Unsheathed

Inside Pei Qian’s room, Cui Dongshan was squatting on the floor and snacking on roasted seeds. Meanwhile, Pei Qian was puckering her face and on the verge of tears.

She was about to lose six copper coins.

Cui Dongshan consoled Pei Qian and said, “We still have enough charcoal, and victory is far from determined. How about we draw another Go board? You can gamble big and win big.”

Pei Qian raised an arm and wiped the tears from her eyes. She then retrieved the scented pouch which Aunt Gui had given her from her sleeve. She was using this scented pouch as a money pouch now, and she reached inside and grabbed seven copper coins from it. These were copper coins that she had earned through blood, sweat, and tears.

Pei Qian gripped the copper coins tightly and appeared extremely hesitant as she stood up and lightly placed them on the table. She looked at Cui Dongshan with a pitiful expression, hoping that he could display his generosity as an immortal and leave without taking her money. Unexpectedly, however, Cui Dongshan chuckled and walked over to the table, grabbing all of the copper coins before turning around to leave.

Before walking out of Pei Qian’s room, Cui Dongshan didn’t forget to look back and say with a smile, “Remember to return the Go set to Lu Baixiang. Also, don’t forget to wipe the Go boards from the floor. Otherwise, Chen Ping’an will definitely scold me severely if he learns that we gambled with each other. He’ll also make you copy texts until your arm falls off. As for these copper coins… You should be gracious in defeat and accept this loss. Chen Ping’an certainly won’t help you get them back.”

Cui Dongshan wrapped his hands behind his head and swaggered out of Pei Qian’s room, continuing, “Today is such a nice day. After making some money, it’s time to head out to buy a stick of tanghulu!”

Pei Qian stood beside the table and cried pitifully.

Cui Dongshan suddenly walked in reverse and leaned backward, sticking his head inside Pei Qian’s room and saying with a smile, “Pei Qian, I’m going to learn how to play Go from Lu Baixiang, aren’t I? I want to give myself some good fortune, so why don’t you call me Go Immortal? I’ll give you a copper coin every time you call me Go Immortal.”

Pei Qian’s eyes lit up, and she immediately ran outside in a flash, giddily following behind Cui Dongshan. She started to sincerely call him Go Immortal over and over again.

After two hours, Pei Qian had not only returned the Go set to Lu Baixiang, but she had also called Cui Dongshan Go Immortal so many times that she had already lost her voice. The two of them returned to Pei Qian’s room, and the little girl squeaked and groaned but was unable to say another word. Thus, she smiled widely and extended her hand to Cui Dongshan, asking for her payment. Seeing no response from him, she hurriedly ran over to the table to write down a number.

Cui Dongshan smiled faintly and said, “I was only messing around with you. Did you really believe me?”

Pei Qian suffered a mental breakdown. However, she couldn’t speak right now, so she could only bare her teeth and wave her arms.

Cui Dongshan narrowed his eyes and pretended to poke Pei Qian’s eyes, saying in a threatening voice, “If you continue to annoy me, then you won’t just be a mute little girl. You’ll also become a blind little girl. No matter how angry Master becomes, he can’t possibly beat his disciple to death, can he? However, things will be quite miserable for you. What can you look forward to once you become blind? Do you get me?”

Cui Dongshan stood up and stumbled around, pretending to be blind.

Pei Qian had an extremely dark expression. She pursed her lips, yet she didn’t dare to raise her hiking pole to smack this bastard to death. She felt an increasing sense of despair, and her expression became blank as she plopped down on the side of her bed. Her heart was as dead as ashes, and her tears fell like rain.

Cui Dongshan suddenly took out something that looked like a silver ingot from his sleeve and lightly tossed it to Pei Qian, saying, “Seeing that you’re quite tactful, I’ll let you play with this for a few days. If everything goes smoothly with me learning Go, I might even be in such a good mood that I’ll just let you keep it. But remember to return it to me first when I play Go with Lu Baixiang.”

A smile quickly broke through Pei Qian’s tears as she held the hefty silver ingot.

Cui Dongshan left her room again.

Pei Qian placed the large silver ingot on her table, and she didn’t get tired of it no matter how she looked at it. She was just mulling over how she could keep this silver ingot, yet her eyes suddenly widened in shock when she saw the so-called silver ingot start to squirm around and eventually transform into a snow-white grasshopper that hopped outside the window, disappearing in a flash.

