The man's eyes lit up when he saw Ye Zhuo. Today, Ye Zhuo was wearing a light purple satin embroidered long dress with a pale blue ribbon tied around her waist, and only one jade hairpin was inserted on her head, with two pearl flowers dotted in her hair. Although the clothes were not gorgeous, they could even be said to be simple and unadorned, but she had beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and her posture was elegant. Standing on the steps, under the gentle autumn breeze, her sleeves fluttered, as if she wanted to ascend to heaven, and she had a kind of ethereal elegance that ordinary women did not have, like that extraordinary jade, emitting a crystal clear beauty from inside out, pure and flawless.

  Seeing the man's gaze, Ye Zhuo felt displeased in her heart and said lightly: "Thank you for reminding me, sir." Turning to Qiuyue, she said, "Let's go then."

  The man saw her wanting to leave and hurriedly called out: "Miss, I can let you see Master Nengren."

  "Thank you, young master, for your kind intentions. But if that chessboard of mine can't keep Master Nengren as a guest, I wouldn't be so impolite as to disturb the master's quiet cultivation." Ye Zhuo gave him a slight bow, "Farewell." After finishing speaking, he quickly walked down the mountain.

  One of the attendants saw his own young master's expression was gloomy, but his eyes kept following that girl's back, and he said: "This girl's looks can't compare to our family's eldest miss. Our family's eldest miss isn't even this arrogant, yet she doesn't know what's good for her, the young master has a mind to help her, but she coldly rejects him from afar."

  Another servant winked and said with a smile: "You know what? Our young master likes this kind of cold beauty."

  The man stretched out his leg and kicked him, saying lightly: "What nonsense are you talking about? If someone hears it, your buttocks will be in bloom again."

  Just as the servant was about to speak, a monk came flying down from the mountain and brushed past them, shouting towards the foot of the mountain: "That female donor, please wait, please wait..." The three masters and servants turned around in unison and looked down at the mountain, only to see that the monk had quickly caught up with the two women who had just passed by, and then stopped to say something to them. Before long, the three of them walked back up the mountain.

  As soon as he took a closer look at the monk's appearance, the man was suddenly delighted and stepped forward, made a gesture of greeting, and called out: "Master Huiwu."

  With a sudden realization, he took a closer look and found that the person in front of him was none other than Xie Yunfeng, the second son of the Xie family from Nanshan Town. He hastily returned the greeting: "Young Master Xie."

  "The weather is turning cool, so my father asked me to bring some padded jackets up the mountain to give to each of you masters to keep warm." Xie Yunfeng said.

  "Thanks for your kindness and charity. Please come, I'll invite you to the mountain." Huigu made a gesture and turned to Ye Zhuo, "Please, madam donor."

  Six people walked up the mountain together in a line.

  "I'm extremely curious, I don't know what kind of leftover move could make Master Huiwu chase after him to the foot of the mountain. After all, Master Enren's chess skills are extremely high, and ordinary leftover moves wouldn't even enter his eyes." Xie Yunfeng walked up the mountain while chatting with Ye Zhuo.

  "It's probably just a coincidence, and I happened to enter the master's Dharma eye." Ye Zhuo replied.

  Jian Ye Zhuo didn't seem enthusiastic, and Xie Yun Ting wasn't bothered either. He introduced himself: "I'm Xie Yun Ting, the second son of the East Xie family in Nan Shan Town." Then he asked, "May I ask your surname, miss?"

  Ye Zhuo was not very willing to let people know that she had come to the Ener Temple today, and even less willing to let people know that she was a member of the Ye family. Moreover, she didn't have a good impression of the person in front of her, so she really didn't want to answer his questions. But since he asked directly, it wouldn't be good to be too rude and offend him, which would also give the monk a bad impression. So she simply said: "This humble woman's surname is Ye."

  "Leaves? Could it be the Ye family from Xishan Town?" Xie Yunfeng's eyes lit up.

  Ye Zhen smiled faintly and didn't respond.

  At this time, a group of people had already passed through the mountain gate and entered the Zen temple directly from the mountain path behind. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw several people sitting around a stone table under a towering banyan tree, staring at the chessboard on the table and discussing something. One of the old monks with white hair and beard must be Master Neng Ren; and the two men sitting next to him were both eighteen or nineteen years old. One wore a moon-white brocade robe, handsome and even more so than Xie Yunfeng; while the other man wore a sky-blue brocade robe, ordinary in appearance, but with extremely bright eyes, and his temperament was even better than that of his handsome companion.

