Black Myth Wukong Part 3

Yellow Wind Ridge: Neither Buddha Nor Demon

Chapter 2: Winds at Dusk

“Did you find the ancient kingdom at the end of the world in the sands? Did you find the tiger servants falling off cliffs or rocks fighting? I fear you have deafened your ears and muddled your mind. The more you desire perfection, the harder it is to grasp it. Mouse or tiger, both are alike, without destiny, yet refusing to accept fate… Little monkey, listen, in the wind, all you hear are the voices of those who yearned but never gained.”

This is the narration at the end of this chapter’s painting, and it can almost certainly be attributed to Lingji Bodhisattva.

Lingji Bodhisattva is one of the eight great bodhisattvas under the Buddha in Journey to the West, whose temple resides on Little Mount Sumeru. In the original Journey to the West, whether subduing the Yellow Wind Monster or lending Sun Wukong the Wind-Pacifying Bead to resist the Banana Fan of Princess Iron Fan, Lingji Bodhisattva appears to be highly skilled in wind-related magic.

The reason for mentioning this at the beginning is that the story of this chapter begins and ends with him, even though he himself becomes deeply entangled in this tale of karmic fate.

Legend has it that at the foot of Mount Ling, a yellow-furred weasel spirit, who had been nurtured by Buddhist teachings and thus had a pure nature, gained enlightenment.

But one day, Lingji Bodhisattva gave him a mysterious task, promising that upon completion, he would officially accept him as his disciple. Lingji even helped him secretly consume the sacred oil from the Glass Lamp and taught him the ultimate skill, the Samadhi Divine Wind.

This task was to create one of the eighty-one tribulations that the monk Tang and his disciples would face on their journey to retrieve the scriptures. This was a secret mission, known only to Lingji Bodhisattva and the weasel spirit, and they used the Buddha’s head as their secret code.

After this, the weasel spirit left Mount Ling under the pretext of fearing capture by the Vajra for consuming the sacred oil.

On his journey, the weasel spirit passed through a country once called the Kingdom of Flowing Sands, renowned for its wealth and the golden sands that covered the land—also known as the Land of the Setting Sun.

“The sun, true fire, falls between the western sea, like fire being tempered by water, boiling and bubbling.”

When the sun set into the sea, the noise was deafening. Adults could barely withstand it, and the children of the city were often killed by the vibrations. In response, the Buddha gifted the kingdom a great drum, named the “Sunset Drum,” which was used to drown out the noise and prevent children from dying from the tremors.

“The people lived in peace thanks to the drum, and thus the whole nation became devout followers of Buddhism, erecting many golden statues of the Buddha and calling their kingdom the Golden Buddha Kingdom.”

“As the number of believers grew and temples multiplied, the people increasingly revered Buddhism over their king. This displeased the king. Seeing his concerns, the prime minister advised the king to abolish Buddhism, declaring that there was no Buddha.”

Thus, the king ordered the destruction of temples and the expulsion of monks, renaming the kingdom to Sahali.

This enraged the Buddhist community, but they couldn’t reclaim the Sunset Drum. Hence, Lingji Bodhisattva sent his mount, a creature known as the Fupan (from Liu Zongyuan’s Fupan Legend, a bug that loves to carry things on its back), to harass the Kingdom of Sahali.

From then on, “every time the drum was struck at dusk, a great beast would emerge,” causing destruction, “dust flying at the borders,” and the beast tearing through villages, killing countless people.

The ministers and citizens attributed this to the king’s edict to stop Buddhism, and the king had no choice but to halt his actions and assemble an army to fight the beast.

But how could mere humans defeat such a massive sand beast? The army suffered great losses.

However, during the battle, a two-headed soldier (known as Mouse Commander) discovered a way to repel the beast: he would throw coal dust on the beast, then spit a column of flame fueled by strong liquor, scaring it away temporarily.

But this was merely a temporary solution.

The Kingdom of Sahali fell into a vicious cycle: every sunset the drum was struck, the beast appeared, was driven away by fire, and the cycle repeated daily, leaving everyone exhausted.

Until the yellow-furred weasel spirit arrived.

The weasel spirit, upon hearing about the giant monster terrorizing the city, couldn’t bear to see the suffering and, driven by his desire to save the people, decided to help eliminate the Fupan.

In the process, he met a like-minded tiger demon, and the weasel appointed him as Tiger Vanguard to fight alongside him.

For some reason, however, the weasel spirit’s proud Samadhi Divine Wind couldn’t be summoned during the battle, and he was unable to fully defeat the Fupan.

