The provided text consists of excerpts from the novel "Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was" by Barry Hughart, which is a fantasy story set in a mythical version of ancient China. The narrative follows Number Ten Ox, a naive peasant, and Li Kao, a wily, slightly flawed sage, on their perilous quest to find the Great Root of Power to save the children of Ox's village from poison. Their adventures are filled with magical elements, baffling mysteries—including one a thousand years old—and encounters with treacherous characters like the homicidal Ancestress and the cruel Duke of Ch'in. Ultimately, the quest involves solving the mystery of the Princess of Birds and culminates in the successful cure of the children, achieved through magical ginseng and an extraordinary celestial event.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.