"Hm?"
Chen Yilun stared at the three copper coins on the table, deep in thought.
They were the same three coins his father had given him when he last returned home.
Like many southern businessmen, Old Man Chen was deeply superstitious about metaphysics and mystical practices. Back when Chen Yilun was just an ordinary employee, his father had never passed these things on to him.
But after Chen Yilun finished that dinner with Boss Tsai, Old Chen finally realized that his son had climbed to a level far beyond anything he had ever imagined.
So on the night before Chen Yilun left home, Old Chen pulled him into his study and, with great solemnity, handed him a yellowed ancient book along with three antique copper coins.
"Son, don't underestimate these things,"
Old Man Chen said, pointing at the items on the desk.
"Back then, your father relied on these two things to resign without hesitation and go into business. When you said you liked basketball and wanted to go to America to study, I divined it too. Only after seeing that everything was auspicious did I let you go."
Pulling his thoughts back to the present, Chen Yilun looked at the hexagram he had written down and carefully checked it against the ancient text.
"Uh… what is this supposed to mean?"
He'd managed to cast the hexagram, but he couldn't understand it at all.
After flipping through several pages, Chen Yilun finally found what he was looking for.
"Number twenty, Wind over Earth—Observation."
He read softly,
"Top nine: observing one's life, the gentleman is without fault."
"What kind of thing is this?"
Staring at the awkward ancient wording, Chen Yilun scratched his head in confusion. Dear ancestors, couldn't you just explain it clearly? Why make me solve riddles like this?
Just as Chen Yilun was about to continue studying the meaning of the hexagram, Divac walked in at the worst possible moment.
"Boss, there's a document—"
Divac stopped halfway through his sentence, the rest catching in his throat.
Under the dim light, Chen Yilun was holding a weathered ancient book, reading intently. On the desk in front of him lay three coins that were clearly from an ancient civilization.
"Gasp!!"
Divac sucked in a sharp breath.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were doing… that. I'll leave right away!"
Without waiting for any explanation, Divac fled the office as if escaping, stumbling out in a panic.
"What's with that old guy?"
Watching Divac bolt away in terror, question marks practically popped out over Chen Yilun's head. I'm just divining the team's outlook—what are you so scared of?
"What's wrong with you?"
As Divac rushed into the hallway, he ran straight into Peja. Seeing Divac's panicked expression, Peja frowned.
"Did you see a ghost? You're a general manager now—can't you act a little steadier?"
"No!"
Divac waved his hands frantically.
"I just went into Boss Chen's office and saw something I wasn't supposed to!"
He then told Peja everything he had just seen.
"Gasp!!"
After hearing it, Peja sucked in a cold breath as well.
"You're saying Boss Chen was practicing witchcraft in his office?"
"Definitely!"
Divac whispered.
"So those rumors around the team were real—Boss Chen really knows witchcraft!"
Meanwhile, Chen Yilun had no idea rumors were already spreading outside. He was still focused on interpreting the hexagram.
"Observe the intentions of others; the gentleman avoids fault."
"The situation is unstable, in a period of change. One should proceed cautiously and observe developments at all times."
Chen Yilun scratched his head and muttered to himself.
"What does that even mean? It feels like it says everything and nothing at the same time. What's changing? Whose intentions am I supposed to observe?"
...
...
"Oh no! What's wrong with Chris Paul?!"
With the commentator's shocked cry, Chris Paul suddenly collapsed in pain after a non-contact landing, clutching his knee and crying out.
Seeing this, the head referee immediately stopped the game.
The Rockets' medical staff rushed onto the court for a quick examination, then shook their heads regretfully. Paul was eventually carried off the floor on a stretcher by his teammates.
"So this is the 'period of change'!"
Sitting courtside, Chen Yilun's eyes widened. In an instant, last night's hexagram became crystal clear. So that's what it meant—Paul would suffer an injury.
What Chen Yilun didn't know was that two people were secretly watching him with horrified expressions.
Divac and Peja were huddled together, stealing fearful glances at Chen Yilun.
"See? I told you,"
Divac said, his voice trembling.
"Boss Chen was secretly placing a curse last night. Look—Chris got injured right away!"
"That's terrifying,"
Peja shook his head.
"I always suspected Boss Chen knew some scary stuff, but I didn't think it was real! Listen, whatever you saw last night—keep it to yourself. Don't tell anyone."
"My brain would have to be full of worms to say anything. If Boss Chen gets unhappy and puts a curse on me, even calling the police won't help."
And so, by a strange twist of fate, Chen Yilun inexplicably gained two devoted believers.
With Paul out, Harden was left to fight alone. Facing the Kings' overwhelming firepower, the Rockets were defeated once again.
Harden scored over 40 points in the game, but it still couldn't stop the team's collapse.
For the Kings, Durant scored 36 points, Butler added 25, and Jokić recorded a standard triple-double with 16 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds.
When the final buzzer sounded, Durant walked up to a worried-looking Harden.
"You okay?"
Durant asked softly.
"I'm fine."
Harden forced a bitter smile.
Before the game had even ended, news had already come from the hospital. Although Paul's exact injury hadn't been fully confirmed, he was definitely done for this series.
Without Paul, the Rockets had no chance against the fully loaded Kings.
"Looks like I'm losing to you again this year,"
Harden said half-jokingly after hugging Durant.
"I was hoping to get revenge for last year, but it all fell apart in the end."
"You're still young,"
Durant thought for a moment before speaking.
"Take care of your body. We still have time."
"Hopefully,"
Harden let out a long breath.
"You're the only one left among us now. Play well—go win another championship for me."
Just as Harden had predicted, once Paul was gone, the Rockets collapsed completely. Even back on their home court in Houston, they were powerless, getting swept 4–0 by the Kings without any resistance.