Chapter Thirteen: The Game of Go

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  I was sweating bullets yesterday after making a big boast. Today I'm sincerely asking for your recommendation and collection again.

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  Only the scent of sandalwood wafted through the air, and a surge of Buddhist energy rushed forward. As the two people's gazes swept across the room, they suddenly discovered that there was already someone inside. An old man with a rare and elegant attire, his face weathered and his eyes gleaming brightly, sat motionless in front of a chessboard, seemingly unaware of anyone entering, as if lost in thought.

  Yin Kong Master followed, smiling slowly and said "Hehe, this Zhou Shi Zhu is an old friend of mine, today he came to play chess with me, don't mind the two young masters."

  Wei Zhao glanced at the old man's face, slightly furrowed his brow. He was usually good at reading people, but somehow couldn't quite grasp this person's demeanor. However, he soon let it go, thinking that someone who could befriend Master Yin Kong must also be an eccentric.

  The old man seemed to have just noticed that someone had entered, and he raised his head. His gaze was gentle, but there was an intangible pressure enveloping the entire room.

  The old man put down the chess piece, smiled and looked at Wei Xiao and Yi Yun who were coming in. His eyes lingered on Wei Xiao's face for two seconds before he said, "Hehe, you two young friends please sit down, no need to be formal."

  Wei Zhuo swept his eyes over the chessboard and sat down in the seat that originally belonged to Master Yin Kong without any hesitation. He reached out, picked up a black piece, and 'slapped' it down.

  The old man was clearly taken aback by Wei Zuo's unceremonious tone, but immediately smiled calmly and looked at the chessboard, picked up a white piece and put it down.

  Yiyun's face revealed a hint of strangeness as she exchanged a glance with Master Yin Kong, and then sat down beside the two men, one to the north and one to the south.

  For Go, Wei Xiao used to practice reaction speed. As soon as the old man put down his piece, his black chess piece 'slapped' and fell again. The old man stared at the chessboard, let out a light hum, and the white chess piece also fell quickly.

  "Slap"

  "Slap"

  "Slap"

  "Slap"

  The two of them moved their hands swiftly, the chess pieces falling down with a series of crisp clicks. Yvonne's slender eyebrows had furrowed slightly at some point, and although she could still understand the game at first, as the speed of the two players increased, she was no longer able to make out their moves.

  The seemingly turbid eyes of the Go master sparkled at this moment, staring at the chess moves that changed instantly, and the wisdom in his eyes flashed.

  Wei Zuo's spirit was calm and his mind was at ease, but the time he spent pinching the chess pieces with his fingers grew longer and longer. The old man in magnificent clothes also changed his previous guiding mentality, frowning and staring intently at the chessboard, pausing from time to time.

  Wei Zhao didn't really want to engage in a life-or-death struggle with the mysterious old man in Chinese attire, so he occasionally made a mistake, turning the gloomy and unclear chess situation into a tangled cotton candy, and the two began to slowly tear each other apart.

  The old man in the Huafu attire, who was present at the scene, did not notice Wei Zhao's trick of letting water flow. Instead, it was Yin Kong, the old monk who had been quietly observing the chess game without saying a word, who smiled and glanced at Wei Zhao with his eyebrows and eyes, but he also didn't expose him. On the other side, Yi Yun was still deeply thinking about the two men's previous moves, her pale forehead unknowingly covered in tiny beads of sweat.

  The old man in Chinese clothes looked at the chessboard, although he didn't have the upper hand, but now he wasn't completely at a disadvantage either. He let out a breath, raised his head and glanced at Wei Xiao, smiling: "At such a young age, you already have such great chess skills, it's rare."

  For the old man's patriarchal tone, Wei Zuo didn't like it but didn't show it on his face. With a chess piece between his fingers, he said lightly: "The quality of chess is the quality of a person, bold and generous, lacking in subtlety." He learned the rules of Go from Yuanyuan, and after mastering them, his chess skills improved dramatically, and his moves were even more unpredictable today.

  The old man in Chinese clothes had a stiff smile on his face, turned his head and looked at Master Yin Kong with surprise, saw Master Yin Kong shaking his head and lowering his head to look at Wei Zhao who was looking at the chessboard with a calm expression, covering up the embarrassment with a laugh, and then asked: "At such a young age, you understand quite a lot. Then tell me, what about the character of those three boys outside just now?"

  Wei Zuo's chess piece fell, and he looked up at the old man in a magnificent robe with an examining expression. His face was calm as he said: "Chu Kou, although uneducated, is genuine. Chen Zhuo thinks himself clever, but it's petty cleverness that can't be shown on a grand stage. Jiang You, pretending to be a pig eating a tiger, is actually a wolf in sheep's clothing."

