Tangze Yuzhou's Fall and Xinchi King's Fatal Rashness

The cry of Gula's downfall fell upon Xinchi King's ears, igniting a blaze of grief and fury within him. Swiftly he saddled his man-eating Red Demon Horse, donned his threefold armor, and with his five ministers spurring their mounts without rest, they thundered toward the Ling stronghold like a violent storm, leaving trails of billowing dust in their wake.

From Lingga, the hero Danma vaulted onto his steed of attainment, bow drawn and arrow nocked, racing forth to meet the enemy. But Achong Kalong Dorje Wangdui of the Men Kingdom wheeled his Windchaser Blue Horse around, whipping his long sword from its sheath to block Danma's path. Danma loosed a single arrow that struck Achong square in the chest, sending him tumbling from his saddle. The remaining four ministers of Men, seeing the tide turn against them, reined their horses about and fled toward the Lingga central camp.

At that moment, the Yellow Tassel general Seba Niben Daya mounted his Golden-Winged Flying Horse, while the Blue Tassel general Mujang Renqing Daru leaped upon his Azure Roc Steed. The two great warriors charged forth—one wielding his blade in defiance, the other cleaving through the fiery-forged crimson helmet of Kacha Puyi Keguo, splitting both head and body in two like the opening of a jeweled amulet box, the halves falling on either side of the horse. Dongjiong Dala Chiga then stood upon his saddle-back, brandishing his blade in repeated challenge against the two Lingga generals, but they ignored him and wheeled their mounts back. The heroes Danma and Kamba Yuden each loosed arrows at Xinchi King and the Men princes Yuzhu Dajie and Yuzhu Tuocan, yet none found their mark.

Then the peerless warrior Tangze Yuzhou soared forth upon his Azure Roc Horse, galloping before Xinchi King and proclaiming: "Arrogant Gula of the southern lands—yesterday the heroes of Ling captured him, and in the southern forest's four valleys at the three-way crossing, they flayed his skin and buried him beneath the earth. Does this please you, King Xinchi? Behold this keen blade of mine—I shall thrust it into you, mighty Xinchi King, and test its sharpness!"

Xinchi King answered not a word. Instead, he loosed his Joyous Ishvara Demon-possessed Red Sandalwood Arrow—against which no amulet or protection could avail. Where the arrow struck, Tangze Yuzhou's body shattered into a hundred pieces and fell from his horse. The heroes of Lingga, witnessing this, felt as though daggers pierced their very hearts. Blazing with fury, they threw themselves into hand-to-hand combat with Xinchi King. Then the Invincible King Gesar, from his flaming golden throne, shot an arrow at Xinchi that struck the tailbone of his man-eating Red Demon Horse, felling the beast instantly. Forced onto foot, Xinchi was helped by Dongjiong Dala Chiga onto the White Conch Flower-Nose Horse, and the two fled together on one mount, never looking back until they vanished across the desolate plains.

King Gesar's Triumph Over the One-Legged Demon Master

The warriors of Lingga bore the body of the peerless Tangze Yuzhou into the sacred tent, where they made offerings of holy water and butter lamps. After three days, when his spirit had departed, they cremated the remains on the edge of the Gamu Latang plateau below Ema Tang. There they raised a white stupa of twenty-one tiers, its spire adorned with a golden sun and silver moon, its four corners hung with tinkling silver bells, and placed his ashes within. King Gesar pronounced the vow that his soul might ascend to the pure celestial realms and merge into the body of the Green Melodious Goddess.

That very day, as Xinchi King and Dongjiong Dala Chiga rode their shared mount back to the Men camp, the assembled ministers came to pay homage. After conversing awhile, Xinchi King declared: "Speak no more of overcoming the Ling forces in battle. Every division must hold fast to its own position. Above all, you must guard the nine-tiered Dongri Castle. Within the southern royal palace's treasury lie five generations of rare treasures—the Ling army must not seize them. As long as the Nectar of National Protection, the Heaven-Cleaving Great Sword, and the Auspicious Jewel of Gawa Yangchi remain in our hands, we shall not lose the realm!"

