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Liu Bei has come to visit him.”
    “The master left early this morning.”
    “Where has he gone?”
    “His movements are uncertain. I do not know where he has gone.”
    “When will he return?”
    “That also is uncertain. Perhaps in three or five days, perhaps in more than ten.”
    His disappointment was keen.
    “Let’s go back since he’s not at home,” said Zhang Fei.
    “Wait a little time,” said Liu Bei.
    “It’s better to return,” said Guan Yu. “We can send someone to find out when he’ll be back.”
    Liu Bei agreed. “When the Master returns, tell him that Liu Bei has been to visit him,” he said to the boy.
    They mounted and left. On the way Liu Bei stopped and looked back at the surroundings of the little cottage in the wood. The hills, though not high, were picturesque; the streams, though not deep, were clear like crystal; the plain, though not extensive, was smooth and level; and the woods, though not big, were luxuriant with trees. It was a place where gibbons lived in harmony with cranes and pines vied with bamboo in verdure. It was a scene to linger upon.
    While Liu Bei stood enjoying the view, he saw a figure coming down a mountain path. It was a handsome man with a lofty bearing. He wore a comfortable-looking headdress and a black robe. He used a staff to help him down the steep path.
    “Surely that is he!” said Liu Bei.
    He dismounted and walked over to greet the stranger, whom he saluted deferentially. “Are you not Master Sleeping Dragon, sir?” he asked.
    “Who are you, General?” inquired the stranger.
    “I am Liu Bei.”
    “I am not Zhuge Liang, but I am a friend of his. My name is Cui Zhou-ping.”
    “Long have I heard of your great name! I am very pleased to meet you, sir,” replied Liu Bei. “And now I wonder if I may ask you to sit where we are for I desire very much your instruction.”
    So the two men sat down facing each other on some rocks in the wood and the two brothers ranged themselves by Liu Bei’s side.
    Cui Zhou-ping spoke first. “General, for what reason do you wish to see Zhuge Liang?”
    Liu Bei replied, “The empire is in confusion and troubles gather everywhere. I want your friend to tell me how to restore order.”
    “You, sir, wish to address the problem of the present disorder, which shows you are a kindly man but, since the oldest times, order and disorder have alternated. From the day that the founder of the Han dynasty first staged the uprising to the time when he eventually overthrew the wicked rule of Qin, it was a process in which order eventually replaced disorder. Two centuries of tranquillity ensued till in the reigns of the emperors Ai and Ping came Wang Mang’s usurpation and disorder took over again. Soon, Emperor Guang-wu restored the Han Dynasty and order once more prevailed over chaos. We have had another two centuries of tranquillity, and the time of trouble and war is due. At present, order is just being replaced by disorder, so it is not yet time to aim for peace. You, sir, wish to get Zhuge Liang to regulate times and seasons, to repair the cosmos; but I fear the task is indeed difficult and to attempt it would be a vain expenditure of mental energy. You know well that he who goes with the laws of Heaven leads an easy life and he who acts contrary toils all the year round. One cannot escape one’s lot—one cannot evade fate.”
    “Sir, your insight is indeed deep and your words profound,” replied Liu Bei, “but I am a scion of the House of Han and must try to uphold its power. Dare I talk of succumbing to the inevitable and fate?”
    Cui Zhou-ping said, “I am but a simple denizen of the mountain wilds and not fit to discuss the affairs of the state. At your request just now I ventured to speak my mind, perhaps quite wrongly.”
    “Sir, I am grateful for your instruction. But do you know where Zhuge Liang has gone?”
    “I have also come to see him and I do not know where he is,” said Cui Zhou-ping.
    “Could I ask