892
Clunk, clang.
"The number of the Great Expansion is fifty, of which forty-nine are used. Divide them in two to symbolize the two primal forces, set one aside to symbolize the three..."
The three copper coins were tossed into the copper plate before him for the sixth time. They rattled and rolled a few times before finally lying flat inside it.
Seeing that all three coins were inside the plate, the plump, round-faced fortune-teller first breathed a sigh of relief, then drew another tense breath. He pushed the small, round black sunglasses up his nose, revealing a pair of dark brown eyes, and stared unblinkingly at the positions of the three coins.
After looking them over, he hurriedly fetched his little scratch pad and grabbed a charcoal pencil to write down the sixth hexagram.
"...The upper trigram is Kan, and the lower trigram is Dui. Water above, lake below: the hexagram 'Water over Lake, Jie'... The changing hexagram has Zhen above and Kan below. Thunder above, water below: 'Thunder over Water, Jie.'"
"Thunder over Water, Jie?"
The round-faced fortune-teller's eyes shifted, and a hint of delight appeared on his face. With a brief moment's recollection, he retrieved the knowledge he knew by heart. "It's actually a good hexagram! Zhen above, Kan below. Zhen represents thunder, and Kan represents rain. Thunder and rain rise together, nurturing all things. That's the image of the hexagram of release."
Busuanzi pondered it again, delight spreading across his face as his eyes narrowed into slits.
"This really is a fine hexagram! There's a sense of winter passing into spring, spring thunder rolling, and rivers thawing. It fits the season, too... Just what good thing is about to happen? I was divining the temple's future prospects, and there's actually a sign of revival. Is that