  Hearing footsteps, those few people raised their heads and looked over this way.

  "Master, this is the one who set up the chessboard, Ye Shi Zhu." Huiwu hastily stepped forward to introduce Ye Zhuo and pointed at Xie Yunfeng, "This is the second son of the Xie family, here to offer alms for monk's robes."

  The abbot stood up and gave a courtesy: "The two donors have been polite." He also introduced the two men behind him, "This is Nie donor, this is Du donor."

  "Nie Gongzi?" Xie Yunfeng looked at the handsome young man in a moon-white brocade robe, his eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands together in greeting. "I am Xie Yunfeng from Nanshan Town. May I ask if you are the young master of the Nie family from Nan Yun City?"

  Nie Gongzi returned a courtesy: "I am Nie Boweng, currently residing within Nanyun City."

  "Nie Bowen?" Xie Yunfeng's eyes lit up even more. He knew that the eldest son of the Nie family was indeed named Nie Bowen. Who would have thought that coming to the mountain to donate monk clothes today would actually give him the good fortune to meet Nie Bowen? It seems like today is truly a day of great blessings. If he could get along well with Nie Bowen, wouldn't Xie's business be able to reach new heights?

  However, he knew that for this noble son, he couldn't be too flattering. He turned his head to look at the man wearing a sky-blue long gown and said: "This is..."

  "This is my friend Du Haoran." Nie Bowen said.

  Xie Yunfeng also cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Du Haoran.

  But Neng Ren master was impatient to hear their small talk, and said to Ye Zhuo: "This leaf master, I don't know where this remnant of a game comes from. Is there a solution?"

  Ye Zhuo smiled and said: "This chessboard was accidentally obtained by a young woman, who thought deeply for three months and had some epiphany."

  She was quite famous in the capital for her chess skills, and was good friends with the nun Rongyun Dashi from the Hanlin Temple. This game of chess is one that Rongyun had seen on a fragmentary scroll. The two of them thought about it for three months, but in the end she was the one who solved it. If not for wanting to gain the favor of Master Nengren and get his help, she would never have brought out this game of chess.

  "Oh?" This sentence not only made Master Neng Ren and Du Haoran's faces change, but also made Nie Bowen hastily stop Xie Yunfeng's words and look over.

  It's worth noting that although Master Neng is not considered a national champion, his chess skills are still extremely impressive. However, he couldn't solve a particular leftover game, but this 15- or 16-year-old girl was able to crack it, claiming she spent three months figuring it out on her own. If true, wouldn't that make her a chess prodigy?

  Xie Yunfeng was even more astonished in his heart. He knew that the Ye family, which had risen to prominence in just over a decade and reeked of nouveau riche, lacked any cultural foundation whatsoever. It was already impressive if anyone from the Ye family could recognize a few characters - how could they possibly produce a chess prodigy? Could it be that the残局 (残局 is a term used to describe a situation where one side has an overwhelming advantage) was truly something that Ye girl had learned from books, and she was using it to deceive Master Nengren?

  Master Neng is over 70 years old this year, and has traveled all his life, seeing all sorts of strange people and events. He didn't doubt Ye Zhuo's words, but instead stretched out his hand to point at the position opposite him, saying: "I wonder if Old Na can have the good fortune to play a game of chess with the young lady?"

  "It's an honor for a young woman like me to play against a master." Ye Zhuo curtsied and sat down calmly. She had come here specifically to play this game of chess, and now that the opportunity was in front of her, she naturally wouldn't decline.

  Ye Yao's demeanor was elegant and refined, her movements were graceful, and there wasn't a hint of vulgarity on her body. Nie Bowen and Du Haoran's suspicions dissipated once again. A woman with such an ethereal aura might just be a chess mastermind after all. As for Xie Yunfeng, he had already made up his mind that Ye Yao was not from the Ye family of Zhenxi - how could a phoenix rise from a humble chicken coop?

  As Ye Zhuo stretched out her slender fingers, picked up a black chess piece and placed it on the board, Master Neng Ren immediately furrowed his brow in deep thought. Nie Bowen and Du Haoran also followed suit, wrinkling their brows in concentration. Even Xie Yun Ting, who was not skilled in chess, became interested, his gaze shifting from Ye Zhuo's face to the chessboard. For a moment, the large courtyard was quiet, with only the occasional chirping of birds and the soft rustling of leaves in the wind.