The money was stolen?
Not only was Chen Yi stunned, but Wang Ayi and Luo Yan were equally dumbfounded.
The hard-earned money, meant to save a life, had been stolen.
Who could be so heartless as to steal life-saving money from a hospital?
"Uncle Li, calm down for a moment. Can you tell me exactly what happened?" Chen Yi asked as he ran, not even pausing to bid farewell to the others.
"I was about to pay the bill when I suddenly realized the money in the bag was gone. It had been replaced with a brick…"
"What did you do before that?"
"I didn't do anything! I just went to the restroom. It must have been stolen there—those d*mn, despicable thieves!"
Usually mild-mannered, Li Haoran was now cursing uncontrollably in his distress.
"Get in the car!"
Luo Yan was a step ahead of Chen Yi. She started the police car, turned on the siren, and sped toward the central hospital with Chen Yi in tow.
Although they knew the thief had likely already fled, the sooner they arrived, the greater the chance of recovering the money.
Chen Yi sat silently in the car, his eyes closed, his face expressionless, his fingers moving as if calculating something.
"Da Zhuang hexagram… the primary hexagram is Zhen, the supporting trigram is Qian, the second line moves, transforming into Li, with the mutual trigram as Qian and Dui…"
Chen Yi casually cast a hexagram, revealing the Da Zhuang hexagram. His brows furrowed slightly.
The primary and supporting trigrams were in conflict, indicating that the lost item could be found, but the transformed hexagram of Li (fire) weakened the energy of Zhen (wood), which was inauspicious. Moreover, the mutual trigrams of Qian and Dui (both metal) further suppressed Zhen, making the hexagram even harder to interpret.
Qian represented an elder or a leader. The thief, though not old, could be the leader of a criminal gang, aligning with the role of Qian in the transformed hexagram.
But what did the Dui trigram signify? Chen Yi couldn't decipher it for the moment.
Beyond that, the hexagram carried another layer of meaning.
Zhen, the primary trigram, also symbolized the eldest son, which corresponded to Chen Yi himself. Yet, it was suppressed by both the supporting and mutual trigrams, suggesting extreme danger.
A typical hexagram with dual meanings—complex and unpredictable.
"What are you mumbling about?"
Luo Yan, focused on driving, glanced at him curiously.
"I just cast a hexagram and am interpreting its meaning."
"Oh, great master, can the money be recovered? Why didn't you calculate this earlier to prevent it from being stolen?" Luo Yan couldn't resist a jab, even though the situation was serious.
Chen Yi rolled his eyes. "There's a saying in divination: 'Only inquire when faced with an event; do not cast without cause.' A hexagram can only be cast for significant matters. Otherwise, it's a waste of effort. Do you think divination is like cabbages at a market, ready to be picked and chosen at will?"
"Fine, then tell me—can the stolen money be recovered?" Luo Yan, knowing it was pointless to argue with him, decided to play along.
"According to the hexagram, the money should be recoverable, but there are too many variables. The workings of fate are unpredictable, and the final outcome remains uncertain."
"Hmph, vague and ambiguous—typical trickery from fraudsters like you," Luo Yan said disdainfully.
Chen Yi didn't bother to argue. Words were meaningless compared to results. Despite the hexagram's complexity, he felt somewhat confident.
He wasn't just a fortune-teller; he was also highly skilled in feng shui.
While divination predicted fortune and misfortune, feng shui could influence the outcome. With the right application of feng shui, even unfavorable predictions could be mitigated—especially when handled by a true master.
The two fell silent for the rest of the ride as the police car raced toward Quancheng Central Hospital.
"How could I be so careless? How could I be so careless…"
When they arrived, they found Li Haoran squatting at the hospital entrance, consumed by guilt and self-reproach.
"Uncle Li, don't worry. The money can be recovered," Chen Yi said, gripping Li Haoran's hand to comfort him.
"Really? It can be recovered?"
The usually calm Li Haoran was now utterly panicked. Hearing Chen Yi's words, he clung to them like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline.
"Of course. I just cast a hexagram, and it indicates the money can be found."
"That's good, that's good… Otherwise, how could I face Xiao Nannan…" Li Haoran stammered, as if the money had already been retrieved.
"Enough wasting time. If we delay any longer, the thief will be out of Quancheng," Luo Yan interrupted, unimpressed by Chen Yi's "comforting lies."
"Yes, yes, Officer Luo is right. Let's not waste time!" Li Haoran quickly agreed.
Without further delay, Luo Yan led them to the hospital's surveillance room. Flashing her badge, she requested access to the security footage.
They determined that the theft had occurred in the restroom, but unfortunately, there were no cameras inside, complicating the investigation.
Luo Yan scrutinized the footage from the camera outside the restroom, her expression serious and focused.
"Do you recognize this person?"
She froze the video, pointing to a man wearing a baseball cap and a backpack, his face partially obscured.
"Him?" Li Haoran frowned in confusion before gritting his teeth. "Yes, that's him! He stayed near me and even chatted with me for a while."
