Chapter 517 (1): The Scholar, the Martial Artist, and the Beauty

It was a very hot and humid day, the kind that sapped one's energy and soured one's mood.

Five horses were slowly trundling along an ancient path in the Five Mountain Nation that had already been abandoned for many years.

All of a sudden, they encountered a storm, and even though they had put on their coir raincoats, their faces still stung from the pelting droplets of rain. They began searching for some place where they could seek shelter from the rain, and before long, they arrived at a pergola halfway up the mountain.

However, there was already a young man sitting on the bench in the pergola with his legs crossed, and there was a large bamboo case beside him. On the table before him was a Go board and a pair of porcelain jars. There were over twenty black and white stones placed on the board, and he displayed no fear toward the group that had just arrived on horseback, giving them a faint smile before continuing to set more stones down onto the board.

Among the group was a brawny man with a saber strapped to his waist, and he noticed that the young man's robe and shoes were completely dry, indicating that he had already settled under the pergola before the arrival of the storm. It appeared that he was playing a game of Go by himself as he waited for the storm to pass.

An old man made his way to the entrance of the pergola. He could see that the rain wasn't going to subside anytime soon, so he turned to the young man with a smile as he proposed, "How about we play a game together to pass the time?"

The young man thought about it for a moment, then gathered the black and white stones on the board together in two distinct clusters. However, instead of returning them to their jars, he kept them in between himself and the Go board, then smiled as he nodded and replied, "Sure."

A young boy and a young girl exchanged a smile with one another.

There was also a woman wearing a veiled hat that had taken a seat on the opposite bench, laying a handkerchief down beneath her bottom before she did so.

The old man smiled as he grabbed a handful of white stones and said, "I'm older than you, so you can go ahead and guess first."

Chen Ping'an picked up a single black stone, and the old man set the white stones in his hand down onto the board to reveal that there were seven.

"Looks like you get to make the first move," the old man said with a smile.[1]

At this point, Chen Ping'an had already changed his sitting posture to match the old man's. As opposed to sitting with his legs crossed, he was seated with his side facing the Go board, and he was placing stones down onto the board with one hand while using his other hand to hold up his sleeve to prevent it from draping down onto the board.

"He looks like he might be half-decent," the boy whispered into the girl's ear.

"Perhaps, but he's definitely no match for our grandpa," the girl replied with a smile.

The boy always liked to argue with his sister, so he countered, "I think he could be quite a formidable opponent. Grandpa once said himself that outside of cultivators, those who start playing Go from a young age generally reach the peak of their powers at around twenty years old. After turning thirty, each successive year of aging only serves as more and more of a hindrance."

"Grandpa is referring to the prodigies who are destined to become Go officials, not just any average person," the girl scoffed.

The old man was the best Go player in the entire nation, but he still made sure to spend a good amount of time before making each move. Whenever there was a completely unfamiliar opponent on the other side of the board, one always had to be wary of being caught off guard by new and strange playing styles.

The old man turned to his two grandchildren with his brows furrowed in disapproval.

"Yes, yes, I know, Go should be observed in silence," the boy said with a smile, beating the old man to the punch.

After no more than thirty moves, the young boy and his sister were left looking at each other in amusement.

As it turned out, the young man was a terrible player that had only memorized some ideal theoretical sequences.

Even if it was either of them in their grandfather's place, they could easily beat an opponent of this caliber.

The old man was also rather amused, but he hid it well.

Even though there was a vast disparity in playing ability, he still patiently continued the game.

He was just glad that he was able to encounter someone to play with in order to pass the time.

The young man took a glance at the receding storm outside the pergola, then resigned the game.

The two men then began analyzing and discussing their game together. The young man had been quite strong in the opening, leading the old man to believe that he was facing a truly formidable opponent. However, his inadequacies were quickly revealed out of the opening, and he fell to a crushing defeat.

The two men struck up a casual conversation as they reviewed their game, and the young man proclaimed that his surname was Chen, and that he had come from the south. He stated that he had made this journey to the north as he wanted to travel to the Green Oriole Nation, where the river flowed into the sea in the east. After that, he would travel upstream along the river.

The old man's surname was Sui, and he was a retired official. He was traveling to the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire to attend the decennial Go tournament organized by the emperor.

