Stone Vanguard
Stone forms the mountain's bones, firm and true, Earth's essence, prized for all it can imbue. Its back bears towering rocks, reaching the sky, Lofty in stature and majestic in height.
Ever since the Yellow Wind Sage bestowed the Buddha-headed stone guai's essence upon the two mountain deities, they consumed it and gained human hearts and forms. The union of the two resulted in the birth of a stone child. Thus, the yaoguais referred to them as Father of Stones, the Mother of Stones, and Son of Stones. Later, the Father of Stones left the mountain for some reason, and the Son of Stones went in search of him, leaving the Mother alone.
The Mother of Stone was never fond of violence. When the Yellow Wind Sage gave her the essence, he entrusted her with the task of diligently taking care of the mountain's inhabitants. She took this responsibility seriously and worked hard. When the Journeyers passed through Yellow Wind Ridge, the Yellow Wind King captured Tang Monk, forcing Sun Wukong to seek Bodhisattva Lingji's help to capture him and take him back to Mount Lingshan. Years passed, and upon the return of the Sage, the ridge was populated with many stone guais. Among them was a particularly strong and robust stone guai, which he learned was created by the Mother of Stone with all her might to guard the cave. One day, the Yellow Wind Sage personally came to visit Mother of Stone, only to be blocked by the stone guai. Alarmed by their disobedience, he feared it might become a threat. Hence, he summoned the newly appointed Tiger Vanguard to eliminate the strong stone guai.
Tiger Vanguard agreed but was reluctant to fight them. They had once worked together to rebuild the mountain, and he knew the strong stone guai was highly respected by the other stone guais, who saw him as an elder brother. He advised the stone guai, "Brother, we've endured much to reach this point. If I can help, I will. I've arranged everything; you just need to retreat into the valley and keep a guard on Shigandang, no need for anything vicious. Today, I come with kind words, but tomorrow, it might be a battle. Though we have some skills, we are no match for the yellow-furred rat. Why not join me as a vanguard and keep things as they are??"
The next day, the Yellow Wind Sage appointed the strong stone guai as Stone Vanguard, ordering him to lead the stone guais to retreat and guard the valley. From then on, the stone guais dutifully guarded the sealed evil being and no longer meddled in the mountain's affairs.
