The work of the Go master

Yabu Eijin wanted to retort, saying that he was not afraid at all and was not worried about revealing his game records, but he couldn't find the words for a moment. In the end, he nodded: "In short, my task is to severely damage his morale in the professional qualification match."

“Yes, we can use every means possible to provoke him before the match, make him angry, and then push him even further into the abyss by defeat.” As he said this, Suga Seiichi’s fingers twitched.

Back then, Saito did the same thing, rudely provoking Suga Seiichi as a junior disciple, forcing him to accept the seven-game match challenge. In the end, he was completely devastated when he lost all of them, and it took him several years to recover.

"To inflict a crushing defeat on an opponent in an important match can be enough to frustrate them for years, especially for young people who haven't experienced much hardship. To be dealt a blow when they are at the peak of their career is a bitter pill to swallow." Suga Seiichi looked at Suga Seiichi with the eyes of someone entrusting him with a mission.

Suga Seiichi nodded and accepted the mission.

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and a waiter walked in and whispered something in Suga Seiichi's ear.

After listening, Suga Seiichi said to Yabu Eijin, "Mr. Oshirogi's men are waiting for you outside. Go and see him."

Chapter Forty-Eight: Capsules (Dads, please subscribe!)

Yabu Ruijin went outside; it was still drizzling.

A young man in a dark gray suit, with a smile on his face, was waiting under the eaves.

Yabu recognized this man; he was known as Oshiro Ki's butler. Oshiro Ki himself rarely appeared in public these days, only responding to the media and attending Go events when necessary. All other miscellaneous matters were handled by this young man.

"Hello, Yabu-kun. It's been a while. You've gotten even stronger." The young man extended his hand.

Yabu hesitated for a moment before grasping the hand in return: "Thank you for the compliment."

"So? Are you confident you can pass this three-stage test that was specially prepared for you?" the young man asked.

“Of course I’m absolutely certain,” Yabu said confidently.

“But your hands don’t say that.” The young man grinned, the background a hazy, rainy night.

Yabu quickly withdrew his hand, ending what appeared to be a polite handshake.

With just a handshake, the young man seemed to have sensed some of the unease in Yabu's heart.

"Are you saying I'm scared?" Yabu frowned.

"No, I didn't sense any fear in your heart. I just felt that you were a little agitated. A person who is truly confident of victory would not feel this agitated... Did Suga 9-dan say something he shouldn't have?" the young man asked kindly, like a concerned psychologist.

After thinking for a moment, Yabu finally asked, "Who exactly is Koji Mitsuki?"

"As expected, Suga Ninth Dan revealed the existence of Kazumitsu to you. Actually, I had already warned Suga Ninth Dan that you are the kind of person who becomes stronger the more confident you are. You are strongest when you know nothing, but once you know that someone's strength can threaten you, you will be disturbed." The young man seemed to have anticipated everything. "Of course, I can also understand Suga Ninth Dan. Saito's disciple is right in front of him. He can't wait to take revenge, so naturally he can't help but hope that you can be careful of him. I hope you can also understand him."

"Is Ke Zhiguang really that strong?" Yabu asked.

"Yes, he even played a game of chess with Master Shixin, giving him a three-piece handicap."

"Did he win?" Upon hearing the name Shi Xin, Yabu became more anxious.

"Well, the result was quite subtle, neither winning nor losing..." the young man said. "But afterwards, Master Shixin's evaluation of him was higher than ever before."

Yabu lowered his head and clenched his fists.

"Don't worry too much about it. Although Master Shixin thinks highly of him, Master Yuchengqi thinks highly of you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to set up this third-dan spot. It was prepared for you."

"Even now, does Mr. Oshiro still think highly of me?" Yabu asked.

"Of course, even knowing how powerful Ke Zhiguang is, he still hopes you can win. You are the one he truly values."

The sound of the rain became ethereal and serene, and Yabu wavered slightly, his agitation subsiding considerably.

Yes, he was the one who was appreciated by Yu Chengqi.

Among players of the same caliber, he shouldn't lose to anyone, regardless of whether they are Saito's disciple or someone highly praised by the monk Ishishin.

"Hmm, you seem to have cheered up a lot. Please accept this." The young man handed over a small item, which Yabu accepted without hesitation.