Until the “Fated One” arrived, guided by the Yellow-Robed Warden (a boar demon), through time and space. Both the weasel spirit and the Tiger Vanguard pleaded for help in defeating the monster.

And as players of Black Myth: Wukong are prone to doing, they decided to intervene. Together with the weasel spirit, they defeated the Fupan.

During the fight, when the Fated One was exhausted, the weasel spirit, holding his steel trident, righteously declared, “I will assist you!” It was such a moving moment that I nearly teared up. How could you call such a being a demon?

After defeating the Fupan, the weasel spirit discovered that the beast was carrying a Wind-Pacifying Pellet, explaining why his Samadhi Divine Wind had been ineffective. Seeing a head on the beast’s back that resembled Lingji Bodhisattva’s, the weasel believed this was the task set by the Bodhisattva and took the Fupan into his service.

Focused solely on completing his mission, the weasel spirit had no interest in the Wind-Pacifying Pellet and gave it to the Fated One, unaware that in the future, this very pellet would be used against him.

Afterward, the Fated One returned to their time, while the weasel spirit stayed behind in the Kingdom of Sahali, awaiting the arrival of the monk and his companions.

Having subdued the Fupan, the king of Sahali appointed the weasel spirit as the kingdom’s grandmaster, issuing the controversial “Reverence for Mice” decree, which placed mice in high esteem and forbade their killing, with violations treated as crimes. They even built a statue of the weasel spirit.

The “Reverence for Mice” decree attracted mouse demons from far and wide to Sahali. This led to frequent conflicts between humans and demons, but the people, fearing the king’s harsh laws, had no choice but to endure.

Scholars in the Hanlin Academy jointly submitted a petition, pointing out the inconveniences of humans and demons cohabiting and urging the king to modify the decree. They suggested moving the demons to the southwest corner of the city so that the people could live peacefully.

The king not only ignored their advice but also ordered the execution of the hundred officials who had signed the petition.

The king of Sahali had three sons: the eldest, a dashing and brave man, was the king’s favorite due to his heroic achievements in the battle against the Fupan and was made a general; the third prince, beloved for his intellect and love of Buddhism, was well-read and skilled in both literature and martial arts; the second prince was born with great strength but little intellect, and thus was the least favored.

The eldest and third sons were furious at their father’s decision to revere demons and caused several disruptions in court aimed at the grandmaster, but they were never able to change the king’s mind.

After seeing his father massacre ministers, the third prince, feeling that persuasion was futile, left in anger and was never heard from again.

The eldest prince, bitter over being overshadowed by a demon despite his achievements in the Fupan battle, couldn’t contain his rage. On the grandmaster’s birthday, while the whole nation was worshipping the weasel spirit’s statue and even the king brought his family to offer incense at the temple, the eldest prince overturned the altar in anger.

The national preceptor was not angry but instead spoke well of the crown prince. However, this behavior made the prince believe that the preceptor was even more scheming, leading him to curse the preceptor even more aggressively. Enraged, the king imprisoned the prince and forbade anyone from visiting him.

Lingji Bodhisattva, upon discovering that the kingdom of Sihali had forsaken Buddhism and started worshiping demons, became furious and turned all the citizens into rat demons overnight.

At this point, the Yellow-haired Weasel realized that this was not the place Lingji Bodhisattva had mentioned. He believed that his failure to complete his task had brought calamity to the kingdom. Ashamed, he left with the Tiger Vanguard and other monsters.

The Yellow-haired Weasel, leading his followers, passed through Yellow Wind Ridge. They intended to rest there but were constantly driven away by two local mountain gods and several stone spirits.

Sensing that the mountain gods had no ill intent, the Yellow-haired Weasel asked why.

It turned out that the two mountain gods were once ordinary rocks in Yellow Wind Ridge. After absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, they gained spiritual powers. The two with the most cultivation were bestowed with the title of mountain gods to protect the peace of the area.

Recently, several “flesh Buddha heads” appeared in the mountains. These heads had eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, and would scream upon seeing living creatures before devouring them. One small stone spirit, finding these heads strange, tried to eliminate them to protect the beings of the mountain. He charged into one of the heads, but instead of being destroyed, the flesh head stuck to him and produced another.

After this, the small stone spirit’s temperament changed, and he started searching for other flesh Buddha heads, smashing them and attaching them to himself. He also began devouring the creatures of the mountain to aid his cultivation, becoming known as “Shi Gantang.”