Xinchi King then assigned each of the Achong captains their posts—who should guard the passes, who should scout the enemy. The Men officers returned to their camps, preparing for battle.

Damu Qiongguo and Tuosi Angya led ten thousand scouts to the Upper Abeng Rocky Mountain, where they split into four groups and lay in ambush, watching the enemy's movements. Within the sacred white tent of Lingga, the Invincible King Gesar foresaw the southern ambush and bestowed his Four-Feathered Golden Black-Iron Divine Arrow upon the hero Danma, commanding him to wipe out every last one of the hidden soldiers. Danma wiped the arrow clean with red silk, murmured "As commanded," and from the Lingga camp drew his bow, summoning dragons and deities as he released the divine arrow toward the rocky mountain. In an instant, dozens of thunderbolts rained down, obliterating the entire crag. Stone shards filled the sky like snowflakes, and dust veiled heaven and earth in impenetrable gloom that did not lift for seven days. Of the ten thousand scouts, not a single one survived—all crushed beneath the falling rock.

Meanwhile, the Darong chief Chao Tong, master of spells and secret arts, was practicing his lightning-curse exorcism rites. The Black-Cloak Protector Gade Chujiong Benna and the revered lama Dapan of Lingga prepared the ritual torma offerings for driving away evil. At this time, the One-Legged Demon Master of the Men Kingdom had completed his secret rite to bring landslides and floods upon the Ling camp. On the ninth day of early autumn, he cast his ensorcelled torma into the southern river, and instantly mountain shadows appeared within the water.

Chao Tong hastily hurled his meteoric thunder-torma toward the south, and the curse's force turned the Demon Master's own torma back upon him, striking the Red-Faced Rakshasa Mountain's crimson cliffs and pulverizing his hermitage. The One-Legged Demon Master lost an eye and had a leg shattered by the blast. In panic, he abandoned his ritual drums and cymbals and fled.

Chao Tong gave chase, and spotting a musk-deer cave atop a forested ridge in the upper valley, he saw the Demon Master transform into a pigeon, fluttering within the cavern. Chao Tong shifted into a sparrow, alighting on a willow branch beside the cave mouth, pecking at yellow blossoms and chirping "tweet tweet" twice. Hearing the sparrow, the One-Legged Demon Master recognized his enemy Chao Tong. Beating his wings, he transformed into a fierce young goshawk and dove to seize the sparrow.

The Demon Master Sealed Beneath the Black Stupa

King Gesar and Gade arrived swiftly and encountered the One-Legged Demon Master's mother—the Western Red-Faced Rakshasa Woman. Her hair was whiter than conch shells, her eyes bluer than indigo, her mouth utterly toothless. Her upper lip curled with iron fangs and her lower lip with bronze tusks. Her two breasts hung over her shoulders, and upon her back she carried a bundle of worn shoes. Gade, holding his emptiness-embracing lasso, pointed and asked: "Mother, where does that road over there lead?"

The Demon Master's mother looked where Gade indicated and replied in surprise: "Oh! In these vast mountains and wild forests, what road could there be?"

As she turned her head, Gade's lasso snapped around her.

King Gesar then assumed the form of the Red-Faced Rakshasa Woman and strode toward where the goshawk pursued the sparrow. Chao Tong's sparrow, recognizing the ruse, flew into the embrace of the false mother. The old crone raised her rattan staff to separate sparrow and goshawk. The One-Legged Demon Master thought to himself: This old woman seems not to be my true mother—surely this is the trick of that demon Joru of Ling! So he turned away and flew to the base of an oak tree, where he transformed into three female deer drinking and grazing. Chao Tong promptly became three hunting dogs and gave chase. The three deer squeezed into the hollow of a rotting sandalwood tree, and the three dogs surrounded it, but no Lingga warriors appeared. After a while, the Demon Master transformed into three tigresses, scattering the three dogs and breaking free.

Only then did the Lingga warriors and their king arrive. Chao Tong complained: "I suffered such hardship today—why did you all come so late? Now I am hungry and parched!"

King Gesar smiled and said: "Forgive my uncle for today's trial—our delay cost us. But first, taste this sweet nectar." And he offered Chao Tong a sip of ambrosia.

