The Charismatic Charlie Wade

George, noting Maria’s horrified expression and her unusual nervousness in speech, wasted no time in inquiring, “Miss Clark, what do you make of this sight?”

Maria responded, “This… The dark clouds appear chaotic and unruly, yet there’s an underlying complexity, a sense of… it feels akin to the Zen Gua image from the Book of Changes’ sixty-four hexagrams.”

“Zen Gua?” Geena exclaimed, clearly taken aback, “Could this cloud actually represent a hexagram?”

Maria nodded, murmuring, “Zen hexagrams are always intricate. Ancient wisdom tells us that when upheaval arrives, laughter turns bitter; a shocking event in the distant field, no mourning for the blade. When this hexagram appears, it’s a merging of the main hexagram and the guest hexagram, signifying an unforeseen, earth-shattering occurrence.”

George, now even more astounded, inquired, “Who possesses the ability to divine from the sky’s clouds?”

Maria appeared befuddled, “I’m not sure… But… This divination seems to have commenced precisely when we arrived. I don’t think it’s man-made.”

“Unnatural, then…” Geena questioned, “Could it be a natural occurrence?”

Maria shook her head, saying, “The secret eludes me…”

As they spoke, the sky’s dark clouds continued their rapid transformation. Thick clouds seemed to draw from an unending well in the heavens, covering the entire Heaven Lake valley in a relentless surge.

Maria frowned, gazing skyward with wide eyes, whispering to herself, “The hexagrams shift too swiftly… I… I cannot fathom it. What are you attempting to convey? Can you clarify? At all?”

The enigmatic clouds, of course, remained indifferent to her muttered queries, their transformation unabated.

With their rapid

not. I’ll capture all these

encapsulated within this turbulent hexagram. It hints at a plea for aid, but it does not clarify who or what seeks it.

not someone or something,

hushed tone, “I haven’t

and she

“What

Maria’s eyes as she pointed to the barren ground beneath her feet, her excitement palpable. “I know who’s asking

the Mother of

“Didn’t the Mother of Pu’er fail to transcend three hundred years ago? Why

explain the reasoning, but I can sense it. That familiarity, it’s the

appealing through the clouds, what does she require of us? How can we assist

equally anxious, “I don’t know… all I perceive is her plea. This ceaselessly shifting hexagram suggests she’s trapped within this tumultuous hexagram,

the dark clouds had grown denser, coalescing into a sphere that descended slowly. The air now teemed with moisture, and the atmospheric pressure was plummeting, making it difficult to breathe, akin to the

abilities, found her breathing labored, her anxiety apparent as she paced restlessly. She lamented, “The hexagrams are becoming increasingly ominous, with the main hexagram gradually succumbing to Ke Gua’s influence. If I can’t devise a solution soon,

by the inscrutable hexagrams, could only stand there, his worry etched

potent low-pressure

in frustration and exclaimed, “The hexagrams are becoming more perilous, with the main hexagram losing ground to Ke Gua. If I can’t find a solution soon, I may not be able to rescue her… What can we