Joseon X-Files - Secret Book
- Rebirth of the Dubak God, Part 1 -
- Right Capital Bureau -
A heinous corpse?! What is that supposed to mean?
Would it perchance warrant such flippant abandon? I guess we shall soon find out.
It's just that I had a rare encounter with chicken wings,
so I would not want to squander it all regurgitating it.
Here you are.
I see Your Excellency has joined us.
Aigoo...
Never before have I witnessed such grotesque cadaver in my thirty years in this trade.
Particularly uncanny were the following three matters.
First.
A scald in his chest, shaped just like a palm.
It is a female's hand.
Second.
The fact that head and trunk were sutured back together,
but the head belonged to another body.
- And as for the final peculiarity... - Enough.
That shall suffice.
You shall keep a keen eye on the corpse,
and maintain utmost secrecy regarding this occurrence.
Leave this matter to the capital bureau, and avoid any further involvement.
Stop thinking about it.
Can't we just entrust it to the capital bureau like His Excellency suggested?
I have never witnessed him in that state.
He would never lose his composure no matter what,
not to mention the fact he was present at the autopsy in person.
- Is this not unprecedented? - Was it only a matter of composure?
He could fill a library with all those secrets of his.
I do feel rather uneasy about this myself.
And he tells us to leave it all to the capital bureau?!
I can't really figure him out, and it drives me crazy.
Anyhow, I better ask His Excellency's consent to investigate this.
Yes.
I shall look for records mentioning similar occurrences.
And what shall I do, then?
Are you the magistrate aiding His Excellency?
More than being of assistance, I just run errands on his behalf.
I was told His Excellency the Vice Royal Secretary was not here...
Did he perchance leave the office?
I can't really say.
I am sure he has not left the palace these last few days.
Still, yesterday...
I do recall he visited the Right Capital Bureau in the afternoon.
But a look at the records,
and it seems he did not actually enter the palace four days past?!
He said he would visit a hermitage on Mount Bukak.
Hermitage?!
It is a place he oftentimes visits at this time of the year.
May I await His Excellency in his offices?
Thank you.
Should His Excellency make his return, alert me.
Yes, Naeuri.
Enough.
Avoid any further involvement.
So?
If he was still investigating that cadaver,
why would he so adamantly warn us against any further involvement?
Is he not always acting like that?
Can't you picture him...
"End your inquiries here and now, Kim Hyeongdo."
What the...
Take a look at this.
Aigoo!
This...
Would His Excellency possibly leave this behind?
If it was not already in his mouth, he should be carrying it.
You have a point.
He can't be in peril, can he?!
Ehh... Impossible.
Forgot Assistant Park, always trailing in his shadows?
He would easily strike a swallow in mid-flight,
and make a cow collapse with a few swings of his feet...
If anything truly happened, he would be the first to bear the brunt.
Now that you mention it, I did not see Assistant Park at the Royal Secretariat.
Are you perchance aware of where he lives?
He said the estimated time of death was yesterday around noon.
Our leader, Secretary Jiseung, might have encountered some quandaries.
It is clearly a matter of unprecedented urgency,
so all members shall sweep not only the capital, but all eight provinces,
and swiftly ascertain His Excellency's whereabouts.
As the very fate of our organization depends on this,
act swiftly and in utmost secrecy.
Naeuri.
Does the recent chain of events have anything to do with...
His Excellency's sudden disappearance?
We still don't know.
We only hope it has nothing to do with Assistant Park...
perishing after being surprised by arrows and a sudden assault.
- Begin your search as well. - Yes.
His Excellency had been investigating that murder case.
I still cannot figure out why,
but he was doing everything he could to leave us out of his investigation.
Anyhow, I shall start by looking for traces of His Excellency.
Let us meet again in the morrow at the hour of the horse (11 am~1 pm).
Are you suggesting he came here all by himself?
Is that not what I said?!
The more I think about it,
he might just be spending some quality time with a fine gisaeng...
while we ransack these dwellings for nothing?!
Enough with those flights of fancy, will you?
Like it could never happen!
I could almost bet on it.
Ahh... I'll be damned!
Is anyone in?
Who are you?
*deferential address for Buddhist monks
Ahh... Seunim*.
Perchance, did His Excellency Jiseung of the Royal Secretariat...
pay a visit four days past?
Yes.
This time of the year, he always comes.
Is that so?
And what does he come here for?
What would he do at a temple?
To cleanse away the covetous whims of the secular world.
During this last visit of his, did anything else occur to him?
And was he alone?