Chao Tong drank, and his thirst was quenched, his belly filled. King Gesar and his ministers crossed the Gongla Mountains, and on their return journey they spied a great black boulder bearing a water-stained footprint the length of a forearm upon it. Gesar lassoed the boulder and split it open—and there sat the One-Legged Demon Master, his lips trembling like banner ropes in the wind, his blood-red hands shaking like bushes in a gale. King Gesar demanded: "You One-Legged Demon Master—you can fly to the heavens, dive into the earth, manifest terrors in the sky, master all illusions and transformations. What manner of being are you truly?"

The One-Legged Demon Master rose, kowtowed three times, and kneeled with thumb raised to the sky, confessing: "My savior, Great King Gesar! In my previous life I served as lamplighter at the Radiant Auspicious Stupa temple of King Gocha in Nepal, named Pachu. Someone falsely accused me of stealing a golden Buddha image, and the judge had my kneecaps removed. From that day I lost faith in the Dharma and grew disgusted with my yidam, so I made an evil vow and was reborn in the domain of the Western Red-Faced Rakshasa as the One-Legged Demon."

After he finished his confession and pleaded for mercy, the Lion King Gesar of Ling declared: "You One-Legged Demon Master—your honeyed words deceive men, and not a single thing you say is true. You lost faith in the Buddha and betrayed the Dharma. Even if the Buddha himself came, he could not save you, let alone my guiding you from hell. Instead, here are three white mustard seeds. Eat one each day to eke out your miserable existence. Until river sand turns to grain, until riverbank ridges become yaks, until white boulders become sheep, until crows grow white feathers on their heads—you shall remain within this great rock. When the natural world is destroyed by water, only then shall you cease to be."

So saying, he summoned the gods, dragons, and demons of the four directions and built a five-tiered black stupa to seal the One-Legged Demon Master within. Gesar named it the "Sacred Mountain Black Stupa," inscribed upon it the words "The One-Legged Demon Lies Here," and left upon it the hoofprints of his chestnut steed and his own handprint. Upon the stupa's summit he placed an eternal butter lamp.

That same day, the Lingga warriors brought the Western Red-Faced Rakshasa Woman to the Lion's Cave above the sandalwood-shaped plateau. The Invincible King Gesar demanded: "You mother of the One-Legged Demon—what evils have you committed in the past?"

The Rakshasa Woman replied: "In the age of Kashyapa Buddha, I worshipped and made offerings. In the age of Shakyamuni and Pema Tochin, I devoured human flesh and drank human blood—no one could subdue me. Now the Great King has tamed me. I have no choice but to surrender and take refuge in you. From now on, I will obey your commands, swear never to eat human flesh nor cut off human breath. I beg you to release me, unbound."

The Lion King paid no heed to her pleas. He imprisoned the demoness within a great rock in the cave mouth, sealed it with his golden seal, and condemned her to never rise again. With all accomplished, the Lingga warriors returned triumphantly to their great camp.

The War Council and Prince Zhale's Battle Deployment

After subduing the One-Legged Demon Master and his mother, King Gesar returned to the Lingga camp and ascended his flaming golden throne. His face shone like the full moon on the fifteenth night as he declared: "Heroes of Lingga—how shall we wage war from here? How shall we cow the southern King Xinchi? When the sun rises tomorrow, whether to attack or defend shall be commanded by Prince Zhale."

Prince Zhale, obeying the king's command, sang a song of deployment to annihilate the enemy at Yimu Tang and besiege the southern strongholds:

When tomorrow's sun ascends,

Hor's Sinba Meruze shall serve

As right-wing commander-in-chief,

Mustering fifty thousand crimson-tasseled troops,

With nineteen thousand riders at his side.

Adanam of the northern lands,

Raise fifty thousand soldiers great,

With nineteen thousand mounted knights,

To follow crimson Sinba's advance

And strike the southern Yimu Tang—

Slay the Men Kingdom's great host,

Not one survivor left to tell.

The northern Dulchen Ruibao Fort—

Two heroes shall occupy.

For the left-wing assault,

The fierce War God Yula Toju commands.