The two mountain gods had fought him many times but were no match. In desperation, they guarded the pass to keep travelers from being harmed.

Upon hearing this, the Yellow-haired Weasel decided to rid the area of the demon. As he approached Shi Gantang, he sensed the power of the Buddha heads and finally confirmed that Yellow Wind Ridge was indeed the place Lingji Bodhisattva had spoken of.

He led his followers into battle, and after a bloody fight, Shi Gantang was defeated.

The Yellow-haired Weasel stripped Shi Gantang of his six eyes and sealed them away. He then destroyed the remaining flesh Buddha heads in the ridge. The stone essence taken from Shi Gantang was split into two and gifted to the two mountain gods, known as Stone Father and Stone Mother.

The beings of Yellow Wind Ridge were grateful for the Yellow-haired Weasel’s deeds and honored him as the Great Sage of Yellow Wind, all falling under his command.

Not long after, the monk Tang Sanzang’s party passed through Yellow Wind Ridge. Under the tacit approval of the Great Sage of Yellow Wind, the Tiger Vanguard captured Tang Sanzang, intending to eat him, but was killed by Sun Wukong with a single strike.

The Great Sage of Yellow Wind then used his Samadhi Wind to defeat Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong later sought help from Lingji Bodhisattva, who captured the Great Sage of Yellow Wind with the Flying Dragon Staff and, as promised, took him in as a disciple.

Meanwhile, Stone Father and Stone Mother, after consuming the stone essence, gained human form and hearts. Over time, they gave birth to a child. The beings of Yellow Wind Ridge called them Stone Father, Stone Mother, and their child, Stone Son.

Later, Stone Father left the mountain for unknown reasons, and Stone Son eventually went in search of him, leaving only Stone Mother behind.

After the Great Sage of Yellow Wind was taken away by Lingji Bodhisattva, Stone Mother used the remaining stone essence to create numerous small stone spirits to help her continue guarding the mountain. One of these spirits, in particular, received most of her power and grew incredibly strong, becoming known as the “Stone Vanguard.”

The sands of Yellow Wind Ridge gradually settled, and Stone Mother, along with the stone spirits, rebuilt the desolate mountain to its former glory.

It is said that the local Earth God once guarded the ridge alongside the two mountain gods. However, the Earth God was weak and timid, standing idly by during the battle with Shi Gantang. Thus, he was not given a share of the stone essence after Shi Gantang was defeated.

Yet, the Earth God coveted the stone essence.

So, when the Great Sage of Yellow Wind was captured and Stone Father and Stone Son left, the Earth God disguised himself as a small stone spirit, intending to steal the demon core from Stone Mother. Unfortunately, he was discovered by the stone spirits. “Stone Vanguard,” enraged, led the other spirits to hammer him into a rock, trapping him for eternity. He could only deceive occasional “chosen ones” as the “Man in Stone.”

After the Tiger Vanguard’s death, he left behind two children. The elder brother, following his father’s teachings, led the remaining monsters of Yellow Wind Ridge. Over time, they survived.

The elder brother continued his father’s legacy, organizing the monsters and preventing them from harming innocents. As a result, villagers built settlements in the mountains, and the elder brother became known as the “Tiger God,” even having a temple, the Reclining Tiger Temple, built in his honor.

The younger brother, though dissatisfied, dared not challenge his elder brother due to his seniority.

Yellow Wind Ridge remained peaceful for about a century until one day, the Great Sage of Yellow Wind returned, holding the head of a Bodhisattva.

No one knew why the Great Sage of Yellow Wind, having become a celestial, chose to return to the wilderness as a demon.

From the few words the Great Sage revealed, it was speculated that after Sun Wukong’s death, the celestial realm assigned him another task, granting him a powerful root known as “Ears of Wrath” as a reward and ordering him to intercept the “chosen one.”

Given the series of Buddha-related incidents that had occurred in Sihali and Yellow Wind Ridge, the Great Sage of Yellow Wind believed the celestial realm was untrustworthy. Though they claimed to have everything under control, he suspected he would once again be unable to protect his followers.

After all, his current abilities were far from enough to refine Sun Wukong’s root.

So, while pretending to agree, he secretly decapitated Lingji Bodhisattva and fled from Little Mount Sumeru.

He first went to Sihali and brought the people, now rat demons, to Yellow Wind Ridge, seemingly believing that the power of “Ears of Wrath” could restore them to human form.

He then sought to rally the monsters of Yellow Wind Ridge once more.

