"The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox" is a series of three books about Li Kao, an ancient sage and scholar with "a slight flaw in his character", and his client, later assistant, the immensely strong peasant Number Ten Ox, who narrates the story. The series blends Chinese mythology—authentic and imagined, from several eras—with detective fiction and a gentle, ironic humour. The first book "Bridge of Birds" was published in 1984, the title derived from "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" myth. It was followed in 1988 by "The Story of the Stone" and in 1990 by "Eight Skilled Gentlemen". No further books followed, although Hughart had planned a series of seven novels. In the last of these, Li Kao and Number Ten Ox would die facing the Great White Serpent (a conflict alluded to in "Bridge of Birds"). They would then become minor celestial deities who would continue to cause problems for the August Personage of Jade. An omnibus edition, "The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox" was first published in 1998 by The Stars Our Destination Books in both hardback and trade paperback. It was illustrated by Kaja Foglio.