The street outside the old plum garden was where most of the chess stalls were located in Zhaoge City.
Some of the owners of the chess stalls were the highly achieved swordsmen in the marketplace, and some of them were the bored disciples of the large chess houses. Of course, some of them used the chess boards to cheat others.
The Go game was the most important and the least important, and it was the most convenient way to cheat others of their money.
It usually took only one step to solve the Go game, but nobody could think of that step.
This Go game had been placed at the end of the street for ten years, and nobody had solved it yet. Even the highly achieved swordsmen of the large chess houses couldn't solve it.
The sudden quietness came from the first step the young man took.
The crowd guessed a possibility from the expression on the face of the owner of the Go game, and they were shocked speechless.
The owner of the first chess stall and the owner of the Go game were not only neighbors, but also brothers of the same master.
He was fully aware of how difficult or insidious this Go game was.
After his Master taught them this Go game, it became the biggest secret among them, helping them win a great deal of money.
No matter how the disciples of the large chess houses tempted them or threatened them, they didn't tell them about it. Six years ago, his Young Brother had one of his hands broken because of it.
But … why did this person take the first step? Could it be that he had seen through the secret of this endgame at a glance?
He exchanged a glance with the owner of the Go game, and they both saw the shock in each other's eyes.
Since this person could solve the Go game taught by his Master so easily, he must be a chess player from China …
But, why did someone with such an amazing chess skill come here?
Even if there were some highly achieved swordsmen hiding in the chess stalls on this street, they were all in the front street. The place where they set up the Go games was near the barren garden, and few people came to the stalls, so the location was not good to begin with. Did this person come here to target him? Or was he a highly achieved swordsman hired by a chess house?
Thinking of this, the first stall owner was shocked and angry, yelling, "We won't leave. What can you do about it?!"
The young man with a tender face had already come to the front of the third chess stall. Hearing this, he turned around and glanced at the first stall owner, saying expressionlessly, "If you don't leave, you'll die."
The first stall owner was about to say something, but he suddenly felt cold all over when he saw the young man's gaze.
The others had the same feeling, as if the spring in Zhaoge City had gone away in an instant, and the world had returned to the cold winter.
Shaking the world with a single thought was a technique of cultivators.
The owner of the Go puzzle turned pale and quickly walked out. He used his trembling hand to stop his Senior Brother, indicating for him to stop speaking.
His hand had been broken six years ago at the behest of some idlers from the chess house. Because of this, his hand would tremble whenever it was cloudy or when he was afraid.
Knowing that the young man was a Daoist cultivator, the crowd became fearful and scattered in all directions.
"What business do you have, Immortal Master?"
It was the street with the largest number of chess stalls in Zhaoge City. Though the profits weren't great, there were still profits to be had. As such, there was someone in charge.
When a person like the young man came to stir up trouble, the steward had to come out and settle the matter.
Everyone looked at the middle-aged man in a green robe and bowed, saying respectfully, "Mr. He."
That Mister He was a disciple of the Chunxi Chess House in Zhaoge City. He had an ordinary status, but he was a respected figure on this street.
The owner of the Chunxi Chess House was Prince Cheng, who loved playing chess. As such, Mister He didn't fear that young man too much. Of course, he still spoke respectfully.
The two brothers, the owner of the chess stall and the owner of the Go puzzle, eyed each other in surprise and bewilderment, thinking that this young man wasn't invited by the Chunxi Chess House.
The young man glanced at Mister He and said expressionlessly, "My purpose is simple: to drive all of you away."
"May I know the reason?" asked Mister He with a stern expression.
The young man looked up at the sky and said, "It's simple. It's because you people aren't qualified to play chess."
All the people on the street had learned of what had happened, gathering around them.
Hearing what the young man said, there was an uproar.
Mister He's expression changed slightly, saying, "Immortal Master has an extraordinary chess skill. Why do you have to …"
He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear. Why would a Cultivation practitioner bully the weak?
Yet, he didn't realize that this was a chess game, not a fight.
The young man didn't heed him. He turned to the chess stall and said, "If you lose, get lost. If I lose, I die."
His expression was nonchalant, not because he didn't care about life and death, but because he had absolute confidence in himself.
As he spoke, he didn't look at the owner of the chess stall, but at a wild grass on the eaves.
This was the so-called arrogance. It was really unpleasant.
Mister He, the stall owner, and the onlookers all felt very unpleasant.
"Let's play! I don't believe you can beat so many of us! "
Someone shouted.
It was obvious that the young man intended to drive away all the chess stalls on the street.
His idea and behavior had already aroused the public's anger.
On this street, there were those who set up Go puzzles to cheat money, those who set up Go games to win money, and those highly skilled chess players who came here to play games, as well as the disciples of the Chunxi Chess House like Mister He. The further they walked down the street, the higher the level of the chess masters at the stalls. No matter how good this young man was at playing chess, how could he keep winning?
Moreover, if he pushed the crowd too far, it was not impossible for him to invite a few famous chess masters from Zhaoge City.
In the noisy and chaotic environment, the young man didn't change his expression. He waved his hand to signal for the owner of the chess stall to go first.
Zhao Layue fixed her gaze on the Go board.
"This is called Xiangqi," said Jing Jiu.
"Though I don't know how to play Go, I know it."
Zhao Layue shot him a glance.
She wanted to say something, but didn't.
Jing Jiu knew what she was worried about.
He looked at the young man with a tender face, who looked like a child.
This young man wasn't really arrogant, but his eyebrows were a bit light, so the position of his eyes looked a bit high, giving people the feeling that he was looking down on others from a higher position.
It seemed that he looked down on everyone in the world, especially in front of the Go board.
This reminded Jing Jiu of that old friend again, the old friend whom the zither music in the mountain reminded him of.
This young man played Go just like that old friend of his killed people.
The flames of war lasted for three months.
They didn't drink tea while sitting opposite each other.
Jing Jiu had a complicated feeling, so he didn't want to watch it any longer.
"Let's go. It's too noisy here."
…
…
It was true that Zhaoge City was too noisy today, and everyone was quarreling.
At the Plum Meeting, the zither music and the cheers, the flute and the birds had been quarreling for a long time.
Outside the Royal Palace, the sounds of the wooden wheels rubbing against the green stone slabs and the crisp sound of the teacups falling to the ground were very annoying.
By the long street, the chess pieces landed heavily on the Go board, and the cheers and sighs rose one after another, gradually falling behind them.
As soon as they arrived at the front of the old garden, the world became quieter, and the sounds of cheers and sighs could be heard in the deep part of the plum forest.
The sound was very gentle and pleasant, like the bead curtain knocking against each other in the wind, or the raindrops falling down from the lotus leaves.
Zhao Layue was surprised, asking, "The Platanus Sect?"
It was quiet in the old garden, and the plum trees were covered with dust. There were no tourists here, but there were many remnants of the energy of the formations.
Those formations were very powerful. It was a bit difficult for Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue to break them in their current Cultivation states.
Unless Zhao Layue used the Thoughtless Sword, or Jing Jiu did it himself.
Fortunately, someone had entered the plum forest and broken these formations.
It was these bell sounds that broke the formations.
Jing Jiu arched his eyebrows.
It seemed that the little girl was more anxious than them.
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