When Pei Qian returned to her senses, she immediately climbed through the window and jumped outside, desperately searching around the courtyard for the so-called silver ingot. She searched through the overgrown underbrushes, the foot of the walls, and the cracks between rocks for more than an hour, and she even started to dig the ground using her hands in the end. Even so, Pei Qian still failed to find the silver ingot that had suddenly transformed into an insect. Completely exhausted, Pei Qian dazedly sat on the ground with a blank expression. She didn’t even have the energy to cry this time.

When Chen Ping’an finished wandering around the scholarly temple and returned to the inn, he saw Pei Qian’s skinny and dejected figure sitting on the ground. He called her a few times, yet he didn’t receive any response.

Chen Ping’an had no option but to climb through the window and jump outside. Pei Qian’s actions were stiff as she turned her head around, and she immediately hung her head and gripped the hem of her clothes when she saw that it was Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an sighed and returned to his room before directly heading over to look for Cui Dongshan. He quickly walked over to the window again, shouting to Pei Qian, “Regarding the seven copper coins, you can win them back if you’re capable enough. If you can’t, then just admit defeat and accept your loss. You’re allowed to play with the bug silver for a few days, but you have to return it to him whenever he wants it back.”

Even though Pei Qian was still extremely sad, she still hurriedly stood up and climbed through the window, jumping onto the floor and extending both hands to carefully accept the bug silver that had returned to the shape of a silver ingot.

Chen Ping’an immediately grabbed Pei Qian’s ear and dragged her over to the tableside, scolding, “You’re quite impressive now, aren’t you? You even know how to gamble with other people, huh?”

Pei Qian trembled in apprehension as she stood beside the table. However, she was still tightly gripping the bug silver.

“If you like to gamble so much, then why don’t we grab your treasure box from the bamboo bookcase?” Chen Ping’an asked. “You’re quite wealthy now anyway, so you can still gamble with Cui Dongshan a lot of times. Should I take it out for you, or are you going to do it yourself?”

Pei Qian shook her head vigorously, a flustered expression on her face.

Chen Ping’an smacked the table and instructed, “Go and grab your treasure box! You can carry it yourself in the future!”

Pei Qian furiously turned around and put on a defiant expression, not crying nor begging for mercy. She didn’t look at Chen Ping’an, and she didn’t listen to his instructions either.

Chen Ping’an was even more enraged upon seeing this.

Pei Qian gritted her teeth and forcefully threw the silver ingot outside.

Chen Ping’an stood up and went next door to open his bamboo bookcase, retrieving Pei Qian’s treasure box before returning to her room and tossing it on her table. He then walked back to his own room again.

Unexpectedly, Chen Ping’an had just drunk a single sip of medicinal wine when Pei Qian sprinted inside like a bolt of lightning, quickly stuffing her treasure box inside his bamboo bookcase before he could even react. She then ran away as quickly as she had arrived.

Chen Ping’an once again took the treasure box and walked next door. However, he was surprised to discover that Pei Qian had locked her door. He was furious, and he felt a strong urge to kick open Pei Qian’s door before tossing both her and her treasure box outside the inn.

He stood outside her door for a brief moment.

Inside the locked room, Pei Qian was leaning against the door with her back, as if to prop the door shut with all her might. At the same time, she raised her skinny arms and used the back of her hands to cover her small and tanned face.

On the roof of the inn, the young boy in white, the main culprit behind all this, was lying face-up and resting his head on his arms, with a hint of a smile on his face.

————

Lu Baixiang was completely focused as he studied Go manuals in his room.

Right now, he was studying various Go manuals derived from the so-called “ten games in the iridescent clouds,” something that was incredibly famous in the Majestic World. Some people especially dissected the iridescent cloud setups, while some people focused on examining the exquisite moves made in the ten games. It was said that these Go manuals had given birth to many Go experts in the cultivation world.

In terms of playing Go alone, Lu Baixiang had been peerless in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. Upon first arriving in the Majestic World, he had naturally been very conceited and held his own Go skills in incredibly high regard. After obtaining this Go manual by chance, however, he finally realized why people said that there was always a higher heaven and there was always a more capable person.

