of jasmine tea. He looked around the spacious room, and spotted a picture of a dragon hanging
on the wall. Bi moved the painting aside and found a secret compartment. Inside, wrapped in a
bundle of cloth, was the magical stone!
Bi unwrapped the stone and stared at it in amazement. The precious stone was the colour of
jade, and it was shaped like a dragon head. He took the stone and slipped it into his pocket. He ran
to the shrine of the Emperor and kneeled. He said, “Emperor, I have brought you the gemstone!
What should I do now?”
The spirit of the Emperor appeared in front of him. “Well done, General. Now, there’s no time
to lose. The Mongols are approaching fast and they must be delayed. Tell me, are you willing to
sacrifice yourself to protect your country?”
Bi thought for a moment. If I sacrifice myself, I won’t be a General anymore. For a second,
he was torn between selfishness and courage, but Bi finally decided that being a General wasn’t
everything in China.
“Yes,” he said firmly. “Anything for my country!” The moment he said these words, the stone
glowed bright green. The General was swept to Southwest Mongolia, where the stone transformed
him into a vast wall of sand. The Mongols were suddenly facing a gigantic desert, and were
delayed in invading China, giving the Chinese more time to prepare their armies.
The Gobi Desert is called Gobi, in honour of
gē bí
, which is Brother Bi’s name in Chinese.
It also means Brother of Wall, which is true as well, since the desert protected China from the
Mongols, just like the Great Wall of China.
And somewhere, buried in the sand dunes of the great Gobi Desert, is the precious jade
gemstone that saved China.
