The work of the Go master

Perhaps what he's about to do now is no less significant than what he did back then.

After a period of quiet contemplation, Qiu Shengzheng put down the game controller.

When Ke Zhiguang finished packing his luggage and came out of the room, he found that Qiu Shengzheng had already changed into his travel clothes and had his car keys in his hand.

Ke Zhiguang couldn't help but smile: "I plan to take the bus alone tonight. I'm not in a hurry today."

“You’re not in a hurry, but I am… I’m in a hurry to come back and continue enjoying the last night of my vacation.” Qiu Sheng stubbed out his cigarette and pushed open the door to leave.

......

......

The next morning, May 6th, the sky was clear.

After the first class in the morning, Bai Meng slumped onto her desk like a salted fish, completely devoid of energy.

For most students, the first morning after returning from the holiday looks like this, and this state will last for at least three days, commonly known as "the first three days of school in a daze".

"Bai Meng, something urgent has come up." Shao Gong rushed in from outside the classroom and came to Bai Meng's desk.

"There's nothing else important. The only important thing is that my hair isn't long enough, and it's hard to cut. Can you recommend some shampoo that promotes hair growth?" Bai Meng's cheek was pressed against the table, and her voice sounded like it was leaking air.

"Um... you haven't even started yet, you're not even worthy of the level of heartbreak..."

"Ugh! I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it! Anyway, Hikaru-kun said he's leaving, so I'm heartbroken!" Bai Meng said, rolling her face on the desk like a deer that had turned into a sardine.

"Ke Zhiguang said he only asked for seven days of leave."

Bai Meng suddenly perked up: "Huh? Did Guang-kun come to school?"

“He didn’t come, but I got information from his homeroom teacher that he will be away from school for the next seven days. But this is not a withdrawal or suspension of school, he is just asking for leave.”

"So you mean I still have a chance?" Bai Meng immediately perked up.

"We can't say that. Nobody knows what he'll do after his seven-day break... But one thing I'm sure of is that he'll come to school after his break. That might be our last chance to keep him here," Shao Gong analyzed calmly.

"Keep him here, but how...?"

Just as the two were thinking of a solution, they suddenly heard a conversation coming from a small group of girls next to them.

"Hey, do you know who's been in the spotlight at our school lately?"

"I know him. I think it's a Chinese exchange student named Ke Zhiguang. He's a celebrity now. He became famous in the team competition not long ago, and he even participated in the competition wearing a suit."

"A suit? That must be very expensive. Is he that rich?"

"He probably isn't that rich. Maybe he's just wearing a suit that was retired from his parents."

"Well, I was there that day. His suit fit him perfectly; it didn't look like it was borrowed, it looked like it was custom-made..."

"This level of wealth is just too much!"

Not only are girls' groups talking about him here, but boys' groups next door are also talking about him.

"Damn it, how can there be such an overpowered character? Wasn't he just a nobody not long ago? How did he suddenly become a hero?"

"Yeah, I heard that bastard has already slept with all the female students in the Go club. He was all over the place at the celebration party, with one on each arm. I heard it from my brothers in the Go club."

"Even that very famous female Go player, Harushima Kashima, was won over by him."

"Night Demon! This man is Night Demon!"

"Keep your voice down, keep your voice down. The president of the Go club is in our class... She's looking around right now, and we might have alerted her."

Bai Meng listened blankly to the subtle chatter around her, wondering if it was just her imagination, but it felt like the whole class was talking about Ke Zhiguang.

This situation shouldn't be unique to her class; it should be a topic of discussion throughout the entire school.

"Is Guang-jun already this famous?" Bai Meng asked Shao Gong.

"Yes, he's a star in the whole school now. The teachers are all talking about him, and his posters are even on the school bulletin board. They're life-sized, and a lot of people have signed them... even lipstick marks." Shao Gong hesitated to say the last sentence.

"Don't get excited, it might just be a lipstick mark left by a man..." Shao Gong tried to use a joke to fool Bai Meng, who was currently in a state of emotional shock due to heartbreak.

"I've got it!" Bai Meng suddenly slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, as if her whole body had been powered on.

"I was just joking, don't actually take it seriously!"

Bai Meng leaned forward and suddenly grasped Shao Gong's hands: "I know how to keep Guang Jun here!"

"Hmm? So your method is..." Shao Gong looked at Bai Meng, whose eyes were bright and piercing, with surprise.

"We must mobilize everyone's strength to keep him here, everyone!" Bai Meng loudly repeated the scope of "everyone".

And so, a massive mobilization campaign was launched at Yunjing Middle School.

.....

.....

May 7th was another rainy day. After Golden Week, Japan will enter a two-month rainy season, which has only just begun.

Yasuhiro Yamaoka jolted awake again, and without even putting on his coat, rushed into the courtyard in his slippers.

Sure enough, the person was already waiting in front of the notice board, holding a black umbrella that matched his demeanor.

"You two arrived very early today. This time we can finally compete fairly." Matsunaga Teiko walked out from behind the counter with a poster of today's practice questions, smiling at the two of them.

This time, Yasuhiro Yamaoka finally caught up with the updated questions and stood on the same starting line as Hikaru Koji.

Come on, let's settle this fairly and squarely!

To ensure a fair match between the two, Matsunaga Teiko prepared two posters and distributed them to both of them.

Start the timer!

