Monk from the Sea#

Bitter Lake's expanse, no end in sight, The ferry of enlightenment, he sought day and night. Low means may tempt, but yield no gain, True greatness takes flight, in honor's domain.

Years ago, Yellowbrow crossed the Bitter Lake on a towered ferry. Upon disembarking, he discovered some strange fish clinging to the ship's hull. These fish, known as He Luo, had a single head but ten bodies, making them bizarre and fearsome.

When the fish saw Yellowbrow approaching, they wondrously bowed and made noises, indicating their desire to follow him and escape the Bitter Lake. Yellowbrow laughed and said, "With your strange forms, others would surely reject you. But I find it interesting to take in what ordinary people would not." With that, he accepted these strange fish as his disciples, clothed them, and taught them how to read and transform into human forms. He even allowed them to practice freely within the realm of the New West.

One of the fish guais was particularly robust and had a fierce temperament. After mastering some techniques, it would ambush at various spots in the temple, waiting for opportunities to attack Yellowbrow when he went out, striking without mercy. Yellowbrow, however, enjoyed these encounters and would seriously engage in combat with the fish guai. Most of the time, he would simply sweep it out of the hall with a swing of his Spikeshaft Cudgel.

Despite repeated defeats, the fish guai realized that close combat was futile. It independently devised a technique involving throwing snowballs with its limbs, hitting targets with uncanny accuracy. Once, in the Forest of Felicity, even Yellowbrow was hit several times by snowballs, nearly freezing into an ice block.

Instead of getting angry, Yellowbrow was delighted and unprecedentedly bestowed a new title upon the He Luo fish guai"Monk from the Sea." He then assigned it the task of cleaning the inner courtyard, which conveniently allowed it to ambush anyone it wished to, especially Yellowbrow himself.

Ah, though they followed the same master, the disciples' experiences and purposes in their practice varied greatly, leading to vastly different treatments.