ENG
A foolish monk hears a wise voice divine,
Beheading seen as practice, an evil so refined.
Crooked paths lead to ever twisted ways,
The wicked blade awakens, yet the mind still strays.
The yakshas who sought refuge in the New West were mostly unwilling to sever their old grudges and thus served as lay disciples in the temple. Some yakshas, however, aspired to attain enlightenment and shaved their hair to become inner disciples. They had promised their master to sever a thousand heads to prove their resolve. Yellowbrow was pleased and bestowed upon them special blades, calling them "Blade Monks," and allowed them to practice in the Pagoda Realm. If they truly managed to behead a thousand foes, they could become Arhats in the main hall.
Initially, the Blade Monks thought this task would be easy, as the Pagoda Realm was filled with newcomers on the path of enlightenment. However, the path grew more challenging as they found the remaining inhabitants of the Pagoda Realm to all be formidable adversaries: the agile and elusive Starved Abominations, whom they couldn't catch; the long-limbed Lantern Wardens, whom they dared not provoke; the temperamental Enslaved Yakshas, whose cruel vengeance they feared; and even the weakest Yaksha Archers, who had become mad and terrifying after practicing the Closed-Eye Meditation technique.
Seeing that the Red-Haired Yakshas often sat quietly alone, appearing very docile, they decided to target them. Although the Red-Haired Yakshas believed all beings deserved to live, they harbored a deep hatred for those who beheaded others due to the war that destroyed their nation, and their own fate. Thus, they showed no mercy and promptly beheaded the Blade Monks who attempted to do so.
After this lesson, the Blade Monks became subdued but remained resentful. They often hid in corners, ambushing passers-by to add to their count of beheading through their treacherous means.
This story begins with a group of yakshas who fled to a place called the New West and joined a temple. Most stayed as ordinary lay disciples, but some wanted to become true practitioners. Those aspirants shaved their heads and promised their teacher that they would prove their determination by severing a thousand heads. Their teacher, Yellowbrow, approved, gave them special blades, called them Blade Monks, and let them practice in the Pagoda Realm. Yellowbrow told them that if they really did behead a thousand foes they could be recognized as Arhats in the temple’s main hall.
The opening lines of the text point out the moral problem: treating beheading like a spiritual exercise is a corrupt idea that leads people astray. The Blade Monks took the assignment seriously and expected it to be easy because the Pagoda Realm had many newcomers on the path. They assumed they would reach their quota without trouble.
Once they began, the Blade Monks found the Pagoda Realm much harder than they thought. The remaining inhabitants were not easy targets: Starved Abominations were fast and hard to catch, Lantern Wardens had long limbs and were dangerous to provoke, Enslaved Yakshas were cruel and vengeful, and even Yaksha Archers who seemed weak had become frightening after practicing a technique called Closed-Eye Meditation. The Blade Monks could not simply kill these opponents as they had expected.
Thinking the quiet Red-Haired Yakshas would be simple prey, the Blade Monks attacked them. That was a miscalculation. The Red-Haired Yakshas believed that all beings deserved to live, but they also deeply hated those who beheaded others because of a war that had destroyed their nation and altered their fate. When the Blade Monks tried to behead them, the Red-Haired Yakshas showed no mercy and promptly cut down the attackers instead.
After suffering those losses, the Blade Monks became more subdued but also more resentful. They stopped openly attacking strong opponents and instead lurked in corners, ambushing wanderers to increase their beheading count by treachery. The result is that the original plan—using killing as a proof of spiritual resolve—did not lead to noble behavior; it produced hidden violence, lingering resentment, and dishonorable tactics among those who were supposed to be seeking enlightenment.