Green Gourd Sword Immortal - Chapter 21: A Game by Appointment
-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and Cannedbread
Follow me on Patreon via Linktree https://linktr.ee/Mnotia-
(TL Note: the next bit will have Go terminology. I'll be using the direct translations of the terms)
The white-clothed girl led Liang Yan to another corner of the bamboo forest, then, as if by magic, took out a white jade Go board from her storage bag and placed it on a large rock. At the same time, she took out two boxes of Go stones, one black and one white.
After the two finished guessing stones, the white-clothed girl held black and moved first; Liang Yan held white and moved second.
The white-clothed girl extended slender fingers, pinched a black stone, and—pa!—placed it at the exact center of the board.
“Heavenly Origin!” Liang Yan narrowed his eyes, and hidden anger seemed to rise in them.
In Go, one stresses golden corners, silver sides, and grass belly. Generally, one first occupies corners, then extends along the sides, and only then develops toward the central belly.
To play the first move at Heavenly Origin was disrespect to the opponent. It implied that one’s Go strength far surpassed the opponent’s, and carried the meaning of looking down on Liang Yan.
Liang Yan pressed down the anger in his heart and thought to himself, ‘I’ll let you be arrogant for a while; I’ll make you look good later!’ Thinking this, he quickly took a white stone from the box and placed it on the board. The white-clothed girl immediately followed with a stone. The two went back and forth, and just like that began to talk with hands in the bamboo forest.
Time flew, and in a blink it was dusk.
By now Liang Yan’s lips were tightly shut, and sweat seeped from his forehead. He had always prided himself on remarkable Go skill, but the more he played this game, the more alarmed he became; by this point, he felt somewhat as if he had no road left to take.
In contrast, the white-clothed girl still wore a leisurely, self-satisfied expression; during the game she even hummed a couple of little tunes from time to time.
After a good while, Liang Yan finally made another move. The white-clothed girl glanced slightly, then immediately followed with a stone on the board. When this stone fell, Liang Yan raised his eyes and saw that the black stones’ great momentum was already complete; the white stones were routed, not an army left. Across the whole board, all were remnant soldiers and defeated generals. He could only sigh helplessly and cast down his stones in surrender.
The white-clothed girl giggled, then put on the airs of an elder and said, “Junior brother’s Go skill is passable; you barely made me use thirty percent of my Go strength. You still need to study a lot more.”
Then she added, “But willing to bet, willing to lose. You should now respectfully call me ‘Senior Sister’ three times!” As she spoke, she put heavier tone on the words “respectfully.”
Liang Yan wore a helpless face, but since he had said so earlier, he could only accept the loss. Facing the white-clothed girl, he cupped his hands, bowed, and respectfully called out “Senior Sister” three times.
The white-clothed girl squinted her eyes, looking very pleased, patted Liang Yan’s shoulder, and said in a deep voice, “Junior brother’s aptitude is still acceptable. It’s only that the Dao of Go stresses diligent study and bitter practice. If you persevere, in the future you may not fail to rise.”
Liang Yan saw that she was only about his own age, around thirteen or fourteen years old, yet she deliberately put on the manner of an uncle-master’s generation and began instructing him, which instead made her look comical and ridiculous.
After all, he was young in disposition; for a moment he could not hold it in. Pfft! He laughed out loud.
The girl had originally had her left hand behind her back and right hand on Liang Yan’s shoulder, looking like a transcendent expert. But Liang Yan’s laugh somewhat ruined the atmosphere, causing the white-clothed girl’s face to sink.
However, her eyes shifted, and she said, “Don’t blame Senior Sister for not giving you a chance. If you’re unconvinced, tomorrow night at the summit of Lush Cloud Mountain, you may still challenge me. As long as you can win one game against me, I’ll present the Barrier-Breaking Pill to you with both hands.”
“Are these words true?” Liang Yan’s eyes brightened.
“What a joke. It’s just a mere Barrier-Breaking Pill; would I cheat you?” As the white-clothed girl spoke, she tossed him a token.
“Don’t say I don’t give you a chance. This is a token for a Go Dao disciple. With this token, you may go to the Go Dao Repository of Scriptures to borrow Go manuals and Go books. With your current little strength, you fundamentally can’t be my opponent.”
Liang Yan reached out and took the token. He saw a stone Go board drawn on it. It did not note inner sect or outer sect; only beneath the Go board was carved a “Butterfly” character. After putting the token away, Liang Yan nodded and said, “Good. Tomorrow night I’ll definitely keep the appointment.”
The white-clothed girl showed satisfaction. Suddenly remembering something, she said, “Right, I almost forgot. This Lush Cloud Mountain—never mind, this is for you too!” As she spoke, she took out a piece of parchment and handed it into Liang Yan’s hand.
Liang Yan looked down and found that it was actually a map. The route on it was crooked and slanted, and the destination was exactly Lush Cloud Mountain. Only then did Liang Yan suddenly remember that in the sect map Uncle-Master Zhou had given him before, there was no place called Lush Cloud Mountain at all.
When he raised his head and wanted to ask, he found that the white-clothed girl had already walked far away. From the bamboo forest still came the sound of her humming little tunes, as if her mood was rather good. Liang Yan smiled bitterly and shook his head, put away the map, and also turned to go down the mountain.