All of the best Go players across around a dozen nations, including the Five Mountain Nation and the Golden Gate Nation, were going to be present, and the emperor of the Great Seal Script Empire had prepared a set of nine priceless treasures of the study as prizes for the second to ninth-place finishers, while the champion would receive a highly sought-after Go manual.

"When is this Go tournament going to be held, and when does it end?" Chen Ping'an asked.

The old man's grandson replied in his stead, "The tournament begins on the first day of autumn, and it's going to attract all of the nations' Go officials and masters to the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire.

“The Go sage of the Great Seal Script Empire and his three disciples will select some seeds from all of the players, and these seeded players will be granted byes for the first three rounds, while the other players will draw lots and play one another in a single-elimination format until there are only a hundred left.

“These one hundred players will join the twenty seeded players, and the tournament will truly begin on the first day of winter. The capital of the Great Seal Script Empire welcomes its first bout of snowfall at a reliable time each year, and by then, there will only be ten players left.

“Out of the five that emerge victorious, one of them will have the honor and privilege of playing a game against Go Sage Wei. Even if they lose that game, they'll still be able to progress to the next round."

"It sounds like this Go Sage Wei is a far better player than everyone else, is that right?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"Of course," the boy replied with a nod. "Go Sage Wei is the imperial preceptor of the Great Seal Script Empire, and his Go skills are unmatched. My grandfather was fortunate enough to have played a game against him twenty years ago, but unfortunately, he was defeated by one of Go Sage Wei's young disciples after that, robbing him for a place in the top three.

“Don't get it twisted, my grandfather is no slouch. It's just that his opponent was really strong. Even at just thirteen years of age, he had already inherited 70% of Go Sage Wei's prowess. That disciple of the imperial preceptor's was unable to participate in the previous edition of the tournament held ten years ago as he was cultivating in seclusion.

“Otherwise, there's no way Chu Yao of the Orchid Residence Nation would've won. That was the least competitive edition of the tournament in a very long time. Many of the top Go officials didn't attend for one reason or another, so my grandfather didn't go, either."

"Are cultivators able to take part in the tournament as well?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Even in the field of go, the difference between mortals and cultivators was night and day.

The so-called Go masters and Go officials of the mortal empires had next to no chance against cultivators who were true masters of the game. Most of the set sequences that were considered to be theoretically ideal among mortals were scoffed at by cultivators, and many positions that were considered to be dire and hopeless for mortals could often be somehow miraculously turned around by cultivators.

The old man with the Sui surname smiled as he explained, "Firstly, cultivators rarely appear before mortals like us to begin with, and cultivators who enjoy playing Go are an even rarer sight. Hence, there have been barely any cultivators taking part in the past editions of the Go tournament.

“Even though Go Sage Wei's disciple is a cultivator, she plays extremely fast during the tournament, most likely as a means of imposing a handicap upon herself. During my game against her, she played every single move immediately after mine, but even so, she still comprehensively outplayed me."

"Have you heard that there's been some strange things happening over in the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire of late?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"Not at all. Can you tell me about it?" the old man asked with a puzzled expression.

"I've only been hearing some rumors myself," Chen Ping'an replied with a smile. "Apparently, there's a large river outside the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire that's been flooding constantly in recent times."

"You're talking about the Jade Seal River, right?" the young boy interjected in an unconcerned manner. "That's not anything to be worried about. As long as Go Sage Wei is present, there's no way the floods can affect the capital. Even if there really is a spirit wreaking havoc, the sword-wielding martial goddess can just make a trip to the Jade Seal River and slay the culprit with ease."

"I think it's still best to proceed with caution," Chen Ping'an said with a smile. "Are you aiming for one of the prized treasures of the study, Mr. Sui?"

The old man shook his head as he replied, "This edition of the Go tournament is far more competitive than the past two editions. I'm fairly renowned in my own nation, but my chances of making the top ten are very slim. I'm only hoping to take this opportunity to meet up with some friends of mine from other nations for some tea. If I can purchase a few new Go manuals along the way, then that would be even better."

The woman in the veiled hat had remained silent this entire time, but she suddenly chose to speak up now.

