The I Ching and eight trigrams were not feudal superstition, but the ultimate simplicity of the great way.
0s and 1s could form a computer’s virtual world, and yin and yang could naturally form all things in existence.
However, someone who truly mastered the I Ching and eight trigrams, and could perform computational deductions using nine variable parameters, might well be the only one in the entire world: Lin Wan’er.
Twice yielding the same result left Lin Wan’er baffled.
Both Tang Sihai and the person behind him belonged to the death gate.
Li Yalin was Ye Chen’s man, so he belonged to the life gate.
Ye Chen himself must also be the life gate.
Then, who exactly was this person in the middle, wavering undecided?
In her puzzlement, she said to Ye Chen: “Young Master, please stay calm for now. Give this servant a little time to think through the connections. Once there is a result, Wan’er will inform Young Master immediately.”
Ye Chen nodded gently. Even Li Yalin would need one or two years, or even three to five, to track things down. No matter how miraculous Lin Wan’er was, she could not uncover clues overnight. This matter could not be rushed.
Recalling that Xiao Churan had left a letter for him at home before departing, Ye Chen suddenly felt an urge to return. So he said to Lin Wan’er: “Miss Lin, it is getting late. I shall not disturb you further. If there are any discoveries or conclusions, please take the trouble to contact me right away.”
Lin Wan’er nodded and smiled: “Young Master, rest assured.”
With that, though reluctant in her heart, she did not try to keep him. She smiled and said: “This servant will see Young Master off.”
After leaving the Purple Gold Mountain Villa, Ye Chen hurried back to Tomson Riviera without pause.
The situation at home was exactly as Cai Caizi had shown in the video.
Most of the furniture and items remained untouched, overall just as he had left it.
Returning to the bedroom, the letter Xiao Churan had left still lay quietly on the bedside table.
Ye Chen opened the letter and read it again, a layer of mist forming in his eyes once more.
Six years of marriage, and he had thought their life together was finally on track. Yet it had ended abruptly at the most beautiful moment.
Now back home, everything was as before, except for Xiao Churan’s absence. In this environment, every object evoked memories of her, making Ye Chen’s heart ache even more intensely.
After hesitating several times, he still took the letter Xiao Churan had given him and left Tomson Riviera.
Living alone in such a large house was lonely enough, and with Xiao Churan’s presence everywhere, it felt even more oppressive.
So Ye Chen left Tomson Riviera and headed alone to his half-mountain villa in Champs-Elysees. He felt he needed some time to quiet his mind, perhaps three to five days at shortest, or one to two months at longest.
Afterwards, he messaged Li Yalin and Lin Wan’er separately on WeChat, telling them to contact him by phone immediately if there was any news. As for WeChat, he planned to go offline temporarily, whitelisting only Li Yalin and Lin Wan’er on his phone, and blocking all other calls and texts.
When Lin Wan’er saw Ye Chen’s message about contacting him by phone for any news, she knew he must want some time alone to process Xiao Churan’s departure and come to terms with it.
She felt concerned, fearing he might sink into despair or suffer endless longing.
Thus, she instructed Old Zhang and the others not to disturb him, deciding to sort through Ye Chen’s recent encounters alone, and figure out exactly who the variable in the hexagram depended on.
She opened a Go board and placed a black stone on the far left, murmuring to herself: “All causes and effects have origins. So the origin of all this should be the Qingzhao Nunnery on the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, right?”
