Chapter 21: A Chess Challenge

The girl in white led Liang Yan to another corner of the bamboo forest, then, as if performing a magic trick, pulled a white jade chessboard from her storage bag and placed it upon a large rock. Simultaneously, she took out two boxes of stones, one black and one white.

After the two finished guessing the stones, the girl in white took the black stones to move first, while Liang Yan took the white stones to move second.

The girl in white extended her slender fingers, pinched a black stone, and with a *pa!*, placed it right in the center of the board.

"Tengen!" Liang Yan’s eyes narrowed, a faint flicker of anger rising within him.

In the game of Go, the standard strategy is to "occupy the corners, extend to the sides, and then develop toward the center."

To place the very first move at Tengen was a sign of disrespect to one's opponent. It implied that one's skill far surpassed the opponent's, carrying a sense of contempt toward Liang Yan.

Suppressing his anger, Liang Yan thought to himself, *Let you be arrogant for now; I'll show you later!* With this thought, he quickly took a white stone from his box and placed it on the board, and the girl in white followed immediately with another move. Back and forth they went, engaging in a silent conversation through the game amidst the bamboo forest.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, dusk arrived. By this time, Liang Yan’s lips were tightly pressed together, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He had originally been quite confident in his skills, but to his surprise, the game grew more and more terrifying as it progressed. By this point, he felt as though he were backed into a corner with no way out.

In contrast, the girl in white maintained an expression of leisurely ease, even occasionally humming a little tune.

After a long while, Liang Yan finally placed a stone. The girl in white glanced at it briefly and immediately followed with a move of her own. As the stone landed, Liang Yan looked up only to see that the black stones had already established a dominant momentum. The white stones were in total disarray, scattered like a defeated army across the field. He could only let out a helpless sigh and resign.

The girl in white giggled, putting on an air of elderly wisdom, and said, "Junior Brother's skills are passable; you barely forced me to use thirty percent of my strength. You still have much to learn."

She continued, "However, a bet is a bet. You should now respectfully call me 'Senior Sister' three times!" She placed extra emphasis on the words "respectfully."

Liang Yan looked helpless, but since he had given his word, he had no choice but to honor the bet. He cupped his hands toward the girl, bowed deeply, and respectfully called out "Senior Sister" three times.

The girl in white squinted her eyes, looking quite satisfied. She patted Liang Yan on the shoulder and said in a serious tone, "Junior Brother, your aptitude is decent. However, the Way of Go requires diligent practice. If you are persistent, you might just make something of yourself in the future."

Seeing that she was roughly his own age—about thirteen or fourteen—yet pretending to be a senior figure giving him guidance, Liang Yan found it rather ridiculous.

Driven by youthful impulse, he couldn't help himself. *Pfft!* He burst out laughing.

The girl had originally been standing with her left hand behind her back and her right hand on Liang Yan's shoulder, looking like a transcendent master. Liang Yan's laughter broke the atmosphere, causing her expression to darken.

However, her eyes shifted, and she said, "Don't blame Senior Sister for not giving you a chance. If you are unsatisfied, you may challenge me again tomorrow night at the summit of Cangmu Peak. As long as you can win a single game against me, I will hand over the Obstruction-Breaking Pill with both hands."

"Is that true?" Liang Yan's eyes lit up.

"Don't be ridiculous. Would I lie to you over a mere Obstruction-Breaking Pill?" As she spoke, she tossed him a token.

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance. This is the token for a Disciple of the Way of Go. With this, you can go to the Go Library to borrow manuals and books. With your current level of skill, there is no way you can be my match."

Liang Yan reached out and took the token. He saw a stone chessboard engraved upon it. It did not specify whether it was for inner or outer disciples, but beneath the chessboard, the character "Die" (Butterfly) was carved. After putting the token away, Liang Yan nodded. "Fine, I will definitely come to the appointment tomorrow night."

The girl in white showed a look of satisfaction, then suddenly remembered something and added, "Oh right, I almost forgot. Forget about Cangmu Peak... here, take this too!" She took out a piece of parchment and handed it to Liang Yan.

Liang Yan looked down and found it was a map. The routes were crooked and winding, and the destination was indeed Cangmu Peak. It was only then that Liang Yan suddenly remembered that in the sect map previously given to him by Uncle Master Zhou, there was no mention of Cangmu Peak at all.

When he looked up to ask about it, he found the girl in white had already walked far away. Her humming could still be heard drifting through the bamboo forest, sounding quite cheerful. Liang Yan shook his head with a bitter smile, put the map away, and turned to descend the mountain.

