既濟 → 无妄

Commentary

Water sits above fire, and the sacred tortoise wanders on land, circling without finding its place. Then the verse invokes Aheng — Yi Yin's ministerial title — who withdraws to plow the fields before being called to serve the Xia-overthrowing Shang dynasty. Yi Yin, the sage cook of Youshen who became founding chancellor, here embodies talent biding its time in obscurity. From After Completion to Innocence, fire-and-water precision yields to thunder moving beneath heaven — the unexpected, unforced arrival of what was always meant to be. Innocence means acting without calculated design. Yi Yin did not scheme his rise; he simply plowed and waited, and heaven's thunder brought him forth at the appointed hour.