Upon receiving it, I discovered that it was actually a type of Chinese medicine pill, sealed in plastic like a capsule.

An ominous aura emanated from the small pill.

This wasn't the first time Yabu had felt this ominous feeling. When he toured Suga Seiichi's collection room with him, Yabu could also sense this unease from some of the antique-like objects.

Suga Seiichi said that these were all ominous objects, and that they were more like sealed here than stored here.

"What exactly is this?" Yabu asked, shaking the medicine pouch in his hand with a troubled expression.

"Do you know a famous story? Honinbo Dochi reversed Yasui Senkaku's famous game." The young man asked with his harmless smile, as if he were only offering a piece of chocolate.

Yabu certainly remembered this anecdote; it was an anecdote full of metaphysical implications.

Honinbo Dochi was sixteen years old that year. He was competing with Yasui Senkaku for the title of Meijin of the Go world. In the first game of the ten-game match, Honinbo Dochi's performance plummeted after he took the field due to an upset stomach the day before. By move 190, he was already in despair. Under the pretext of going to the toilet, he ran outside, knelt down, and prayed to the heavens with tears streaming down his face, begging for divine intervention.

After the prayers, the mystical phenomenon truly appeared. As soon as I returned to the chessboard, I immediately made a hidden, brilliant move, and then another brilliant move at the end. With two super moves, I turned the game around. The process was quite unbelievable, as if I had been possessed by a deity after returning to the chessboard.

"Are you saying that Honinbo Dochi was able to reverse the situation by eating this?" Yabu asked, his voice filled with distrust.

"I don't know about that. I'm just using this as an example so that you can understand better. This is a gift that Lord Yu Chengqi specially prepared for you. After you consume it, you will be in peak condition for two hours."

The young man continued, "Don't think that this is because Yu Chengqi doesn't trust you. It's precisely because Yu Chengqi believes in your abilities... and believes in you at your best."

"Is this really just a matter of adjusting one's condition?" Yabu remained skeptical.

"Of course, do you really think there's anything in this world that can directly improve someone's chess skills out of thin air?" The young man shook his head and smiled, but then changed the subject, "Of course... there is, for example, the owner of the Black Market. The demonic dragon behind him was bestowed by Lord Yu Chengqi, but that kind of thing is extremely harmful to chess players. How could Lord Yu Chengqi possibly give you such a poisonous substance that's like drinking poison to quench thirst?"

"Is this medicine safe?"

"It's absolutely safe. The only side effect is that you'll be very irritable and dizzy for the next week... But so what? If you can use it to get a third-tier spot, you'll be happy for the whole year to come."

Yabu held the pill in his hand, his heart filled with complex emotions.

"Is this really not cheating?" he finally asked.

“Yabu-kun, you have too many concerns. Adjusting your condition is something every player does; it’s just that some people can’t reach their best condition. Even if they do, it certainly doesn’t count as cheating. Besides, you can’t bring the things that would actually be considered cheating into the competition.”

After saying these words, the young man turned and left. His purpose in coming here was to deliver the pill to Yabu.

"Of course, you can choose to discard it and prove with your own strength that you can defeat Koji Mitsuhiro. If you really make such a decision, Lord Miyuki will support you." He said after walking a distance, his voice reaching Yabu's ears through the rain.

Yabu hesitated for a long time at the store entrance before finally deciding to hand the pill to the trash can.

But I involuntarily pulled my hand back.

In the end, I put it back in my pocket.

Chapter 49 Haha, you didn't expect me to be back too, did you?

In the evening, Ke Zhiguang rode his little bicycle back to Taohuazhai.

He didn't know how to ride a bicycle, but some of his fellow Daoists did, so according to Fat Tiger's First Law, what's yours is mine, and Ke Zhiguang naturally learned to ride one as well.

The bicycle was also taken from a fellow Daoist; after three people swiped their cards, we finally managed to get a 3.2% off coupon.

It has to be said that after renting the place, life became financially strained again, but fortunately, I managed to collect a lot of strange items, such as Gundam models, collector's edition Lego sets, indescribable books, and indescribable videotapes. I resold them all to fellow enthusiasts who needed them, and I was able to recoup a considerable amount of money.

