ENG
Wind fans the flames, the hammer strikes,
Swords dance, blades sweep the dust aside.
With iron will, one finds their way,
Between stillness and motion, greatness will stay.
In the Hall of Yuanchen, Yin Tiger stood before the anvil, hammering away. Several young Daoist apprentices surrounded him, fanning the flames and adding wood and charcoal to the fire. Suddenly, the hall doors were kicked open, and the gatekeeper boy chased in with the Great Sage. Yin Tiger signalled to the apprentices with a glance, and they quickly left.
The Great Sage approached the anvil, threw a set of armor on the ground, and placed one foot on the edge of the anvil, laughing, "Brother Tiger, this armor those immortals granted me doesn't suit me at all. Why don't you better it for me? I trust your craftsmanship."
Yin Tiger glanced at the Great Sage's Cloudtreaders and said, "You come to ask for my help with such disrespect? Your foot."
The Great Sage, with a cheeky smile on his face, lowered his foot and said, "I care nothing about those grand rules above. We've known each other for ages; why bother with manners?"
Yin Tiger didn't respond. The Great Sage grabbed the large cleaver the Tiger had been hammering, tested its weight, and shook his head, "Too light, that is. It doesn't suit you."
Only then did Yin Tiger pick up the armor from the ground, examine it, and say, "Your gold armor is excellent. Why bother with this scrap metal?"
The Great Sage leaped onto the Tiger's large chair and laughed, "That's why I brought it here. You don't really have to waste your hammerings on it. If anyone asks, just say you're working on it."
Yin Tiger refused, "Take it back. I won't play along with your act."
The Great Sage wasn't offended. He untied the precious gourd from his waist and said, "Actually, I came to drink. Go call everyone. Remember to invite my good brother Shen Monkey and bring some of his homemade wine. To drink mine, you guys got to offer something too."
Later, the Great Sage drank and reveled with everyone in the Hall of Yuanchen until he was hammered and had to be escorted back by celestial officials. After he left, Yin Tiger noticed that the armor was still lying beside his anvil. Well then, he would have to return it to him another day.
The scene opens in the Hall of Yuanchen where a smith named Yin Tiger is working at his anvil. He is forging metal while several young Daoist apprentices tend the fire and feed wood and charcoal. The mood is practical and busy, with Yin Tiger focused on his craft.
Suddenly the hall doors are kicked open by a gatekeeper boy who chases in with the Great Sage. Yin Tiger gives a look and the apprentices slip away. The Great Sage throws a suit of armor on the ground and puts a foot on the anvil, laughing and asking Yin Tiger to improve the armor, saying he trusts Yin Tiger’s skill.
Yin Tiger reacts to the Great Sage’s informal disrespect by telling him to remove his foot. The Great Sage jokes that he does not care for formalities, and picks up a cleaver from the smith’s workbench, calling it too light. Yin Tiger inspects the armor and points out that the Great Sage’s gold armor is already excellent and questions why he would bother with the scrap metal he’s brought.
The Great Sage sits on Yin Tiger’s chair and says he brought the armor so Yin Tiger wouldn’t have to actually work on it, and suggests they pretend he’s repairing it. Yin Tiger refuses to go along with the charade. The Great Sage is not offended; he unties a precious gourd from his waist and says he really came to drink. He asks Yin Tiger to call everyone and to invite his brother Shen Monkey, bringing Shen Monkey’s homemade wine, and says that if they want to drink his wine they should offer something in return.
The Great Sage drinks and carouses with the hall’s people until he gets hammered and must be escorted away by celestial officials. After the revelry, Yin Tiger notices the armor still by the anvil and decides to return it to the Great Sage another day. The visit ends with Yin Tiger refusing to fake work or accept disrespect, while the Great Sage used the excuse of the armor to socialize and drink.