Tales from Cathay
Land of Jade and sun. Land of harmony and balance. Land of the dragon.
Cathay holds many tales and stories. From lowest of peasants to mighty rulers of the country. They all have a story to tell.
Allow me to show you their stories...
The steps on side of the mountain were shaped like a serpent. From the lowest beginning to highest end. They are quite steep but Yang Ling had no problem with that.
The view from the mountain was beautiful. Rice fields covering land and in middle Zunjing. It looked like a drop of ink on paper. The river was intertwining through fields like dragon through clouds. The river disappeared in a distant forest. In behind that forest in distance was Mountains of Mourn. Home of bestial creatures.
As he let his cattle up the stair the view was more and more beautiful. With each step, he could see further and further.
He stopped and looked into the distance. In distance, he would see dark clouds mixed with a green light.
A Bèi zuzhòu de shamò or simply the Cursed desert. It is said that ratmen are responsible for the desert.
The existence of ratmen was revealed to all by Monkey King.
Allies, enemies or backstabbers. No one knows for sure. Yang Ling has never seen a man-sized rat. Only normal one in storage when they try to eat their supplies.
Some say they are a myth and others say they have seen them in person. Traders even say that the advisor to ruler himself is a ratman.
As he was progressing the monastery revealed to him. A massive structure from stone. It looked like a house atop of another house. He was always amazed by its size.
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He arrived at a stable where a man greeted him " Look who it is! Young Yang Ling himself once again." Yang Ling smiled and looked at the serious expression of a bald man. His arms covered in colourful tattoos of dragons and serpents. He was a muscular man. A soldier or even monk but Yang Ling could never tell."Good to see you too Pang Weng." said Yang Ling warmly. The man laughed and hugged the young boy and placed his hand in his shoulder"It's nice to see again Yang, I hope there was no trouble along the way. We heard reports of bandits prowling around this mountain. Probably waiting for someone like you to steal your goods." Yang Ling chuckled. And pointed at the exhausted cows and goat. Pang knew it was a sign that nothing happened along the way.
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Yang Ling and Pang Weng sat together on a bench near a cliff. The view was breathtaking. They drank and chat together for a while." They are training today. Would like to have a look?" bald man asked. Yang's eyes brightened and said yes.
Together they climbed another set of stair leading directly to the monastery itself. He and Pang shared news about the monastery and about the village. Nothing has changed in both the village and monastery.
They arrived at a plaza that was covered with an orange sail of triangular shape. The ground had a symbol of Tiantáng. Meaning the focus of these monks. Heaven was their focus and it is said they can control heaven, lightning, wind and even predict the future.
Pang and Yang sat down on a small cushion. They were not alone. Locals from the monastery and from nearby villages. In the opposite side of plaza Yang saw a man covered in white robes with a red sash across his torso. Around his belt was a curved sword with small gems as decoration. He was not alone, however. Next, to him were sitting two women. One on each side. Their clothing was revealing. So revealing it gave Yang chills. Why would anyone expose almost the whole body on a mountain?
When he was looking at the gorgeous dark-skinned women the sound of the gong was heard. The gates of monastery opened and training was about to begin.
