"Little friend, what is this? Can you let Auntie see it?"

Liang Yueling stared intently at the phone watch on Xiao Yanbao's wrist, as if she might call Gao Ping in at any moment. Xiao Yanbao boldly showed off the phone watch and then held his wrist in front of Liang Yueling's mouth.

"Auntie, could you help me peel off the tape? I'll calculate it for you."

Liang Yueling's mind raced, and she put her bound hands to her mouth, gesturing for Xiao Yanbao to be quiet.

"Auntie will tear it open for you now. Do you need anything else?"

If Liang Yueling hadn't seen the smartwatch on Xiao Yanbao's wrist, she would never have dared to tear off the tape. She was afraid that Gao Ping would be angry and beat her up if he saw her letting go of Xiao Yanbao. But now she had a good excuse to tear off the tape from Xiao Yanbao's wrist.

"Auntie, please be gentle, please bear with it."

As Liang Yueling spoke, she bit the tape joint on Xiao Yanbao's hand with her teeth and slowly peeled the tape off one loop at a time.

After untying his hands, Xiao Yanbao first untied the tape on his ankles, then picked up a disposable chopstick from the ground and forcefully broke it into six wooden sticks, three long and three short.

"Auntie, let me untie your hands too!"

When Xiao Yanbao leaned close to Liang Yueling to peel the tape off her hand, Liang Yueling flinched as if pricked by a needle, then shook her head in terror and whispered:

"No need, just tell me what you need me to do."

Xiao Yanbao hesitated for a moment, looked at Liang Yueling's hands which were bound together with tape, thought for a few seconds, and then placed the wooden stick on the back of Liang Yueling's hands.

"Just toss it up."

As he spoke, Xiao Yanbao demonstrated it to Liang Yueling with his hands clasped together. Liang Yueling pursed her lips and nodded gently, then forcefully threw the wooden stick on the back of her hand vertically into the air.

Xiao Yanbao glanced at where the stick had fallen, then picked it up and placed it back on Liang Yueling's hand. He then whispered:

"continue!"

"good."

Liang Yueling threw the wooden stick high into the air again, but just as the stick hit the ground, the door creaked and then began to shake slowly.

Hearing the door open, Liang Yueling immediately stood up and jumped towards Xiao Yanbao. Just as she was about to hit Xiao Yanbao, the door opened again and slammed shut.

"What's wrong, Auntie?"

Seeing that it wasn't Gao Ping who pushed the door open, Liang Yueling calmed down and, still shaken, looked at the closed door and whispered:

"The door must have slammed open just now because of the wind, right? Auntie is really afraid of those kinds of sounds."

Xiao Yanbao said "Oh," then picked up the stick from the ground again, and gestured for Liang Yueling to sit down. After Liang Yueling tossed it six times, Xiao Yanbao muttered something under his breath.

"The first six, the second six, and the third nine are Gen (艮), while the fourth six, the fifth nine, and the sixth six are Kan (坎). The lower Gen and the upper Kan represent flowing water on a mountain. The mountain is high and the water is deep, so the way forward is likely to be fraught with difficulties."

Xiao Yanbao sighed and looked at Liang Yueling, who was staring at her expectantly, with a hint of pity.

"I didn't quite understand what you said. Could you explain it to me?"

Xiao Yanbao didn't make things difficult for Liang Yueling. Instead, she patiently explained to her in a sweet, childlike voice.

"Auntie, although you just asked for a long and happy marriage, the divination result says more than just that."

Xiao Yanbao paused briefly, then held the six wooden sticks in his hands, took one out and placed it on the ground, explaining:

"The first time you lost the first line was the sixth line, which is yin. Yin is in a low position and should not be moved rashly, otherwise there will be danger. The second time you lost the second line was the sixth line, which means that you are very loyal to this marriage and devoted to your husband. The third time you lost the third line was the ninth line, which is yang in a proper position. Your husband used to be a very upright person, but he was too obsessed with pursuing something, which led to the failure of his previous efforts. He repeatedly took risks and ultimately achieved nothing."

When Xiao Yanbao started to explain, Liang Yueling felt as if she had met a kindred spirit. From the bottom of her heart, she regarded the three-and-a-half-year-old Xiao Yanbao as a peer or even as a mysterious sage.

"You're absolutely right! Gao Ping and I used to be so loving, but one time he wanted to transfer our daughter to a prestigious private school, but he didn't have enough money, so he got involved in gambling with one of his friends. Please help me figure out what to do next?"

Xiao Yanbao didn't rush to speak, but instead silently communicated with Li Wanning, who was floating beside him, using their minds.

"Did you feel it?"

Li Wanning's pretty face turned slightly cold, her brows furrowed as she stared at the direction of the door. The ghostly aura was emanating from the living room, suggesting that Gao Ping was doing something to shorten his lifespan again. She then spoke with a slightly grave tone:

"Hmm, that ghostly aura is even more pronounced now. Should I test it out?"

"No need for now. I've calculated it, and I won't encounter any danger this time. I just don't understand why a living person would generate such a strong ghostly aura."

Li Wanning was also unsure why this was happening. As she felt the increasingly intense ghostly energy again, she suddenly thought of Xiao Yanbao's master. If he were there, he would definitely know what was going on with the ghostly energy on Gao Ping.

Seeing that Xiao Yanbao hadn't answered her for a while, Liang Yueling cautiously moved closer to Xiao Yanbao and whispered her question.

Are you alright?

"Auntie, I'm hungry."

Xiao Yanbao was really hungry. He hadn't eaten much at noon, and after school he wanted to have a glass of milk to fill his stomach, but he never expected to be drugged and brought here by Gao Ping. It was already past dinner time. Xiao Yanbao rubbed his stomach and looked at Liang Yueling pitifully.

Liang Yueling had no choice but to speak. She was tied up here by Gao Ping and dared not go out to get food for Xiao Yanbao.

"Auntie is sorry, why don't you just bear with it a little longer? Auntie will try to get you something to eat in a bit."

Xiao Yanbao nodded gently, then took out the fourth wooden stick and placed it on the ground in front of Liang Yueling. He looked at Liang Yueling very seriously and said:

"Auntie, you must remember what I'm about to say."

Seeing Liang Yueling nod repeatedly, Xiao Yanbao continued to explain.

"Although the sixth line of the fourth hexagram is in a proper position, the things you want to do are fraught with danger. Trying to solve them alone will inevitably lead to danger. It would be best if you could bring your child with you to have any hope of success."

Upon hearing Xiao Yanbao's words, Liang Yueling immediately thought of Gao Kexin's suggestion to Gao Ping to kidnap Xiao Yanbao. She realized that Gao Kexin had not only failed to help her in trying to win Gao Ping back, but had also been a hindrance. Overwhelmed with sorrow, she spoke to Xiao Yanbao through tears:

"Is there really no way for me to succeed on my own?"

Xiao Yanbao nodded first, then, seeing how pitiful Liang Yueling was crying, he slowly shook his head.

"It's not that there's no way, but it's too dangerous for you. However, I can help you."

End of this chapter