Hidden moth

Chapter 36 Wild Phoenix

Pugang Town is a typical urban-rural integration town. He Kao's small building is actually located near the town center. It is a farmhouse with a very design sense and looks like a suburban villa.

Two streets away from the courtyard is a new district built later, with modern high-rise buildings with gleaming glass curtain walls. The core area of the JB District is the area around the riverside port in Pugang Town, which was once the wharf.

In order to improve urban planning and promote urban transformation, Qiyuan City moved many industries to the north of the river and then established the Jiangbei New District.

Nowadays, land transportation is very developed, and residents no longer need to take a boat to cross the river. However, for industrial areas, convenient river shipping routes are still very important, as many industrial workers gather here.

Near a commercial pedestrian street outside the port area, under a sycamore tree, you can often see an old man setting up a chess stall.

The paulownia tree is the Eastern paulownia mentioned in many ancient books. It is a good material for making musical instruments and a place where phoenixes live. It is not the sycamore tree commonly seen in the streets and alleys of Qiyuan.

Its calyx is five-clawed, each petal shaped and sized like a spoon, and its seeds are like pearls.

People usually don't notice the flowering of the sycamore because its petals are all wrapped in the calyx, and both the petals and the calyx are yellow-green and not conspicuous.

Chess stalls are almost extinct nowadays, but they were common a few decades ago. They would just be a chessboard on the roadside with a remaining game of chess on it.

Passersby who are interested can play a game with the stall owner. The stall owner will let the passerby choose the red or black chess pieces first, and the loser will give the other party money.

There are often a few people gathered in front of the chess stall, not only to attract passersby to stop and watch, but also as chess shills, pretending to be passing by and playing chess with the stall owner, and then winning money. When the bystanders can't help but join in, they end up losing badly.

Why have chess stalls disappeared today? It's not just because people have more leisure and entertainment options, but also because times have changed.

In ancient times when information exchange was extremely underdeveloped, you could set up a stall at the market if you had a chess manual describing a certain endgame.

But now everyone has a smartphone and can download chess apps, which provide game options at various levels, including entry-level, advanced, expert, and master, as well as endgame functions.

How can a mere ancient music score outperform artificial intelligence?
This old man has been setting up his chess stall for a long time. People nearby can't even remember when the chess stall appeared. It seems like some kind of intangible cultural heritage.

The old man did not set up his stall every day. He would come every now and then, and sometimes he would not be seen for ten days or half a month. But as the number of times and time went by, many local people always had the impression that there was an old man setting up a chess stall under the sycamore tree.

The pedestrian street next to it was the big market in the past. He Kao had seen this old man when he was a child going to the market with his grandfather. At that time, a game of chess cost five yuan.

The reason why He Kao still remembered it was because he felt that five dollars was too expensive and he couldn't afford it.

The price at the chess stall has also increased, now 100 yuan per game. No cash required, both parties can scan the code to transfer money. And the old man's chess stall is different from other places. He doesn't set up endgames, but a full game. Whoever loses pays.

Seeing an opportunity to take advantage, passersby would sit down and play a game with the old man, pretending to browse their phones while secretly opening the chess software, but they would often end up losing to the old man.

The old man didn't always win. Occasionally he would lose a couple of games and pay the money happily.

Two more men passed by at noon today. Both were in their thirties and appeared to be employees of a nearby port company. One of them sat down and finished a game while the other watched.

The chess player was also quietly checking his phone, downloading an app on the spot in an attempt to cheat. You should know that to cheat like this, you usually have to play second. The method is to input the old man's moves into the phone and let the app play with him.

However, the player is unfamiliar with this operation and may mistakenly choose to go first, making it difficult to play using the software. While the software could theoretically be used to re-arrange the chessboard using the endgame function, there is not enough time on site.

The chess pieces had already been placed on the chessboard, so he had no choice but to continue playing. After just a dozen moves, he was completely defeated by the old man and was on the verge of losing.

These two guys weren't good people either. Seeing that there was no one around and the other was just an old man, one of them simply reached out and wiped the chessboard, shouting, "This game is a draw. No more playing!"

The old man angrily said, "How can you play tricks on me? You're bullying an old man like me!"

One of them asked, "Who bullied you? Is there anyone to testify? Did we sign the contract?"

Another person said, "Why waste time talking to him? I'm hungry, let's go eat!"

The old man didn't say anything. He packed up the chessboard and waved his hand, signaling them to leave quickly. Setting up a stall in a place like this, you'd often run into these scoundrels who wouldn't pay even though they'd lost the game.

The old man would sometimes argue with his opponent, but few dared to fight, because if they didn't, they'd only get a hundred yuan in compensation, but if they did, they'd lose an ounce. Some people would even run away after losing, and the old man wouldn't catch them, so that was fine.

Sometimes, like today, the old man is too lazy to pay attention and just sends them away.

At this time, another person came out from under the sycamore tree, sat down across from the old man, and sighed, "Those two don't know what they've missed! But I'm curious, what exactly did you calculate? Are they completely hopeless?"

The old man at the stall glared at him and said, "What are you talking about? I'm running a chess stall, not a fortune teller!"

