King Gesar Transforms as a Mysterious Child from the Tea Dregs

 

Garbena was the first to arrive at the pile of tea dregs. He dismounted and poked at the dregs with his spear shaft. The pile rustled and shook, and from within crawled out a grimy, ten-year-old child. His hair was as tangled as a pile of wormwood from deep winter, and he was covered in tea leaves, looking like a little hedgehog. The child’s eyes were bleary, as if he hadn’t fully woken up. He yawned three times in a row, rubbed his dark, bright eyes with his dirty little hands, looked around at the spot where the tents had been, and said to Garbena, "Oh, long-lived lord, where has the beautiful tent gone? I only slept for a little while, and they’ve all disappeared! Oh no, oh no, what am I to do?" He looked utterly pitiful and dejected.

 

Garbena, startled to see a child emerge from the dregs, was taken aback. He questioned him sharply, "Who are you? Where did you come from? Tell me quickly! If you don’t answer truthfully, watch out, I’ll take your life this instant!" He viciously drew his sword. However, the child did not show the expected fear. Instead, he cried and said to Garbena, "Father! I am the reincarnation of your son who went to Jhana to trade and died on the way. How can you kill me?"

 

Garbena was stunned but remained highly vigilant. "If you are truly my son’s reincarnation, then among these Hor soldiers and generals, who do you recognize? If you can’t name anyone, I will still kill you!" Unexpectedly, the child truly seemed to have lived a past life among the Hor, naming the Hor generals one by one. Garbena was even more astonished and began to believe this child was indeed the reincarnation of his own prematurely deceased son.

 

Sinba’s Recognition and the Pledge with King Gesar

 

Sinba, however, did not believe this story. He raised his long spear and thrust it at the child. But before the spear tip could even get close, it snapped into two pieces on its own. A tremor ran through Sinba’s heart—his deepest fear had finally materialized. Who else could this child before him be if not the illusory transformation of the great King Gesar? He then said to the child, "Come with me behind the mountain. There are some things I must ask you alone."

 

Garbena hurriedly intervened, "This child truly is the reincarnation of my son, Zanjia. He has come to seek refuge with me now. You must not harm his life!" Sinba then made a solemn vow to Garbena, who finally agreed to let him take the child away.

 

Sinba led the child to a very secluded mountain gully. He hastily jumped down from his horse, took a pure white Khata from the silver box he carried, and removed a jade ring from his ring finger. He respectfully offered these to the child, kowtowed three times with a thud, and said, "My revered master! I recognized at first glance that you are not a Jhana vagabond, but the omniscient divine incarnation, the Invincible Lion Treasure King. Your phoenix eyes with their reddish rims prove you are a direct descendant of the Ling Gabu royal lineage. Your raven-black hair shimmering with rainbow light, the green mole between your brows, your conch-white teeth, your body exuding the scent of sandalwood, your divine gait like a swan, and your kingly demeanor—all proclaim you are a true deity, an enlightened ruler of all people. Yet I, this sinful Sinba, have many unspeakable hardships before you, Great King!" He then recounted the entire story of the Hor-Ling war in detail.

 

The child said, "You, this Hor minister, are the lord of the twelve myriarch tribes. Bestowing a Khata and a ring upon me, a Jhana vagabond, fills me with immense gratitude. But your mockery also shames me greatly. Please, say no more!" As he spoke, he put away the Khata and ring and made it as if to leave.

 

Seeing the gifts accepted, Sinba was overjoyed. He promised, "Now my wish is fulfilled. Rest assured, Great King. From this day forward, firstly, I will never reveal this matter to anyone. Secondly, I will never again offer a single word of advice regarding White Tent King or the safety of the Hor." Having said this, he rode straight back to the city of Zomoru Zong, closed his gates, and entered a quiet retreat, never to emerge again.

 

Gesar’s Test for Gijum Yixi in Garbena’s Household

 

The child returned to the original spot. Garbena helped him onto his own saddle, and the two rode back home together on the same horse. Garbena Quedar led the child to the main gate and said, "It’s late today. You stay in the outer courtyard. Come to the inner courtyard tomorrow after the sun rises."

 

After Garbena went inside, he said to his daughter, Gijum Yixi, "I’ve brought a vagabond child. Go take him some food." Yixi thought to herself, Could the auspicious dream I had last night be connected to this child? So she fetched a full pot of tea, a cooked sheep’s foreleg, a box of roasted barley flour, and a jar of cheese, and brought them to the child.

 

The child saw that this maiden was exceptionally beautiful, her looks in no way inferior to the heavenly Zumu. If she weren’t a close relative of White Tent King, perhaps the incident of forcibly seizing Zumu wouldn’t have happened, he thought.

 

When the maiden brought the food, the child pretended to be angry. He scattered the roasted barley flour, letting the wind blow it away; tore the sheep’s leg into three pieces and threw them aside; smashed the cheese jar against the wall, shattering it to pieces; poured the entire pot of tea on the ground; and thoroughly mocked Gijum Yixi. Enraged, Yixi’s face turned pale. She ran back inside, crying to her father, "Father! That vagabond poured out the cheese and tea, scattered the flour, smashed the jar, and viciously cursed your daughter, me!"

 

Garbena was furious. "If this is true, I’ll have to slaughter him!" He grabbed a black duck-billed tong in his left hand and a meteoric iron hammer in his right, and rushed to the outer courtyard. There he saw the child sitting leisurely, carefully tearing pieces of meat from the sheep’s leg and eating slowly, while drinking thick tea mixed with roasted barley flour and cheese. The child even muttered to himself, "This blacksmith father is truly kind, giving such good food to a child like me. I am endlessly grateful!"

