The ringing of the bell meant that Zen Master, Duke Of He and other important figures had arrived on the Chess Board Mountain.
Duke Of He walked to the railing on the peak top and looked down at the green forest, seeming to be lost in thought.
As the host of the Plum Meeting, he had nowhere to turn to even though he had many thoughts, because Zen Master didn't show up.
Zen Master was resting in the Three-Purities Temple halfway up the mountain.
It was a bit strange that a highly achieved monk of the Buddhist sect was resting in a Daoist temple, but Duke Of He knew that Zen Master didn't care about this, so he didn't say anything about it.
Duke Of He glanced at the Royal Palace in the distance, and said to the official by his side, "Let's start then."
The bell rang again, and the chess tournament of the Plum Meeting began.
Innumerable Cultivation practitioners on Green Mountain began to move toward the pavilions they had chosen earlier.
Looking down from the peak top where Duke Of He was, they looked like chess pieces moving on a chessboard, as if they were marching on a battlefield.
The Cultivation practitioners, regardless of whether they were standing in the same spots or walking, were all paying attention to the movements in a few places.
Tong Yan received the most attention, and people wanted to know whom he would choose as his first opponent.
Or, would he choose an empty pavilion and wait for others to challenge him like he had done at the previous Plum meetings?
The movements of He Zhan, Que Niang, Gu Yuanyuan, Shang Jiulou and other highly achieved swordsmen were also being watched, and many gazes were fixed on Jing Jiu by the stream.
Tong Yan stood by the cliff's edge alone, looking at the receding clouds in front of the mountain, still motionless.
He Zhan was roasting fish and drinking wine with a young girl upstream of the stream.
Que Niang, Shang Jiulou and Gu Yuanyuan all moved, and walked into the pavilions they had chosen earlier.
Seeing this, the expressions on some Cultivation practitioners' faces changed slightly.
If they didn't choose a chess pavilion in the end, they would be assigned to an empty pavilion by the host.
It was conceivable that the pavilions of Que Niang and the other two would be empty.
Nobody expected to encounter such a strong opponent in the first round of the Plum Meeting.
Playing chess was an elegant activity, and it would be impolite to run and chase each other on the mountain. However, those Cultivation practitioners walked faster than before.
They walked to another pavilion.
It didn't take long for most of the cultivators participating in the chess tournament to sit in the pavilion.
Someone noticed that Jing Jiu was still sitting on the grass by the stream.
"Is he imitating Gongzi Tong Yan?"
A cultivator mocked, "It's really ridiculous."
Someone said, "He Zhan didn't choose a pavilion either."
"Who is He Zhan?" The cultivator sneered. Who is he? "
…
…
The chess games in some pavilions had already begun.
Outside the pavilion, someone was responsible for recording the chess records. It was said that they were there to preserve the information, but in fact, everybody knew that these chess records would be sent down the mountain continuously. Many nobles in Zhaoge City were waiting for these chess records that day, and they were willing to pay a high price for them. Since the Imperial court couldn't stop them, it was a good idea to earn some money from them.
There were also many pavilions where only one cultivator sat.
Some of them were expressionless, and some of them were mumbling to themselves, hoping that Tong Yan wouldn't come here.
He Zhan came back and stood by Jing Jiu with the wine jar in his hand, asking, "Do you want to come?"
"I don't drink wine," said Jing Jiu.
He Zhan said, "But you play chess."
Jing Jiu shot him a glance.
He Zhan said, "If you want to beat Tong Yan, you have to get past me first."
Jing Jiu understood what he meant by now.
Zhao Layue and Big Sister Cui were startled.
Looking at the half roasted fish in her hand, Sensei thought she should throw it to the ground, but she felt it was a pity.
She had never eaten such a delicious roasted fish.
He Zhan seemed to be the second best in the world when it came to roasting fish.
Many people had noticed the commotion on this side and heard He Zhan's challenge, feeling startled.
Only then did they realize that He Zhan hadn't chosen the chess pavilion because he had this idea.
Would Jing Jiu accept it?
…
…
"No, I have an appointment with someone," said Jing Jiu.
He Zhan didn't expect that he would be refused. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Who?"
Jing Jiu didn't answer his question.
He left the brook and walked toward a certain place.
There was an uproar.
It wasn't because he refused He Zhan's challenge, but because … Tong Yan moved!
Almost at the same time as Jing Jiu moved, He Zhan, who had been standing on the cliff's edge for a long time, turned around and walked toward a certain place.
Countless eyes followed Jing Jiu and Tong Yan.
Even those cultivators that had started playing Go had instinctively stopped and looked over in that direction.
People were getting more and more shocked. Even He Zhan opened his mouth.
It seemed that Jing Jiu and Tong Yan were walking toward the same place.
Everyone's steps left a line in heaven and earth. As long as they were not parallel to each other, they would eventually meet.
The place where they would meet was not by the cliff's edge or by the brook, but by the plum tree.
It was a secluded place, with dozens of exotic wild plum trees covering a low pavilion. It was hard to find it if one didn't pay attention to it.
…
…
He Zhan understood now.
Everyone in the mountain had gradually understood.
The most anticipated chess game at this year's Plum Meeting was of course the game between Jing Jiu and Tong Yan.
In a sense, this game represented the competition between the Aoyama Sect and the Zhongzhou School, and it was another competition between the leaders of the orthodox Cultivation sects.
The Emperor's sudden decision to watch the chess tournament was probably because he wanted to watch this game.
In many people's eyes, Jing Jiu had to win a few games before he could meet Tong Yan, and then he would meet Tong Yan a few days later.
That is, if he had the strength or luck.
Who would have thought that they would meet each other as soon as the chess tournament began?
It was not a coincidence.
It turned out that they had never thought of going to another pavilion from the very beginning.
What they were going to play was the first game.
…
…
Standing on the peak top, the Duke Of He was speechless as he looked at the scene below. He waved his hand and said, "Inform the Royal Palace as soon as possible."
If the Emperor couldn't see this game, he wouldn't have a good ending.
…
…
Nan Wang led the disciples of the Aoyama Sect to the outside of the Nishiyama House.
Many disciples still had a surprised expression on their faces after hearing the news.
…
…
Zen Master pulled back his gaze from the clay statue of the Daoist temple and asked the Daoist priest who came to report, "Who will play first?"
The Daoist priest replied, "I was guessing who would play first when I left."
…
…
The gentle breeze passed through the wild plum trees and entered the pavilion. It didn't have any fragrance, but it felt chilly.
Tong Yan said, "You can understand what I mean. You're smart."
Jing Jiu said, "It'll be easier this way."
Tong Yan grabbed a few Go pieces and moved them to the top of the Go board, not letting go.
Jing Jiu knew that this was guessing who would play first.
His gaze fell on Tong Yan's hand.
Countless gazes fell on Tong Yan's hand at the same time.
But Zhao Layue was looking at Jing Jiu.
She once again thought of what he had said.
The sun was right there. How could one not see it?
But when the true sun shone brightly and dazzlingly, who could really see it?
…
…
Since the beginning of the night, I have often used the words' beside the plum trees' because I really like the song by Wang Leehom.
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