Chapter 644: The Go Playbook. The Destined Fate.
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Go playbook!
The three n standing behind Sir Bi were speechless.
'Eldest, we don't wish to discuss this repellent Go manual with you at all. What we're discussing with you right now is our life, death, and future! Do you not have any sense of priority? Are you unable to ascertain the relative importance of things?'
'The crisis is imminent now, yet you're still studying the Go playbook!'
Sir Bi said gently, "This Go playbook… I have seen it before."
The expressions of the trio behind him took on a look of shock.
"Then…"
Sir Bi heaved a soft sigh. Suddenly, there was a gurgling noise in his throat as blood rushed to his lips. Despite his best efforts, a hint of crimson still spilled from the corners of his mouth.
As he spat out a mouthful of blood, the trio behind him grunted in unison. Blood seeped from the corners of their mouth as well.
"Do you all understand now?" Sir Bi asked softly, as he gracefully wiped away the blood staining his mouth.
The trio was as pale as sheets, while their gazes flickered with fear. "W - what's going on?"
Sir Bi sucked in a deep breath - his gaze dimd, before he spoke with an exhalation of his breath, "This ti around, I've gotten all of you embroiled in this matter."
All three n spoke simultaneously, "We're brothers, it is understood that we are to share life and death with you. Any adversity is sweet as syrup, since the very beginning. We just don't understand what's going on now. What just happened? Why did we suddenly experience such terrible damage to our ntal and physical states?"
Sir Bi glanced outside the window. His gaze was distant when he spoke, "Back then… When Heaven's Inquisition still road the mortal realm, I spent a princely sum to ask him to tell my fortune. Do you still have any mory of this?"
The trio replied bitterly, "Of course. It was the fortune telling session that almost emptied our savings. We won't be able to forget such a large expenditure, even if we wanted to!"
Sir Bi replied faintly, "You know about the session, but you didn't know that I was already the Four Seasons Tower's civil official then. I was ambitious to see our country rule the world and witness peace upon it; I wanted to help the emperor take down Tianxuan and contribute to the unprecedented feat of emperors. Nonetheless, I joined the Four Seasons Tower by chance. By then, my future was lost; I didn't know what to choose any longer."
"Because I had gone so terribly astray, I decided to seek my fortune, to leave my future in destiny's hands!"
"Heaven's Inquisition was, without a doubt, the best choice for . He was the only option I could trust. Here is an individual who sees the astral providence and where fate lies!"
"I believe that all of you must still be pondering about the outco of my fortune, but I have never revealed it to any of you. Do not get wrong; It's not that I didn't want to tell you, it's because… I didn't fully understand the oracle then."
"It was only when this Go manual reappeared before that, suddenly, everything beca clear!"
"I understand everything now."
"This is my destiny. This is the destined fate that I can't avoid!"
Sir Bi spoke unhurriedly but the other three were growing increasingly puzzled as they listened on. They asked with no small degree of skepticism, "Eldest, your narration confuses us. Please tell us in plain terms."
Sir Bi chuckled and said, "Back then, Heaven's Inquisition gave a few words. These were the words that I kept in my heart without telling anyone - not even all of you, but it's these words that changed the course of my life."
"Unpolished jade that stands in the secular world - a dragon among n to answer an extraordinary calling; what a pity it is to live life without autonomy, a wash of red that shocks the martial world. Who is to say this life is like a dream, victory or defeat is hard to tell when one is in the ga. As a stone piece to be manipulated, the end cos when the manual is seen once again," His gaze was distant as he spoke.
Sir Bi inhaled gently and said, "For so many years, I contemplated these lines. I thought about them whenever I was free and even when I was occupied. Unfortunately, I never got anywhere."
The trio's eyes widened as they pondered upon the lines. Yet, despite the best of their abilities, they were still stumped and irritatingly baffled.
