Two Tiger Kings

The Two Tiger Kings were famous hermits on Wudang Mountain in the early Qing Dynasty. Their names are unknown. According to the Qing Dynasty's "Great Mountain Taihe Mountain Annals", the Two Tiger Kings were from Shaanxi Province. During the Ming Dynasty, they held the position of Deputy Rong (i.e., Vice Minister of War - editor). At the age of over fifty, they retired and left their families to become monks on Wudang Mountain, never revealing their given names to others. He has been practicing Taoism in Wudang for a long time and has profound martial arts skills. Living in a remote mountain area, I often keep company with two tigers, sharing a cave and getting along very closely. Therefore, people all call them "The Two Tiger Kings". It is recorded that the Two Tiger Kings have a deep understanding of the unique martial arts skills of the Wudang Internal School and practice them every day without ceasing. Every late night, he would hold a stick of incense and walk through mountain streams, treading on perilous paths as if they were flat ground. Only when the fragrance fades do we return. It has been like this for many years. Back then, there were many Taoists in the Wudang Temple and it also had a large amount of farmland. Because the daily consumption of grain and salt in temples and monasteries is large, each temple and monastery keeps mules and horses. Once, a gang of bandits rushed down from the foot of the mountain, intending to steal the mules and horses of the temple on the mountain. This gang of robbers, not being locals, only knew that there were many mules and horses in the temple, but had no idea where the stables were. Just as they were about to investigate after entering the mountains, they happened to encounter the Two Tiger Kings. As the two Tiger Kings were not Taoist priests in the temple and their attire was no different from that of the common people, the bandits, knowing their background, threatened to lead the way for them. The Two Tiger Kings pretended to be working hard and marched forward enthusiastically, leading a gang of bandits directly to where they were staying. The bandits thought they had been deceived and were about to punish the Two Tiger Kings. Unexpectedly, with a whistle from the two tiger Kings, two tigers suddenly sprang out of the stone cave where they lived, roaring and pouncing on the bandits. The robbers were so frightened that their souls were out of their bodies. They all kowtowed and begged for mercy to the Two Tiger Kings, vowing never to do bad things again. Only then did the two tiger Kings stop the tigers and set them free. In the eighth year of the Shunzhi reign (1651 AD), the Two Tiger Kings passed away peacefully on Wudang Mountain at the age of over eighty. After his death, Taoist priests built a tomb pagoda for him and erected a stone tablet. The place of his burial is unknown.