I still remember stumbling into Yellow Wind Ridge during my Chapter Two playthrough – that desolate, sand-blasted hellscape where I first encountered the Rat King and his grotesque sons. It was a real WTF moment seeing this tiny rodent ruler flanked by hulking rat monstrosities. But the real mind-bender came in Chapter Three when I found the Third Prince locked in the Pagoda Realm’s dungeon. Dude looked completely human while his family had turned into freakin' rats! That cognitive dissonance sent me down a rabbit hole of lore that’s darker than a moonless night. Seriously, the downfall of Sahali’s royal family makes Game of Thrones look like a picnic.

The Kingdom That Went to Rats

Let’s rewind this horror show. The Kingdom of the Flowing Sands – aka Sahali – wasn’t always rat-infested. Back in the day, it was full of humans ruled by the Rat Princes’ dad. But when the king outlawed Buddhism? Oh boy, that was like poking a hornet’s nest with a stick. Bodhisattva Lingji (that headless singer creep) sent the beetle demon Fuban to wreck shop. Enter the Yellow Wind Sage and the Destined One – time-traveling badasses who teamed up to smoke Fuban. After the win, the king started worshipping the Sage as a god, and let’s just say the princes weren’t exactly on board with daddy’s new BFF.

The kingdom’s fate? Total monkey’s paw situation. When Sahali doubled down on rejecting Buddhism, Lingji dropped a curse that transformed everyone into rats. Poof! Human civilization gone, replaced by squeaky nightmares. Talk about karma biting you in the ass.

Sahali’s Sun-Set Screams

In Journey to the West lore (which this game twists like a pretzel), Sahali had this wild ritual. Zhu Bajie mentions it’s where the sun literally drowns in the ocean every night, making a hiss so lethal it could kill kids. Their solution? Beat drums like maniacs to drown out the sound. Imagine living in a place where sunset requires freaking war drums just to survive – that’s some next-level stress.

First Rat Prince: The Fallen Hero

This guy was the golden child – a celebrated general who earned the title 'Brave General' for battling Fuban. But after the Yellow Wind Sage rolled into town, jealousy ate him alive. He hated the Sage’s rat followers getting special treatment and started acting out, landing his ass in jail. When he broke free? Mind-blowing horror. His dad and everyone were rats. The Sage handed him a mirror, revealing he’d become a giant rat too. Dude totally lost it, convinced his father was an impostor... and ate him. Yeah, you read that right. Ate him. That’s some Shakespearean tragedy meets Cronenberg body horror.

Prince	Status	Fate
First	Former hero, jealous	Ate his father, insane
Second	Loyal follower	Served Yellow Wind Sage
Third	Buddhist exile	Blinded, broken

Second Rat Prince: The Forgotten Son

Honestly, this middle child got shafted. Least favorite son, zero achievements, and about as memorable as a dust bunny. But here’s the kicker: he never abandoned his rat-king dad. His one claim to fame? Swinging a mean mace that impressed the Yellow Wind Sage enough to recruit him. So while big bro went cannibal and little bro fled, this dude just... stayed. Kinda sad, really. No grand drama, just a background character in his family’s Greek tragedy.

Third Rat Prince: The Broken Prodigy

The youngest prince was the smart cookie of the family – a Buddhist scholar who bounced before the curse hit. Why? His dad started executing ministers who protested the anti-Buddhism edicts. Smart move, ’cause he remained human while his family turned into rodents. He became a disciple of Bodhisattva Guoshiwang and even fought alongside Sun Wukong against Yellowbrow (that slippery trickster who stole artifacts). But things went south fast when the Third Prince marched to the New West with his four captains. Yellowbrow’s magic bag wrecked them: 💀 One captain dismembered, 😈 two corrupted, 🧪 one remade into an abomination.

By the time I found him in 2025, he was a shell – gouged his eyes out, destroyed his hearing, just wallowing in guilt. If you defeat his corrupted captains and collect their spirits? He gifts you his Chu-Bai spear before vanishing. No clue if he found peace or just gave up the ghost. Brutal stuff.

Journey to the West Parallels

In the original novel, the Third Prince (called Little Prince Zhang) left Sahali not to escape tyranny but to cure his illness. Guoshiwang healed him, and he led four divine generals against Yellowbrow. They got bagged too, but Maitreya freed them later. The game? Way darker. No rescue – just eternal torment. It’s like the novel’s hopeful ending got put through a meat grinder.

FAQ

Q: Why did only the Third Prince stay human?

A: He dipped before Bodhisattva Lingji’s curse hit Sahali. Smart move – outta sight, outta mind.

Q: Is the Yellow Wind Sage good or bad?

A: It’s complicated. He helped defeat Fuban but enabled the king’s worship spiral. Gray morality, baby!

Q: What happens if you don’t collect all captain spirits?

A: Third Prince stays in his cell, muttering about failure. No spear for you! 👎

Q: Why’s the Second Prince barely mentioned?

A: Classic middle-child syndrome. Even in lore, he’s the forgettable one.

Q: Can you save the First Prince?

A: Nope. His sanity’s gone faster than a pizza at a frat house. You just fight him.