Thus Aladdin escaped a second time the almost inevitable danger of losing his life: but this was not the last, since he ran as great a hazard a third time, the circumstances of which I shall relate.
The African magician had a younger brother, who was a great necromancer, and even surpassed him in villainy and pernicious designs. As they did not live together, or in the same city, but oftentimes when one was in the east the other was in the west, they failed not every year to inform themselves, by their art of necromancy, where each other was, how they did, and whether they stood in need of each other’s assistance.
Some time after the African magician had failed in his enterprise against Aladdin’s happiness, his younger brother, who had not heard any tidings of him for a year, and was not in Africa, but in a distant country, had the curiosity to know in what part of the world he was, how he did, and what he was doing; and as he, as well as his brother, always carried a geomantic square instrument about him, he prepared the sand, cast the points, and drew the figures. On examining the houses, he found that his brother was no longer living; by another house, that he had been poisoned, and died suddenly; and by another, that it was in the capital of the kingdom of China; and that the person who poisoned him was of mean birth, and married to a princess, a sultan’s daughter.
When the magician had after this manner informed himself of his brother’s fate, he lost no time in useless regret, which could not restore him to life again; but resolving immediately to revenge his death, he took horse, and set forwards for China: where, after crossing plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, and a long tract of country without stopping, he arrived after incredible fatigues.
When he came to the capital of China, which his knowledge of geomancy pointed out to him, and being certain he had not mistaken any other kingdom for it, he took a lodging. The next day he went out, and walked through the town, not so much to observe the beauties, which were indifferent to him, but with an intention to take proper measures to execute his pernicious designs. He introduced himself into the most frequented places, where he listened to everybody’s discourse. In a place where people resorted to divert themselves with all sorts of games, and where some are conversing while others play, he heard some persons talk of the virtue and piety of a woman called Fatima, who had retired from the world, and of the miracles she performed. As he fancied that this woman might be serviceable to him in the project he had in his head, he took one of the company aside, and desired him to tell him more particularly who that holy woman was, and what sort of miracles she performed.