 

Garbena quietly returned, angrily saying to his daughter, "How could you lie? When was the meat and flour thrown away? Isn’t he over there eating it carefully right now?" Yixi herself was very puzzled but couldn’t say anything more. She then took a milk pail to milk the cows for the night. Going outside, she saw the child had already slaughtered a cow. The beef was hanging from a beam, the hide spread on the ground, and he was cleaning intestines on the hide. She cried out furiously, "What are you doing?!" The child casually picked up a wooden stick and struck Yixi three times on the back. Then he snatched the milk pail from her hands, kicked out its bottom, and chased her back inside.

 

The panicked girl told her father how the vagabond had killed the cow and kicked the bottom out of the pail. Garbena, greatly perplexed, went to see for himself. When he ran out to look, he saw the cow, well-fed by the child, its coat glossy, still munching on fodder. The bottomless milk pail lay rolling to the side. Garbena asked, "Child! I heard you just hit my daughter, killed the cow, and kicked the pail bottom out. What in the world is going on?"

 

"Honored elder!" the child replied. "Your daughter came to milk the cow but was accidentally kicked by it, which knocked the bottom out of the pail. She went back in a huff. As for hitting her, I wouldn’t even think of it! Why would I hit her? Could it be that your daughter is unhappy with me about something?" Garbena had nothing to say and silently returned.

 

Revelation and Vows in the Forest

 

The next day, Garbena planned to give his "son" some chores and asked what he could do. The child answered, "I cannot turn prayer wheels without scriptures, I cannot lead outside enemies in, and I cannot take things from the house to throw away. Other than that, I can do anything." So he arranged for the child and his daughter to go to the mountains to cut firewood. Gesar nodded in agreement.

 

Gijum Yixi prepared food, and the two went to a forest near the mountains. Gesar said, "Sister, let’s each work separately." Yixi suggested working together to be faster, but Gesar wouldn’t agree. Yixi had to go dig a charcoal pit and chop wood by herself, while Gesar lay comfortably on the ground and fell asleep. Yixi lit the fire and ran over to tell Gesar to get up and tend the charcoal. He just rolled over, didn’t even open his eyes, and went back to sleep. Angry, Yixi ate half of the food she brought, left the other half beside Gesar, loaded the charcoal she had made, and went home. When she told her father, Prince Garbena was also angry, waiting only for Gesar’s return to settle accounts.

 

Not long after, Gesar returned carrying a large load of charcoal. Garbena looked at his daughter with suspicion, and Yixi was also stunned speechless. Garbena hurriedly told his daughter to go make tea and cook for Gesar. Yixi’s heart seemed to understand something, but she showed no sign and went to prepare a meal for him.

 

Some days later, when the charcoal was used up, Yixi proactively told her father she wanted to go make charcoal with Gesar again. Her father agreed. Yixi prepared the food, and the two returned to the same forest. This time, Yixi did not rush to chop wood or make charcoal. Instead, she sat quietly on the ground, silently reciting something. After a while, she got up, boiled a pot of tea, offered the first bowl to heaven and earth, gave the second bowl to Gesar who was lying on the ground, and also presented him with a Khata and a pair of ivory bracelets.

 

Seeing Yixi acting completely out of character and strangely, Gesar was puzzled. Then he heard Gijum Yixi sing softly and joyfully:

 

"This towering snow mountain of mine,

Is the rightful home for you, the white lion.

Why have you not yet shown your green mane?

The snow mountain has always longed for you,

Do you know my sincere devotion?

 

This brocade-like grassy mountain of mine,

Is the rightful home for you, the red wild yak.

Why have you not yet revealed your horns?

The grassy mountain has always longed for you,

Do you know my infatuation?

 

This lush sandalwood forest of mine,

Is the rightful home for you, the fierce tiger.

Why have you not yet shown your stripes?

The sandalwood forest has always longed for you,

Do you know my kind heart?

 

I, the Hor maiden Gijum Yixi,

Am the lifelong companion of the Lion King.

Why have you not yet revealed your true form?

This maiden has always longed for you,

Do you know my unwavering loyalty?

 

These conch-white ears of mine,

Have already heard the Heavenly Mother’s song.

These morning-star eyes of mine,

Have already seen the Heavenly Mother’s form.

The Heavenly Mother’s prophecy aligns with my heart,

For the Great Lion King is my beloved."

 

The Lion King knew it was time to reveal his true form.

 

After Yixi finished singing, the child lying on the ground was gone. Just as she was searching with her eyes, she saw a hero appear in mid-air. The hero had teeth white as jade, a dark-red complexion, and a stalwart build. His tiger-waist was as solid as a Vajra, his feet planted like an elephant’s. He wore a white helmet and white armor, rode a fiery-red precious steed, with silk ribbons fluttering around him. His body radiated light, truly like a deity descending from heaven. The Lion King placed a pure white Khata symbolizing "Peace Day and Night" around Gijum Yixi’s jade-like neck and sang to her:

 

"I come from the distant north,

I am indeed Gesar, the Lion King.

Not to admire the wonders of mountains and rivers,

But to reclaim my abducted wife.

Pursuing external foes, I lost my homeland,

Conquering the Demon Kingdom, I ravaged Ling.

Wedding a demoness, I lost my queen,

Slaying the black demon, I invited White Tent King.

Gaining demon wealth, I lost my treasure.

I came to settle the blood debt with White Tent King.

First, to avenge my elder brother Gyatsa’s death,

Second, to rescue my beloved wife who was seized,

Third, to redress the hatred for destroying my Ling Kingdom,

I will surely eliminate White Tent King, this enemy.

 

In this moment of vexation and solitude,

Only you are my sole companion.

In battle, please strategize for me,

After subduing the enemy, please return with me to Ling."

 

The great King Gesar and the maiden Gijum made solemn vows to each other, pledging to grow old together in shared loyalty, never to part.

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