The friend, who had somehow managed to overcome the intense dislike of the Chinese for blacks, told Aklile of rumors about an old man on a mountain far to the south, inland from the ancient port city of Canton, now known as Guangzhou. According to the friend, it was said among the Chinese, the old man was three thousand years old and knew the answers to all questions.

"There's just two problems," the friend said. "The rumor is that he mixes dirty jokes with his wisdom."

"I could deal with that, Aklile said. "What's the other problem?"

"Wait. Don't you want an example?"

Aklile sighed. "Sure."

"Here goes," his friend said. "Old country boy comes running into town one day yelling, 'I seen Jesus, I seen Jesus!' He goes in the bar and tells everbody he's going to be a preacher. They all poke fun at him and one of them says, 'What makes you think you can be a preacher?' The old country boy says, 'Not only have I seen Jesus, I've got the biggest dick in town and I just love fried chicken.'"

Aklile smiled politely. "And now the other problem?"

"It seems he's invisible until you're ready, I mean really ready, to see him."

"So how do you find him?" Aklile asked.

"Apparently he finds you, or something. No one really knows, but there are storiies of people who suddenly vanish and occasionally leave behind cryptic notes about him. I am told that it's hard to keep copies of the Tao Te Ching on the shelves these days, not just here but in other countres as well. The old man claims to be Lao-Tse himself, you see. Or at least, that's the story."