love and by all else that I call holy, to tell my secret to no living being, and I will die rather than break my word." So the doctors all departed, saying there was nothing further they could do.
That night the widow devised a plan. Sitting beside her son as he lay, restless and tossing on his bed, she said:
"Daibang, my child, hearken to me that you may live and not die. I have a plan whereby you may keep your promise to the Khan and yet rid your soul of its heavy secret. Take courage! hasten and get strong, then go forth alone into a far desert place. There find a hole in the ground, or a crevice in a rock, and when you have put your lips down close, speak out the whole matter that is weighing upon your heart. So shall you keep your promise and yet find relief for your soul and live."
This advice seemed good to Daibang, and so encouraged was he by the hope of ridding himself of his secret that he
