Gore-Eye Daoist
A strange man with a lump on his back, And a staff of blood-red hue, He leaps and bounds with eerie might, A hundred eyes glowing in the night.
A strange visitor once came to the Temple of Yellow Flowers.
He proclaimed himself trained in the mystic arts upon the Mount Lingtai. "Submit now and yield to me the thing" he told the master of the temple, "and you will be spared." Beetle Commander was sent to subdue him, and the man was sealed in a cocoon sack in the cave. Yet days later, a lesser guai brought word to the master that the sack lay sundered, and the captive had escaped. At this, the master gave nothing but a smile.
Since his escape from the cocoon sack, a fleshy mess studded with many eyes had sprouted from the man's back. He paid no mind to this horrific sight and continued his wandering practice.
He passed through a desolate mountain where bandits ran rampant and the nearby villagers lived in squalor. Here he chose to settle and summoned rainfall. By his arts, the blasted peaks grew green with elms and willows, and the slopes cloaked themselves in pines and firs.
After his efforts, the once-barren mountain saw years of clement weather, and the people of the lowlands flourished in number. Yet the bandits cared nothing for an honest life. They saw the greenwood only as fresh plunder and the growing number as ripe for the hunt. The man then took on the guise of an enlightened monk and went among the bandits' hideout to spread the wisdom of the Buddha. In the end, even the bandits forsook evil and came down the mountain to live in peace.
Years passed. Then came a day when the man entered the village and raised a ritual staff at the entrance. From its crown poured a blood-red light. Every person it touched fell into a frenzy, tearing at each other as if under the thrall of some evil force.
In mere moments, the lowlands became a pit of slaughter, and the ground overflowed with the blood of the slain.
On the man's back, the hump gaped wide with countless eyes unveiled. Slowly, they supped the spilled blood and sundered spirits. In no time, the lump had swollen even larger, until it could absorb no more. Only then did the eyes slowly close.
The man came back to himself and removed the staff. He then set out for the next place to settle.
