The old man smiled and said: with fate, people meet across a thousand li; without it, they pass each other face to face.
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history
A proverb popularized by Ming-dynasty vernacular fiction, most famously 《水浒传》 and 《警世通言》, and enshrined in the household anthology 《增广贤文》. The standard pairing is 有缘千里来相会，无缘对面不相逢, 'with fate, a thousand li cannot keep two apart; without it, they pass unmet face to face.'
usage
缘 here is the Buddhist-inflected sense of 'karmic affinity', the invisible thread said to bind people destined to meet. Commonly used today at reunions, chance encounters, or online introductions.