The more Lu Baixiang studied these Go manuals, the more he came to understand the profound skills of the two Go players. Disregarding the city lord of White Emperor City who would “respectfully allow the world to go first” and simply focusing on the esteemed person who had the right to play Go with the demonic paragon amid the iridescent clouds, one could see that each of his moves to set up his formations was absolutely spectacular.

Ignoring the city lord’s trump cards, the esteemed person’s moves were simply stunning, even though he had lost many times to the city lord. In fact, his moves were so incredible that people from future generations would feel as if bursts of wind and lightning were surging out from the pages of the Go manuals and yearning to stifle and engulf them.

Because of this, Lu Baixiang had searched long and hard to collect most of the Go manuals pertaining to this esteemed person’s games. In the end, Lu Baixiang had reached the conclusion that this esteemed person’s Go skills were without blemish and closely aligned with the Dao. Indeed, most Go masters in the Majestic World regarded this esteemed person very highly, with many of them holding the same three opinions.

Firstly, this person would sacrifice a small region in order to gain an overall advantage, a style that went against the common wisdom of capturing the various important corners. Secondly, even though this person would occasionally play in a highly offensive manner and carve out a sanguinary path, he would largely play in a calm, exquisite, yet profound manner. Thirdly, this person had invented the Avalanche Formation and many other remarkable formations.

Even though many of these formations had already been analyzed and understood by Go masters of future generations, with some of them being directly understood and countered by the city lord of White Emperor City during their ten games in the iridescent clouds, those studying the Go manuals would still invariably be astonished and deeply impressed by this person’s creativity. It seemed as if this person were playing a completely different game of Go compared to everyone else.

In Lu Baixiang’s opinion, this esteemed person was incredibly unfortunate to have been born in the same generation as the city lord of White Emperor City, a freakish Go talent with no precedent in the past and no rival in the future. He suffered many losses to the city lord because the latter had already attained the Great Dao.

Lu Baixiang studied the Go manual again and again, and he felt like he could only describe the notorious Confucian scholar’s moves as “never incorrect” and “never thoughtless.”

Lu Baixiang had once smiled and told Chen Ping’an that his biggest wish was to visit White Emperor City. In the depths of Lu Baixiang’s heart, however, the city lord of White Emperor City wasn’t the person whom he wanted to play against the most. Instead, it was Mr. Cui, the imperial preceptor who had once been the Scholarly Sage’s first disciple.

Lu Baixiang put down the Go manual and sighed.

He could most likely visit White Emperor City; this would only be a matter of time. As for playing ten games of Go with Cui Chan, however, there was little chance that he could achieve this dream.

Even though Cui Chan was the imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire, Chen Ping’an’s hometown, observing his style of play was enough to tell Lu Baixiang that this person was an extremely haughty individual. He most likely wouldn’t be qualified to play Go with Cui Chan even if he managed to meet him.

In other words, Lu Baixiang was well aware that he was still insufficiently skilled at Go.

However, Cui Chan’s actions had caused his reputation to plummet, especially in the Parasol Leaf Continent and the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. Thus, many people purposely underplayed his skills in Go.

Lu Baixiang felt a great yearning toward three bold remarks that Cui Chan had once made.

It doesn’t matter how one sets up in the beginning.

The endgame is simply a process of sweeping the battlefield. Whoever claims to be peerless in the endgame is simply making an utter fool of themself.

Those playing black should learn from Ma Lei, those playing white should learn from me, Cui Chan, and those playing with a handicap should learn from the city lord of White Emperor City. One can learn seventy to eighty percent of Ma Lei’s strategies, and one can learn fifty to sixty percent of my strategies. As for the strategies of the city lord of White Emperor City, learning them will do you no good at all.

Lu Baixiang took a deep breath and shot a glance at the Go board sitting on the table in front of him. He was just about to stand up and look for Cui Dongshan, and he presumed that playing the best of three games would allow him to understand this person’s skill level in Go.

When Lu Baixiang walked out of his room, he noticed Wei Xian walking over with a strange expression.

Lu Baixiang turned out of the corridor and arrived at a location slightly further away before stopping and knocking on a door. Standing at the intersection, Wei Xian looked over and asked, “Are you looking for Cui Dongshan?”

Lu Baixiang nodded in response.

Wei Xian shook his hand and said, “There’s no need to look for him. He’s made a bet with Zhu Lian as well, and he’s already left the county city now. Sui Youbian also left with them.”