Jiang's officer Yucao and young prince Yuchi Gongwa

Shall join the general Yula,

Leading fifty thousand green-tasseled troops,

With nineteen thousand riders bold—

Press forward without delay,

Seize Yuzhu Siren Castle,

Three heroes shall hold the ground.

For the eastern assault command,

Chaxiang Danma takes the lead.

Supporting him in battle comes

Bara Senda Adong—

Together raise five myriad troops,

With nineteen thousand horsemen armed,

To conquer Damu Rongcha Fort,

Two heroes shall defend that post.

Bumba's Prince Zhale,

Seba's Niben Daya,

Wenbu's Alubasen—

Each shall raise five myriad troops,

Each with nineteen thousand knights,

To besiege the western great camp,

To take Majia Chazong Fort—

We three heroes shall garrison.

The Black-Cloak Protector Gade,

La Guo Benglu Rong's son,

Mujang Renqing Daru,

Jiaqing Gama Zhandui,

Bengbu Tuoguo Bawa—

These five fierce warrior-heroes

Shall lead the swarming infantry,

With horsemen swift as hailstorms,

To occupy below Yimu Tang

And above the Ti Tang Cha Mu grounds,

In an enveloping net—

Unless Xinchi's retinue

Has wings to fly the sky

Or claws to tunnel underground,

No path of escape remains.

The Men-Ling war has raged three years,

And victory belongs to Ling.

The southern granaries above—

Now Ling shall claim them all.

Meiduo Zhuoma, Men's princess—

Today we learn if she is fair or foul.

The southern thieves' great army

Once turned camps to seas of blood—

Now I see them as tiger cubs

In mountain valleys, boasting prowess,

But driven to the northern marsh,

Cubs become mere watchdogs.

After the song, the heroes of Lingga obeyed Prince Zhale's commands. The first force, commanded by Crimson Sinba, advanced with fifty thousand red-tasseled troops and nineteen thousand horsemen, cutting their path through the Abeng Rocky Mountain. The northern heroine Adanam led her massed black-tasseled army, following Hor Sinba's forces in the pre-dawn darkness. The remaining Lingga divisions broke camp and surged like floodwaters toward the southern Yimu Tang.

The Men Kingdom's forces stationed at Upper Yimu Tang's plain were still scrambling inside their tiger, leopard, and bear tents when the Men officers Dongde Yuega and Ludui Labu galloped their chestnut wild horses before Hor's Crimson Sinba, blocking his path and singing:

Red-clad, red-horsed, red dwarf—

Are you not the kingdom-ruining Sinba Meruze?

The Hor tribe's White Tent King

Was your lifelong lord and master—

Yet you let that villain Joru of Ling

Drag him to the slaughter-ground!

Tangze boy and Sinba—

Now you've lost your lands and come to Men—

Have you come seeking your own funeral pyre?

They loosed a virulent poisoned arrow that shattered Sinba's golden mirror breastplate—yet failed to wound him. Sinba clamped his eighteen-catty iron fish-head pipe between his teeth, drew deeply from his wild-ox hide tobacco pouch, and exhaled a cloud of smoke so thick it shrouded the great valley. He drew another small puff and blew it forth, filling the entire ravine with rolling haze. Then he tucked the pipe into his belt, slung the pouch, planted his feet in the stirrups, stood upon the saddle's front bow, and nocked an arrow as he answered Ludui Labu: "You whelps of Men—can you not see death already upon you? You've spouted enough wild words. For the murder of my brother Tangze Yuzhou, I shall repay your Men kingdom one by one. See this arrow on my mighty bow—today I aim at your demon heart, and I will spill your lifeblood!"

With that, Sinba released his arrow. But Ludui Labu, feet in stirrups, stood upon his chestnut wild horse's back—the arrow pierced the front saddle bow and destroyed the rear, yet harmed neither man nor beast. Ludui Labu then recklessly shook his reins and charged straight into Sinba's forces. Sinba gave chase as Men's Dongde Yuega plunged into the melee to aid his comrade. Adanam galloped forward to block the Men officer, her arrow striking Dongde Yuega's chest—but not fatally. Dongde Yuega wheeled his horse and plunged back into the army. Meanwhile, Sinba carved through Ludui Labu's ranks, slaying some nine hundred southern soldiers.

