ENG
A noble fate's vengeful breath,
Binds the bones of snakes in death.
A soul mistreated, here to stay,
Resentful will, blown astray.
In the Village of Shaded Heights, there lived a young man, orphaned and impoverished, constantly mistreated by his fellow villagers.
One day, hunters from the village discovered a strange cave in the mountains, emitting eerie sounds that sent shivers down their spines. Too afraid to enter themselves, villagers pushed the young man in to investigate. Lost in the darkness, he stumbled and fell from a cliff, crying out in agony. Believing the cave harbored a fearsome guai, the villagers abandoned him and fled in terror.
Sitting at the bottom, the young man wept bitterly. Amidst his tears, he heard the sound of bones snapping and the rustling of movement. Startled, he fell silent, only to hear footsteps approaching. Filled with fear, he yelled, "Stay away! I am an orphan and burdened with misery. My flesh is lean-feasting on me won't do you any good." Surprisingly, as soon as he spoke, the footsteps stopped.
Time passed, and within the darkness, hunger gnawed at the man's senses. Despairingly, he pleaded, "There's no one coming for me... Devour me quickly, so I may have a merciful death." Then, the footsteps resumed, inching closer. Terrified, he assumed his end was imminent. Yet, to his astonishment, he felt a piece of cloth gently brushed against his face. Reaching out, he realized it was a sleeve, which he grasped firmly. The sleeve guided him to stand and led him through the darkness until they found the cave's entrance.
As the daylight bathed them, the young man finally saw what had been guiding him-a skeletal serpent guai! Seeing the young man startled, the guai suddenly extended its neck and swept him out of the cave. Afterwards, the young man was saved by passing merchants and departed from the village with them. From then on, his life gradually improved and prospered.
As the saying goes: "Misfortune may be the harbinger of fortune, and fortune may conceal misfortune." While not an absolute truth, when events reach their peak, change becomes inevitable. From change, opportunities arise, and the lowest valleys often reveal the clearest paths.
The story takes place in the Village of Shaded Heights and centers on a young man who is an orphan and very poor. He is constantly mistreated by the other villagers and has no protectors or family. That background explains why the villagers treat him as expendable when something frightening happens.
Hunters from the village find a strange, noisy cave in the mountains. The sounds scare the hunters and the rest of the villagers; they are too afraid to go in. Instead of facing the danger themselves, they push the young man into the cave to investigate. While inside he stumbles and falls from a cliff, crying out in pain, and the frightened villagers assume the cave contains a fearsome guai and run away, abandoning him.
At the bottom of the cave the young man weeps. He hears bones snapping and movement, then footsteps approaching. He yells, "Stay away! I am an orphan and burdened with misery. My flesh is lean—feasting on me won't do you any good," and the footsteps stop. Later, starving and desperate, he pleads for death, saying there is no one coming and asking to be devoured quickly. The footsteps start again and he feels a piece of cloth brushing his face; it is a sleeve he can grasp.
The sleeve guides him through the darkness to the cave entrance. In daylight he finally sees what helped him: a skeletal serpent guai. The guai extends its neck, frees him from the cave, and he is then rescued by passing merchants. He leaves the village with those merchants and, over time, his life improves and he prospers.
The opening lines of the source describe a vengeful, bone-bound serpent spirit and a mistreated soul that stays resentful, which matches the creature and the young man's situation: a skeletal serpent guai linked to bones and a wronged person. The final saying makes the moral explicit: bad events can lead to good changes, and great misfortune can create opportunities. The story shows that when events reach an extreme, change becomes inevitable, and even the lowest point can reveal a path to a better life.