CHAPTER 50

 

The King's Forgetfulness in the Demon Land

 

Why had the Great Lion King Gesar not yet returned to his country? When he went north to subdue the demons, it took only three months and nine days to shoot and kill the Black Demon Lutsan. Afterward, he performed many virtuous deeds in the Demon Kingdom, freeing its beings from Lutsan's oppression and bringing them peace and happiness. Thus, three full years passed.

 

Once everything in the demon lands was settled, Gesar prepared to return to the Ling Kingdom. He appointed the old shepherd Qinen as a minister of the Demon Kingdom to manage its affairs. Just as all this was arranged, the two consorts, Meisa Bungji and Adanam, approached the Great Lion King and offered him fine wine. After drinking, Gesar completely forgot about returning home. Day after day, he sat on the white lotus throne in the Nine-Spired Demon Palace, playing chess with Qinen, drinking and singing with Meisa and Adanam, indulging in pleasure and revelry.

 

It turned out that Consort Meisa, having lived in the Demon Kingdom for so long, had inevitably been influenced by the demons. She was unwilling to return to Ling, fearing both that Zumu would steal the king's favor from her and that she had grown accustomed to the life of pleasure in the demon lands. So, together with Adanam, she gave the king wine laced with a drug, causing him to forget his past, forget Ling, and forget Zumu. Adanam, born and raised in the Demon Kingdom, was the sister of the Demon King Lutsan. Out of admiration for Gesar, she had helped him subdue the Black Demon. Naturally, she also had no desire to leave the Demon Kingdom. Seeing that Meisa shared her sentiments, she was happy to assist.

 

Gesar lived days of extraordinary joy—by day, entertained by his ministers; by night, accompanied to bed by consorts as beautiful as celestial maidens. His mind grew muddled, unaware of how many days or months had passed.

 

The Soul-Binding Crane's Warning

 

When Ling was invaded by the Hor and Zumu sent the soul-binding white crane with a letter to the Nine-Spired Demon Palace, Gesar was playing dice with Qinen for amusement. Lifting his head abruptly, Gesar saw the crane in the sky, but he no longer remembered it was Ling's soul-binding bird. Instead, he asked in surprise, "Ah! What kind of bird is this that I've never seen before? Bird, where do you come from?"

 

The white crane stretched its neck and sang to the Great Lion King:

 

The home of the sun and moon,

Lies on the high mountains of the east;

After dispelling darkness, they set in the west,

Never lingering long at the zenith.

The home of the white thick clouds,

Lies in the south of Jambudvipa;

After bringing shade, they drift northward,

Never floating forever in the void.

The home of the azure cuckoo,

Lies on the mountains of Menyu in the south;

After changing the climate, it returns to the forest,

Never dwelling forever in the north.

The home of the white sheep,

Lies by the beautiful shepherd's pen;

After grazing on green grass, they return to the fold,

Never remaining forever on the grassland.

Gesar, King of Jambudvipa,

Born in a place envied by all,

Having subdued the demons, you should return home,

Not spend your life in the demon city of Yar Kong.

I am Ling's soul-binding bird,

Carrying the queen's letter to the north;

The people of Ling suffer calamity,

Great King, you must swiftly return to your homeland.

 

The white crane's song helped the Great Lion King regain his memory. He thought of Ling again, of Queen Zumu. Gesar mused: When new clouds gather at dawn, sunlight surely will not appear; when fog shrouds the great river, villages surely will not be seen; when Ling sends its soul-binding bird, the news surely is not auspicious. Descending from the lotus throne to retrieve the letter hanging from the crane's neck, he continued to ponder: A gale in midsummer foretells drought; a cold snap in early spring foretells frozen earth; a severe frost in autumn foretells ruined crops; a warm winter foretells blurred seasons; when Ling's divine bird flies to the demon lands, surely turmoil and war are afoot. As he opened the letter, Queen Zumu's message indeed brought dire tidings: the Hor had surrounded Ling, seeking to seize her as consort for the White Tent King, and she implored the king to return quickly to rescue them from peril.

 

Upon reading the letter, the past confusion vanished from Gesar's mind, leaving it clear as a mirror. He decided to depart immediately for Ling, to defeat the Hor King and save his subjects.

