ENG
When the victory comes, it flies low, and when the power is exhausted, it flees far away.
Work hard and wash away the dye, and use the power to soar into the sky.
A young man once lived in the Webbed Hollow. You may wonder how he found himself living among the yaoguais. The tale begun in the Kingdom of Zhuzi, where he was born into a family of weavers, their craft passed down through generations. One day, his father left home in search of a jade shuttle but never returned. His mother searched for him, only to be told he had abandoned them to marry into the Zhu family. Consumed by grief and convinced that a yaoguai had ensnared her husband, she wept day after day. Thus, in his boyhood, the son vowed to slay the yaoguais and avenge his father.
Years later, he heard merchants speak of the Zhu's Estate on the Webbed Ridge, home to women of unearthly beauty. He ventured there alone to exact vengeance. But as soon as he entered the mountains, lesser yaoguais captured him. Terrified he was, before a little girl in yellow rescued him by commanding the yaoguais to stop. The girl, barely ten, had a sweet, rosy face-hardly an evil yaoguai as he imagined. The young man was at a loss.
To his surprise, the young girl, lonely with few companions her age, brought him to the Webbed Hollow to play. He stayed, and she visited often to lift her spirits. Conflicted, he spent nights vowing by lamplight to slay the yaoguais and avenge his father come morning. One night, a small wasp flew in and heard his oath, but he paid it no mind.
The next day, the girl didn't come. Instead, a woman in green, adorned with an elaborate bun and possessing a fierce yet beautiful face, arrived with an entourage of insect guards. Among them was a wasp yaoguai who, with practiced ease, deftly searched the young man's trunk, pulling out his hidden stash of travel money and the dagger intended for murder hidden within his porcelain pillow, before relaying his nightly vow of vengeance to its mistress.
The green-clad woman addressed the young man, "No mortal shall reside in Webbed Hollow, yet we spared you to be a companion for my younger sister. But, in return, you plot to harm her, and you shall be punished for this. That being said, your quest for vengeance is understandable; which is why I shall leave your fate to the Bonevault." At her command, the guards seized him, casting him into the abyss, his fate uncertain in the darkness below.
The opening lines read like a proverb. They warn that victory can come quietly and power can vanish quickly, and they advise working hard, cleansing oneself, and then using power wisely. The text uses that idea as a frame for the story that follows.
The main character is a young man from the Kingdom of Zhuzi, born into a family of weavers whose craft passed through generations. His father left home to look for a jade shuttle and never came back. His mother assumed the worst—she was told the father had abandoned them to marry into the Zhu family, and she grew convinced a yaoguai had taken him. She grieved constantly, and the son swore as a boy that he would kill yaoguais to avenge his father.
Later, after hearing merchants speak of the Zhu’s Estate on Webbed Ridge—said to be full of unnaturally beautiful women—he traveled there alone to carry out his vow. As soon as he entered the mountains he was captured by lesser yaoguais and was terrified. A little girl in yellow, barely ten and with a sweet, rosy face, commanded the yaoguais to stop and rescued him. He was surprised because she did not match his image of an evil yaoguai.
The girl was lonely and brought him to the Webbed Hollow to play; she visited often to lift her spirits, and he stayed. But he was conflicted: at night by lamplight he renewed his vow to avenge his father and kill the yaoguais, planning to act in the morning. One night a wasp flew in and overheard his oath; he did not notice or react.
The next day the girl did not appear. Instead a woman dressed in green, with an elaborate bun and a fierce but beautiful face, arrived with insect guards. A wasp yaoguai from that group searched the young man’s trunk, found his travel money and the dagger he had hidden inside a porcelain pillow, and reported his nightly vow to the woman. She told him that no mortal was meant to live in Webbed Hollow, that he had been spared only to be a companion for her younger sister, and that because he plotted harm he must be punished.
At her command the guards seized him and cast him into an abyss, and she left his fate to the Bonevault. The story ends with him thrown into darkness and his future unresolved. The immediate consequences are clear: his plan was discovered, his presence led to a clash between the girl’s companionship and the elders’ rules, and he is now at the mercy of whatever judgment the Bonevault imposes.