  The old man in Chinese clothes looked surprised for a moment, holding the chess piece with a look of astonishment and said: "How did you see that?"

  Wei Zhuo sat up straight, ignoring the gaze of the crowd, stretched his waist and let out a deep breath. Looking at the three people with curious eyes, he lowered his head to look at the chessboard and said lightly: "Chu Cou is not talented, but he doesn't pretend, he knows what kind of person he is and what he should do, so he is true in nature. Chen Zhuo has too many thoughts, but not enough strategy, the poem just now was not written by him, it's a fake gentleman. Jiang You has deep thoughts, understands endurance, and hides his sharp teeth. The poem just now, he didn't even think about it. What kind of person writes what kind of poem, can be seen from the poem, but also from the person."

  Everyone listened with their eyes wide and mouths agape. A fierce battle of poetry, yet in Wei Zhao's eyes it was surprisingly clear and simple.

  The old man in Chinese clothes and the Indian master exchanged a glance, then smiled slightly and asked: "What is this young friend called?"

  Looking at the chessboard that had been completely messed up, Wei Xiao shook his head and said, "A chance encounter between strangers, with victory and defeat being hard to distinguish."

  The old man in Chinese clothes had a smile on his face again, his expression changed, as if crying and laughing at the same time, extremely strange.

  Wei Zhao glanced at him and turned his head towards Master Yin Kong, saying "Master, would you like to play a game?"

  The Master of Empty Space smiled benevolently and shook his head, saying: "Your chess skills are profound, I am no match for you."

  The old man in Chinese clothes listened and stared at Wei Xiao with wide eyes: "What's going on, do you still have any ultimate moves that haven't been used?" He was still confused and hadn't come to his senses yet.

  Yin Kongzi just smiled and didn't say anything. Wei Xiao smiled calmly, stood up, bowed to the three of them with his fists, and said: "There is no such thing as a decisive move on the chessboard. Today was really an imposition, I will definitely return the favor another day. The sun has set today, I bid you farewell for now, let's meet again another day."

  After finishing, she smiled and nodded at Yīn Kōng and Yī Yùn, then turned around and walked away. Yī Yùn was already accustomed to Wèi Zhāo's unconventional behavior, glanced at the extraordinary old man in magnificent attire, and lightly bowed to Master Yīn Kōng, smiling: "The young woman has also bid farewell to the master."

  Yin Kongzi stared at Wei Xiao's back and slightly lost his mind, then hurriedly smiled and nodded.

  Her pace was neither fast nor slow, but she quickly caught up with Wei Zhao. Wei Zhao looked at her and nodded with a smile.

  As soon as she went out, she found Xiangqiang sitting at the bottom of the window, holding her head and crying.

  Wei Zhao's face changed, and he hurried over to pull Xiangqiang's arm, saying urgently: "Xiangqiang, what's wrong? Did Chen Zhuo and the others bully you?" Wei Zhao was now filled with regret, having left Xiangqiang alone outside. Those three must have taken out their frustrations on her. But seeing that her clothes were still tidy, Wei Zhao also breathed a sigh of relief.

  Xiangliang buried her small head, only softly whimpering, from the sound it could be heard that Xiao Yatou was extremely heartbroken.

  Wei Zhuo squatted in front of Xiang Lian and said softly, "Then tell Young Master who bullied you, and Young Master will avenge you."

  Xiangliang cried more and more sorrowfully, her small shoulders also shaking, obviously extremely wronged.

  Wei Zhao furrowed his brow, stretched out both hands and forcibly lifted up the little girl's small head buried in her knees, looking at her tear-stained face he said in a deep voice: "What's wrong, tell Young Master, crying won't solve the problem."

  The little girl's face was pale with crying, tears streaming down her cheeks like pear blossoms in the rain. As soon as she saw Wei Zuo's concerned expression, she let out a loud wail and burst into tears, flinging herself into his arms and sobbing uncontrollably.

  "Master, master, I...I lost your poem...Waaah..."

  Wei Zhuo listened and couldn't help but laugh, patting her back and saying softly: "You silly girl, it's lost, so be it. When we get back, Young Master will rewrite a new one for you, guaranteed to be better than before."

  Xiaoyao heard this and cried even more sorrowfully, her tears wetting half of Weizhao's shoulder. Weizhao just smiled bitterly, patted her back, and softly comforted her.

  Yiyun, who was watching from a distance, was stunned again, but her eyes were filled with excitement. The little maid beside her lowered her head at this time and secretly glanced at Weizhao and the other person, but didn't dare to look at her own mistress.