environment of flawed character. Whenever I was in such a situation, I felt like I was going out wearing clothes that didn’t fit me.

In that sense, being born under honest parents is on the good side.

“It’s a good start.”

“I’m relieved to see that Young master has perked up!”

Bangja, misunderstanding my words, smiled with a bright face.

While talking about this and that and crossing the mountain, my consciousness was caught by the Jang tribe I had seen in the mountain. I asked Bangja why he jumped at the mere mention of the Jang tribe’s name.

Whether my words that my memory was not intact due to the shock of being bitten by a tiger worked, or whether I gave him another opportunity at the very moment he was still itching to talk even after all that chatter, I don’t know, but Bangja spoke enthusiastically about the Jang tribe.

The stories about the Jang tribe were mostly ominous.

“Didn’t 80% of the Japanese pirates who entered Joseon land in the year of Imjin get submerged in the sea?”

Bangja said, waving his arms and clearing the way.

As we climbed the mountain, the trees grew denser and unfamiliar flowers poked their heads out.

“That’s right, Chungmugong…”

Hoping that the history of this era would be the same as I knew it, I chimed in with Bangja’s words.

“Chungmugong, blessed by the god of martial arts, annihilated the Japanese pirates with a mysterious technique called Beonseum, but still, some Japanese ships landed and marched towards Hanyang.”

Wait a minute, Beonseum what?

Despite my question, Bangja didn’t stop talking.

“Where else would the Japanese pirates, cut off from supplies, go? The only choice for the Japanese pirates chased by soldiers was to hide in the mountains. But lo and behold, that was the Jang tribe’s territory.”

“Was there no exchange with the Jang tribe before that?”

“It was only known that there were Jang tribe people and that they lived hidden deep in the mountains, but their ferocity was not known. I… I heard it by word of mouth, but they were said to have been treated so harshly that the Japanese pirates were pitiful.”

“What did the Jang tribe do?”

“Most of them were annihilated in those mountains. The government soldiers found a few surviving Japanese pirates, but they were said to be out of their minds.”

“Out of their minds?”

“According to the surviving Japanese pirates, ghosts suddenly started appearing, and they all wielded their swords at their comrades as if possessed by something.”

“What… are you saying the Jang tribe used some kind of sorcery?”

“Shamans also cast spells with rituals, so wouldn’t the Jang tribe be able to do it too? They must have something to hide, so they live in the mountains, right? Hah, maybe those long ears could be a clue.”

Bangja made a fuss as if he had made a discovery of the century.

After that, the fate of the Japanese pirates that Bangja spoke of was closer to a ghost story than history.

Some pulled out their swords and shoved them into their mouths, while others were said to have committed ritual suicide while completely sober.

It is said that an artificial stream of blood made by headless corpses and dismembered bodies dyed the mountain red, but since the only evidence to prove it is eyewitness accounts, I don’t think it’s that credible.

“Young master. There’s a story that the place where those Japanese pirates were cut off is this mountain.”

Bangja, who whispered to me as if he had just realized it, shuddered and fastened his clothes.

It was quite funny to see him make a fuss and then get scared.

“Hmm.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“I thought the Jang tribe shot arrows, but there’s no story about Japanese pirates dying from arrows in what you said.”

“Well, isn’t that because the other deaths were so bizarre that they weren’t mentioned? A corpse that died with strangely twisted joints is more memorable than a corpse that died from being shot with an arrow.”

“I see.”

I had a strange feeling. And I was sure of one thing.

Maybe, to end this world without incident, I shouldn’t get involved with the Jang tribe.

If I go back to my hometown as it is and live my life according to my parents’ orders, wouldn’t I be taking over the life of the body’s owner?

“Haa… if we just cross that hill… the village will be out soon.”

Was it because we walked while relieving boredom? We were able to cross the mountain faster than I thought.

The way down was harder than the way up.

This was because the densely packed green barriers were blocking the road tightly.

“The road isn’t very good.”

I wasn’t saying that remembering the modern hiking trails. It was because the degree of lushness was clearly different compared to the road we had walked on earlier.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Bangja took the lead by a couple of steps and began to knock down the drooping branches and grass with a wooden stick.

With Bangja’s beating, the green obstacles bowed their heads and opened the way.

I followed behind Bangja.

“Ouch, it stings!”

Bangja, stung by a leaf with sharp leaves, made a fuss.

“Be careful.”

I smelled a floral scent that I had never smelled before.

“I wonder if there’s an inn.”

As I said, going down the hill, Bangja scratched his neck and agreed with my words.

Unlike my wish, I couldn’t stay at an inn. However, there was a couple who offered to give us a room, so we were able to stay overnight.

It was strange to receive kindness without any compensation, so I took out some coins from my bundle and gave them to them.

While the couple prepared the meal, Bangja and I were able to put down our luggage and have time to massage our swollen feet.

Bangja scratched his body as if he had been stung by a bug.

The husband was a woodcutter who made a living by digging up and selling mountain herbs, but unlike his rough face, his speech was smooth and he used refined words.

“Thank you for taking care of us.”

I didn’t expect meat dishes. When I expressed my gratitude for the delicious dinner table, he waved his hand.

“Please speak comfortably, Young master.”

The dark-skinned woodcutter had an embarrassed look on his face.

The meal was excellent. Perhaps because it was a thatched house adjacent to the mountain, I felt like I was eating in a Korean restaurant with traditional interiors.

The floral scent became stronger while we were eating. It was the smell I smelled while crossing the hill.

What kind of flower is it? I wondered what its name was.

“Ah… ssup….”

Bangja, who was scooping up the soup, groaned.

He made a smacking sound like a horse throughout the meal, wondering what was uncomfortable.

“Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

“Strangely, my body is a bit itchy. I wonder if I caught a cold… I think I have a fever too….”

Bangja said those words and fell backward as he was. The chopsticks he was holding rolled uselessly on the floor.

It was something that happened in the blink of an eye.