ENG
In the sea of bitterness, harsh winds bring the tide,
Only those favored one can reach the other side.
The fragrance of rained soil spreads far and wide,
Yet dustless is the realm where the Buddhas reside.
Years ago, upon Yellow Wind Ridge, several cliff stones drank deeply of the essence of sky and earth, basking in the energy of sun and moon. In time, they awakened, transforming into sentient stone guais. Among them, two, through advanced cultivation, were bestowed with the title of mountain deities.
One day, for reasons unknown, several Buddha heads emerged from the ground on the ridge. These heads, complete with eyes, ears, mouths, noses, and even flexible muscles, were profoundly bizarre. Upon seeing any living creature, they would scream loudly; and if approached, they would swallow the creature whole.
One stone guai, finding these Buddha heads strange and dangerous, decided to eliminate them to protect the mountain's inhabitants. It rammed into one of the Buddha heads, crushing it into a pulp. However, the flesh adhered to the stone guai's body and soon grew into a new stone Buddha head.
From that moment on, the stone guai's temperament completely changed. It began to roam the mountain, searching for other Buddha heads, crushing them, and allowing them to grow on its back. As the number of Buddha heads on its body increased, so did its size. It no longer took nourishment from the universe but instead fed on the mountain's living creatures to cultivate. The other stone guais could not defeat it; a single punch from it would shatter them into pieces, destroying their souls.
When the yellow-furred rat and his followers left the Kingdom of Flowing Sands and passed through Yellow Wind Ridge, they encountered the mountain deities leading several stone guais to drive the infested stone guai away. The yellow-furred rat seemed to understand the nature of those Buddha heads well. A strong sense of righteousness led him and his followers into battle.
In a great victory, the yellow-furred rat not only destroyed the infested stone guai but also eradicated all the flesh Buddha heads in the mountain. He extracted the essence from the guai and divided it between the two brave mountain deities. He also gouged out the eyeballs from the Buddha heads and placed them in the valley as a seal.
The mountain's inhabitants greatly admired the Yellow Wind Guai. Seeing that he could summon the wind, they named him the Yellow Wind Sage and revered him as their king, settling with him in Yellow Wind Ridge.
The setting begins on Yellow Wind Ridge, a harsh place where strange things happen. The text opens with a brief poem that sets the tone: the ridge is a bitter, windy environment, yet there is a strange fragrance after rain and a hint of a clean, holy realm where Buddhas belong. Out of that strange place came cliff stones that soaked up the sky and earth’s energy and slowly awakened into sentient stone beings called guais.
Among those stone guais, two cultivated far enough to become mountain deities. Then one day several flesh Buddha heads rose up out of the ground on the ridge. These heads were fully formed with eyes, ears, mouths, noses and muscles. They behaved oddly and dangerously: they screamed when they saw living creatures and would swallow any creature that came close.
One stone guai tried to stop the Buddha heads to protect the mountain. It smashed one head to pulp, but the flesh stuck to its body and grew into a new Buddha head on its back. That experience corrupted the guai. It began roaming the mountain crushing more Buddha heads and letting the flesh grow on it. As it collected more heads it grew larger and stopped taking cosmic nourishment, instead feeding on the mountain’s living creatures to cultivate itself. The other stone guais could not defeat it; a single punch from the infested guai would shatter them and destroy their souls.
At that time the yellow-furred rat and his followers, who had left the Kingdom of Flowing Sands, passed through Yellow Wind Ridge. They found the two mountain deities leading some stone guais to try to drive the infested guai away. The yellow-furred rat seemed to understand the true nature of the flesh Buddha heads and, acting from a sense of righteousness, joined the fight with his followers.
In the resulting battle the yellow-furred rat destroyed the infested stone guai and eradicated all the flesh Buddha heads on the mountain. He extracted the guai’s essence and divided it between the two mountain deities. He also removed the Buddha heads’ eyeballs and placed them in the valley as a seal to prevent further trouble. The mountain’s inhabitants admired the yellow-furred rat for his deeds and for his ability to summon wind; they came to call him the Yellow Wind Sage and settled with him on Yellow Wind Ridge, honoring him as their leader.