That night, Liang Yan went straight to the Go Library. He borrowed a book he deemed decent and returned to his quarters to study through the night. Being a competitive youth, losing to a girl had cost him his dignity and had ignited his fighting spirit.

Since he could make no progress in his cultivation for the time being, he might as well surpass this girl in Go—not to mention the Obstruction-Breaking Pill was at stake.

As he studied the book all night, Liang Yan felt that these immortal Go manuals were indeed extraordinary, vastly different from anything he had known before. After an all-nighter, he felt a sense of sudden enlightenment, as if he had discovered a whole new world.

The following night, Liang Yan followed the map and arrived at the summit of Cangmu Peak. The entire peak was barren and desolate, with withered vegetation, yet a single, lush, ancient tree stood tall at the summit.

A girl in white was sitting under the tree. Before her was a chessboard set up in a mid-game endgame state. The girl held white stones in her hand, appearing to be in deep hesitation.

Liang Yan walked silently to her side and looked down at the board. The black stones were like a fierce tiger, baring their claws and teeth, poised to swallow the white stones whole in the next move. Although the white stones were maneuvering desperately, they were like a dragon trapped in shallow water, with no path to the heavens.

Liang Yan watched for a long time. No matter how he looked at it, the white stones seemed doomed. He sighed and said, "The white stones' fate is sealed; I fear a comeback is impossible."

The girl in white snapped out of her thoughts, glanced at him, and said, "That's what I was thinking too. This endgame is too difficult to solve." She paused, then added, "But did you know? Someone once solved this exact position years ago."

Liang Yan was startled. He looked back at the board, finding the idea utterly fantastical and unbelievable.

However, the girl in white began to collect the stones one by one and smiled at him. "You're quite punctual. You arrived quite early."

Liang Yan thought to himself, *Aren't you even earlier than me?*

The two sat down before the board. After guessing the stones, the girl in white still moved first. However, this time she did not start with Tengen, but instead played at a small star point. Liang Yan also abandoned his previous tendency to be overconfident and aggressive; instead, he played cautiously, building his position step by step.

Liang Yan's talent for Go was actually quite good, but his previous knowledge was limited to the mortal world's techniques; how could he compete with the immortal Way of Go? After yesterday's crushing defeat, he had reflected deeply. After a night of studying the books from the Star-Playing Pavilion, while his skill couldn't have improved overnight, his vision and understanding had grown significantly.

Many of the hidden killing moves he couldn't understand yesterday, he could now vaguely discern today. He could even see some of the subtle variations in the girl's moves at several key points, narrowly managing to turn danger into safety.

In this game, the girl in white was the aggressor, like a general besieging a fortress; Liang Yan was the defender, like a commander holding a besieged city.

The two went back and forth, and initially, the battle was quite even.

However, the girl's momentum was continuous, her attacks relentless. Although Liang Yan managed to defend for several rounds, he eventually ran out of strength. A single misplaced stone led to a total collapse, and he lost the entire game.

Liang Yan felt a bitterness in his heart. This girl's skill was so high; to beat her and claim that Obstruction-Breaking Pill felt as difficult as ascending to heaven!

But unexpectedly, the girl did not mock him this time. Instead, she stared at the board with a contemplative look in her eyes.

After a long silence, she said leisurely, "What were you doing all last night? Did you actually go to the library to study Go?"

Liang Yan gave a bitter smile. "I did."

The girl in white looked up and stared at him. "The moves you played today—did you learn them from the books?"

Liang Yan was stunned and instinctively replied, "Yes!" But he quickly corrected himself, shaking his head. "Not entirely. The patterns in books are static. I am playing against you, not a book, so it is naturally different. For example, this twenty-third move, I did it based on your..."

Liang Yan explained his thought process move by move to the girl.

"...And then, this one hundred and thirty-seventh move..." Before he could finish, the girl suddenly waved her hand to interrupt him.

"Enough. I am tired today. You should head back."

Confused, Liang Yan stared at her blankly. Seeing that she didn't want to say more, he could only rise to take his leave. Just as he turned to go, the girl's crisp voice came from behind him: "From now on, you can come find me to play at this time every evening. As long as you can win a single game, the bet we made stands."

A small surge of joy rose in Liang Yan's heart, but he replied without looking back, "Then I shall thank you in advance for the pill, Lady!"

Hearing such a brazen remark, the girl in white couldn't help but spit. "Pah! Keep dreaming!"

However, as she watched Liang Yan's silhouette gradually disappear down the mountain path, she couldn't help but mutter to herself, "To describe this person's skill as advancing a thousand miles in a single day would not be an exaggeration. Could there truly be such a genius in this world?"

(End of Chapter)