"I think this young man's concerns are valid, Father. The flooding of the Jade Seal River has been a very strange occurrence. The river is right next to the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire, so if Go Sage Wei and the martial goddess were capable of easily resolving the issue, then they wouldn't have delayed until now.

“My concern is that there could be some major trouble afoot in the Jade Seal River, and the only reason the emperor hasn't canceled the Go tournament is because he's trying to keep up a strong front. If that's the case, then..."

The woman's voice trailed off here, but the implications behind her words were very clear.

She had been in opposition to this trip to the Great Seal Script Empire from the very beginning, but her father had insisted on going. However, he had made a partial compromise, inviting a martial artist with close ties to their clan to come along on the trip for their protection.

The martial artist in question was vastly renowned in the Five Mountain Nation, and he had done a very good job of looking after them on the trip thus far. It was the man with the saber strapped to his waist, and his name was Hu Xinfeng.

He was planning to escort the four members of the Sui Clan to the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire, then go and visit a few good friends of his in the Golden Gate Nation during the course of the Go tournament.

The decennial Go tournament was treated like a festival in the Great Seal Script Empire, and while the tournament itself was naturally the centerpiece that drew most of the attention, the betting stations that were organized during the event were also a huge attraction.

The nobility of the capital liked to place bets on the players participating in the tournament, while those who were wealthy but held no noble status placed bets on the privately organized Go contests outside of the main tournament. Those private contests were nothing to be scoffed at, and it was said that tens of millions of taels of silver would exchange hands in the capital during each edition of the Go tournament.

The normal citizens of the capital also liked to get involved, with some betting a few taels of silver here and there, while some of the more affluent members of the upper middle class among them could easily throw in bets of dozens, even in excess of a hundred taels of silver.

There were also many literati who traveled from different nations to the Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries of the Great Seal Script Empire's capital during this time, and it was considered unbecoming of them to directly bet using money, so they made bets using valuable items instead, items that could then be sold for appreciable sums of money.

"But Auntie, if we turn back now, we'll have traveled all this way for nothing," the young girl said in a pitiable manner.

The girl had her own objective for going to the capital. She wanted to see the disciple of the Great Seal Script Empire's imperial preceptor, the one who had defeated her grandfather during the past edition of the tournament. That disciple was also a woman, and she was currently in her early twenties.

It was said that she was extremely beautiful, and that even two of the princes of the imperial Zhou Clan were competing with each other for her favor. Some of the young girl's friends really wanted to see if the young celestial maiden truly was as beautiful as the rumors proclaimed, and she had already told them that she would be sure to find an opportunity to speak to the celestial maiden during the Go tournament.

Hu Xinfeng had been standing at the entrance of the pergola this entire time. In total, the journey to the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire and back would take close to half a year, and the fact that a renowned martial arts master like himself was willing to escort a retired official on such a long journey indicated that he really did have some very strong ties to the Sui Clan.

Hu Xinfeng turned to the old man with a smile as he said, "There have indeed been some rumors about the Jade Seal River outside the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire swirling around of late. They're all unsubstantiated rumors, but Young Mistress Sui is right. We should be careful, Brother Sui."

A hesitant look appeared on the old man's face.

Hu Xingfeng's words were making him second-guess his decision, but he didn't want to turn back after coming all this way.

The woman in the veiled hat heaved a faint sigh, unable to shake the sense of unease in her heart. She had conducted several bouts of divination on this trip, and all of them had yielded very strange results, indicating that there was a great crisis on the horizon, but at the same time, it was somehow intertwined with immense fortune. She didn't know what to make of this.

The Great Seal Script Empire was a well-established empire of immense power, and it had experienced a prolonged period of peace. It was on par in power with the Great Guan Empire in the south, and the two imperial clans were connected through a marriage alliance.

Additionally, the imperial Zhou Clan of the Great Seal Script Empire enjoyed the protection of both the Daoist imperial preceptor and the Far Roaming Tier martial goddess, so even if there really was something strange happening in the Jade Seal River, the capital surely wasn't under any real threat.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

1. To decide who gets to go first in a game of go, one player picks up an unknown number of stones, while the other player has to guess whether the number is odd or even. In this case, Chen Ping'an guessed right, so he gets to go first. ☜