In ancient times, long before 5300 BC when the first Neolithic tomb depicting the four celestial animals was discovered, there was a story of two rivals.
But this story was never documented or recorded at the time.
The first cultivators liked to compete with each other.
One liked to know which of the two would win, the other simply liked to fight and had found an opponent worthy of him, but both enjoyed each other's company without ever admitting it, and fighting had become a pretext for spending time together.
Their two souls had become so attached that they always found a way to reincarnate and find a path to each other to continue competing despite the many years that had passed, without caring about the damage they caused around them.
The Jade Emperor, tired of the quarrels between these two humans, instead of exiling them to the lower world or bringing them down there, fearing that they would continue their incessant rivalry, recognized the value of their power and turned them into celestial animals with obligations.
Obligations that would separate them forever, each on their own side. He presented them with the fait accompli that they had already destroyed many mountains, created many rivers, and that if this continued, soon human lives would be lost, even by accident.
One of them considered his words, decided that he was right and that he did not want anyone to be hurt because of him. The other man, however, did nothing, considering his endless duel more important than insignificant lives that should simply stay out of the way.
The Jade Emperor did not give them a choice anyway, but decided that the leader of the animals would not be someone incapable of empathy and thinking only of himself.
Despite the absence of a winner, it was the most benevolent who became the azure dragon and the most ferocious who became the white tiger.
The azure dragon, guardian of the east.
The red phoenix, protector of the south.
The black tortoise, defender of the north.
The white tiger, stationed in the west.
And yet, one of them ruined everything. Believing himself to be more powerful than the others, he shattered the harmony by seeking to dominate the other cardinal points, his brothers, the other celestial animals.
The Jade Emperor, furious, condemned him, Qinglong, the azure dragon, for his arrogance and greed, as well as the entire eastern side of which he was the guardian.
He would return to his former human appearance before becoming the celestial being we knew, and would have to prove himself and answer for his actions.
While the entire eastern side was ravaged by a mysterious disease that devastated both humans and crops, the Azure Dragon was so deeply affected and guilt-ridden by the impression that he had done wrong that he gouged out his own eyes as punishment and so that he would no longer have to see the horrors of his actions.
Not only was he banished by the Jade Emperor, but the teeming masses below were already shouting his name, some demanding his protective help, others complaining that it must all be his fault since everything was fine in the west, south, and north.
This "disease" was only transmitted to the East, so many people in other directions no longer wanted to go there and had to set up barriers to stem the flow of immigrants.
The beginning of autumn.
The leaves fell from the trees, carried away by a new wind that blew away the beautiful days.
The cycle of death and renewal continued, despite the disappearance of one of the great celestial animals. However, the balance had been broken, and many whispered that a new animal must be chosen.
Contrary to expectations, the tiger had not reacted to the announcement of the dragon's banishment; it had disappeared, even though the western seas had been raging for 7,456 sticks of incense, or just under half a year.
Since then, the west had regained its calm, a calm as silent as the north.