Stick #99: Utter Despair (Very Unfavorable)
绝望至极夜最深，黎明总在后面等。熬过今夜明天日，太阳依旧东升升。
Plain reading
Despair is deepest at the darkest hour of night — yet dawn always waits behind it. Endure this one night; tomorrow the sun will rise in the east as it always has.
Interpretation
This is a very unfavorable lot titled "Utter Despair." Night is deepest — yet dawn waits behind. "Endure tonight; tomorrow the sun rises east" shows at utter despair, hold one night and day appears.
Situation notes
- Career: No applications tonight — plan tomorrow; sun will rise.
- Relationships: No quarrel tonight — talk tomorrow; sun will rise.
- Wealth: Do not read accounts tonight — manage tomorrow; sun will rise.
Common misread
Auspicious tiers (such as Very Unfavorable) are tone, not a verdict. Name one action you control before redrawing.
Advice
Live with despair "for one night only" — set an alarm; reassess at dawn. The sun still rises — tonight you need only reach morning.
From tradition tied to the Records of the Grand Historian: "Darkest before dawn" — those who endured one night often saw day — the sun still rises east.
Related sticks
- Stick #98: All Hope Abandoned — neighboring lot for tone contrast
- Stick #100: Great Evil and Ill Fortune — neighboring lot for tone contrast
Editorial note: entertainment and cultural reference. Source last revised: 2026-09-14. See Methodology and fortune stick guide.