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The old beggar almost spewed out a mouthful of blood——
Are all kids nowadays this cocky?
The old beggar rolled up his sleeves and said, "If you've got the ability, let's play a game. I'll let you place the first nine stones. If you can beat me... No, forget about beating me, if you can tie with me, I'll give you ten taels of silver."
"Okay." Gu Jiao replied without hesitation.
The old beggar looked at her suspiciously and said, "You agreed so readily. Aren't you afraid I'll default on my debts?"
Confidence aside, this kid daringly made arrogant remarks, which surely showed his conceit and pride. But he was an old beggar, wasn’t she afraid of him reneging?
"I'm not afraid." Gu Jiao shook her head.
The old beggar looked at her deeply and secretly nodded.
Although the little girl was a bit arrogant, she had a pure heart and was willing to believe in others.
Gu Jiao thought to herself: You're overthinking it. If you dare to cheat me, I'll beat you up!
The old beggar cleaned up the stone pieces on the chessboard and put them into two broken bowls according to their color. He then placed the bowl of black stones dipped in ink in front of Gu Jiao and said, "You play the black pieces."
Black moved first.
He had promised to let her place the first nine stones.
Gu Jiao was not polite. It was him who had offered it himself, it wasn’t like she forced him.
The old beggar watched as Gu Jiao placed her first stone on the third line and the fourth point, which was an orthodox move. If he were to place a stone at 3-3 point, he could immediately *establish a living shape on the board. But he had promised to let her play the first nine stones. He’d like to see how she would secure territory and position. [T/N: *it refers to a move that ensures the survival of a group of stones, making them practically invincible on the board.]
The first nine moves made by Gu Jiao were all unremarkable. The old beggar felt that she had wasted the nine stones he had conceded to her.
Did she really know how to play chess? Was it just a fluke that she broke his chess game earlier?
"Alright, it's your turn." Gu Jiao said to the old beggar.
The old beggar picked up a white stone... To be exact, it was just a pebble. He placed it on the board.
An old man and a ‘young man’ played chess on the side of the road. One had a book open above his head, the other wore a strange mask. The movements on the chessboard were chaotic and bizarre.
From time to time, people would pass by and stop curiously for a moment, but they couldn't understand what the two were playing.
"Is this the way you play chess?" A young scholar asked. He knew how to play chess, but he had never seen such a strange way of playing it. It was absurd! They weren't attacking where they should attack, and they weren't defending where they should defend.
"That old beggar is a madman. Do you really expect them to know how to play chess? That young man is probably crazy too for playing along with him."
"I think these two people are both lunatics, that or they were fools. What are they playing exactly?"
"Let's go, let’s go! What's there to see about two idiots playing chess? It's better to go to Qinghuan Chess Club. I heard there are a few masters there today. Have you heard of Master Maoshan?"
"Who hasn't heard of Master Maoshan? He's a great chess master of the State of Zhao! Is he at the Qinghuan Chess Club too?"
"That’s right."
"Then we should go see him!"
As soon as they heard the name of Master Maoshan, the onlookers dispersed, leaving only a three-year-old child who was eating sugar-coated haws. He didn't understand chess; he was just looking for a place to eat his haws.
The old beggar and Gu Jiao were not people who cared about what others thought of them. Whether anyone was watching or cheering or ridiculing them, it would not affect them.
The two of them were solely focused on playing chess.
If Master Maoshan had come here, he would have been able to see the seemingly chaotic chess game and understand the surging killing intent and waves hidden within it.
At first, the old beggar wasn't playing seriously, but after a few moves, he sensed that something was wrong.
What a tricky move!
Her nine pieces seemed to be scattered all over, but in fact, it was like a huge net, sealing off all his possible moves.
In the second half of the game, he played seriously and ended up with a draw against Gu Jiao.
The old beggar smiled in surprise, "Little girl, you're the first person to tie with me, and at such a young age. Who is your teacher?"
"I don't have a teacher." In her past life, she watched people play it in the park and learned it herself. Occasionally, she played with her godfather as well.
Her godfather was a very busy man, but as a reward for completing her missions, he would spare some time to play with her.
The old beggar looked at Gu Jiao seriously and confirmed that she wasn't lying. He was truly amazed.
