My family has been wielding knives for generations, but now it's my turn to wield a pen!

"Chinese Chess?"

The old man frowned, his gaunt face filled with doubt: "Never heard of it!"

"It's more interesting if you haven't heard of it before!"

As Jiang Xiaobai spoke, his smile deepened.

Indeed, he knew all too well how powerful a player's passion for chess could be once it was ignited.

In my past life, whether in a park or on a street corner, as long as someone set up a plate, a dozen or so old men would quickly gather around it.

The two chess players were locked in a fierce battle, their faces flushed red, while the onlookers were even more anxious than they were.

They wished they could stretch out their arms and take a couple of steps themselves, and then offer their opinions on the landscape.

Right now, this chess game, passed down through Chinese tradition, must be completely captivating to this old man, right?

Jiang Xiaobai settled down, looked around, and quickly noticed the paper and pen next to him, which he immediately picked up.

He first drew the chessboard on the paper, including the river, the palace, and the lines, leaving nothing out.

Then Jiang Xiaobai took a few more sheets of paper, folded them repeatedly, and tore them into squares of roughly the same size. He then wrote the characters for "chariot," "horse," and "cannon" on them.

To distinguish between the two sides, he added a small circle next to the piece on one side.

"this one?"

The old man sat on the bed, looked at the game, sneered, and mocked, "You have so few pieces; it looks incredibly simple!"

"Senior, if you say that again later, I'll admit you're something else!!"

Jiang Xiaobai finished writing the last character, moved the table to the bedside, arranged the paper chess pieces one by one, and began to explain.

At first, the old man was clearly impatient, frowning from time to time.

In the old man's opinion, this chess game was no match for his.

But as he listened, the old man gradually sat up straight.

When Jiang Xiaobai mentioned that generals and commanders should not meet directly, the old man took the initiative to ask a couple of questions.

Finally, the old man's sunken eyes visibly brightened.

"That's interesting!"

The old man picked up a paper chess piece and looked it over: "Each side has its own pieces, the chessboard is the battlefield, and victory is achieved by capturing the opponent's commander!"

"Moreover, each piece has its own strengths and weaknesses, requiring them to cooperate with each other!"

At this point, the old man looked up at Jiang Xiaobai: "Why have I never heard of this chess technique before?"

"Because I didn't travel through time!"

Jiang Xiaobai muttered something under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, I was just saying this game was something I figured out in my spare time!"

Jiang Xiaobai coughed lightly and smiled, "Senior, I'll set up a game now, how about you break it?"

"Of course, since this is your first time, we can try it twice first!"

"Can!"

The old man was now very interested and nodded in agreement.

With a smile, Jiang Xiaobai quickly set up a simple chessboard and gestured, "Senior, please!"

The old man didn't rush to make a move. He first carefully examined the situation on the chessboard before trying to move a piece.

During the process, Jiang Xiaobai patiently explained.

If the old man went the wrong way, Jiang Xiaobai would remind him; if he went the right way, he would let the old man continue pushing.

Before an incense stick could burn, the old man's chariot drove straight in and checkmated the enemy.

"We won!"

The old man stared at the chessboard for a couple of seconds, then couldn't help but slap the table: "Excellent! Brilliant! This game is truly ingenious!"

"It seems I was mistaken before!"

"..."

Jiang Xiaobai suppressed a laugh.

He knows it!

However, the first chess game he set up was just the very beginning of the basics.

Even if you bring a child over and give them a few pointers, they could probably break the spell.

But seeing the old man's excited expression, Jiang Xiaobai naturally wouldn't say those words aloud.

"Come on, let's continue!"

The old man, unaware of Jiang Xiaobai's thoughts, urged, "Set up another game for me!"

"good!"

Jiang Xiaobai smiled and agreed, then set up a simple chessboard.

This time, the old man had more experience, and his deductions were significantly faster.

After several moves, it once again devoured Jiang Xiaobai's piece.

"Haha, good, good, good!"

The old man's hearty laughter echoed throughout the wooden house: "Fun! This chess game is so much fun!"

As he spoke, the old man looked up at Jiang Xiaobai and said, "Come on, let's play seriously this time!"

"Give me a challenge, and I'll solve it myself!"

After speaking, the old man paused, then said, "If you untie it, I'll take two of your fingers! If you can't, I'll give you ten percent of my power!"

"Can!"

Jiang Xiaobai agreed very readily, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

The first two introductory chess games were designed to lure this old man into a trap.

Now that the fish has taken the bait, he should naturally reel in the line!

Jiang Xiaobai reached out and quickly moved the chess pieces on the board, transforming the game from a beginner's game to a master's game.

The old man looked at the new chessboard, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

The game was significantly more complex this time, but the old man's interest only grew stronger.

After staring at the chessboard for a long time, he finally picked up a piece and carefully placed it down.

After seeing this, Jiang Xiaobai also took a step.

The two exchanged blows, and before the time it takes to drink a cup of tea was over, Jiang Xiaobai's chariot drove straight in and directly devoured the old man's piece.

"Ah, senior, what a pity!"

Jiang Xiaobai shook his head and said, "Your line of thinking is correct, but it's just a little bit off!"

"this……"

The old man stared at the chessboard for a long time, then finally sighed softly, stood up, and said, "Come here, I'll transfer one-tenth of my power to you first!"

"Senior, no rush!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaobai quickly waved his hand and said, "How about this, you can transfer it to me all at once once you've gathered all ten percent of your power!"

"Of course, if I manage to gather twenty fingers first, you can chop them off as well!"

"good!"

The old man found his words reasonable and sat down again: "Alright, continue!"

Next, the two played against each other again.

After Jiang Xiaobai won three times in a row, he noticed that the old man's brows were furrowing deeper and deeper, so he subtly gave the old man a couple of pointers, allowing him to win one more time.

Once the old man is in a good mood, he will set a difficult challenge to win back what he just lost.

Occasionally, seeing that the old man had lost too many rounds and looked unwell, Jiang Xiaobai would set up a simple game and deliberately lose a couple of rounds.

The game continued back and forth, with the old man sometimes frowning in deep thought, and sometimes slapping the table and laughing heartily, completely immersed in the chessboard.

Before we knew it, a night had passed in the blink of an eye.

As dawn broke, the old man's hearty laughter echoed from inside the wooden house.

"Haha, I've won!"

The old man looked at the son he had eaten, his withered face filled with joy.

Jiang Xiaobai yawned, rubbed his sore eyes, and then started counting seriously on his fingers: "Senior, I won thirty-two times tonight, and you won eighteen!"

"If you subtract the difference between the two sides, I've still won fourteen times!"

"So many?"

The old man's smile froze for a moment.

"yes!"

Jiang Xiaobai waved his hand, saying generously, "However, you only have 100% of your power at most, so I won't take the extra 40%!"

"Also, how about this: you transfer 80% of your power to me first!"

"The remaining 20%... I'll give it to you as a gift, lest you pass it all on to me and cause health problems!"

"real?"

The old man paused, his expression softening with emotion: "You lad, you really are a pure and kind-hearted good boy!"