The Spirit World

Chapter 395 Silent
【Boom! 】

The entire cave began to shake violently.

The cave was unusually bright, yet it still revealed a dim blue light, with white stars roaming freely inside. Two people were sitting on the stone platform. Silence was overwhelming here, and the loneliness was frightening.

The two men looked like old men with white hair, but there was no sign of aging. It might be due to their spiritual practice, but their spirits were visible to the naked eye, because their backs were straight, and their shoulders were relaxed. A huge stone chessboard was placed right between them, and the chess pieces would be knocked on, making a click sound, which made the empty place filled with the sounds of human life.

It's better to say that you feel lonely and isolated. This is what playing chess is all about, quiet and peaceful. Even if you have to wait for half a day to come up with a good move or a great game, you will still enjoy it.

But, obviously, one party was not so patient and was scratching his head.

"You old man!" He held a black chess piece in his hand and sat slightly tilted. He glanced at the old man opposite who was fanning himself leisurely. He angrily smashed the black chess piece on the chessboard and said with a pout, "There's such a big noise outside! You want me to play chess here?!"

"Ming Qiu... this move of yours... won't work..." The old man opposite gently waved his fan in front of his chest, took the white chess piece from the edge of the chessboard with some anger, and looked at the situation on the board carefully.

Black and white intersected, twisting and turning, inseparable. The black chess piece was smashed at the opening. It was obvious that he wanted to end it early, or even gave up on his own initiative, but he couldn't say it, so he just casually revealed a flaw.

The old man is wearing a green robe with white sleeves, with clouds and cranes flying above him, what a leisurely and elegant look.

He had a small white beard, and the wind from the fan blew his temples gently. If he were not old, with such a smooth face, he would have been a handsome man.

"Qingshan... you didn't know that something big would happen today, did you? And you even invited me to play chess... you really have evil intentions... you'll have to drink three cups as punishment when the time comes! You can't cheat!" Tan Mingqiu looked at him and picked up the black chess piece impatiently, as if he had already thought about where to move.

I'm going to lose anyway...it doesn't matter where I go...

"We'll talk about it when the time comes..." Xiao Qingshan held the white chess piece in his palm and looked at the chessboard carefully. He didn't make a move, just watched.

"This move of yours is really a bad move..."

Xiao Qingshan was still angry, even a little annoyed.

"Bad moves... there are bad moves..." Tan Mingqiu leaned sideways and placed the chess piece next to the stone plate: "I've always been like this... you know... when I play chess with you, I always lose more than I win. If I don't use some strange moves with you... I'd be stupid..."

"Hmm... Then you shouldn't have just opened the city gates and let my soldiers attack... This is not an empty city plan. In chess, more soldiers beat fewer soldiers, but the side with more soldiers will win..." Xiao Qingshan kept harping on Tan Mingqiu's mistake, as if he had already understood Tan Mingqiu's little trick. He was reluctant to move the white chess piece held in his palm and index finger...

"There's nothing we can do about it. If a single soldier can kill him seven times in and seven times out, why fight? I will definitely surrender directly... Who cares about the number of soldiers..." Tan Mingqiu scratched his head with his little finger again, and simply stopped looking at the chessboard. Looking at the clear tea beside him, he took the teacup, knocked the tea bowl and the cup lid together, and blew air into it to make the water less hot.

This space was so silent, as if any movement from them could shake the world.

"Well... the chief steward of Bailing Mountain... actually thought of surrendering to the powerful enemy at the first moment... If this is reported to the emperor, he will be torn into pieces by five horses..." Xiao Qingshan moved the white chess piece on the chessboard gently, touched it with his index finger, and then gently retracted it, unable to move any further.

He waved the feather fan lightly, then frowned and lowered his head.

"If there really is such a person who has been in and out many times, he is not a friendly army and cannot be persuaded to surrender. He can only be regarded as an enemy. Then it doesn't matter if I kill thousands or tens of thousands of him. If I can't kill him, I will definitely not let my men die one by one. I will either burn my boats or compromise..." Tan Mingqiu chuckled and looked at the conflicted Xiao Qingshan. He didn't care so much about the word "Your Majesty".

