This movement of Jing Jiu drew the attention of others again.
People started to guess his identity again.
Standing by the Go table, they could see the situation on the Go board clearly, and they could even see the wrinkles on Grand Scholar Guo's face and the way that young man raised his thin eyebrows. The highly achieved chess players watching the game could only stand a bit further away. They envied his position and wished they could take his place. It would be great if they could even stand by his side and pour tea for him. Unexpectedly, he sat down on the Go table. What kind of behavior was this?
Wait a moment, where did he get that chair from?
The game had passed the opening stage, and it was now the middle stage. The situation had finally become clearer.
After some thought, Grand Scholar Guo put down a Go piece, feeling pretty good. He was finally in the mood to relax a bit. Then he noticed Jing Jiu.
Glancing at the bamboo chair under Jing Jiu, he asked with a smile, "Would you like another cup of tea?"
"What kind of tea?" asked Jing Jiu.
Grand Scholar Guo said, "The Maojian tea sent from Xinyang."
Jing Jiu didn't know much about the tea ceremony, and he seldom drank tea, but he knew the name. "I'll have a cup then," he said.
The caretaker of the Grand Scholar Manor had been waiting by the side. It didn't take long for him to bring three cups of new tea over.
Jing Jiu lifted the lid of the tea, and a faint fragrance came out along with the steam; it smelled good.
It was then that the young man responded by putting down a Go piece in the upper right corner of the Go board.
Grand Scholar Guo's hand holding the teacup stiffened slightly, and he narrowed his eyes, his expression growing grave, not as relaxed as before.
…
…
Thud … thud … It was not the sound of time elapsing, but the sound of the Go pieces landing on the Go board.
The sunlight continued to move. The twilight was getting darker, and the visibility was getting blurry. Someone had prepared the lanterns earlier, and the long street was as bright as daytime.
The game was in the middle stage, and more and more Go pieces were on the Go board. The situation was very complicated, but it was easier for those highly achieved chess players to see the game clearly.
They were naturally on Grand Scholar Guo's side, thinking about how to resolve the current situation.
Some of them furrowed their brows, some of them bit their fingers reflexively, some of them kept on fanning themselves in the chilly spring night, and some of them shook their heads dejectedly.
The similarity was that they all had a grave expression on their faces, just like Grand Scholar Guo who was contemplating.
Zhao Layue stood on the opposite side of the street and looked around the chess stall in confusion. Then, her gaze fell on Jing Jiu again.
Only she noticed that Jing Jiu's right hand was moving slightly under the bamboo chair.
It reminded her of many days and nights in Aoyama.
During those days and nights, Jing Jiu just leaned against the bamboo chair, holding a grain of sand between his fingers, thinking about where to put it on the porcelain plate.
Could he think of an answer today?
"I lost."
Grand Scholar Guo's long examination didn't yield any result.
He sighed and admitted the result.
His voice was a little tired, but it was more like he was relieved from a heavy burden.
There was a burst of exclamations on the street, and then it quickly became abnormally quiet.
Everyone's gaze shifted from the chessboard to the young man's face. Their eyes were filled with admiration and even awe.
The black and white Go pieces were scattered on the chessboard. They were two different colors, which had a unique sense of beauty. They seemed to be two different existences, but they depended on each other and then destroyed each other.
The black Go pieces were very heavy, like a cold mountain that was impossible to step over.
The white Go pieces … were not on the ground. They were like the stars in the night sky, scattered in all directions. A few stars were in the east, and a dozen or so were in the west. It seemed random, but there was a rule among them.
The rule was very mysterious, like the principle of heaven and earth. It was hard to understand, so how could it be broken?
Grand Scholar Guo stood up and looked down at the chessboard for a long time, and then he sighed again.
"Human strength is indeed no match for nature. I'm too greedy."
The young man said, "Master, you've cultivated too late, and your energy is limited. It's hard for you to suffer a loss."
Grand Scholar Guo smiled bitterly, feeling a bit sad.
As a national chess player, how could he not understand this principle? But … he was still a bit unwilling to accept it.
He straightened up and turned around to leave. His body swayed and he almost fell down. Fortunately, the housekeeper of the Grand Scholar Manor was by his side and helped him up.
By now, even those chess stall owners who had been driven to a distant place knew who this young man was.
He could defeat the number one chess player of the imperial court, Grand Scholar Guo, in the middle game …
There was only one person in the world who could do so.
Tong Yan of Zhongzhou.
…
…
Tong Yan was a young disciple of Zhongzhou School, a talented genius.
More importantly, he was undoubtedly the number one chess player in the world.
Most of his chess games were played on the Cloud-Dream Mountain with his colleagues. He seldom played chess except for the first three Plum Meetings, and he almost didn't communicate with the highly achieved chess players in Zhaoge City and other places.
Yet, nobody dared question his reputation.
It was because people had seen his chess playing records.
The unique feature of chess playing was that one could accurately judge a player's level through the chess playing records.
Especially someone like Tong Yan.
His chess playing records were enough to make the vast majority of chess players feel hopeless.
The question was, why did an invincible player like him come to the alley of Zhaoge City to make trouble for the chess stall owners?
Tong Yan didn't answer this question.
He turned his head to the side of the table, asking, "Have you understood it? Jing Jiu. "
Grand Scholar Guo, who was about to leave, halted his steps and turned around to look at the bamboo chair, feeling surprised.
Jing Jiu took off his conical hat.
The lanterns hanging by the street illuminated his face.
It was an indescribably beautiful face.
There was an uproar in the crowd. Many uncontrollable screams and praises broke out.
The lights were waning.
It should only be in the sky.
Was this the rumored Jing Jiu?
Did Tong Yan wait for him here today?
Many people recalled a rumor.
During the Four-Seas Banquet and the Sword Trial of Aoyama last year, Jing Jiu had said that he would participate in the Plum Meeting and defeat Tong Yan in chess playing.
Did Tong Yan not come to make trouble for these chess stalls, but for him? Did he play this game for him to see? Was he trying to intimidate him?
Soon, the people overruled their own thoughts.
Tong Yan was aloof, proud, and arrogant; how could he do such a thing just for a challenger?
Even though Jing Jiu had won first place in the chess tournament at the Four-Seas Banquet last year, he wasn't worthy of his attention.
Many important figures watching the game of chess that day had received the booklet written by the Curtain Rollers for the Plum Meeting.
They remembered clearly that Tong Yan ranked first in the chess tournament, and Jing Jiu had a very good ranking, not even in the top ten.
What was going on today?
What was the deeper meaning of Tong Yan's question?
Go was originally the simplest game.
It was not difficult to place the black and white Go pieces on the board one by one. Even a child needed only one day to master the basic rules.
It was because it was simple that it was the most difficult game.
What did it mean to understand it?
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