Tiger Island, Tiger Valley, Crouching Tiger Gorge.
A fine drizzle fell from the sky. Slanting rays of light shone from the edges of the gray clouds, and the surrounding mountains and waters were shrouded in a crystalline, radiant glow. A winding goat track led from Tiger Valley straight into a secluded, tranquil gorge. Lin Yueya, clad in a rain cape and wearing a bamboo hat, with a white tiger cub sprawled across his shoulder, swayed along the path one step at a time.
After walking for a while, Lin Yueya, steaming with heat all over, suddenly threw back his head and sang loudly. In a bizarre, grating voice, he belted out a mountain tune so awful it could drive a person mad—like the miserable shrieks of ten thousand ducks having their backsides roasted with burning oil.
A dull thud came from the woods beside the path. A withered, gaunt old man with an exceptionally towering frame burst from the forest, brandishing a woodcutter's axe. Without a word, he swung it at Lin Yueya.
Lin Yueya shut his mouth, clasped his hands over his head, and bolted silently into the gorge. The gaunt old man chased him with his axe for quite some time. Only after Lin Yueya had darted into Crouching Tiger Gorge did he turn back toward the forest, cursing under his breath. Before long, he emerged again, slowly carrying a pile of firewood as tall as a small mountain.
Wearing an embarrassed smile, Lin Yueya walked to a smooth cliff face midway through Crouching Tiger Gorge. In the middle of the cliff was a cave entrance several meters wide. A thick, mottled purple-gold python, as broad as a water bucket, hung half its body from the opening. Its dragon-like head swayed now and then as it contentedly flicked