At this point, the younger tiger brother, blaming the Great Sage of Yellow Wind for his father’s death, sought revenge. He convinced his elder brother to join him in fighting the Great Sage to avenge their father.

The elder brother, seeing reason in this, joined forces with his younger sibling. However, the two tigers were no match for the Great Sage of Yellow Wind. With a single strike using the Bodhisattva’s head as a weapon, the Great Sage gravely injured the younger tiger brother.

To save his sibling, the elder brother knelt and surrendered. The Great Sage, not holding a grudge, learned of the elder brother’s identity and made him his new “Tiger Vanguard.”

The younger brother was later revived by the Great Sage of Yellow Wind. Upon learning that his elder brother had sworn allegiance to the Great Sage, he was furious and left after a heated argument.

The Great Sage of Yellow Wind then sought out Stone Father and Stone Mother. However, due to using much of her power to create stone spirits, Stone Mother was unable to move. The stone spirits, unfamiliar with the Great Sage, feared he would harm Stone Mother and blocked his way.

The Great Sage summoned the Tiger Vanguard and ordered him to eliminate these spirits that did not recognize him as their master. However, the Tiger Vanguard, having worked with the stone spirits for years to maintain the mountain’s order, was unwilling to fight them. Instead, he used his old ties to persuade the largest stone spirit to lead his followers to retreat to the valley and guard Shi Gantang without causing harm or opposing the powerful Great Sage.

Knowing he couldn’t defeat the Great Sage of Yellow Wind, the large stone spirit accepted the offer and was granted the title “Stone Vanguard.” He and his followers withdrew to the valley, focusing on guarding Stone Mother and watching over the sealed evil Shi Gantang.

The Great Sage of Yellow Wind then held a meeting with his top demons. All present could tell that the Great Sage had much on his mind. King Sha, in particular, noticed that the head the Great Sage was holding was identical to the one once attached to the body of the monstrous Pupa in Sihali, realizing the gravity of the situation.

The Yellow Wind Great Sage announced his intent to enter secluded cultivation, intending to rely on Lingji Bodhisattva’s most precious artifact (the Bodhisattva’s head) to refine his root power, “Ear Listening to Anger.” After all, this time he needed to guard against the so-called gods from heaven and keep an ace up his sleeve. During his seclusion, he demanded that no one disturb him, locking all doors leading to his sanctuary. Only “Tiger Vanguard” and “Stone Vanguard” had the secret symbols to unlock them.

At the same time, he activated the Yellow Wind Grand Array, enveloping the entire Yellow Wind Ridge in Samadhi Divine Wind. The villagers in the mountains were harmed by the divine wind brought by the Yellow Wind Great Sage, with many dying or being turned into desiccated corpses by the sinister wind. Even the skeletons from nearby graves were reanimated and began wandering around.

Tiger Vanguard, having failed to avenge his father’s death, now saw the order he had painstakingly established in Yellow Wind Ridge collapse. Depressed, he retreated to the Sleeping Tiger Temple, focusing solely on guarding the sanctuary’s entrance for the Yellow Wind Great Sage. Consumed by resentment, he needed to eat a large number of rat demons every day to vent his frustrations.

Tiger Vanguard’s younger brother, who had escaped, was always biding his time, seeking revenge.

When the yellow wind swept through the mountains, the younger tiger brother secretly hid in a well, cultivating day and night. However, normal cultivation was far too slow—without a master to guide him and lacking any magical tools, how could he ever avenge his brother?

Gradually, he started considering more twisted methods.

It was at this time that a wandering swordsman stumbled upon the younger tiger brother hiding in the well.

The swordsman’s wife had died from illness after their city was ravaged by the yellow wind, and his son was also ill. He heard rumors that a Bodhisattva in the mountains could cure wind-related diseases, so he brought his son to Yellow Wind Ridge, staying at the Wind Stabilizing Village.

One day, while passing by an old, dry well, he heard the sound of a tiger’s roar from within. Curious, he went down to investigate and discovered the younger tiger brother hiding there. The tiger brother then told the swordsman a fabricated story, claiming that the Yellow Wind Monster had ambushed him, occupied the Sleeping Tiger Temple, and caused his downfall. He narrated the tale of how his elder brother became a Tiger God, making the story seem like his own, to gain the swordsman’s trust.

The swordsman was initially skeptical, but after several days of investigation, he found that there indeed was a legend about the “Tiger God.” So, he brought his son to the “Tiger God” for treatment.

