However, these words carried a different meaning in Ye Chen’s ears.
How could three to five years be a snap of the fingers?
Without finding Xiao Churan, he would probably feel every day like a year. He did not covet the spiritual qi of the Mother of Pu Tea, but if Xiao Churan also had to wait three to five years to be found, he truly did not know how he would endure it.
Seeing the worried look on Ye Chen’s face, the perceptive and intelligent Lin Wan’er immediately sensed something amiss and asked with concern: “Has the young master encountered some troubling matter?”
Ye Chen nodded, sighed lightly, and told Lin Wan’er the whole story of Xiao Churan and her family of three leaving Jinling.
After hearing it, Lin Wan’er was first slightly surprised, then seemed to understand something and said: “Butler Tang has protected the young master in secret for so many years and can be said to be one of the people who understands the young master the most. Once he starts guarding against the young master, he will certainly do it better than others, so this servant thinks this matter is not optimistic.”
Ye Chen sighed and said: “I know it is not optimistic, but I still want to find Churan as soon as possible. I wonder if Miss Lin can help analyse it and give some pointers? At the very least, you could divine a hexagram for me.”
Seeing Ye Chen’s dejected appearance, Lin Wan’er felt a little heartbroken. She took out nine copper coins from her bosom, cleared half of the tea table, and then carefully scattered the nine copper coins on the table.
Next, she frowned at the nine copper coins, her face full of doubt.
Ye Chen could not help but ask: “Miss Lin, what does the hexagram show?”
Lin Wan’er furrowed her brows and said: “It is very strange; it simultaneously shows the Gate of Life and the Gate of Death, two completely different hexagrams. Since the young master is seeking a person, the Gate of Life and Gate of Death represent one as within easy reach and the other as searching for a needle in a haystack.”
“This…” Ye Chen was confused and subconsciously asked: “Miss Lin, how could there be such a hexagram? Is not this completely contradictory?”
Lin Wan’er pinched her fingers and silently calculated in her mind, growing more astonished the more she calculated, and said doubtfully: “The hexagram indeed shows this. Regarding whether the young master can find Madam Ye, the hexagram is one life and one death, meaning this matter has two possibilities, each fifty-fifty: extremely difficult to find or extremely easy to find. And the factor determining these two possibilities lies solely with one person.”
Ye Chen pressed: “What does this mean again?”
Lin Wan’er said: “Both the Gate of Life and the Gate of Death are in the control of one person. If this person opens the Gate of Life, the young master’s search for his wife will be as easy as pie. If this person opens the Gate of Death, the young master’s search for his wife will be as hard as climbing to heaven.”
Ye Chen could not help but say: “Then is not this referring to Tang Sihai and the mastermind behind this? The whole matter is under their control.”
“No.” Lin Wan’er explained: “Whether it is Butler Tang or his mastermind, these two in this hexagram both belong to the Gate of Death, because even if they have the ability to let the young master find Madam Ye, they absolutely would not do so. They went to such great lengths to take Madam Ye away from the young master’s side; it is impossible for them to admit that all their previous efforts were in vain.”
“This is just like someone being kidnapped; the kidnappers are his Gate of Death. Although the kidnappers also have the ability to spare his life, it is almost impossible for them to do so. His Gate of Life lies either with the police or some other third party, but not with the kidnappers.”
Ye Chen nodded, suddenly enlightened: “This means that the one who can truly influence the Gate of Life and Gate of Death is a third party besides me and Tang Sihai and the others.”
Lin Wan’er nodded and said: “That is correct.”
Ye Chen hurriedly asked: “Then is it Chief Inspector Li? I asked him to help investigate this matter. Does the success or failure of the whole thing depend on him? If his direction of investigation is correct, or if he finds that key turning point, the problem can be solved?”
Lin Wan’er hesitated and said: “This… this servant cannot say for sure…”
There was something she did not tell Ye Chen: opening the Gate of Life or the Gate of Death was at that person’s whim, meaning the Gate of Life and Gate of Death were both fully under that person’s control.
If it were just Li Yalin investigating the case, right leading to the Gate of Life and wrong to the Gate of Death, that seemed different from what the hexagram indicated.
If one had to force it onto Li Yalin, a reasonable explanation would be that after Li Yalin discovered the Gate of Life, he would hesitate whether to tell Ye Chen.
In that case, he would hold the Gate of Life in his left hand and the Gate of Death in his right; life and death would depend on his single thought.
But was that truly the case?
Lin Wan’er did not dare to confirm in her heart.
