ENG
The hand that plucked lotus from waters pristine,
Of the same species, yet not from the same egg, it seems.
Who can discern right from left, in life's uncertain scheme?
In this tangled web, truth and illusion gleam.
In the olden days, a pair of enormous arms were brought into the Webbed Hollow by a Daoist. The lesser yaoguais had no idea of their origin, but judging by their form, they must have once belonged to a divine being. Shortly after, the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master personally visited and placed two egg-like objects within the arms, instructing the yaoguais to guard them diligently.
At first, the arms exuded a thick, foul-smelling fluid. After some time, the fluid dried up, forming a thick blood membrane that encased the arms.
Years passed, and from a distance, one could see something writhing within the blood membrane, as if something was growing inside, eager to break free. Exactly ten years later, two insects emerged from the eggs. Their bodies resembled bees, their tails like hands, and their venomous spit could kill any bird or beast and wither any plant it touched.
The Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master rejoiced at the news and arranged a grand feast to celebrate. Amidst the banquet, he turned to the Violet Spider and shared a tale. "You may not be aware, but I once attempted a similar endeavor on Purple Cloud Mountain. Alas, the celestial eggs failed to hatch as intended, and I faced severe reprimand from our master. However, this time, I have come to realize that the celestial eggs bestowed upon us were not meant for lofty destinies to ascend. Creating yaoguais, on the other hand, is an ideal outcome."
One of the insects had a left hand for a tail, and the other had a right hand. They loved to hang upside down from the cave ceiling, dangling their tails to lure prey. When the prey approached, they would clap their hands together, crushing the prey into a pulp before lowering their heads to swallow it whole.
Later, the left-hand insect went into the mountains to practice, while the right-hand one, now unable to clap, preferred to guard narrow paths. There, it could take full advantage of the terrain to capture and devour any intruders.
A Daoist brought a pair of enormous arms into a place called the Webbed Hollow. The smaller local yaoguais did not know where the arms came from, but from their shape the arms looked like they once belonged to a divine being. The Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master then personally put two egg-like objects into those arms and told the yaoguais to guard the arms closely.
At first the arms leaked a thick, foul fluid that later dried into a blood-like membrane covering the arms. Over the years something moved and wriggled inside that membrane. Exactly ten years after the eggs were placed, two creatures hatched from them. They looked like insects with bee-like bodies but had tails shaped like hands. Their spit was venomous enough to kill birds and beasts and to wither plants it touched.
When the eggs hatched, the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master celebrated and explained his thinking to the Violet Spider. He said he had tried a similar experiment on Purple Cloud Mountain before, but the celestial eggs there failed to hatch and he was punished. From that experience he concluded that the celestial eggs were not meant for making beings to ascend, but were well suited to producing yaoguais instead.
The two new yaoguais behaved in a distinctive way. One had a left-hand shaped tail, the other a right-hand shaped tail. Both liked to hang upside down from cave ceilings, dangling their hand-tails to lure prey. When something came close, they would clap their tail-hands together to crush the prey into pulp and then bend down to swallow it.
Afterward they took different paths. The left-hand tailed insect went off into the mountains to practice, suggesting it trained or wandered away. The right-hand tailed insect, which could no longer clap effectively, stayed behind and began guarding narrow paths, using the terrain to ambush and eat any intruders. The story shows these creatures became dangerous, purposefully created monsters and guardians resulting from the Daoist’s experiment with the eggs.