him wait at the side of a great hall.

Liu I asked: "What is this place called?"

"It is the Hall of the Spirits," was the reply.

Liu I looked about him: all the jewels known to earth were there in
abundance. The columns were of white quartz, inlaid with green jade;
the seats were made of coral, the curtains of mountain crystal as
clear as water, the windows of burnished glass, adorned with rich
lattice-work. The beams of the ceiling, ornamented with amber, rose in
wide arches. An exotic fragrance filled the hall, whose outlines were
lost in darkness.

Liu I had waited for the king a long time. To all his questions the
warrior replied: "Our master is pleased at this moment to talk with
the priest of the sun up on the coral-tower about the sacred book of
the fire. He will, no doubt, soon be through."

Liu I went on to ask: "Why is he interested in the sacred book of the
fire?"

The reply was: "Our master is a dragon. The dragons are powerful
through the power of water. They can cover hill and dale with a single
wave. The priest is a human being. Human beings are powerful through
fire. They can burn the greatest palaces by means of a torch. Fire and
water fight each other, being different in their nature. For that
reason our master is now talking with the priest, in order to find a
way in which fire and water may complete each other."

Before they had quite finished there appeared a man in a purple robe,
bearing a scepter of jade in his hand.

The warrior said: "This is my master!"

Liu I bowed before him.

The king asked: "Are you not a living human being? What has brought
you here?"

Liu I gave his name and explained: "I have been to the capital and
there failed to pass my examination. When I was passing by the Ging
Dschou River, I saw your daughter, whom you love, herding sheep in the
wilderness. The winds tousled her hair, and the rain drenched her. I
could not bear to see her trouble and spoke to her. She complained
that her husband had cast her out and wept bitterly. Then she gave me
a letter for you. And that is why I have come to visit you, O King!"

With these words he fetched out his letter and handed it to the king.
When the latter had read it, he hid his face in his sleeve and said
with a sigh: "It is my own fault. I picked out a worthless husband
for her. Instead of securing her happiness I have brought her to shame
in a distant land. You are a stranger and yet you have been willing to
help