ENG
In Bounds of Deity's Abode, sorrow's wine I sip,
Golden armor, golden claws, poison's grip.
Cockerel's crow, blood tears, body near to break,
My love wanes and waxes like the moon, yet burns eternal like the sun's embrace.
The Mountain of Venom, neighboring the West Liang Kingdom of Women, inherited its tradition of female supremacy.
The mountain was ruled by a Scorpion Queen, a Guai of Desire, renowned for her enchanting beauty. She practiced the Dao of "Concentration", excelling in bedroom arts and matters of pleasure, thus having countless partners for her practice.
Among these partners was a male scorpion, adorned in golden armor and claws, whose strong build earned him the queen's favor. Together, they had a brood of scorpion offspring. However, none of the offspring were female, which led her to lose interest in passing them her skills. Consequently, the golden-armored male scorpion also fell out of favor.
Seeing that the queen no longer sought his company, the male scorpion, with high self-esteem, took his children and moved outside the mountain, severing ties with her.
Later, when the journeyers passed through the Kingdom of Women, the Scorpion Queen, true to her nature as a Guai of Desire, kidnapped Tang Monk, which cost her her life when Sun Wukong summoned the Dawnstar, whose crow killed her instantly. Her maidens, the captives from the Kingdom of Women, held in her cave, dispersed, taking all the treasures with them. Still seething with anger, Sun Wukong set the place ablaze, turning everything to ashes.
Sensing the fire, the male scorpion outside the mountain rushed to the scene, only to find his former love stripped of her clothes, her tail severed, and her body reduced to a bloody pulp, dead at the foot of the slope. After much inquiry, he learned that it was the Dawnstar of Constellation Mao that had killed her. With this knowledge, he vowed to avenge her.
Fortunately, the Guai of Desire had imparted some techniques to him. He hence settled in the Pipa Cave, rebuilding her force and dedicating himself to practice. However, being male, he struggled to achieve great success, leading to the decline of Mountain of Venom's reputation. Upon learning that Webbed Hollow was the premier place for insect guais to practice, he took his sons and sought refuge there.
The story takes place at the Mountain of Venom, which sits near the West Liang Kingdom of Women and follows a local tradition where females rule. The mountain was led by a Scorpion Queen, a Guai of Desire, famous for her beauty and for practicing the Dao of "Concentration" — essentially bedroom arts and the study of pleasure. Because of that practice she kept many partners to train with.
One of those partners was a male scorpion, strong and wearing golden armor and claws, who became the queen’s favorite and fathered many offspring with her. None of those offspring turned out female, so the queen stopped teaching them her techniques and lost interest in both the children and their father. Feeling rejected and proud, the golden-armored scorpion took his sons and left the mountain, cutting ties with the queen.
Later, when a group of journeyers passed through the Kingdom of Women, the Scorpion Queen kidnapped Tang Monk. Sun Wukong responded by summoning the Dawnstar; its crow attacked and killed the queen instantly. The queen’s maidens, who had been captives from the Kingdom of Women and held in her cave, fled and stole all the treasures. Sun Wukong, angry, burned the mountain stronghold and reduced it to ashes.
Hearing the fire, the exiled male scorpion rushed back and found the queen’s body at the foot of the slope: stripped, with her tail cut off and her body a bloody pulp. He learned that the killer was the Dawnstar of Constellation Mao and, enraged, vowed to avenge her death.
Before leaving, the queen had taught him some of her techniques. He settled in the Pipa Cave, rebuilt a force of followers, and devoted himself to practice. Because he was male, however, he could not reach the same heights as the queen had, and Mountain of Venom’s reputation went into decline.
When he heard that Webbed Hollow was the best place for insect guais to train and prosper, he gathered his sons and moved there for refuge and new opportunities. The opening poetic lines in the source capture his sorrow, his golden armor and claws, the poison of his situation, and the conflicted, lasting nature of his love and hatred after those events.