That night, Liang Yan went straight to the Go Dao Repository of Scriptures, borrowed a Go book he considered rather good, then returned to the dormitory to study it all night. He was young in disposition and fond of winning; this time he had lost to a girl, making him lose face, and it further stirred his fighting spirit.
Anyway, now he could not advance at all in cultivation, so he might as well surpass this little girl in Go skill; moreover, there was the Barrier-Breaking Pill as the stake.
Liang Yan studied the Go book all night and felt that immortal-family Go manuals were indeed extraordinary, far different from his former understanding. He stayed up all night without sleep, yet felt as if his blocked mind had suddenly opened, as if he had discovered a new world.
The next night, Liang Yan followed the map to find the path and arrived at the summit of Lush Cloud Mountain. The entire Lush Cloud Mountain was bare, with withered grass and trees, yet oddly at the summit there was a great towering tree, lush and verdant.
At this moment, a white-clothed girl was sitting beneath the tree. Before her was a Go board, and on the board was an endgame position. The girl held a white stone in hand, but seemed hesitant and unable to decide.
Liang Yan silently walked to her side and looked down at the endgame. He saw the black stones were like a fierce tiger, baring fangs and brandishing claws, already turning its bloody basin mouth toward the white stones; the next moment it would swallow them all. Although the white stones struggled to maneuver in every way, they were like a dragon trapped in shallow shoals, with no road to ascend to heaven.
Liang Yan looked for a long time. No matter how he looked, he felt the white stones had only a dead road. So he sighed and said, “The white stones’ fate is exhausted; I fear it will be hard to turn the board again.”
The white-clothed girl came back to her senses, glanced at him, and said, “You say so too, sigh. This endgame is too hard to solve.” After a pause she added, “But do you know, this endgame was solved by someone in the past.”
Liang Yan was startled and looked again at the endgame on the board, feeling it was simply a tale of the Arabian Nights, inconceivable.
But the white-clothed girl put away the stones on the board one by one and said with a smile, “You’re quite punctual. You came pretty early.”
Liang Yan thought to himself, ‘Aren’t you even earlier than me?’
The two sat down before the board. After guessing stones, the white-clothed girl still moved first. But this time the girl did not start at Heavenly Origin; instead she played at the small point. Liang Yan also changed his earlier underestimation of the enemy and rash advance; from the first move he fortified at every step, steady and solid.
Liang Yan’s Go talent was actually not bad; it was only that what he had learned before was all mortal-world Go Dao. How could it contend with immortal-family Go Dao? After yesterday’s disastrous defeat, he painfully reflected, and for one night studied and observed Yi Xing Pavilion’s Go Dao books. Although his Go skill could not advance by leaps and bounds, his breadth of vision and knowledge had increased quite a bit.
Many follow-up killing intents he could not understand yesterday, today Liang Yan could vaguely distinguish some, and even at a few key places he saw some changes in the girl’s Go moves, barely turning danger into safety.
In the game, the white-clothed girl was mainly attacking, like a general storming cities and capturing forts; Liang Yan was mainly defending, like a commander trapped defending a perilous city.
The two went back and forth. At first they fought evenly matched.
Only the girl’s Go momentum was continuous, her attacks and kills unceasing. Liang Yan barely defended several exchanges, but his follow-up strength was lacking; in the end, one stone’s misstep lost the whole board.
Liang Yan was bitter in his heart. ‘This girl’s Go skill is so strong; for me to surpass her and obtain that Barrier-Breaking Pill is simply as hard as ascending to heaven!’
But this time the girl, for the first time, did not mock him. Instead she stared at the board, eyes showing a thoughtful look.
After a long while, she said leisurely, “What were you doing last night? Did you really go to the Repository of Scriptures to study Go?”
Liang Yan smiled bitterly, “Correct!”
The white-clothed girl raised her head and stared at him, saying, “Everything you played today, you learned from books?”
Liang Yan was stunned and said subconsciously, “Yes!” But then he reacted and shook his head, saying, “Not entirely. The Go manuals in books are dead. I was playing against you, not against a Go manual, so naturally it’s different. For example, this move 23, I based it on your…”
Liang Yan explained to the white-clothed girl one by one according to his train of thought when playing.
“…And for example this move 137…” Here the white-clothed girl suddenly waved her hand to interrupt him.
“Enough. I’m tired today. You go back.”
Liang Yan did not understand why. He stared at her blankly, but seeing that she did not seem to want to say more, he could only rise and take his leave. Just as he turned around, a crisp voice from the girl suddenly came from behind: “From now on, at this time in the evening, you may come find me to play Go. As long as you can win one game against me, the stakes we agreed on before all still count.”
Liang Yan felt slightly happy in his heart, but without turning his head he said, “Then I thank the girl in advance for granting me the pill!”
When the white-clothed girl heard such lazy, shameless words, she could not help but make a sound of disgust: “Pei! You just brag!”
But watching Liang Yan’s back gradually disappear on the mountain path, she could not help murmuring to herself, “This person’s Go skill can be described as advancing a thousand li a day. Could there really be such a genius in the world?”
-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and Cannedbread
Follow me on Patreon via Linktree https://linktr.ee/Mnotia-