His Excellency built this hermitage with his own hands.
When he comes, it is always alone, and for a brief period of time.
He built this hermitage with his own hands?!
Yes, that's right.
I've looked around, and everything seems fine?!
Seunim.
May I ask what the design on that memorial tablet signifies?
Would you not usually write a name there?
I cannot speak with certainty,
but I did hear that the design indicated its keeper.
All five cadavers we discovered had this palm-shaped scald.
Also, take a look at the back of the head, can you see that?
Still no tidings about His Excellency?
Not a single trace of him was found.
Sure was far...
Did you find anything of note?
And at the hermitage?
All we learned is that he did indeed visit the premises, four days past.
I have been to the Right Capital Bureau's autopsy office again.
Right...
Did they find any other clue?
Remember when the officer tried to tell us something,
only to be encouraged not to by His Excellency?
- And as for the final peculiarity... - Enough.
He did.
He noted that all the heads sutured onto those bodies...
had the same design impressed on the back of their necks.
A design?
This is the one.
Wait, this...
Why, what's wrong?
At the hermitage His Excellency visited...
I can't really tell what it was, but we saw this shrine of sorts,
and on the memorial tablet, instead of any name we saw this design.
Isn't that right?
What kind of design is this?
It belongs to the Cult of Dubak.
Cult of Dubak?
Twenty years past,
a heretical cult ravaged the eight provinces and created great clamor.
They were christened the "Cult of Dubak,"
and their leader Kang Yuseok along with his entire clan were exterminated for treason.
These are the only documents I could find regarding this cult.
Their founder Kang Yuseok was allegedly struck by lightning,
as a result of which he experienced an epiphany,
through a spiritual presence going by the name of God of Dubak,
which apparently enabled arcane feats such as attracting ironware with his body,
reviving the dead by touching their chests with his palm,
hands which would also quell most maladies with a simple touch.
Inevitably, an increasingly large number of followers...
abandoned their trade and devoted themselves to his cult.
Concerned by what they called preposterous witchcraft with the intent...
of inveigling the masses, the court immediately reacted,
and by suggesting this cult would bring harm to nobles and the royal family,
it began a frantic persecution of the cult's leader and all his acolytes,
exterminating dozens of people in the name of safeguarding state affairs...
and protecting the lives of Joseon's people.
But did this Kang Yuseok truly exist?
Yes.
But in truth the cult was never founded by any Kang Yuseok.
Then...
I was going to visit the State Shamanic Administration.
Which would be, what, that place within the palace filled with mudang?
Cult of Dubak, you said?
Records state it gained prominence twenty years past,
and was subsequently eradicated for treacherous...
Alas, records are a luxury only victors can afford.
Shall we recount all the innocent lives framed for allegedly treacherous misdeeds?
Careful with your parlance.
Bringing solace to the departed souls of those falsely accused,
and revering their legacy, the cult of Dubak is folk creed...
*Lee Seonggye, Joseon's founder
whose roots go back as far as His Majesty Taejo the Great's* reign.
But this cult's ringleader Kang Yuseok spuriously inveigled...
people with his perfidious black art.
Time is the only thing that can turn treacherous heresy into the truth,
since people only believe what their eyes can see.
Some even fail to do so, despite witnessing the truth firsthand.
They are the first to bury the truth deep down the abyss of oblivion.
Mendacious intents guide them.
As they persecute innocent souls.
Are we perchance suggesting that what this cult claimed was the truth?
I merely was concerned about the hostility and resentment engulfing your soul.
But may you accept my apologies.
Then, does this cult still exist today?
I could not say.
Aww... She's driving me crazy...
Does it, or does it not?
Aww... I'll be damned...
Fine.
Should I need any more elucidations, I know where to find you.
You really think His Excellency would build a shrine...
to honor the legacy of such treacherous varmints?
Well...
We cannot be sure of that.
His Excellency would never associate himself with such vile sect.
But considering that this cult had thousands of followers,
it certainly would be enough to daunt the court.
Which is why the subjugation of said cult...
would have been entrusted to the Shinmuhwe, of which His Excellency is the leader.
Your conjecture is indeed correct.
The man entrusted with the capture and the cult's eradication...
was His Excellency himself, as Office inspector in charge.
It is clear there are sympathizers left in and out of the palace.
Stop.
What brings you here at this belated juncture?
She is Her Eminence from the State Shamanic Administration.
On Her Highness the Crown Princess' most earnest entreaty,
we are headed to Mount Myohyang for a ritual.
Have you been notified on the matter?
Yes, I have.