"Never mind. I'll explain it lest all of you waste even more effort. The first two lines - unpolished jade that stands in the secular world - a dragon among n to answer an extraordinary calling."
"This likely ans that I'm a talent. If I could build an extraordinary career, I'd beco a dragon among n. As for being a dragon among n, the normal definition mostly refers to being an extrely influential mandarin whose power can tip the scales of the imperial court."
"What a pity it is to live life without autonomy, a wash of red that shocks the martial world. These two lines indicate that no matter what my original intentions were, no matter what I want to do, I will never get to walk the path I first chose. Not entering the imperial court caused to beco a huge influence in the martial world instead."
"Next, 'Who is to say this life is like a dream, victory or defeat is hard to tell when one is in the ga'. Sigh…" Sir Bi heaved a long sigh and said, "I understand these lines as well. How does one determine rit and failure, right and wrong… Whatever it is, I'm already in the ga; I won't get to escape it."
"All I want - even in my dreams - is to beco a simple man who plays Go. However, in reality, my destiny is just to be… a playing piece. A Go stone."
Sir Bi said with a heavy sigh, "As for 'As a stone piece to be manipulated, the end cos when the tattered manual is seen once again'…"
"Initially, I only understood the forr line. Since I was already a stone piece, I would naturally be manipulated. Perhaps, I would be manipulated by soone that would deploy to perform better in my fate of being a playing piece, adding so highlights to my life. That should be all. It's the last line that I never actually fathod… until I saw this manual. It was a mont of enlightennt."
"I see now that this is the tattered manual. This is the end of my fate."
Sir Bi sighed softly and said, "As for saying this is the second ti I've seen this Go playbook…"
"That day, Fang Yun got this Go manual from Yun Yang…" He was deep in his thoughts for a mont, as if he intended to say sothing but was holding it back; after so ti, he spoke in an absent manner, "I rember the first ti I saw this manual…"
Not completing his sentence, he fell silent again. The other three n felt their insides churning, feeling a wash of blood rising in their mouths, but they tried holding it in.
Sir Bi spoke, "Back in that year… my path to becoming a mandarin was crushed. I was oppressed by soone's intentional conspiracy. Utterly bored, I turned my attention to the art of Go. I lusted after nothing more in this life… It seed like a great choice to live in seclusion in a forest…"
"During that ti, I road the world with the alias of Qi Yishou1 and challenged Go experts everywhere… I eventually won the title of 'Go Saint'… Do all of you still rember the line 'A single move dictates victory, despite multiple strategies'?"
Sir Bi chuckled bitterly, his gaze alight with mories as if he had physically returned to the days he was recounting.
"Speaking of which… those tis were the happiest days of my life, the most gratifying… Each ti I reminisced about it in the night, I longed to imrse myself in those mories. If I could live my entire life like that, it'd be the most joyous thing I could ever do…"
"A few years later, I was contacted by the Four Seasons Tower's Empyrean Palace. The Peak Tower caught by surprise and said that an otherworldly expert would like to play a ga with ."
Sir Bi spoke softly, "I was never very much impressed by the term otherworldly expert, but I've heard of the na of the Four Seasons Tower, even after being outside for so long. I dared not neglect the matter, and rushed over right in the middle of the night…"
"It seems funny now that I am recollecting these mories. Back then, I prided myself for rarely having a worthy Go opponent in this world. I honestly didn't worry about the other party; I even thought of holding back so that the other party wouldn't lose face. After all, the opponent was an otherworldly expert - they wouldn't have cared about winning or losing. As long as I knew the outco, it would be sufficient!"
"Who would have known… my opponent allowed to rest for three days when I got there, to give a chance to replenish myself. When the fourth day ca, we played while sitting on separate sides of a curtain. When we started the ga, the person asked , 'How many gas do you want to play to decide between victory and defeat?'"
Notes:
1 Qi Yishou (齐一手qí yī shǒu): 一手 (yī shǒu) also ans being an expert or a move.
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