Cao Cao's illness seemed beyond the art of the physicians, and drugs seemed of no avail. It happened that Minister Xu Zhi came from the capital to visit the prince, who bade the latter take a cast from the “Book of Changes.”
“Have you ever heard of Guan Lu? He is more than human in his skill at divination,” said Xu Zhi.
“I have heard a lot about him, but I do not know how clever he is; you tell me about him,” replied Cao Cao.
“He is from Pingyuan. His face is ugly and coarse; he drinks to excess and is rather dissipated. His father was an elder of Langye. From a lad Guan Lu loved to study the stars, staying up all night to watch them, in spite of the prohibition of his father and mother. He used to say that if domestic fowls and wild geese knew the seasons naturally, how much more should humans. He often used to play with other boys at drawing pictures of the sky on the ground, putting in the sun, moon, and stars. When he grew older he studied the 'Book of Changes' very deeply and observed the winds. He was a marvelous calculator and excellent physiognomist.
“His fame reached the ears of Shan Zichun, the Governor of Langye, who called him to his residence for an interview. There were present some hundred or so other guests, every one of whom could be called able of speech.
“'I am young and not over-bold,' said Guan Lu to the Governor. 'I pray you give me three flasks of wine to loosen my tongue.' The request was astonishing, but the wine was brought in, and when he had drunk it, Guan Lu, looking contemptuously at the other guests, said, 'Now I am ready; are these the sort of opponents you have got together for me to contend with? Are these gentlemen sitting around me disputants?'
“'I myself am anxious for a match with you,' said Shan Zichun. Then they began upon the meaning of the Book of Changes. Guan Lu's words poured forth like a torrent, and his ideas were most recondite. The Governor replied, stating difficulties; Guan Lu swept them away in a stream of eloquence. So it went on the whole day without a pause even for refreshment. Neither Shan Zichun nor his other guests could help praising Guan Lu and agreeing with him.
“His fame spread wide after this encounter, and people spoke of him as the 'Supernatural Boy.' After this he became famous in another way. There was a certain Guo En, a man of the people, who had two brothers. All three became lame, and they called in Guan Lu to cast lots and discover the reason. Guan Lu said, 'By the lots there is a female demon in your family tomb, an aunt, the wife of one of your father's brothers. Some years ago, in a time of famine, for the sake of a few carts of grain, she was pushed into a well and a great stone was thrown in on her, crushing her head so that she suffered intensely. She complained to the Most High, and your lameness is the retribution for that crime. No prayers will avert the evil. The three brothers wept and acknowledged their guilt.
“Governor Wang Ji of Anping, heard of the diviner's fame and invited him to come on a visit, and he went. It happened that another guest of the Governor was the magistrate of Xindu, whose wife suffered from headaches and his son from pains in the heart. Guan Lu was asked to discover the reason. He cast lots and said that at the west corner of the main hall there were buried two corpses, one of a man who held a spear, the other of a man who had a bow and arrows. The wall was built across them. The spearman's master had gashed his head, and so his head pained. The archer's master had stabbed him in the heart, and so his heart suffered anguish. They dug where Guan Lu indicated and, about eight spans down, found two coffins, one with a spear inside and the other with a strung bow and wooden arrows. All were much decayed. Guan Lu bade them remove the bones and bury them three miles outside the walls. Thereafter the woman and her son suffered no more.
“A certain Zhuge Yuan, Magistrate of Guantao, newly promoted to Governor, was leaving for his new post, and Guan Lu went to see him off. One of the guests mentioned that Guan Lu could divine what was hidden from sight. The Governor doubted such powers and said he would put a test. He got a swallow's egg, a wasp's nest, and a spider, and concealed them in three separate boxes. He asked Guan Lu to guess the contents. The divination made, Guan Lu wrote three quatrains:
