Chapter 384: After Playing Chess and Copying Books

Chapter 384: After Playing Chess and Copying Books

Lu Baixiang stood up, smiling as he looked at the handsome young man with a vermillion mole between his brows, and extended his hand to invite Cui Dongshan to take a seat. "It doesn't really matter who learns to play chess and who teaches it."

He, one of the strongest chess players in the history of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, had a gut feeling that today he might produce the masterpiece of his career.

Cui Dongshan sat down, one foot propped on the stool, hunched over with his chin resting on his knee. Compared to Lu Baixiang's upright posture, the difference was like heaven and earth.

Cui Dongshan stretched out an arm, his fingers lightly brushing along the edge of the goban, and said lazily, "You haven't been assigned a rank yet, have you?"

Lu Baixiang chuckled softly, never expecting that he would be so underestimated on the chessboard. But he wasn't about to let such a small thing disturb his composure. He nodded with a smile. "I've only just arrived. Indeed, I haven't been ranked."

Cui Dongshan nodded. "Regarding the ranking procedure, according to worldly customs, one can first play three games against a ninth-dan go intern. Three, two, one – the intern yields three stones, two stones, and one stone respectively to the newcomer. Of course, the outcome doesn't affect the final rank. It's more of a form of guidance and honor. Your luck, Lu Baixiang, is far greater than your skill at chess."

What truly determined a newcomer's rank were the even games against fourth- and fifth-dan players.

Cui Dongshan suddenly raised his head. "You might think that in the coming game between us, you have a chance to play at your peak. Let me tell you, that's an illusion. But you'll definitely refuse to accept it, so I'll reverse the order. One, two, three – first yield one stone, so you can know your true measure. How about that? As to whether we use the seat-stone system or an empty board start, you choose."

Lu Baixiang shook his head. "No need to yield stones. Even if I lose, I'll still know the gap between us."

Cui Dongshan pointed a finger at Lu Baixiang. "I like this kind of blind self-confidence in you all, afraid of nothing. Fine. I guess you wouldn't agree to a handicap game. Then we'll start with an empty board, but we won't guess for the first move. You, Lu Baixiang, will take black and go first."

Lu Baixiang asked with a smile, "Then how many points should we adjust for komi?"

Cui Dongshan's smile faded. He grew a bit impatient. "Let's play first, then talk."

Lu Baixiang, feeling like a guest following the host's lead, noticed that the goban beside him happened to hold the black stones, so he began placing his first move.

Cui Dongshan let Lu Baixiang play the famous "first small knight's move" that had shaken the world from the *Colorful Cloud Record* – black 1-3-5 in the corner, black 7 defending the corner, black 9 small knight's move. It was both unbreakably solid and subtly murderous, like a storm about to break.

Cui Dongshan remained unmoved, playing in a conventional manner, not even using any of the later "never losing" countermeasures.

Lu Baixiang sat like an old monk in meditation, immersed in the game, completely oblivious to everything else.

But Cui Dongshan was a chatterbox. Not only did he play chess carelessly, but he also started rambling about this and that, as if he were truly teaching Lu Baixiang how to play. "Actually, the seat-stone system is more fun. The currently popular empty board start has its own advantages – it makes the board 'bigger.' But if your skill isn't sufficient, you'll exhaust the wise ancestors' clever opening patterns in the fuseki. It may look splendid, but once you reach the middle game, it's nothing but a disgraceful series of errors and blunders. Like an old farmer digging a cesspit, a mad dog biting wildly, or grabbing loaches in a stinky ditch – very boring. It could put the spectators to sleep."

"Modern critics of the ancients' seat-stone system tend to disparage the opening, only acknowledging that the battle for supremacy in the middle game is exciting. But that's still not quite right."

"Lu Baixiang, your intuition for shapes is not bad, but it's only 'not bad.' As for the logic of go... it's like Sui Youbian's undergarments – you haven't even seen them, let alone touched them."

The game had roughly just entered the middle game, and the chattering Cui Dongshan had already covered his goban with his palm.

Lu Baixiang looked up. "Mr. Cui, what are you doing?"

Cui Dongshan was taken aback. "Can't you see you've already lost? It'll be over in at most thirty moves."

Cui Dongshan raised his hand. "Let's continue."

Lu Baixiang frowned but continued placing stones.

It was undeniable that when Lu Baixiang played chess, his demeanor was exceptional – whether reaching for a stone, leaning down to place it, or surveying the board, it was all elegance.

Unfortunately, Cui Dongshan didn't care about any of that. Even the game itself didn't hold his attention. He played rapidly, and once his white stones had taken root on the board, he simply waited in boredom for Lu Baixiang. Perhaps that was why he kept chattering – the waiting was just too dull.

Cui Dongshan said casually, "The seat-stone system and the empty board start – it's not really about which is better or worse. The disputes among today's players over this ultimately stem from a view of the game that is neither deep enough nor broad enough. In fact, besides the Ten Games of *Colorful Cloud*, there should have been an eleventh game. As for the board, it's not just nineteen by nineteen lines anymore. Too small."

Lu Baixiang's heart tightened. He paused for a long time, silently gazing at the game that was actually not that complicated.

His opponent had no overwhelmingly powerful killing moves, no clever exchanges, no so-called "demonic knife" or "large diagonal."

It was as if he had simply accompanied Lu Baixiang for half a game, cleanly and effortlessly, just patiently waiting for him to admit defeat.

Feeling heavy-hearted, Lu Baixiang placed two stones in the lower-right corner of the board.

Throwing in the towel.

Cui Dongshan yawned. "See? I told you there was no need to think about komi or no komi. Next round, I yield one stone?"

Lu Baixiang said in a deep voice, "How about Mr. Cui yields me two stones?"

Cui Dongshan laughed heartily. "A wise man knows when to adapt. Good, good. It's not in vain that I taught you this game."

Lu Baixiang smiled bitterly, saying nothing. He steadied his mind, began clearing the board, and finally took a deep breath for the second game.

Cui Dongshan still showed no sign of going all out, but he predicted early on, "I make no mistakes at every step, so naturally I'll win completely."

After the game entered the middle game, Lu Baixiang often needed to spend a long time thinking.

Cui Dongshan didn't urge him at all, but he frequently looked around restlessly, completely unconstrained.

After Lu Baixiang placed a stone, he broke his silence and asked, "Just 'no mistakes at every step'?"

Cui Dongshan hummed in affirmation. "Just that. But my so-called 'no mistakes' isn't what ordinary ninth-dan masters talk about. You wouldn't understand. It's a profound knowledge a hundred thousand miles away. How can you teach a child in a village school?"

This game, after all, did drag on for Lu Baixiang until the endgame, but he still ended up throwing in the towel.

Cui Dongshan suddenly changed his demeanor, becoming interested, and asked with a smile, "For the third game, how about a little wager?"

Lu Baixiang asked back, "What kind of wager?"

Cui Dongshan smiled. "My master told me that each of you four has a saying. I already know the general content. But I also know that among you, someone must have lied. It's not necessarily completely false – probably half true, half false. Logically, you, Lu Baixiang, are the most suspicious, because your saying sounds the most like nonsense. But none of that matters. If I win the third game, you, Lu Baixiang, just need to tell me who you think is most likely to have lied. You can say anyone, just give me a name."

Lu Baixiang was amused and bemused. "What meaning would that have then?"

Cui Dongshan said seriously, "It has meaning."

Lu Baixiang thought for a moment and shook his head. "Two games are enough."

Cui Dongshan said with great disappointment, "With your skill, it wouldn't be hard to get a strong ninth-dan ranking in Vase Bottle Continent. Although it's only equivalent to an ordinary ninth-dan in Central Continent, it's still not bad. If you learn a bit more, study more game records, you could have a place in the chess world of Central Continent, where masters are as numerous as clouds. And you don't dare to play even with me yielding three stones?"

Lu Baixiang hesitated for a moment, then asked curiously, "Mr. Cui's skill at chess – could it rank in the top ten of this Bright World?"

Cui Dongshan rolled his eyes. "Go is just a minor art. Even if it's in the top ten, so what? Some upper five-realm cultivators from the School of Yin-Yang and School of Technicians are all proficient in this. And then what? They still get beaten crying for their parents by cultivators of the same realm?"

Lu Baixiang's eyes burned with intensity. "I dare to ask one more question: How big is the gap between Mr. Cui and the City Lord of White Emperor City?"

Cui Dongshan thought for a moment. "About a difference of one Ma Lei game with black going first."

Lu Baixiang's mood gradually calmed, and he asked with a smile, "If I win after being yielded three stones, what will Mr. Cui do then?"

Cui Dongshan pointed to the *Colorful Cloud Record*. "I'll eat it."

Lu Baixiang took it as a joke and couldn't help asking again, "How far apart are Mr. Cui and Cui Chan, the National Master of the Great Li Empire, in terms of skill?"

Cui Dongshan glanced at Lu Baixiang and said nothing.

Lu Baixiang said apologetically, "I was rude."

Cui Dongshan stood up and asked, "Losing two games – any thoughts?"

Lu Baixiang stood up as well and said sincerely, "I've benefited greatly. Though defeated, I'm honored."

Cui Dongshan shook his head, dismissing it. "You have no right to say those last four words."

Watching Cui Dongshan's back.

Lu Baixiang sat back down and began to review the game alone.

Cui Dongshan walked along the corridor, murmuring to himself, "Wei Xian... he's a bit dangerous."

Then he laughed at himself. "What's the big deal?"

He suddenly smiled and went to knock on Sui Youbian's door. "Sister Sui, are you there? I've finished learning chess from Lu Baixiang. How about I learn some swordsmanship from you next?"

***

After putting the Multi-Treasure Box back into the bamboo chest, Chen Ping'an left the inn alone and casually toured the local customs and scenery of the area.

The small county town was like a sparrow – small but complete in all its parts: civil and martial temples, city god temple, county government office, village school, various shops – everything one could need.

The pitted yellow mud roads, willow trees sprouting buds, roosters crowing and dogs barking, brand-new Spring Festival couplets and door gods.

Hastily passing peddlers from other lands who did rootless business, running children – most wearing new clothes they had changed into for the New Year, full of vitality.

As he walked, before he knew it, he had arrived outside the martial temple. Along the way, he had passed a temple of the God of Wealth. Compared to the desolate civil temple, the incense was thriving.

Chen Ping'an had traveled millions of miles through lands and waters, and he had noticed an interesting thing: worldly commoners seemed to respect the great gods but not feel close to them. They were more intimate with the smaller shrines of lower divine ranks, like the God of Wealth Temple, the Earth God Temple, and various Goddess Temples. For example, in this Blue Luan Kingdom, which was filled with Taoist and Buddhist temples, for the main god in the central hall, the commoners would offer incense and kowtow, but then they would often not linger long. However, at the feet of some deity in charge of a specific matter, after devoutly kowtowing, they would mutter prayers and make wishes.

Chen Ping'an walked into the martial temple. There were only a scant few worshippers.

The statue was a military general, painted clay, holding an iron mace in its arms, with a ferocious glare and a very imposing manner.

The local temple keeper did not appear. Chen Ping'an was currently at the fifth martial arts realm, but his injuries had not yet fully healed. There were pros and cons. There was a glimmer of hope for him to contend for that elusive "strongest" title. Of course, the prerequisite was that Cao Ci, that prodigy of the Great Duan Dynasty, had already broken through to the sixth martial arts realm. The sixth realm was all about finding a hero's gall, somewhat similar to a Qi refiner forming a golden core. Generally, there were two shortcuts: one was to enter a martial temple and try one's luck to see if one could gain favor and be granted a share of martial fortune.

The other was to go to the site of an ancient battlefield, fighting with those heroic spirits that had not scattered even in death. But it was quite dangerous. At ancient battlefield sites, there were rarely lone wandering spirits. Those heroic spirit generals whose intelligence had not dissipated would have varying numbers of ghostly soldiers and ghostly generals under their command, making them extremely troublesome. That book of immortals purchased from the Inverted Mountain recorded a huge ruin in Central Continent, where the heroic spirit had cultivation equivalent to a twelfth-realm Qi refiner. With a military sage commanding the battlefield, it was no different from a legendary flying ascension realm. Under its command were hundreds of thousands of ghostly soldiers and ghostly generals. It was said that each successive Grand Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain needed to train there before taking office, and there had even been tragic deaths.

Chen Ping'an never held any hope for the martial temple's bestowal. Today, he was just out for a walk and had come here by chance. He was more drawn to the ancient battlefield sites that had gone down in history, hoping to rely on his own fists to forge a solid sixth realm.

Chen Ping'an stood alone in the main hall of the martial temple. The county town's martial temple was too small; there was no place to purchase incense, so commoners brought their own. Chen Ping'an felt that putting his palms together didn't seem quite appropriate, so he simply cupped his fists in salute, paying his respects to the Martial Sage as a martial artist, and then turned to leave.

Outside the main hall, the spring sunlight was bright.

Chen Ping'an stepped over the threshold.

Now that his Long-Life Bridge had been rebuilt and he had successfully refined his first lifebound object, Chen Ping'an had one foot in the door of being a Qi refiner.