The generals Jayu Dengba Xieni and Zhuzha Yamo each loosed arrows at Sinba, but in his fury, the upper half of his face blazed red as a volcano while the lower half darkened like storm clouds—he resembled the Red-Faced King of Hell himself. The two Men generals exchanged terrified glances and fled. Sinba pursued, and spotting Ludui Labu at the shores of Qila Lake, abandoned the chase of the two generals and struck Ludui Labu a single blow across the head—his black round skull tumbled to the ground, his body slumping from the horse.

Sinba abandoned the chestnut wild horse and, arriving at a fork between two valleys, encountered a band of southern prisoners. He approached them and met with Yula Toju and his officers. Together they pressed on to eliminate the remnants of Upper Yimu Tang's forces. At this point, Men's officer Dongde Yuega kowtowed repeatedly, begging Yula for quarter. Yula led his victorious troops back to Upper Yimu Tang, where the other heroes and warriors arrived in turn.

The King's Defiance and Princess Meiduo's Plea

King Gesar, commanding the rearguard, finally arrived at Yimu Tang, and the Lingga army established a camp more magnificent and formidable than ever before, continuing their plans to seize the Men royal palace of Dongri Langzong. Upon his golden throne, King Xinchi could not sit still. Time and again he climbed to the palace roof to scan the horizon. At the sight of Ling's mighty camp spreading across Yimu Tang, a chill ran down his spine. Trembling, he descended to the council hall of Qiongzong's upper floor, where his ministers were reveling in fine wine and rich meat, and sang:

Ling's army stands before our gates—

That villain Joru of Ling

Has come to exterminate the southern realm,

Yet you sit in comfort still!

Now we must plot with cunning wiles,

Turn defeat to victory, destroy the Ling!

Jayu Dengba Xieni—

Lead thirteen Achong captains,

Command five thousand troops,

With nine hundred twenty-four mules

Bearing countless precious goods—

Depart at once for eastern Jhana,

Submit to the great Jhana Emperor,

Invite their army to Men's domain,

To aid the southern kingdom's cause

And crush the eastern Ling—

Ministers, mark my words with care!

Just as Xinchi King finished, Princess Meiduo Zhuoma and the Men consort Chixue, mother and daughter, led eighteen maidservants bearing golden pitchers of barley wine, silver pitchers of butter tea, and conch pitchers of cheese and milk, offering full vessels to the king and all assembled warriors. Princess Meiduo Zhuoma wore a brocade gown of Jhana silk, belted with a fiery crimson sash, a rainbow-colored apron edged with jingling gold and silver bells at her waist, and strings of turquoise and coral jewels about her neck. Bearing a golden-rimmed porcelain bowl engraved with coiled dragons and filled with barley wine, she offered it to her father, saying: "Father, please hear your daughter's words. I see this great war between Men and Ling as birds swept before the wind. To preserve your life, would it not be better to submit to Ling? Father and ministers alike—you have fought Ling for three years. Ling grows stronger with each battle, while Men grows ever weaker. Should we continue, Men cannot withstand the Ling forces. As the proverb says: 'The blue sky cannot be grasped by hand.' If we struggle with all our might regardless, the southern kingdom is no match for Ling. Attacking beyond our strength will only lose us our lands. Father Xinchi would become an arrow target—disaster stares us plainly in the face. If you would follow Meiduo's counsel: immediately invite three kings—the upper Jaga King, the lower China King, and the central Tagzig King. First, to broker peace between Men and Ling; second, to preserve my father's life; third, to bring peace to our southern land. These three goals serve your welfare—I beg father and ministers to consider carefully."

When the princess finished, king and ministers exchanged silent glances. At last Xinchi King's face darkened as he declared: "I am besieged by enemies on all sides and have suffered misfortune, yet I do not regret it. After three years of war, I will never negotiate peace with Ling. Rather than beg that accursed Joru for my life, I would gladly surrender this precious life of mine!"

With that, he raised his right fist in fury and beat his own chest like a drum.