ENG
As fate aligns, chance plays its part,
Yet misfortune leaves an empty heart.
Judge not a hero by skill alone,
But by the fortune that they have shown.
Long ago in the Yellow Wind Ridge there lived two mountain deities. By the grace of a wise one, they came into possession of a great yaoguai's inner pill.
They split and consumed it, gaining great powers from within. Thenceforth, they bore the shape and heart of humans. In gratitude, they bent their newfound strength to make the mountain's wilds thrive for the wise one.
The Keeper of the mountain, however, received no share of this boon. Envy wormed its way into his heart upon learning that the deities could conjure rock guais at will. He schemed to wrest this power for himself.
Little did he know, their conjurations drained deeply from their own Will. The mountain deities poured out their own power to birth rock guais, who shaped crag and stone, and nurtured green and bloom.
Day by day, the Keeper of the mountain sought to pilfer their practice and cultivation through low deceits. Then came a day when a great rock guai emerged, and the lesser guais bowed to him as their Vanguard. Still, the Keeper, heedless of his peril, provoked strife as he had done before. Blow after blow, the Stone Vanguard rained upon him until he lay pummeled in the dirt. Even then, he did not cease hurling curses.
Alas, those who are bent on wickedness find few obstacles in their path, while those who pursue virtue encounter many hardships, often set by those with ill intentions.
This story takes place on Yellow Wind Ridge. Two mountain deities lived there and, with the help of a wise one, came into possession of a powerful object called a yaoguai’s inner pill. The wise one’s action let them have the pill, but the Keeper of the mountain did not receive any of it.
The two deities split the pill and consumed it. The pill gave them great power and changed them so that they had the shape and heart of humans. In return for the wise one’s help, the deities used their new strength to make the mountain’s wild places healthy and productive.
Part of what they could do was conjure rock guais, magical stone beings. Those conjurations were not free: the deities had to pour out their own Will and power to create and maintain the rock guais. The rock guais then worked on the ridge, shaping crags and stone and helping plants grow and bloom.
The Keeper of the mountain was jealous because he did not get any of the boon and because the deities could call rock guais at will. He tried repeatedly to steal their cultivation and methods through small deceptions and schemes. One day a great rock guai appeared and the smaller ones accepted him as their Vanguard. The Keeper continued to provoke trouble; the Stone Vanguard attacked and beat him until he lay beaten on the ground. Even after being pummeled, the Keeper kept shouting curses.
The story ends with a clear consequence: the Keeper’s wickedness led him into conflict and defeat, while the deities kept using their power to tend the mountain despite the cost to themselves. It also states a general lesson about how those who act badly often meet fewer obstacles in the short term, while those trying to do good can face many hardships caused by ill-intentioned people.