ENG
A foolish son, a clever father,
One plans ahead, the other rather.
On the battlefield, no room for kin,
The cunning father flees, leaving his son within.
The Kingdom of Flowing Sands had three princes of the royal line.
The eldest prince, favored by the king, was a renowned warrior for his valor in the battles against the Fuban. He was granted the title of Valiant General. But later, a shadow darkened his mind, clouding his reason and erasing his memories of his kin. Thus, he was hidden away.
The king was heartbroken. Luckily, two of his sons yet remained.
The third prince, the youngest and the king's most trusted, was well-versed in poetry and deeply fond of Buddhist teachings. He possessed both wisdom and strength. However, when the king issued the Rodent Reverence Edict and executed those ministers who opposed it, the third prince left in protest. Wrath consumed the king, but one of his sons still remained.
The second prince, though a man of great strength, was simple of mind. He was neither as skilled a warrior as his elder brother nor as clever as his younger sibling. Of the three sons, he was the least favored by the king. Nevertheless, he remained by the king's side the longest.
When the Yellow Wind Sage retrieved a mighty vessel and returned, the King of Flowing Sands rallied to his banner with what remained of his people, hoping to reclaim his lost kingdom. The Yellow Wind Sage, short on men, saw the fierce spirit in the second prince and welcomed him and his followers into his ranks.
But the Yellow Wind Sage had a Tiger Vanguard, whose hunger for rat flesh required a fresh feast each day. When the Yellow Wind Sage retreated into his meditating seclusion, the tiger grew even bolder. Only the savage might of the second prince's hammer could give him pause from time to time.
Much did the second prince sacrifice for his father the king, yet through all the perils and hardships they endured, the King of Flowing Sands never failed to bring the eldest prince with him and continuously sent minions to seek out the youngest. What thoughts dwelled in the heart of the second son, none could say.
The story takes place in the Kingdom of Flowing Sands and opens with a proverb about a foolish son and a clever father, hinting at family tension and the idea that kin can be left behind in war. The kingdom once had three royal princes who each followed very different paths after the court was fractured.
The eldest prince was the king’s favorite and a famed warrior called the Valiant General because of his victories against the Fuban. Later, however, his mind was clouded by a mysterious shadow that robbed him of reason and memory of his family. Because of that sickness he was hidden away by his people and no longer acted as a ruler or commander.
The youngest prince was the king’s most trusted and was learned in poetry and Buddhist teaching. He was both thoughtful and strong, but when the king issued the Rodent Reverence Edict and executed ministers who opposed it, the youngest prince protested by leaving the court. The king was furious at that defiance, so of the three sons only two remained close to him afterward.
The second or middle prince was physically strong but simple-minded, the least favored of the three. He stayed by the king’s side the longest. When the Yellow Wind Sage returned with a mighty vessel and the King of Flowing Sands rallied the remnant of his people to try to reclaim the kingdom, the Sage was short of fighters and took the middle prince and his followers into his ranks because of the prince’s fighting spirit.
The Yellow Wind Sage commanded a Tiger Vanguard that demanded a daily feast of rat flesh, and when the Sage retreated into meditation the tiger grew bolder. Only the middle prince’s savage hammer could sometimes keep the tiger in check. The text emphasizes how much the middle prince sacrificed for his father while the king kept the eldest at his side and sent agents to find the youngest. What the middle prince really felt about all this is left unknown, leaving tension and unresolved loyalty at the heart of the situation.