All of a sudden, Zhao Yu was trembling from head to toe, and almost jumped out of his sleeping bag. In the past, he often envisioned the appearance of “qian” hexagram, expecting that if it exists, it will surely appear in a very special circumstance.Never did he expect that, in the midst of the tranquil jungle, all of a sudden, the system would open the unprecedented “qian” hexagram.
Each time the system open a hexagram, it would quickly restore itself to its original state. This made Zhao Yu wonder if the “qian” hexagram was just his illusion. However, he was almost certain that he was listening to the system earnestly, and could not have made a mistake about it.
Zhao Yu had owned the system for quite some time already. Since then, the system had opened all combinations of the hexagram in the Eight Diagrams before, except the “qian” hexagram. Thus, this made him doubt the existence of the “qian” hexagram. Now, seeing the “qian” hexagram open before his eyes, made Zhao Yu believe that it really exist.
Zhao Yu had previously made speculations on how the “qian” and “kun” hexagram associate with the cases on hand. Had the “kun” hexagram appeared in the current situation he was in, there was bound to be an occurrence of a major event. For instance, the “Mianling Kidnapping Case”, “Qu Ping death”, “Bank robbery” and “Bank corpse case” were associated with the appearance of the “kun” hexagram.
Thus, Zhao Yu logically thought that the “kun” hexagram represented “man-made calamity”. If the “kun” and “qian” hexagram corresponded, it would have meant that “man-made calamity” would be followed by “natural disaster”. When combined, it meant man-made calamity and natural disaster!
The “qian” hexagram represents the heaven. Does it mean that, once the “qian” hexagram appeared, there would be a natural disaster from heaven? Goodness gracious me! My life is at stake!
Despite the undesirable consequences associated with the “kun” hexagram, there were possibilities of controlling the situation, as they were all man-made. However, if the “qian” hexagram was associated with natural disasters, who would be able to control them?
Zhao Yu felt traumatized after the appearance of the “qian” hexagram. The feeling felt stronger than his previous encounter with the “kun” hexagram. Would this mean that both Miao Ying and himself would in great danger related to natural disasters?
Holy sh*t!
Zhao Yu suddenly recalled that, years ago, the old experts encountered the flood at the very same spot that both of them now reside. Would it happen to them too?
Oh my God, what shall I do?
Should we… escape before the “qian” hexagram takes effect?
But… No…
Zhao Yu soon observed that the appearance of the “qian” hexagram and “kun” hexagram seemed different. This should be considered a “gen qian” hexagram, and “gen” comes before “qian”, so what did it mean?
Previously, when the “kun” hexagram appeared, it would appear before other diagrams. The “gen” hexagram represented the progress of the case. If the “qian” hexagram is omitted, it would have meant that he was on the right track to crack the case. And also, that the trip that Miao Ying and him embarked on would definitely reap some important clues to the case.
Tsk… tsk…
One face of the hexagram indicated important clues to the case, while another face of the hexagram indicated great danger. Which… would come true?
Zhao Yu is not someone who quit easily. After much deliberation, he decided to carry on his investigation in the mountain. Apart from tracing the whereabouts of the Tomb robbers, he also wished to crack the Tomb murder case, then, to top it all, he wanted to witness what the “qian” hexagram represented.
Though he made up his mind not to quit, and to carry on his investigation, he had a hard time falling asleep. It was partly due to the fact that he was chased out of the tent by Miao Ying, which was weighing heavily on his mind.
Unlike the usual daybreak, the day dawned with a cloudy sky. The surrounding air felt humid and looked hazy. It looked like a downpour is expected.
A downpour?!
Flood?
Will there be a flood?
Zhao Yu hastened to look at the devices he had in his brain. Though there were not many devices in there, at least he had two Invisible Breathing Devices. Should there be a flood, he need not worry that Miao Ying and he would drown to death.
Zhao Yu got up to ignite the charcoal below the firewood to warm him up and to heat up some breakfast. By this time, Miao Ying had emerged from the tent and stretched herself.
“Gosh!” Miao Ying sighed. “Had I known that you, jerk, were not up to any tricks, I should have gone to bed earlier.”