"No doubt about it," Luo Yan said, her face still tense. "That's 'Thief San,' the leader of a pickpocket gang. We've been monitoring him for a while but haven't had enough evidence to arrest him. His residence is also a mystery, though we know it's somewhere in the southern suburbs."
"The southern suburbs? South corresponds to Li in the hexagram—this aligns perfectly!" Chen Yi murmured, speaking in a language no one understood. "Take me to the southern suburbs. I'll see if I can find him."
Since Thief San was hiding in the southern suburbs, his residence could likely be identified through feng shui.
"You?" Luo Yan asked skeptically. "We've conducted three emergency operations in the area, only catching small-time thieves. We've never managed to capture Thief San. What can you possibly do?"
"Didn't you forget? The jewelry store robbers—how long did it take you to catch them?"
Luo Yan frowned. She didn't believe Chen Yi's claim that he had divined the robbers' location. But where did his confidence come from now?
"Stop overthinking it," Chen Yi said, noticing her doubt. "I'm not guaranteeing success, but it's better than doing nothing."
"Fine, I'll trust you this once."
Luo Yan decisively strode toward the parking lot. She was curious to see how Chen Yi had located the robbers before and was eager to witness his "miracles" firsthand.
Chen Yi's expression was calm, but in truth, he wasn't entirely confident. He had neither seen Thief San nor obtained his birth chart. Searching for him in a city as vast as Quancheng was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
During his previous search for the robbers, it had taken him a full week of divination and feng shui analysis to pinpoint their location.
"Head to the southern suburbs, to the area you've already identified," Chen Yi instructed after getting into the car.
The largest clothing wholesale market in Quancheng was located in the southern suburbs. The area was bustling with people from all walks of life, making it an ideal hiding place for someone like Thief San.
Along the way, Luo Yan notified the criminal police team to meet them in the southern suburbs.
"Do you have any confidence in this? My colleagues don't think highly of you. If this fails, they won't let you off easily," Luo Yan warned as they approached the crowded market.
"Not much," Chen Yi admitted honestly. He had some confidence, but not enough to guarantee success. Finding Thief San in such a short time was a daunting task.
"Not much? Then why bring us here?" Luo Yan asked, suppressing her irritation.
"You didn't have to call your team," Chen Yi replied nonchalantly.
Luo Yan gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Where do we start?"
"I don't know."
"Then why did you bring me here?"
"How else would we search?"
"Can you at least tell me where to look?"
"If I knew where to look, it wouldn't be searching—it'd be capturing!"
"…"
Two hours later, Luo Yan had driven through nearly every street, alley, and corner of the southern suburbs. Chen Yi hadn't stepped out of the car once.
Luo Yan's frustration was palpable. Was this a manhunt or a sightseeing tour?
"Well, we've covered the southern suburbs. Have you found anything?" Luo Yan asked.
"No, nothing."
"You think you can find something just by sitting in the car? What are you, a god?" Luo Yan snapped.
"Why else would they call me 'Chen the Half-Immortal'?"
"…"
"Keep going south. We should be close."
"Further south? We're almost out of Quancheng!"
"Do you have a better idea?"
"…"
Luo Yan relayed instructions to the three police vans trailing them, telling the officers to stay back and avoid drawing attention.
This wasn't a raid—it was a search. A large, conspicuous group would only alert the thieves and give them time to prepare.
Driving further south, they reached a small village nestled at the foot of a hill. The village was built against the mountain, with a serene lake to the east. The environment was clean and picturesque, a stark contrast to the bustling, crowded city nearby.
If anything disrupted the harmony, it was the scattered graves dotting the hillside. But in a city as densely populated as Quancheng, even a small hill couldn't be wasted.
"Captain Luo, is this fortune-teller reliable? This feels more like a field trip than a manhunt," complained a voice over the police radio.
"Yeah, Captain Luo, we were just sightseeing in the city, and now we're out here on a rural tour!"
The complaints poured in.
Having just cracked a major case, the officers had been looking forward to some rest. Instead, they were dragged into this wild goose chase.
If there were solid leads, they wouldn't mind. After all, it was their duty. But accompanying a so-called fortune-teller on a pointless outing was testing their patience.
"Quiet, all of you! If we solve this case too, we can report both together and earn a collective second-class merit. Stay focused!" Luo Yan's authority silenced the grumbling officers.
"Chen Yi, you've seen the situation. I don't have much time to waste. Half an hour—if there's no progress, we're leaving."
Luo Yan turned to Chen Yi, her disappointment evident. She had hoped to learn something from him, but the reality was far from her expectations.
"Half an hour? That should be enough. In fact, we've already arrived," Chen Yi said, his gaze fixed on a cluster of houses ahead.
The houses were unremarkable, blending in with the rest of the village. However, they were located at the easternmost edge, near the lake.
To the northeast of the houses, a few small graves disrupted the otherwise peaceful scenery, standing out starkly.
The Dui trigram symbolized proximity to a marsh or lake. These houses, near the lake, perfectly matched the hexagram's indication.
Chen Yi was certain—Thief San was hiding among these houses.