“What did they bet on?” Lu Baixiang asked in puzzlement.

“Cui Dongshan said that he wanted to spar with Zhu Lian, and if Zhu Lian wins, then he’ll give him a minimization treasure. If Zhu Lian loses, however, then he’ll need to prepare a midnight snack for Cui Dongshan every day,” Wei Xian replied.

Lu Baixiang chuckled and said in amusement, “Zhu Lian actually agreed to this?”

Wei Xian hesitated for a moment before scratching his head and explaining, “Obviously not. After all, Pei Qian was tricked by Cui Dongshan and screwed over pretty badly, so Zhu Lian was understandably afraid that he would be next to bite the dust. Cui Dongshan said that he could stand in one spot and not move, yet Zhu Lian was still unwilling to agree to his proposal. Cui Dongshan then said that he could stand there and not move his arms or legs either, and Zhu Lian asked him whether he was an earth immortal or a sword cultivator. Cui Dongshan replied that he definitely wasn’t a sword cultivator. After hearing this, Zhu Lian finally agreed to his proposal. Sui Youbian also went over to watch them spar.”

One short hour later, Cui Dongshan was all smiles as he returned to the inn. Walking behind him, Sui Youbian had a strange expression while Zhu Lian appeared ashen-faced.

Zhu Lian directly returned to his room, slamming his door shut with a loud bang.

Lu Baixiang was quietly sitting in his own room and didn’t ask any questions. Sui Youbian walked inside and sat opposite him, saying, “Cui Dongshan said that he’s about to come over to learn Go from you.”

Lu Baixiang smiled and asked, “How did Zhu Lian lose? Didn’t he secretly advance to the eighth tier not long ago?”

There was a slightly helpless expression on Sui Youbian’s face as she replied, “That person genuinely didn’t move a single muscle. But… he had quite a number of immortal treasures. From beginning to end, Zhu Lian was unable to make it within thirty meters of him. It was as if Cui Dongshan were toying around with a dog. In fact, I wouldn’t fare any better than Zhu Lian if I were to face this person.”

Lu Baixiang poured a cup of tea for Sui Youbian, yet the stunningly beautiful woman didn’t accept it. She shook her head and said, “I won’t watch the two of you playing Go.”

Lu Baixiang chuckled and asked, “What’s wrong? You don’t fancy my chances of winning?”

Sui Youbian stood up and replied, “I don’t feel like he’s very skilled at Go. But I do feel one thing: whatever bet he makes, he is sure to win it.”

During Zhu Lian’s sparring session with Cui Dongshan, the latter had simply stood there and controlled his myriad of immortal treasures, completely suppressing Zhu Lian and making him unable to raise his head. Not only that, but he had even encouraged Zhu Lian and cheered him on the entire time. In the end, an expression of disappointment had spread across Cui Donshan’s face, and he had said that Zhu Lian was truly a useless ant and only worthy of being a cook for his master.

Afterward, Cui Dongshan’s words had almost caused Sui Youbian to draw her sword. He had shot a sideways glance at her and claimed that she was slightly better than Zhu Lian. She was very beautiful, after all, so his master would perhaps face the right side when he slept every night.[1]

Lu Baixiang fell deep into thought. After Sui Youbian left, he habitually started to read that Go manual again.

After a short while, the young boy in white swaggered into his room, snacking on roasted seeds as he did so. He didn’t sit down after entering, and he faltered when he saw the Go manual that Lu Baixiang had just put down on the table. He was slightly dazed as he asked, “This is what you’re reading? The concept of life and death, the essential pieces, formation setups, and game principles?”

“Is there something wrong with this?” Lu Baixiang countered.

Cui Dongshan heaved a sigh and sat down opposite Lu Baixiang. There was a troubled expression on his face as he announced, “Forget about it, I won’t learn Go from you anymore.”

Lu Baixiang frowned deeply, and he pinched a Go stone between his fingers and asked, “And why is that?”

Cui Dongshan was holding the roasted seeds that he had tricked Pei Qian for in his left hand. With his right index finger, he casually pointed at Lu Baixiang. “You”—he pointed at himself with his thumb—”should probably learn Go from me instead.”

1. The Youbian (右边) in Sui Youbian’s name literally means the right side. ☜