But this was by no means some immense fortune. There were few good things in the world where one could have both fish and bear's paws. In particular, the two identities of Qi refiner and pure martial artist were contradictory. Although it wasn't that no one practiced both, across several worlds, there were very few. Some sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall, the Taoists of the Master Knife Room, and a few freaks that Cui Chan had once casually mentioned fell into this category. The reason orthodox cultivation considered this foolish was that the further one went, the more likely it was to produce nearly fatal flaws. For a Qi refiner, forming a golden core was already not easy, and breaking through the bottleneck and eliminating heart demons at the Nascent Soul stage was even harder. The Buddhist path of the indestructible golden body and the Taoist pursuit of the flawless glass body were both tirelessly seeking the word "flawless," and martial arts cultivation was even more about the word "pure."

Once one chose to open both paths simultaneously, it was equivalent to asking for trouble. It was easy to end up with neither, and ultimately, one's achievements would be limited.

Just as Chen Ping'an's right foot was about to cross the threshold, a ripple of spiritual energy stirred behind him, and a mellow voice sounded, "Immortal Master, please wait."

Chen Ping'an withdrew his foot and turned back into the main hall. The painted statue rippled with a layer of golden light, and then a middle-aged military general clad in golden armor walked out from the statue, landing in the main hall.

This local Martial Sage of the Blue Luan Kingdom cupped his fists and smiled, "Thanks to the assistance of that student of yours, our civil and martial temples managed to escape disaster. I wonder if the Immortal Master could give us a chance to repay you? If the Immortal Master has any needs, just speak. As long as it is within our power, we dare not refuse."

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "This intervention was entirely the idea of that student of mine and has nothing to do with me. The Martial Sage need not thank me. I am only passing through here by chance. I apologize for the disturbance."

The Martial Sage said helplessly, "I would welcome more disturbances."

Chen Ping'an had nothing to say to that.

The incense of the divine path was the most mysterious.

Since Chen Ping'an had nothing else to do, he simply picked a cushion and sat down. The Martial Sage set up some illusionary barriers to avoid frightening the mortals, then also sat down.

Chen Ping'an asked about the origins and rituals of the civil and martial temples, as well as some matters concerning the civil gall. This question was buried among the random questions, not standing out.

The Martial Sage answered everything he knew without reservation.

Having gotten what he wanted, Chen Ping'an stood up, thanked him, and took his leave. The Martial Sage only saw him off to the entrance of the hall. After the young Immortal Master had drifted further and further away, the golden-bodied deity returned to dwell within the clay statue.

The young man in white walked along the street, passing green trees, passing a yellow dog lying on the ground basking in the sun, passing children laughing and playing. He murmured to himself, muttering softly.

"At your age, there are always things you can't do, or things you've worked hard at but still can't do well. What does it matter? It's okay."

"But doing something poorly and doing something wrong are two different things. If you're young, there's no need to be afraid of making mistakes. But that's not an excuse to know you're wrong and not correct it."

"If you have parents who understand right from wrong, they'll hit you and scold you when you make mistakes. If you go to school, the teacher and the master will use the ruler and the board to strike your palms. Xiao Baoping has Mr. Qi, has her older brother Li Xisheng. Cao Qinglang has his parents, and now he's gone to school. You don't have any of that. It's okay. I'll teach you."

"But how to teach you in the best way? When I was your age, no one taught me."

The young outsider walked past Spring Festival couplets with poorly written characters, door gods crudely painted.

He didn't hurry back to the inn.

Chen Ping'an suddenly remembered something and turned into a secluded alley. He took out a yellow paper talisman from his wrist-grain jade token. It was the one that housed the colorful-clothed skeleton beauty from the Colorful Clothes Kingdom. On the Osmanthus Island boat headed to the Inverted Mountain, Aunt Gui and the old golden-core sword cultivator Ma Zhi had helped him and the female ghost establish a contract. But Chen Ping'an had suffered greatly at the hands of a bride-in-red female ghost before, and he naturally disliked vengeful spirits and the like. After leaving Osmanthus Island until now, he had never given the female ghost a chance to appear.

Now, after seeing the light of day again, she was a bit disoriented. She stood in the shadows, graceful and elegant, yet also filled with a chilling yin aura.

She was wearing a magnificent colorful robe with wide sleeves, her hands hidden in the sleeves. But Chen Ping'an knew that besides her beautiful face, the neck of this female ghost and everything below was white bone.

She performed a curtsey, revealing two snow-white... skeletal wrists, and said in a delicate voice, "Your servant greets the master."

Chen Ping'an found it a bit difficult to speak, and hesitated.