The younger tiger brother quickly diagnosed the boy, recognizing that his vitality and spirit had been scattered by the Samadhi Divine Wind. He then took out the Five Ghost Gourd, a gift from his elder brother, and gave the boy water from it. After drinking, the boy’s condition improved.

After several treatments, the boy’s health kept improving, and he even began to play around the village. Whenever the boy came for the gourd water, he affectionately called the younger tiger brother “Tiger God,” eagerly sharing new food, toys, and stories. Surrounded by the boy’s admiration, the tiger brother felt a brief joy.

Though the younger tiger brother had initially been wary of the swordsman and his son, seeing the father’s loyalty and affection for his child, he eventually gave the gourd to the boy to carry with him, instructing him to only drink from it. The boy’s condition improved even further.

However, the tiger brother knew that unless the Yellow Wind Grand Array was stopped, even a divine healer wouldn’t be able to completely cure the boy’s wind disease. To prepare for his eventual battle with the Yellow Wind Monster, the tiger brother told the swordsman that his vitality had been injured by the sinister wind. If he could consume live humans to recover his powers, he would be able to stop the wind.

The swordsman was initially reluctant, but seeing his son’s gradual recovery, he hardened his heart and began luring people into the well to “heal” the Tiger God. Over time, the villagers noticed something strange. One day, when the swordsman returned to the village, he found that his son had been beaten to death by the furious villagers.

Overcome with regret but unable to change what had happened, the swordsman took out his long-sealed sword, killed the villagers one by one, and then went down the mountain to find a coffin for his son. He eventually walked into the windstorm, gradually transforming into a tiger demon under the influence of the yellow wind. He then slaughtered several passing “Heaven’s Chosen” on a bridge near the village.

The tiger brother noticed that neither the swordsman nor his son had come to the well in days, so he climbed out to investigate. To his horror, he found the village awash in blood, its inhabitants all slain. In a thin coffin at the village entrance lay the child’s body, with the Five Ghost Gourd hanging from his chest. Examining the wounds closely, the tiger brother deduced that the boy had been beaten to death.

The tiger brother understood everything. He hated himself for causing the child’s death and hated even more his inability to defeat the Yellow Wind Monster. Carrying the child’s coffin, he returned to the well and trained in front of it day and night, his experiences gradually turning him into the “Mad Tiger.”

As for Lingji Bodhisattva, after being decapitated by his disciple, the Yellow Wind Monster, he finally repented. As a disciple of the Buddhist faith, his downfall had been caused by his wrathful punishment of the Kingdom of Sand for not worshipping him, which in turn led to the ensuing tragedies.

All the calamities had begun with him.

“Disaster arises from clinging to forms in emptiness, desire blooms from mercy, moments of delight breed future regrets, cleanse the mind and wait for the wind to come.”

Whether gods, demons, or humans, they are all just ordinary beings. Only when the knife falls upon their own heads do they reflect on their past actions.

But at this point, Lingji Bodhisattva had lost most of his powers and could no longer contend with the Yellow Wind Great Sage.

He could only assume the form of a headless monk, singing melancholic tunes about fate, waiting in silence for the arrival of the Heaven’s Chosen.

Eventually, the Heaven’s Chosen arrived at Yellow Wind Ridge and eradicated all the demons and evils. Not only did they journey to the Kingdom of Sand to help the Yellow Wind Great Sage subdue the monstrous Pupa, but the Yellow Wind Great Sage, upright and heroic, also readily gifted them the Wind Stabilizing Pill.

He never would have imagined that, hundreds of years later, he too would become a great demon plaguing the land, and the young warrior who once fought by his side would return, armed with the Wind Stabilizing Pill, to defeat him.

Justice will always triumph over evil.

But how can you be sure you will always be on the side of justice?

The story of “Winds Rise at Dusk” ends here. Since the ending animation of this chapter is highly symbolic and not directly related to the plot, I won’t go into too much detail.

This chapter’s story is my favorite. As I pieced the story together bit by bit during my playthrough, I had a sudden epiphany at the end.

In fact, it was this chapter that inspired me to start narrating the plot. However, since I haven’t completed the subsequent chapters yet, updates might be slow.

So far, “Black Myth: Wukong” lives up to the “Black” Myth name, with its depiction of gods who aren’t truly gods and demons who aren’t truly demons. It’s profoundly moving.

Gods, demons, and humans—all just a breath away from good and evil.

Even during the final battle with the Yellow Wind Monster, I still remember that moment hundreds of years ago, during the fight with the Pupa when I was on the brink of death, and the Yellow Wind Great Sage roared from the cliff,

“I will help you!”