Under the big camphor tree, a stone chessboard was surrounded by a few old n.
Qin Nuo had returned again, with Grandpa Agai following beside him. From under his clothes, he pulled out a wine gourd, watching the ga while sipping his drink.
"Old Li, you're back again. Did your pockets fill up with money?" an old man asked with a smile.
"My son and daughter-in-law work outside, so this old man has never been short of money," Old Li replied calmly, taking a sip before sealing the gourd with a cork.
The surrounding old n chuckled and were about to speak when the old man who had just beaten Grandpa Agai laughed and said, "Let him talk. We all know his nature; bruise his ego, and he'll sulk!"
This ti, Grandpa Agai wasn't upset. He shook the wooden gourd in his hand and said, "Old Liu, let's play another round. If you win, I'll bring you a full gourd of my old cellar wine tomorrow."
"Haven't you been craving that for a while?"
Old Liu moved a knight, looked up, and asked, "Are you serious? Isn't that wine your treasure, you stingy old man?"
"There are still a few unopened jars at ho. It won't hurt to part with one or two," Grandpa Agai said, his heart bleeding, though his face showed indifference.
"Deal!"
"I just love this stuff. Money isn't as precious as wine!" Old Liu said cheerfully.
The ga ended quickly, with Old Liu winning again.
Just by looking at the stack of money in his hand, it was clear he was the undefeated champion here.
"Old Li, co sit down. Let taste your wine first. You're always losing anyway, and I'm too tempted," Old Liu smacked his lips and said.
Grandpa Agai took a leisurely sip from the gourd, patted Qin Nuo on the shoulder, and said, "This kid will take my place."
Hearing this, the old n all burst into laughter.
"Are you trying to avoid drinking your own wine?" Old Liu picked up an old-fashioned teapot, took a sip of tea, and said.
"Enough with the chatter. Let the kid play a round. Even if he loses, I'll accept it."
Grandpa Agai said impatiently, not really believing that this little kid could win. After all, he was just a primary school student; being able to play at all was impressive.
What mattered to him was Qin Nuo's promise.
Qin Nuo squeezed through the crowd, sat down on the stone stool, and smiled at Old Liu in front of him, "Grandpa, I don't really know how to play chess. Please go easy on ."
"Why aren't you in school, kid? What are you doing here ddling?"
Though he said this, Old Liu didn't ask much more and began setting up the chess pieces.
Once all the pieces were set, Old Liu asked again, "How about I let you have a cannon?"
"No need, otherwise it wouldn't be much of an experience," Qin Nuo moved a pawn forward.
"Haha, the kid has a sense of humor. Alright, I'll go easy on you so you can have so experience," Old Liu laughed. The surrounding old n crossed their arms, feeling bored, urging Old Liu to finish quickly as everyone was waiting in line.
The ga started swiftly. The top-notch chess skills that had been awakened in the Bloodstained Apartnt were still vivid in Qin Nuo's mind. As he looked at the chessboard, a sense of control over the entire ga erged in his mind.
In just over ten moves, Old Liu was already dazed, sitting there with a furrowed brow, unable to decide on a move.
He occasionally wiped sweat from his brow, his face full of conflict and headache.
The surrounding old n chattered, advising Old Liu on what moves to make. Old Liu shouted for them to shut up, as if making a major decision, and made a move. Qin Nuo followed up imdiately without a mont's thought.
This move trapped Old Liu completely, shattering his original strategy.
The surrounding old n fell silent, watching in amazent.
Qin Nuo sat on the stone stool, yawning, his expression full of boredom, and said calmly, "Grandpa, can you hurry up? I'm getting sleepy waiting. Isn't this ga supposed to be easy for you?"
Old Liu's face darkened, feeling a hint of insult in those words. He looked up and asked, "You call this not knowing how to play chess?"
"I really don't. I haven't been playing for long."
"In school, I often lose gas. They all laugh at , saying if anyone loses to , how could they have the face to play chess again?" Qin Nuo said, pouting.
Old Liu's face was a bit embarrassed, and Grandpa Agai seized the opportunity, saying, "No way, Old Liu, you can't even beat a kid?"
"What a joke!"
Old Liu muttered, focusing back on the chessboard, but just looking at the ga gave him a headache, making him sweat profusely.
He held up a piece, sitting there like he was petrified, while Qin Nuo, resting his chin on his hand, grew more and more bored, eventually pointing to a spot on the board and saying, "Grandpa, let tell you, you can only move here. It's your only way out."
"But if you move here, I'll block your knight. All of this is within my expectations."
"If you move elsewhere, you can struggle for five more rounds. If you follow my suggestion, you can struggle for eight."
"As for winning, even if the heavens intervene, it should be impossible!"
Qin Nuo propped his hands on his knees, looking at Old Liu with an innocent expression, "Grandpa, do you think I'm right?"
Old Liu: "..."
He thought to himself, you've said everything, made all the moves, what else can I say?
He threw the piece onto the board, turned to look at Old Li with a resentful face, "Old Li, where did you find this kid? His chess play is ruthless!"
Despite saying this, he truly admired him from the bottom of his heart. If it weren't for the generational gap, and his pride, he would have wanted to take him as a master right there.
Seeing the victory, Grandpa Agai was in high spirits, laughing heartily, "Don't worry about it. You lost, so pay up!"
"It's not even your win, what's there to gloat about?" Old Liu muttered, handing over the money.
"Grandpa, want to play another round? Maybe you'll win the next one. Chess is about feeling and luck too," Qin Nuo smiled.
"Enough, you little rascal, pretending to be weak to fool an old man like , aren't you ashad?" Old Liu said with a dark face.