The two of them simultaneously sank into the depths of thought, their pupils constricting as a multitude of variations flashed through their minds. The chess pieces moved with interplay of light and shadow on the board, creating a scene that, though not a game, was more intense than one!

Both of them started writing at the same time!

"It's done!" Yasuhiro Yamaoka handed in the answer, followed closely by Hikaru Kazuki.

"They're evenly matched; they actually submitted their papers at the same time."

"Accuracy rate is the hard standard," Yamaoka said.

After reviewing it, Matsunaga smiled gently at Yamaoka: "Great, 85 points."

“Then…” Yamaoka’s face lit up with joy.

"But Ke's score is 90."

The joy froze instantly, and the smile gradually disappeared.

Then, Ke Zhiguang turned around, opened his umbrella, and stepped into the rain: "I will come again tomorrow, Miss Song Ning."

“Okay, you say that every day.”

Not long after Koji Hikaru walked away, Yamaoka immediately chased after him into the rain, calling out to his retreating figure: "Wait! You!"

"What is it, Yamaoka Tenno?" Ke Zhiguang asked casually.

Although this was his first formal conversation with Yasuhiro Yamaoka in the past few days, they had exchanged many photos and were already quite familiar with each other in a sense.

"What...what's your name?" he asked in the rain, thankfully the rain wasn't heavy.

"Ke Zhiguang, shouldn't you have known this already?"

"I forgot before, but I'll remember now... Are you really a disciple of Saito Sando, 9th Dan?"

"Yes, I have to rush to class now."

"Goodbye then, I'll be waiting for your challenge anytime!"

"Okay, goodbye."

After watching Ke Zhiguang's back disappear into the distance, Yamaoka turned around and rushed back to Peach Blossom Studio. He ran along the corridor in twos and threes, knocking on the doors of every student with strong Go skills.

"Who is it, so early in the morning!" When the door opened, there were a bunch of sleepy, grumpy faces.

"Quickly! An enemy has appeared at our Peach Blossom Abode! Everyone get moving and intensify your training. I have a feeling that guy will be coming to challenge us soon!"

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Fire of Seven Days

"Calm down, Yamaoka. Have you been obsessed with doing so many problems lately? This isn't some kind of chess hall; it's the dormitory for in-house students of the Go Academy. Who would dare kick this place?" Shintaro Tamura walked out of the room with a toothbrush in his mouth, looking disdainful.

"That person is called Ke Zhiguang. I investigated him before. He seems to be very good at high school team battles, but in the end, he is just an amateur player at the high school level. He can't compare with us professionals."

As she said this, a tall woman in sportswear emerged from the depths of the corridor. She had a rather unflattering single ponytail and her face wasn't conventionally beautiful, but she was exceptionally pretty. Her forehead was covered in sweat from her morning exercise.

Her name is Soma Masako, and she is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Peach Blossom Abode.

The last of the top players, Hideo Morisaki, also arrived. He said in a similarly nonchalant tone, "Besides, we're not even in the same camp. We'll be competing for the few spots available for ranking. Let him kick us if he wants. I'm not going to play along."

"What if he specifically names you and provokes you?" Yasuhiro Yamaoka stared directly at the other person.

“Then I’ll push you out here and say that you and I are evenly matched, and that killing you is the same as killing all of us.” Hideo Morisaki spread his arms, showing no intention of getting involved.

"I have a feeling he will come, and not just to defeat one of us, but to defeat all of us... To put it more bluntly, it could very well be one against many, defeating all four of us at the same time." Yamaoka Yasuhiro recalled the several encounters he had with Koji Hikaru over the past few days, becoming increasingly certain of this answer.

He could sense that Ke Zhiguang really wanted to challenge them, the strong students, but he had never taken the initiative to do so, suppressing his passion in his heart. This was a very restrained approach.

The reason people restrain themselves is often for a greater release. When they come back, they will definitely not fight one by one from bottom to top in a conventional way. They are very likely to fight in a series of mixed attacks!

"That would be even funnier. If he really succeeds in defeating four of us, then the four of us can write our withdrawal papers, and perhaps we'll never be qualified to touch Go again?" Hideo Morisaki maintained his sarcastic tone.

All four of them have secured their first dan ranking and are striving for second dan. The only people in the entire Go world qualified to challenge all four of them at the same time are probably those who are in their prime and have a 7-dan ranking or higher. Even an old 8-dan player might not be enough.

As for Ke Zhiguang, no matter how outstanding his achievements are in high school team battles, he is still just a high school student, which proves that he spent the first half of his life in the classroom and his strength is definitely limited.

"Have you forgotten the legend of Isshin Harushima?" Yasuhiro Yamaoka said in a low voice.

The moment the name was announced, everyone seemed to be struck by a chord, their expressions immediately turning serious.

"When Harujima Isshin first entered this place, he also defeated four of the strongest players in Peach Blossom Village in a one-against-four situation. Moreover, Harujima Isshin was someone who started learning Go very late. Before that, he was just a ceramic worker in a factory in Seto. When you connect him with Koji Mitsuaki, don't you think it's another legend being born?" Yamaoka Yasuhiro said.

Faced with Yasuhiro Yamaoka's relentless pressure, Hideo Morisaki finally relented: "I know, I know. Anyway, I've been playing video games for quite a while now, so it's time to work harder on my chess skills."

And so, the pressure of involution suddenly struck the entire Peach Blossom Studio, and yet another place was mobilized.

.....

.....

On the evening of May 9th, the lights in the building were turned off one by one.