When the contract was signed, Chen Ping'an learned that the female ghost's real name was Shi Rou.

Chen Ping'an kept an ear out for any passersby nearby while formulating his words in his mind.

She smiled and said, "Does the master need your servant to do some less-than-clean tasks? The master need not hesitate. That is your servant's duty."

Chen Ping'an sighed and shook his head. "It's not about doing those shady, dishonorable deeds. You are a woman. I want to ask about things you women are good at."

The skeleton female ghost narrowed her eyes. "Oh? Might I ask the master, is it about matters between men and women?"

She laughed, a skeletal arm protruding from her wide sleeve, covering her mouth as she giggled, but her gaze was cold. "I never thought the master had such peculiar tastes. This servant is indeed fortunate."

Chen Ping'an didn't mind the sarcasm in her words. He said helplessly, "I want to ask you, when you were alive, did you ever marry and manage the household, teach your children? Do you know any methods for setting rules for children and younger generations in the family?"

She was completely bewildered. Clearly, Chen Ping'an's idea was completely unexpected to her. In the early years, when her soul was confined in that painting, she had grown accustomed to doing all sorts of malicious things for that old Immortal Master, acting as his accomplice. Reluctantly repulsive as it was, it was better than watching her sisters be annihilated soul and spirit. The souls of some pitiful sisters had been used by that old man with the extremely sinister immortal technique known as "sitting wax," where they were lit as oil lamps, their souls serving as wicks, dissolving bit by bit, utterly miserable. Other than her, who dared to defy him?

And now she had changed masters, and this new one had changed so much?

She let out a sigh of relief and shook her head. "Your servant was never married when alive, and knows nothing of what the master speaks."

Chen Ping'an nodded, said nothing more, and immediately retracted her into the talisman, placing it back in his wrist-grain jade token.

In the netherworld of the talisman prison, the female ghost's form drifted, her face full of surprise. That was it?

She felt a bit aggrieved. If she had known, should she have made up something? How long had it been since she had seen the beauty of the outside world?

She would even be willing to suffer the pain of the harsh winds cutting like flesh and the spring thunder shaking like scraping bones.

Chen Ping'an walked out of the alley and finally sat down on the steps outside a house with its gate tightly shut, hugging his knees and staring blankly.

A family of three in simple clothes walked by. The child was innocent and carefree, the woman looked red-eyed, seeming a bit wronged, and the man was smiling soothingly, saying nice things, holding a long strip of meat wrapped in oil paper in his hand. But the more attentive the man was, the angrier the woman became. Finally, she simply took her son's hand and quickly walked away, leaving the man aside.

The man hunched over, looking tired. This trip to accompany his wife back to her parents' home, the sons-in-law had gathered. There was one who worked in the government office, one who was a teacher in a wealthy family's private school, and then there was him, a farmer. The father-in-law had given return gifts. The other two sons-in-law each got a pig leg, but he only got a strip of meat. He was naturally angry inside, but his wife blamed him. As a man, was he supposed to argue in front of the child? In the end, wasn't it because he had no prospects? The man sighed and suddenly noticed a young man with an unfamiliar face squatting at the entrance not far away. The man instinctively straightened his back, smiled at Chen Ping'an, and then trotted off after his increasingly distant wife and child.

Chen Ping'an watched this scene. Although he didn't understand the language, he himself had grown up in a poor place like Mud Vial Alley, familiar with the frictions of the lowest echelons of society, aware of the trivialities that slowly eroded the heart. So Chen Ping'an could roughly guess that when the child was a bit older, he might know his parents' respective bitterness. Maybe he would study harder at school. Maybe he would smile less often. Maybe he would think that his father, who once stood tall in his eyes, was actually a bit pathetic. He might join his mother in disdain. But it was also possible that on the way home today, he would help his father carry that strip of meat, and then his parents would make up, thinking that life could still go on.

All possibilities.

***

Pei Qian was copying books in her own room.

After she finished copying, she quietly stood by the door, eavesdropping on the sounds outside.

But she waited a long time and heard no footsteps.

So she squatted down with her back against the door, looking at her toes.

In the earliest days, before she got used to walking mountain paths, her soles were covered with blood blisters, and she didn't dare to pierce them with a needle.

There was a person who would squat beside her, help her pierce them one by one, and then apply some crushed medicinal herbs, so it wouldn't hurt.

While Pei Qian was in a daze, a familiar voice came from outside the door, asking, "Did you copy books today?"

Pei Qian immediately jumped up and shouted, "I'm done!"

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away, followed by the soft sound of a door closing next door.