Qin Nuo scratched his head and laughed dryly, getting up to make way.
Turning his head, he suddenly noticed Grandpa Agai had disappeared. Qin Nuo was stunned, squeezing through the crowd, looking around but finding no trace.
"Damn, did he take the money and run? Did I get swindled by an old man?"
Qin Nuo was speechless, but as he turned around, a wrinkled old face appeared out of nowhere, right in front of him.
Qin Nuo stepped back two steps, realizing it was Grandpa Agai, who had loosened his grip on the Grave Ghost Stone.
"Kid, I didn't expect you to be so good at chess," Grandpa Agai said with a smile, handing over an ice pop.
Qin Nuo took it, but seeing its color, he had no appetite to eat it.
"What do you want to ask? Hurry up, I need to get back to make food for that rascal."
Qin Nuo pondered for a mont and asked, "I'm just a bit confused. Why are you so opposed to Agai performing?"
"Don't adults usually like their kids to be talented? Agai is very good at acting; he might achieve great success in the future."
"Isn't that sothing to be happy about?"
Grandpa Agai fell silent, looking in the direction of the Black Crow Ghost School. After a mont, he said, "If that were the case, I wouldn't have any objections."
"After all, he's my grandson. If he wants to do what he loves, why wouldn't I support him and be happy?"
As he spoke, Grandpa Agai sighed slightly, revealing a sense of helplessness.
Qin Nuo followed up, "Then what's the reason?"
Grandpa Agai's face showed a hint of confusion, "Aren't you a mber of the Performing Arts Departnt? Why don't you know?"
Qin Nuo replied calmly, "I left a long ti ago, so I'm not clear about many things. That's why I'm asking."
Since Grandpa Agai didn't know the character Qin Feng, Qin Nuo wasn't worried about being exposed or reducing his role-playing.
Grandpa Agai sat down, took out the wooden gourd, and sipped so wine, saying, "At first, when Agai joined the Performing Arts Departnt, I was not only happy but proud."
"After all, who wouldn't want to see their grandson shining on stage? It was enough for to brag in front of those old n."
"But one night, my grandson ca ho late. I saw he was exhausted from rehearsing, so I made so soup for him. He was very excited, telling he had rehearsed a brilliant scene and wanted to perform it for ."
"I sat down, eager to see how my grandson perford, but after watching his scene, I decided I couldn't let him get involved with that play anymore. I insisted he quit the Performing Arts Departnt."
Qin Nuo's expression changed, and he quickly asked, "Was his performance terrible?"
"He perford excellently, completely imrsed in the role."
Grandpa Agai shook his head slightly, "But the role he played... it was like he was possessed, talking to himself one mont, laughing the next. That smile scared even an old man like ."
"I don't know what he was performing, but after he finished, he clawed at his face, his nails tearing his skin, drawing blood."
"I was terrified, quickly getting up to stop him, but he was still lost in his role until I hit him on the head with the wooden gourd, and he finally snapped out of it."
"When he ca to, he was furious, asking why I interrupted his brilliant performance. I gave him a mirror to look at his face."
"He saw his face covered in blood but didn't care at all, asking if I thought his acting was bad, if I thought it was terrible."
"At that mont, his face was bloody, his expression twisted, and I couldn't tell if he had co out of the role."
"That night, we had a big argunt. I was scared, fearing that if Agai continued like this, sothing would happen. So I went to the school and told them about it, demanding they dissolve the Performing Arts Departnt. Many other parents also complained; their children were in the departnt too."
"The school realized the seriousness of the situation and forcibly dissolved the Performing Arts Departnt. Many kids were freed from it. I thought my grandson was too, as he acted normal, smiling and saying he wouldn't be like before."
At this point, Grandpa Agai held his head, looking exhausted, as if he had suddenly aged.
"Agai has always had a habit of sleepwalking. When I heard noises from the next room, I knew it was my grandson sleepwalking. He usually just sits on the bed and lies back down after a while, so there's no danger."
"But that night, when I opened the door, I saw Agai standing on the balcony, dancing sothing like ballet. His movents were not at all clumsy, very skilled."
"He had his eyes closed, standing on his toes on the balcony. When his face turned towards , I was startled. It was painted with heavy makeup, and he had a strange smile on his lips."
"At that mont, I realized that Agai's previous normal behavior was just an act for . He hadn't left the departnt, or rather, he hadn't escaped from those kids."
"I don't know what they did to him, but they turned my grandson into this, like he was possessed."
"After he lay back down, I gently lifted his shirt and found his body covered in various degrees of self-inflicted wounds."
"I thought of complaining to the school again, but they said the Performing Arts Departnt had been dissolved, the kids were back to studying, and none of them had issues. Why was it only my grandson?"
"I was at a loss, even thinking of tying Agai up to stop him from going to school and eting those kids. But in front of , he bit his own tongue, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, a madness on his face I had never seen before."
"Acting seed to have beco his everything."
"I didn't dare to confine him anymore, only letting him go back to school, begging him not to hurt himself again. His answer was simple, just acting, no need to worry."
"But the more he said that, the more scared I beca."
"I rember that day, when was it? It seed like it was Children's Day night, or maybe a few days before. Agai went out and didn't co back for a long ti..."
"I sat at the door waiting for him, waiting and waiting..."
"Waiting... waiting... my grandson... why hasn't he co back yet?"
Qin Nuo's face suddenly froze, instinctively stepping back a few steps.
In front of him, as Grandpa Agai spoke, his whole body began to tremble strangely, standing up shakily.
His eye sockets seed to lt like cheese, with pus like yellow mud oozing from his eyes!
Then from his mouth, ears, and nose.
Finally, pus flowed from all the orifices on his face...
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