The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) - R. F. Kuang Page 0,154
see the reason why Chaghan commanded the fear that he did. He was just like Jiang—unthreatening and eccentric, until one understood what deep power lay behind his frail facade.
How would Jiang pose a question? She contemplated the wording of her inquiry for a moment. Then she stepped toward the Talwu.
“What does the Phoenix want me to know?”
The Talwu almost smiled.
“Cast the coins six times.”
Three coins suddenly appeared, stacked on the hexagonal altar. They were not coins of the Nikara Empire; they were too large, cut into a hexagonal shape rather than the round taels and ingots Rin was familiar with. She picked them up and weighed them in her palm. They were heavier than they looked. On the front side of each was etched the unmistakable profile of the Red Emperor; on the back were inscribed characters of Old Nikara that she could not decipher.
“Each throw of the coins will determine one line in the Hexagram,” said Chaghan. “These lines are patterns written into the universe. They are ancient combinations, descriptions of shapes that were long before either of us was born. They will not make sense to you. But the Talwu will read them, and I will interpret.”
“Why must you interpret?”
“Because I am a Seer. This is what I’m trained to do,” said Chaghan. “We Hinterlanders do not call the gods down as you do. We go to them. Our shamans spend hours in trances, learning the secrets of the cosmos. I have spent more time in the Pantheon than I have in your world. I have deciphered enough Hexagrams now to know how they describe the shape of our world. And if you try to interpret for yourself, you’ll just get confused. Let me help you.”
“Fine.” Rin flung the three coins out onto the hexagonal altar.
All three coins landed tails up.
“The first line, undivided,” read the Talwu. “One is ready to move, but his footprints run crisscross.”
“What does that mean?” Rin asked.
Chaghan shook his head. “Any number of things. The lines each assume shades of meaning depending on the others. Finish the Hexagram.”
She tossed the coins again. All heads.
“The second line, divided,” read the Talwu. “The subject ascends to his place in the sun. There will be supreme good fortune.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Rin asked.
“Depends on whose fortune it is,” said Chaghan. “The subject is not necessarily you.”
Her third toss saw one head, two tails.
“The third line, divided. The end of the day has come. The net has been cast on the setting sun. This spells misfortune.”
Rin felt a sudden chill. The end of an era, the setting sun on a country . . . she hardly needed Chaghan to interpret that for her.
“We’re not going to win this war, are we?” she asked the Talwu.
“I only read the Hexagrams,” said the Talwu. “I confirm and deny nothing.”
“It’s the net I’m concerned about. It’s a trap,” said Chaghan. “We’ve missed something. Something’s been laid out for us, but we can’t see it.”
Chaghan’s words confused Rin as much as the line itself did, but Chaghan commanded her to throw the coins again. Two tails, one head.
“The fourth line, undivided,” read the Talwu. “The subject comes, abrupt with fire, with death, to be rejected by all. As if an exit; as if an entry. As though burning; as though dying; as though discarded.”
“That one is quite clear,” said Chaghan, although Rin had more questions about that line than the others. She opened her mouth, but he shook his head. “Throw the coins again.”
The Talwu looked down. “The fifth line, divided. The subject is with tears flowing in torrents, groaning in sorrow.”
Chaghan looked stricken. “Truly?”
“The Hexagrams do not lie,” the Talwu said. Her voice was devoid of emotion. “The only lies are in the interpretation.”
Chaghan’s hand shook suddenly. The wooden beads of his bracelet clattered, echoing in the silent room. Rin shot him a concerned look, but he only shook his head and motioned for her to finish. Arms heavy with dread, Rin cast the coins a sixth and final time.
“A leader abandons their people,” read the Talwu. “A ruler begins a campaign. One sees great joy in decapitating enemies. This signifies evil.”
Chaghan’s pale eyes were open very, very wide.
“You have cast the Twenty-Sixth Hexagram. The Net,” announced the Talwu. “There is a clinging, and a conflict. Things will come to pass that exist only side by side. Misfortune and victory. Liberation and death.”
“But the Phoenix . . . the Woman . . .” Rin had not received any of the