Passersby who saw the chess stall would subconsciously assume it was run by an old man. But he didn't look old at all. His eyes weren't blurry, his back wasn't hunched, and his back was straight. His graying hair was thick, his complexion was rosy, and his skin was delicate. His aura was like that of an elder.

The newcomer looked more like an old man. Although his hair was jet black without a single strand of white, his facial skin was a little rough and there were knife-like wrinkles on his forehead. He was wearing an old-fashioned suit with four pockets, like a retired cadre.

The old cadre jokingly said, “Over the years, you’ve always loved sitting under the sycamore tree, so much so that rumors have spread that you’re silently expressing your love for Elder Ye.

The wild phoenix did come looking for you last time, but you scared it away. Nowadays, everyone is saying that in ancient times, Ye Gong loved dragons, and now Jiang Gong loves phoenixes.

The old man setting up the stall: "What kind of evil wind is this! I'm sitting under the sycamore tree, so I'm interested in her wild phoenix? She came to me not because she likes me, but because she heard a rumor and wanted me to clarify it.

I'm not spreading rumors, so what's there to clarify? I knew she was coming, so I just went out and got some quiet time.

You know the temper of that wild phoenix. If I tell her in front of her that I don't like her at all, will she be happy?
Her purpose in coming to me was to flatter herself, confirm the rumors, and dissuade me from wishful thinking. I had no such intentions, so why would I offer her this ladder?

The old cadre said: "Oh, oh, oh, the dignified modern-day divine Elder Jiang is actually getting angry."

The old man setting up the stall: "Who's getting angry?"

The old cadre said, "If you don't want to meet, then don't meet. Why are you explaining so much? After Elder Ye left, you actually set up a stall under this sycamore tree. Why don't you avoid suspicion?"

The old man at the stall said, "I have a clear conscience, so why should I avoid groundless suspicions? She's nicknamed the Wild Phoenix. Does that mean all the sycamore trees in the world belong to her family?"
"Master Geomancer, can't you see? Within this area of dozens of miles, this sycamore tree is the place with the best geomancy and the most comfortable place to set up a stall."

The old man who ran the chess stall was named Jiang Daozhen, a contemporary Lingxi Sect elder and a sixth-rank "mathematician." Many high-ranking members of the sect speculated that this elder Jiang had likely advanced even further, reaching the legendary seventh rank.

First level of Lingxishu, known as "Bystander".

The second level of Lingxishu, commonly known as "Dust Guest".

He is at the third level of telepathy and calls himself a "prophet".

The fourth level of Lingxishu, jokingly called "divine stick".

He is at the fifth level of Lingxishu and is known as "the one asking for directions".

The sixth level of Lingxishu, honored as "Mathematician".

The visitor who looked like an old cadre was the current elder of Xinpan Sect, Gu Chun, and also the only sixth-level "Earth Master" in Xinpan Sect.

The Wild Phoenix they mentioned is the current elder of Guanshen Sect and a sixth-rank "physician". His real name is Ye Qi, but few people know this name nowadays.

When she was young, she had a bit of a crazy temper and was a typical wild girl. Because she was pretty, she was nicknamed Wild Phoenix.

This nickname was not entirely complimentary, but Ye Qi herself was very satisfied with it. From then on, she called herself Ye and Fenghuang. Later, in the sect, everyone called her Elder Ye, as "Ye" and "Ye" sounded similar.

Is there a surname called "Ye"? Anyway, she has the final say. At worst, she can compile another "Hundred Family Surnames" herself.

This wild elder does not have a very good reputation in the martial arts world. She should be quite old, but she has a high level of cultivation and has the ability to maintain her youthful appearance. It is said that she loves young men and has had many boyfriends who are all young and handsome.

Of course, no one dared to ask Elder Ye for confirmation in person, and ordinary disciples of the magic sect could not know what identity Ye Fenghuang had and what he did.

So these are most likely just rumors, just like the rumors about Jiang Daozhen in the underworld.

Gu Chun knew, of course, that this paulownia tree was the location of the Earth Qi Spiritual Hub within a radius of dozens of miles, but he smiled and shook his head, saying, "Although this place is not bad, with Elder Jiang's status, there are plenty of better places for him to find."

Jiang Daozhen: "The elders of each sect don't usually stay in the sect's blessed land. They just do what they need to do at home. And I am a local. I have lived in the nearby Xiawan Village since I was a child. Do I have to set up a stall somewhere else?
But you, Master Geomancer, suddenly showed up today. Do you want to play a game with me?"

Gu Chun: "You are a few years younger than me, and you call yourself an old man in front of me? As a fortune teller, you have the nerve to compete with me in chess. Isn't this bullying?"

Jiang Daozhen pointed at the chessboard in front of him and said, "How about we have a battle of formations, according to your expertise as a geomancer?"

Gu Chun: "Comparing formations with you on your own territory is still just playing chess, isn't it? Forget it, I admit I can't beat you. I came here today to ask you one thing: why did you stop Lin Qingshuang from accepting a disciple yesterday?"

Jiang Daozhen asked in return: "Is there any problem?"

Gu Chun: "This is unfair to the child, and even more unfair to Lin Qingshuang. And I sent the order through the clan law hall, and you agreed to it. Why did you interfere afterwards?"

**
(End of this chapter)