ENG
Loong maiden, Kang-Jin fair, White horns by emerald sea.
Ambition beyond mortal care, Grace unmatched, wild and free.
Black and white entwine, Old friends hard to find.
Under wind's blade and frost's cold blow, She dances still in swirling snow.
Despite Kang-Jin Loong's long wait, no constellation officer defended to her aid.
Yellowbrow laughed, "You, young lady, your high opinion of yourself is precisely why you've ended up like this, an utter loser."
Kang-Jin Loong replied, "As long as I haven't begged for mercy, winning or losing is irrelevant."
Not antagonized, Yellowbrow said calmly, "You wouldn't take such a risk just for that lookout cockerel. You must be curious about that monkey."
Kang-Jin Loong remained silent.
"I do have something of that monkey's, right here in this sack." With that, he untied a sack from his waist.
Kang-Jin Loong recognized it as the sack that had once captured them and scoffed, "What's so special about it? It's not like I haven't been in it before."
"Well... If you really want to know about him, you'll have to see for yourself." With that, Kang-Jin Loong was sucked into the sack.
As she entered the sack, she seemed to see a ten-tailed goldfish swimming towards her.
Not long after, when Yellowbrow released her, the constellation officer had become dazed and bewildered.
Seeing this, Yellowbrow laughed heartily, "Well, is he still the hero you remember?"
Kang-Jin Loong asked, "Is he, along with all the gods and Buddhas in the Celestial Realm, all like this?"
Yellowbrow neither confirmed nor denied it.
After a long while, Kang-Jin Loong suddenly knelt on the ground and uttered, "Please, Master, accept me as your disciple...."
Kang-Jin Loong is introduced as a Loong maiden: fair, ambitious, proud, and described with striking images like white horns by an emerald sea and a dancer in swirling snow. Those opening lines establish her as powerful, wild, and different from ordinary mortals, someone who values dignity and has long-held ambitions. They also hint that she has lost old friends and stands somewhat alone.
The scene opens with Kang-Jin waiting for help from the constellation officers, but none come to her aid. Yellowbrow appears and mocks her, saying her high opinion of herself is exactly why she has failed and calling her an “utter loser.” Kang-Jin responds that she will not beg for mercy and that whether she wins or loses is irrelevant so long as she keeps her pride. That exchange shows her stubborn pride and Yellowbrow’s intention to humiliate or test her.
Yellowbrow presses further, suggesting Kang-Jin’s motive wasn’t a trivial “lookout cockerel” but curiosity about a certain monkey. He produces a sack from his waist and says he has something of that monkey. Kang-Jin recognizes the sack as the same one that had once captured them, and before she can react Yellowbrow forces her into it. This is the turning point: he uses the sack to subject her to whatever experience he controls.
Inside the sack Kang-Jin experiences a vision of a ten-tailed goldfish swimming toward her. When Yellowbrow releases her, she is dazed and bewildered. Yellowbrow laughs and asks if the monkey still seems the hero she remembered, making it clear the vision was meant to change her view of the monkey. Kang-Jin then asks whether all the gods and Buddhas in the Celestial Realm are like that, but Yellowbrow neither confirms nor denies it.
After a long pause, Kang-Jin kneels and asks Yellowbrow to accept her as his disciple. The ending shows that the vision and Yellowbrow’s challenge broke her earlier stance: instead of continuing to insist on her pride, she submits and seeks instruction. The unanswered question about the gods and Buddhas leaves a sense of disillusionment and suggests the story is exposing flaws or illusions about revered figures, while Kang-Jin’s choice implies a shift from independent pride to learning or dependency.