ENG
Majestic and grand, with a fierce display,
Striped coat, eyes like lightning's ray.
In the blood pool, its wrath does rise,
With a bronze head and iron tail, it terrifies.
The tale began centuries past, when the journeyers crossed Yellow Wind Ridge. In those days, the old Tiger Vanguard lost his life seizing the Tang Monk. He left behind two sons who, once orphaned, had to fend for themselves.
The mountain groves lay in ruins. The tiger brothers led the remaining lesser guais in a bitter struggle for survival. Fortunately, their father had taught them enough to make a living. As the sandstorms ebbed, rock guais slowly restored the groves to their former state. The elder tiger, following his late father's ways, governed the yaoguais in the mountain. Each knew their place and dared not prowl forth to prey on the living. Later, mortals drawn by the lush peaks and clear springs built a village amid the slopes. The elder tiger gained renown as a deity in the mountain with the principle: "Devour the evil and shield the good."
The villagers built a Crouching Tiger Temple for the brothers, offering rich tributes that made their lives even more blissful. Yet long had the younger nursed a grievance; his elder brother reaped all the glory in people's words on the tigers in the mountain. He believed his brother earned this merely by dint of a few more years of life.
Another century turned and Yellow Wind Sage returned to Yellow Wind Ridge with a host of rat guais. The younger tiger declared that it was the Sage's negligence that had doomed their father. He clamored to slay the Sage in vengeance, urging his brother to drive off the rats. Deeming this just, the elder agreed. But in that fight, the Sage unleashed a vessel like a bodhisattva's severed head, with its gale sharp as an edge. In a single clash, the younger tiger fell grievously wounded. For the life of his little brother, the elder tiger at once cast down his arms and knelt in surrender. The Sage held no grudge, after learning the brothers' origin, he even bestowed upon the surrender the title of Vanguard.
When the younger tiger woke and learned his brother now served as the Vanguard, he seethed in disbelief. The brothers quarreled bitterly until the younger stormed off, severing all ties with the only family he had left.
In the Tiger Vanguard's eyes, that yellow-furred rat had twice destroyed his family and left them broken and scattered. He hated him for that, but he was no fool. As long as the rat had protection from the higher ones, what more could a tiger do beyond venting his rage by devouring a few lesser rats each day?
This story centers on a powerful tiger figure known for its striking striped coat, lightning-bright eyes, a bronze head and an iron tail. People speak of it as majestic and fearsome; sources say its wrath can rise like a tide in a place called the blood pool. It became a named force in the mountains and a figure other creatures and mortals learned to respect.
The origin goes back centuries when travelers crossed Yellow Wind Ridge. The old Tiger Vanguard died then while seizing the Tang Monk, leaving behind two orphaned sons. The mountain groves were ruined after that, and the two tiger brothers took charge of the remaining lesser guais to survive. Their father had taught them enough to live, and as the sandstorms faded the rock guais gradually helped restore the groves.
The elder brother took on leadership and ruled the yaoguais peacefully: each creature knew its place and they avoided preying on humans. Mortals later built a village on the slopes and the elder tiger gained a reputation among them as a kind of local deity, living by the principle "Devour the evil and shield the good." Villagers built a Crouching Tiger Temple for the brothers and offered rich tributes, which made their lives comfortable. The younger brother, however, resented this. He thought his elder only got the glory because he had a few more years of life.
A century later the Yellow Wind Sage returned to the ridge accompanied by many rat guais. The younger brother blamed the Sage for their father's death and wanted revenge; he urged his elder to drive off the rats. The elder agreed and they fought, but the Sage used a devastating attack described as a kind of flying vessel with a cutting gale. In that clash the younger tiger was badly wounded. To save his brother, the elder immediately surrendered and knelt. The Sage, upon learning the brothers' origins, held no grudge and even granted the surrendering elder the title of Vanguard.
When the younger woke and learned that his brother now served the Sage as the Vanguard, he was furious. The brothers quarreled until the younger broke off all ties and left. The Tiger Vanguard came to see the yellow-furred rat (the Sage or his rat guais) as having twice ruined his family. He deeply hated that rat, but he knew the rat had protection from higher powers and so he could not take direct revenge. Instead he vents his anger more indirectly by devouring lesser rats each day, keeping his hatred simmering rather than acting against the protected target.