He cleared his throat and said, "I'm so old... I'm dead, I'm dead, it doesn't matter... Both of us, our wives and children are gone, we have nothing to worry about in this world, death is death, but the younger generation will suffer..."

"Is this the reason why you came back to take charge of Wutong Division? I remember... didn't you retire?" Xiao Qingshan went around in circles and finally placed the white chess piece next to the black chess piece.

"Retire...well...how should I put it? I was pissed off by that little girl and went to Bailing Mountain...otherwise...I would really go there to grow my tea leaves...I can't stand working so hard here for seven years..." Tan Mingqiu grabbed the black chess piece and made another move, placing it in a random place.

"Hey! Why did you make such a mess of moves? Look at where I moved!" Xiao Qingshan took the black chess piece and put it aside.

He just stared at the chess piece and didn't pay attention to Tan Mingqiu's reaction.

"You must be hiding something from me today..." Tan Mingqiu picked up a black chess piece again. Now, he looked at the anxious Xiao Qingshan with ease, and gave a wicked smile. He quickly found a position and sent the black chess piece in at the junction of black and white.

“You…” Xiao Qingshan was helpless… He could only shake his head and said: “Ah… Really… Just play chess well… It doesn’t matter… Even if I have something to do, I won’t tell you, because I think it’s not important… It’s a pity that a good chess game is gone…”

"Tell me quickly, what are you hiding from me? What is happening outside... right now?" Tan Mingqiu quickly grabbed a black chess piece, as if the black chess piece would soon fall on the stone plate.

"If there was something important...how could I be so leisurely to play chess with you? Don't you trust me?" Xiao Qingshan touched his beard and took out the white chess piece.

Thinking, he paused again.

"No, no, no... If it were in the past, I would definitely listen to you... But now, so many years have passed... I am increasingly unable to understand you... It is better for me to keep my doubts to myself..." Tan Mingqiu tapped the stone plate lightly with the chess piece, making a small clicking sound.

And just such a small sound was enough to echo throughout the entire place.

"Playing chess... If you are still thinking about other things... your moves will be really stinky and rotten..." Xiao Qingshan was still talking about chess, placing the white chess piece in front of him, but he was reluctant to move.

"You should really trust me this time... I say it's okay, so it's okay... No matter how big the noise is, it's okay, even if the sky falls, it's okay... No need to worry..." Xiao Qingshan waved the fan, the feathers swayed gently, the breeze blew on his face, he still lowered his head, looking at the two annoying chess pieces, full of flaws, as if waiting to be eaten, just lying there... It really makes people who know chess have a myocardial infarction. "That's obviously a big deal..." Tan Mingqiu continued to talk along with Xiao Qingshan's words, then stared at Xiao Qingshan carefully, seeing that he was not anxious at all, and chuckled naturally: "Qingshan... you are obviously worried about something... why do you say that I am worried about something?"

"Is that so?" Xiao Qingshan frowned and placed the white chess piece next to the two black chess pieces.

“Oh…I’m already old…but I’m acting like a young and foolish person…I’ve really lived in vain…” Tan Mingqiu placed the black chess piece at the opening with a click, without any hesitation.

Xiao Qingshan sighed, leaned back with a grim look, and looked at the four chess pieces with some dismay...

"I didn't lie to you...nothing serious happened...I told you this, you should understand...there is definitely no need to lie to you..." Xiao Qingshan did not pick up the white chess piece again, but raised his head and looked at Tan Mingqiu with a smirk, and said indifferently: "If there is something I am hiding from you...it is that...I just stole a box of Erhai from you in the study...I put it in my bedside table..."

“Oh, a prime minister… would actually do such a sneaky thing… If the emperor knew about it… he would definitely be beheaded… After all… it’s too shameful…” Tan Mingqiu looked at Xiao Qingshan with disdain again, and took a sip of tea with some comfort: “If you want tea… I will give it to you… Why do you need to steal it? I’m in Bailing Mountain all day… I have as much Erhai tea as you want… Even if you want it all… I guess I can bring it all to the court for you to drink… I’ll just grow some more…”

"No..." Xiao Qingshan shook his head and the feather fan also shook. The wind blew his beard, but the beard was obviously not as light as his temples. It just moved slightly twice and then became stiff and straight.