Today's draw was mainly due to his careless underestimation of the opponent, thinking that this kid wouldn't know how to play, so he played carelessly. If he had taken it seriously from the very beginning, even if he had conceded nine pieces to her, he still would have won against this kid.
But this kid surprisingly hadn't learned chess from anyone, in other words, she figured out all her moves on her own.
Her gift for chess was really scary.
The old beggar asked again, "Have you played against a master before?"
Gu Jiao thought for a moment, "Hm...I think I have."
Her godfather should be considered a master. It was just that she never won against him.
The old beggar breathed a sigh of relief in secret. That's about right. Otherwise, if she had achieved this level just by playing with herself, that would be too frightening.
However, even if she had experience playing against a master, it was still not easy to figure out the game like she did.
She was a gifted child.
The old beggar looked at Gu Jiao admiringly. He was about to ask for her name and where she lived, but Gu Jiao spoke first, "Like you said, a draw counts as your loss. Now pay up!"
The old beggar felt a twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Could she not spoil the atmosphere at such a crucial moment?
The old beggar reluctantly took out a few broken bits of silver from his wrinkled purse, which added up to a bit more than ten taels. This was all he had.
He handed it to Gu Jiao, "Here, take it all!"
Gu Jiao counted and weighed it, then picked out the smallest piece to give back to him, "I said ten taels was enough."
Fairness to both young and old!
After taking the silver, Gu Jiao got up and left.
The old beggar called out to her, "Hey! Wait! What's your name? Are you coming back tomorrow?"
Gu Jiao continued to walk away.
"Ten taels for a game!"
Gu Jiao came back again.
The old beggar: "..."
……
Gu Jiao changed her clothes back at the medical hall.
Little Jing Kong ran into her small courtyard, panting, "JiaoJiao, JiaoJiao!"
He ran too fast and stumbled to the ground again.
Fortunately, the little monk's reputation for falling wasn’t in vain. He held his head and rolled like a little winter melon for half the yard, rolling to the front steps.
He then got up nonchalantly and strutted up the steps, not at all delicate!
"JiaoJiao!"
He came into Gu Jiao's room holding a letter.
Gu Jiao, who had just put away her mask, turned to look at him and said, "Did school end early today? Who brought you here?"
"Big brother Yan." Little Jing Kong answered.
It wasn't for nothing, he paid him for sending him here!
That’s right. In order to expand his debt repayment business, Gu Yan developed a project to send the little guy to the medical hall after school for twenty copper coins per trip.
"Where is he?" Gu Jiao took the little guy by the hand and led him to the washbasin on the rack, wiping the sweat off his face with water.
Little Jing Kong obediently handed over his little head, letting JiaoJiao wipe him down, "He met his classmate outside the medical hall and is talking to them!"
"Did you fall down again?" After wiping his little head, Gu Jiao found a lot of grass on his clothes.
"Yeah." Little Jing Kong suddenly felt wronged. He pulled up his pants and tears started to well up in his eyes. "It hurts so much!"
Gu Jiao checked his body… There was no wound. She then proceeded to wash his face and hands. "Alright, let me massage it for you."
Little Jing Kong closed his eyes in enjoyment.
After massaging his little legs, Gu Jiao looked at the letter in his hand, "What do you have there?"
"A letter!" Little Jing Kong said. "I got a letter from brother Ming'er!"
Ming'er was the son of the Yu Qinwang couple, the little envoy from the State of Liang. When he left the State of Zhao, the two little ones made a promise to keep in touch through letters.
Gu Jiao didn't expect Ming'er's letter to arrive so soon.
"I want to read it with JiaoJiao!" Little Jing Kong said seriously.
Gu Jiao smiled, "Okay."
Little Jing Kong climbed onto Gu Jiao's lap. He found a comfortable position, rested his little head on Gu Jiao's arm, and handed her the letter. "JiaoJiao, read it."
Gu Jiao opened the letter.
"To Jing Kong——
Jing Kong, I hope this letter finds you well. It’s me, your brother Ming'er. Do you remember me? Our trip to the State of Zhao was rewarding, and I am now happily reminiscing about it. After returning home, I couldn't help but think of you and brother Yu. I hope both of you are doing well."
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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