Page:Romance of the Three Kingdoms - tr. Brewitt-Taylor - Volume 1.djvu/328

 Ts‘ao Ts‘ao that he need not fear you, that you were frivolous and unready, impulsive and shallow, just a stupid swaggerer who would one day come to his death at the hands of some mean person.”

This provoked the sick man beyond endurance.

“How dare he say this of me, the fool!” cried Sun Ts‘ê. “I will take the capital from Ts‘ao, I swear.”

It was no more a question of repose. Ill as he was he wanted to begin preparations for an expedition at once. They remonstrated with him, reminded him of the physician’s orders and urged him to rest.

“You are risking your priceless self in a moment’s anger,” said Chang Chao.

Then arrived Ch‘ên Chên, the messenger from Yüan Shao, and Sun would have him brought in. He said, “My master wishes to ally himself with Wu in an attack on Ts‘ao Ts‘ao.”

Such a proposal was just after Sun’s heart. At once he called a great meeting of his officers in the wall tower and prepared a banquet in honour of the messenger. While this was in progress he noticed many of his captains whispering to each other and they all began to go down from the banquet chamber. He could not understand this and enquired of the attendants near him what it meant. They told him that Saint Yü had just gone by and the officers had gone down to pay their respects to him. Sun Ts‘ê rose from his place and went and leaned over the railing to look at the man. He saw a Taoist priest in snowy garb leaning on his staff in the middle of the road, while the crowd about him burnt incense and made obeisance.

“What wizard fellow is this? Bring him here!” said Sun.

“This is Yü Chi,” said the attendants. “He lives in the east and goes to and fro distributing charms and draughts. He has cured many people as everybody will tell you, and they say he is a saint. He must not be profaned.”

This only angered Sun the more and he told them to arrest the man at once or disobey at their peril. So there being no help for it they went down into the road and hustled the saint up the steps.

“You madman! How dare you incite men to evil?” said Sun Ts‘ê.

“I am but a poor priest of the Lanyeh Palace. More than half a century ago, when gathering simples in the woods, I found near the Chüyang Spring a book called “The Way of Peace.” It contains a hundred and more chapters and taught me how to cure the diseases of men. With this in my possession I had only one thing to do, to devote myself to spreading its teachings and saving mankind. I have never taken any thing from the people. Can you say I incite men to evil deeds?”