 

The Consorts' Deception and the Fox's Plea

 

Meisa Bungji and Adanam once again approached the Great Lion King, graceful and smiling—one holding a jug, the other a bowl—as they offered him wine:

 

Great King,

Your face is like the full moon on the fifteenth night,

Why is the bright moon shrouded in dark clouds?

Your eyes are like stars at dawn,

Why do sparks of lightning flash within them?

Your heart is as kind as a bodhisattva's,

Why are you filled with such blazing wrath?

 

As they sang and offered wine, Gesar, anxious and thirsty, drank a cup as if it were tea. Unaware of the wine's potency—that it would induce sleep and forgetfulness—he fell into the trap laid by Meisa and Adanam, who had overheard the conversation between the white crane and the king and intended to stop his return.

 

Sure enough, Gesar forgot everything once more and resumed a life of ease and pleasure with his consorts. Thus, another three years passed—the same three years Zumu had used her wits to delay the Hor.

 

One day, the little magpie sent by Zumu with a message alighted on the city gate where Gesar and his two consorts were singing. Seeing the bird, Meisa immediately said, "Great King, just as we are enjoying ourselves, this bird comes to cause trouble again. Quickly, shoot it!"

 

Gesar drew his bow and shot the little magpie dead at the city gate—the very scene Zumu had seen in her magic mirror.

 

Not long after the magpie's death, a red fox came and pawed at the city gate. Gesar, upon seeing the beautiful fox, prepared to shoot again, but the fox spat out half of a golden ring from its mouth. Seeing the dazzling golden ring, Gesar put away his bow and arrow and approached the red fox: "Sister Fox, give me that ring. I won't shoot you; I'll even reward you."

 

The red fox spat the ring into Gesar's hand and relayed the message Zumu had entrusted to it, concluding: "Great Lion King, Queen Zumu has been pressured for three years, Ling has been besieged for three years, and the people have suffered for three years. Why have you not returned?"

 

The ring illuminated Gesar's heart, restoring his memory and making him realize that the years of delay were due to Meisa. He resolved to return to Ling immediately and vowed never to drink the wine offered by Consort Meisa again. Knowing that any further delay risked Zumu being taken, he thought: First, I'll shoot an arrow to frighten the Hor King. Perhaps that will buy more time. With time, I can return and personally punish the wicked White Tent King.

 

Gesar silently recited: Arrow! Do not be scorched by fire, swept away by water, damaged by blades, or blown away by wind. Divine demon-subduing arrow, fly swiftly to the great tent of the Hor King.

 

The divine arrow, bearing Gesar's blessings and the Great Lion King's might, flew toward the great tent of the White Tent King of Hor and struck the pillar above the tiger-skin throne—the very arrow that even the White Tent King could not pull out, the arrow that frightened him into considering retreat. But Gesar had not anticipated the traitor Chao Tong, who revealed the truth to the White Tent King.

 

The Divine Steed's Lament and the Final Awakening

 

Learning that Gesar intended to return to Ling, Meisa Bungji and Adanam knew that offering wine would no longer work. Instead, they prepared a lavish feast, claiming it was a farewell banquet for the king, but laced the food with the amnesia-inducing drug. Unaware, Gesar happily ate the meal and ordered the two consorts to prepare for departure immediately after.

 

After the meal, as before, Gesar forgot about returning home. Joyful days flew by once more—another three years passed. It was now the ninth year since Gesar had come to the northern Demon Kingdom. Queen Zumu had been captive of the Hor for three years.

 

The eloquent divine steed Jang Gapeibu grew increasingly anxious, yearning intensely to return to Ling. Fearing it might awaken the king, Meisa secretly fitted it with an iron bridle, iron hobbles, tethered it to an iron pillar as tall as a man, and locked it in a small dark room. How could such a divine creature endure such mistreatment? It soon broke free from its prison and fled back to Mount Meru.

 

One day, King Gesar suddenly thought of Jang Gapeibu and asked Meisa about it. Unaware of the steed's whereabouts, she had no choice but to truthfully report that the horse had vanished. Enraged, the king set out on foot, crossing mountains and ridges in search. When he climbed the northern Red Heart Mountain, which stood like confronting great bears, he saw the mist-wrapped sacred mountain of Ling, Machen Pomra. Filled with both joy and melancholy, he prayed to the deities of Ling and the heavenly mother, asking them to display their power and summon back his steed. Soon, a white cloud rose from the peak of Machen Pomra, soaring into the blue sky and instantly arriving before the king. As if in a dream, it carried him to the summit of Mount Meru.