You may proceed.
Her Eminence is here.
Everything is ready.
Your Eminence, it is our sixth consecutive failure!
It may be time to reclaim our sacred relic.
Sacred...
Did I just hear sacred relic?
Flesh and bones regaining motility shan't suffice.
True rebirth can only be complete...
when the sacred spirit of Dubak possesses their souls.
Where is this sacred relic?
It is...
in a place our hands cannot reach.
Are you suggesting that we will never get our hands on it?
How could I ever?
Only that I was waiting for it to be bestowed upon us.
*old Myeongdong
Meet me at the shrine by the Myeongnaebang* mountain trail.
You must come alone.
- Jiseung -
Did you meet the inspector?
Yes, but what was peculiar is that all records dealing with the Dubak subjugation...
have been classified, forbidding any and all perusal.
Assistant Heo.
Adherents of this cult might have infiltrated the palace.
It would be advisable to act with utmost discretion.
I shall briefly head to Myeongnaebang,
so should you hear nothing from me, we will meet back at the library.
What are you going there for?
I shall explain everything later.
We were not expecting you so early.
Where is His Excellency?
His Excellency the Vice Royal Secretary is awaiting you.
May you follow me.
Before I do that...
First identify yourself.
I was told to escort you, no questions asked.
Let us go.
- Jiseung -
He told me to show you this.
What on earth did you do to him?
Your Excellency.
It is tobacco straight from Yanjing.
All right.
Where is His Excellency?
What is this place?
Your Excellency!
You think you will survive this obloquy?
Should I bother explaining the situation to you?
Why are you subjecting us to this treatment?
Your Excellency.
Something confined in your library belongs to the Cult of Dubak.
Let us reclaim what is ours.
That is a sacred relic our cult venerates.
Sacred relic?
We have long been inspecting your every move.
And if you wish for His Excellency to survive past the morrow,
you must bring us that relic.
Your Excellency.
What would the sacred relic he refers to be?
What is this sacred relic?
Tell me, Your Excellency!
Ignore their requests.
Is that all...
Is that relic all that you need?
Inspector Kim!
Your Excellency.
There is nothing more precious than a human life.
My life is but a paltry trifle compared to those records.
You cannot enter that place!
Will you do it?
I will.
Inspector Kim!
Let us hasten.
Inspector Kim!
Twenty years past,
were you the one who slew their leader?
Here...
My life is but a paltry trifle compared to those records.
How may I be of service?
Isn't Her Eminence here?
She went to Mount Myohyang.
Let us go.
That acolyte has something to do with the Cult of Dubak.
So both the acolyte and this state mudang were part of the Cult of Dubak.
We can only speculate as such.
But... The inspector?
I can't really say?! Have not seen him all day...
What the...
Speaking of Inspector Kim...
I have just met His Excellency.
What?!
Was he unscathed?
There is something I need to tell you.
Then, are you going to give them that relic?
His life is at stake.
How sacred could a relic possibly be, to exchange it for a human being's life?
But His Excellency keeps trying to conceal something,
so I don't really know if what I'm doing is right.
How much time do you have?
Until midnight.
But sunset shall soon be upon us?!
Assistant Heo. Magistrate Jang.
Listen well.
I understand the night is ripe,
but I was ordered to file this record immediately.
- Cult of Dubak -
Halt.
What is that?
Ahh... This?
Nothing.
Forgive me.
Are you sure about this?
You found them!
Wait...
There must be others around here...
Here! Here is another!
Where is His Excellency?
I shall let him go.
Once we're there.
Here... Here!
Another... Here!
So that makes it eleven.
Only one left to find, then.
Where on earth is he?
There is only one left to find.
That means they must be around here.
Can we just follow those, then?
You must believe us.
Here!!
Here...
Are we anxious, perchance?
Since the troops do not seem to show up.
Say what?
I see you were wise enough to scatter those beaming marbles.
If that is what you were relying upon, I suggest you resign yourself.
Here!
I'm here!
What now?
How do you explain all this?
They might have purposely misled us here.
Wait... Just a moment!
Wait... Naeuri!
Your Eminence.
I brought our sacred relic.
I laud your efforts.
Father...
Only two days are left.
Only two days,
and resurrection will be upon us.
Just as the aggrieved spirits who unfairly lost their lives did before,
you shall be blessed as well,
and be reborn through your fatal enemy's body.
Now everything is ready.
Both your enemy's body,
and the sacred Dubak relic.
Why are you not showing your face?
Did all the mettle you showed while capturing me suddenly vanish?