"What's wrong?" Tan Mingqiu also stroked his mustache, looked at Xiao Qingshan with more pride and said, "You just lied? It's not a big deal, is it? Even a clever guy like you can make mistakes one day?"

"No..." Xiao Qingshan continued to shake his head, staring at Tan Mingqiu with wide eyes, and said seriously: "I think... the Prime Minister wants something from you, a general manager... it shouldn't be called stealing... it should be called taking... or... borrowing. Anyway, how can it be called stealing when it comes to the Prime Minister's business? Don't you think so?"

"Damn it!" Tan Mingqiu cursed softly and lowered his head to drink tea: "You didn't aspire to become the prime minister just for this, did you? That would be a misfortune for the country..."

"You can't say that. We were in the Tian rank that year... and now we are the only ones left... To be honest... the position of Prime Minister should be mine, hahahaha." Xiao Qingshan also held the teapot in one hand. The lid on the tea bowl seemed to know that the tea was coming, and it gently opened a big hole with the teacup and attached to the side of the teacup, allowing Xiao Qingshan to pour half a cup of tea.

Then close it gently.

"Alas... God is jealous of talented people... Those who are truly capable... don't even live as long as us... It's such a loss to the empire..." Tan Mingqiu also began to feel sad. The tea tasted bitter but had a sweet aftertaste.

"If they were still here... I guess we wouldn't have any business anymore... I could really go back to my little yard... feed the chickens and ducks, hoe the land... plant tea leaves... I would be so free and easy..."

"Back then... if we hadn't gone up to Bailing Mountain... we wouldn't have been in this situation now... that was a hundred years ago..." Xiao Qingshan nodded and agreed naturally: "I still remember that your mother urged you to go up the mountain... you were crying when you were asking for directions and marriage... I saw you... it was so embarrassing..."

"Eh... I didn't want to come in the first place... My family was poor, and without me, there would be no farm work for me... My parents suffered so much... Hey... I thought at that time... it would be better for me to help my parents pick up rice ears in the fields than to come to Bailing Mountain and pay for accommodation..." Tan Mingqiu touched his face: "Now... so much time has passed... I really don't know how to describe us in that era... You say we were naive... We had so many little schemes in our minds, you say we were complicated... A few grown men could become good friends after a fight..."

"Do you miss the past, Mingqiu?" Xiao Qingshan put down his feather fan and picked up his tea bowl. The tea bowl and the cup lid came together with a click. He blew air, and the slowly rising water vapor rolled in the heat wave.

"It's useless to miss you... We are all going to be buried soon... Miss you... Haha... Tsk." Tan Mingqiu continued to drink his tea and made a "tsk" sound.

"Almost all the talented people we knew in our time have passed away... It's our turn to go... isn't it?" Xiao Qingshan chuckled and shook his head.

"I guess so... But with our current status, we can't just leave whenever we want... As long as there are greedy people around, even if we want to leave... we can't leave... What's more... With our strength, it's hard to just leave whenever we want... It's hard to die of old age... Who knows where the end of our lifespan is... Maybe it's next year... Or maybe it's tomorrow..."

Tan Mingqiu's words made Xiao Qingshan stunned for a second.

"That's not right..." Xiao Qingshan touched his beard, grabbed a white chess piece and placed it on the chessboard very carefully. As long as this chess piece moved, the game would be almost over.

"Oh~ what's wrong?"

"Of course not... No matter what... We are still alive now... As long as we are alive, we can't think about death... Whether it is next year or tomorrow, it doesn't matter. What's important is... whether we have done the things that need to be done seriously..." Xiao Qingshan shouldn't have sighed.

But he let out a long sigh.

This also made Tan Mingqiu a little surprised.

"The future... maybe we really can't participate... but no matter what... we still have to believe in our young people... they are still the pillars of the future... no matter how immature they are... that's what we have experienced... just like in our era, people at that time believed in us young guys... it's the same now... in that era, there were many people who didn't believe in us. If you really count... we are now like them in the past... it's also an interesting thing..."

"Yeah... I'm listening..."

Tan Mingqiu took a sip of tea.

"The most important thing is that young people strive to do their best..."

"Yeah...we are old..."

Tan Mingqiu coughed.

He said.

"The situation we are in now... maybe dying... may not be that easy..."

(End of this chapter)