 

There, the divine horse pawed the ground three times with its front hooves, neighed loudly three times, and galloped toward the king, shedding tears. The king sang to it:

 

Swift messenger, come quickly!

Chestnut divine steed, do not be angry,

The swift wind is not as fast as you,

The rainbow is not as splendid as you,

The fierce tiger is not as mighty as you,

The great lion is not as majestic as you,

Your endurance surpasses even the white vulture's!

You and I came together from the heavenly realm,

Born together in Jambudvipa.

I cherished my brother Gyatsa Xiega,

And Queen Sangjang Zumu,

As much as I cherish you.

The ancients said:

"The warrior loves his steed,

The steed loves its warrior."

When you gallop fiercely, my heart aches,

I could never bear to whip you.

But here in the northern Black Demon Kingdom,

Why have you abandoned me?

 

The Red Rabbit-like Divine Steed explained to the king:

 

Great Lion King, you speak rightly.

In the past, in our homeland Ling,

Zumu cared for me like a delicate child.

At sunrise each morning,

A golden bowl brimmed with tender rice and butter,

Often mixing sugarcane with feed,

She would ask, "Divine steed, are you hungry?"

When the sun reached midday,

A silver bowl brimmed with fresh milk,

Often mixing sugarcane with feed,

Stirring it with a golden hairpin for me to drink,

She would ask, "Divine steed, are you thirsty?"

In summer, she set me on fragrant grasslands,

Asking, "Steed, are you happy in heart?"

In winter, she draped beast-skin blankets over me,

Asking, "Are you cold or warm?"

When you first came to the Demon Kingdom,

You promised to return home in three years.

But now, the demoness Consort Meisa,

Placed an iron bridle on my head,

Shackled my four hooves with iron hobbles,

Tethered me to an iron pillar tall as a man,

Gave me not a blade of grass nor a drop of water,

And said, "Wild horses are hard to manage."

She tricked you into drinking the bewitching wine,

Making you forget past and future,

Making you abandon suffering Ling,

To dwell long in the Black Demon region.

Regardless of the Hor's million-strong army,

Like starving wolves pouncing on a flock of sheep,

Hanging the hero Gyatsa's head on the enemy's walls,

Seizing Zumu like a prisoner,

Causing Ling's heroic brothers,

To stain the yellow sands with blood, losing heads and lives.

The ancients had a saying:

"If one cannot recognize the first-grown leaves,

There is no need to recognize later-grown seeds;

If the first-born son cannot bring honor,

What use is honor from later-born sons?"

If you do not cherish your original homeland Ling,

What meaning is there in guarding the Demon Kingdom well?

If you do not protect your original wedded queen,

What benefit is there in doting on the demoness Meisa?

First, because you delayed your return,

Second, because I longed for sacred Ling,

Third, because I wished to see Zumu's suffering,

Therefore, I left you far behind.

If you will not allow this,

Great King, set off for home at once!

At Meisa's threshold,

Linger no more, wandering and forgetting your return!

 

Hearing this, the king's eyes filled with tears. He heaved three long sighs and said, "Jang Gapeibu! What you say is not wrong. Now, let us go quickly!" So saying, he mounted the divine steed, and in less than a moment, they arrived at the demon city. From horseback, the king roared at Meisa and Adanam: 

 

"Two cunning demon consorts! You tricked me into drinking muddy water, making me forget everything! Causing my divine clan to suffer enemy oppression! Imprisoning my eyeball-like steed in a dark room with an iron bridle! Your words are like a fairy's, but your hearts are demonic! Today, my steed and I will return with all speed! If you scheme again, do not blame me for being merciless!"

 

Meisa Bungji still wanted to obstruct, but Adanam dissuaded her: "Ling has already been plundered by the Hor, Zumu has been forcibly taken as consort by the White Tent King, and King Gesar has been delayed in the demon lands for nine years. If he does not return, the heavenly deities, fierce gods, and dragon gods of the dragon realm will punish us. Do not block the king's path any longer. Do not give him the forgetfulness drug again. When the king returns to Ling, let us also pack quickly and follow him home."

 

The thousand-mile divine steed Jang Gapeibu bore King Gesar aloft. Seeing the king's burning desire to return, Jang Gapeibu ran faster and more urgently than ever, wishing it could take the king back to Ling in a single step.

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