Zhao Yu turned around and looked at Miao Ying. Though she looked a little tired, she was still as charming as ever.
Zhao Yu thought to himself: Had it not been for the appearance of the “qian” hexagram that caused my sleepless night, I would have risked being electrocuted by the electric batons and snuck into your tent!
Zhao Yu’s thoughts and speech did not align.
He actually said, “Captain Miao, I am an honest man. Why would I stoop so low as to carry out such shameless acts? Are you belittling me?”
“Yes, I am sure I am right about you! I would not agree to come into the mountain with you next time. I had to be on guard against you, just as I would with a robber!” Miao Ying retorted.
“Hahaha!” Zhao Yu laughed. “How could you compare me with those bad guys? With me, you would only lose your virginity, at most. With the bad guys, you could lose your life!”
“You jerk!” Miao Ying raised her electric baton and shouted, “Do you believe I can make you incontinent right now?”
“My fault, I am sorry!” Zhao Yu hurriedly apologized, “Let us conserve the electric power to deal with the enemies instead!”
The two of them bantered and had their breakfasts before setting off to continue their journey. They slowed down as they approached a more dangerous region. They examined the surroundings with the attempt to find any possible clues left behind by the Tomb robbers.
The weather deteriorated. Though it did not rain as expected, the surrounding air was exceptionally humid and foggy. They could not see the tip of some mountains.
Zhao Yu and Miao Ying walked on and found themselves in the depths of the jungle. There were no paths in sight, and they could only rely on the compass on their mobile phones to direct their paths.
Though they managed to find some footprints and grocery bags, they were not certain that these belonged to the Tomb robbers. They could have been left behind by some backpackers or villagers living near the mountain.
Fearing that the “qian” hexagram’s natural disaster might befall them, Zhao Yu kept reminding Miao Ying not to step into the low-lying lands or get near any streams. The Qin Shui River runs through the whole of the Qinshan mountain. However, from the records, the old experts encountered the flood only at one of the tributary rivers.
This tributary river resided at the bottom of the valley, on the left side of where they were standing. This tributary river looked more like a small stream. Before Miao Ying could get near the stream, Zhao Yu stopped her and said, “If the ancient folks were to hide some treasures, they would not have hidden them beside a stream. Or else the treasures would be drenched.”
Just as the two of them were arguing whether to get near the stream, Zhao Yu’s phone rang. The call was from Liang Huan. Although their mobile phones were equipped with satellite communication functions, the strength of their mobile phone signals were intermittent, likely due to the fact that they were situated in the depths of the jungle. Zhao Yu had to move around and find a spot that had a stronger signal in order to hear Liang Huan clearly.
Liang Huan excitedly said, “Hey! Zhao! I gathered the colleagues from the Identification Bureau and friends who examined the Buddhist sutras, to infer and put together all the sutras that the Tomb robbers could have come into contact with.” He added, “Knowing that both Captain Miao and you were heading to the place where the old experts encountered the flood…”
“I pondered and thought of an idea! I keyed in the list of places which both of you intend to visit into the computer, and did a match against the Buddhist sutras. Guess what I saw? In the ‘Jia Leng Shen Ye’ sutras, I found three word matches! I am not sure if this would be of any help to you.” As the poor signal persisted, Liang Huan shouted, “Here were the three words: The… General… Ridge…!”
“The General Ridge?!”
Both of them hurriedly looked up the map on their mobile phones and found a place named “The General Ridge”.
Liang Huan said, “My colleague looked up the cultural records and found out that The General Ridge had a historical background that could be traced all the way back to the Sui and Tang dynasties. For more than a thousand years, the name of the place had remained unchanged.”
Liang Huan added, “I am not sure if it was pure coincidence that this was the only match found. However, do visit the place and take a look! Shall you find that they changed the name of the place, do not forget to update me! I would compare the records again.”
“Sure!”
Pointing at the map on her mobile phone, Miao Ying said, “We are about twelve to thirteen kilometers away from The General Ridge. We should be able to reach it before noon.”
“Great!”
Although Zhao Yu nodded in agreement, his thoughts were full of the appearance of the “qian” hexagram. This weighed heavily on his mind…