Fellow Daoists, you are the best.

Upon seeing Ke Zhiguang enter, Song Ning nodded and asked, "How did today's graduation class go?"

"We won, and we even had a small thank-you banquet for our teachers... Miss Song Ning, how did you know I was graduating today?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

“I’ve heard a rumor that experienced 9-dan players stop coaching their students a few days before the ranking tournament starts, and then just focus on maintaining their form for the next few days. If I’m not mistaken, there should be similar thank-you banquets all over Tokyo today,” said Matsunaga Teiko.

The quietness of Peach Blossom Studio today also reflects this point. In the past, when this group of people heard Ke Zhiguang braking his bicycle outside the door, they would all mobilize and quickly crawl into the bedroom, resolutely refusing to open the door.

Only the Four Heavenly Kings had enough resources to form a "Combat Headquarters Against Ke Zhiguang" to deal with him. They also recruited a group of other students from other colleges. A bunch of them were playing Ke Zhiguang's chess scores over and over again, and every night a warrior would be chosen to challenge him.

Although they said that everyone would be competitors in the future and it was best not to cooperate now, Ke Zhiguang's arrival did indeed arouse their fighting spirit.

The catfish effect, collective involution.

Although the term "involution" doesn't really apply to the competitive arena, there's no way around it; using the term itself is exhilarating, and we can't do without it.

"So what are your expectations for the upcoming ranking tournament?"

"Naturally, we should take the third spot and eliminate the person who was originally going to get it," Ke Zhiguang said matter-of-factly.

Upon hearing the word "originally," Song Ning covered her mouth and chuckled: "Looks like I've learned some incredible inside information. I hope I won't be silenced."

"That's even less likely. As long as I take it down, this inside story will be invalid, and you won't have to be bothered."

"That makes perfect sense, but there's one thing I have to remind you of: you were really careless."

"What did I do again?" Ke Zhiguang subconsciously added the word "again".

I always feel like I'm doing something careless every day, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

"With a teacher like Saito 9-dan already guiding you, you don't really need to play with so many classmates, as that would lead to your game records being leaked."

"Anyone interested in a game record like mine that hasn't even been ranked yet?"

"You're a seeded player capable of reaching higher ranks, so naturally other seeded players will be interested in your game records."

Upon hearing this, Koji Mitsuaki immediately understood, as Saito had revealed similar inside information to him.

"I'm so sorry, I should have reminded you about this sooner. Now it's almost the last few days." Song Ning clasped his hands together in prayer.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, the chess I play here is more experimental. Let them do their research if they want," Ke Zhiguang said nonchalantly.

Hmm... he'd forgotten exactly what level he was at in chess here. It seemed he often played recklessly, occasionally making a few careless mistakes. If the people who studied these chess records really took this as his true skill level, that would be wonderful.

Regarding the issue of throwing away games, Saito also mentioned that throwing away a few games in normal times can help accumulate good luck for a crucial match.

She also cited female Go players as an example, saying that although girls are generally considered to be more meticulous, when it comes to Go, they can make incredibly difficult mistakes at crucial moments, and the outcome will not be decided until the very last moment.

He also specifically mentioned Harushima Kaoru, who is the representative of the "Everyday Ladle-Making" group.

Hmm... it does seem to fit her impulsive personality quite well.

Walking through the corridor and back into the room, a restorative feeling, as if immersed in a fountain of life, washes over me.

After a long period of hard work, the furniture here is almost excessively complete, from small items like weighing scales, wind chimes, and music boxes to large items like air conditioners, color TVs, and washing machines. Many fellow cultivators' first reaction upon entering here is, "Are you really that rich?"

To this, Ke Zhiguang could only cough and say, "Thanks to everyone's blessings."

On the desk, besides a chessboard, there were also newspaper clippings, each clipping corresponding to a person.

These are all powerful figures holding titles. Placing them on the chessboard is not to worship them as idols, but rather to serve as an assassination list.

Leaving aside the annual Rising Star Battle and the more casual Dream Paradise, the remaining five titles are the real focus.

The title of "Famous General" was held by Xuan Yuzhi, a young man in his early twenties who was at the height of his fame.

The title "Dosaku" is held by Nishi Chiaki, who is 35 years old this year. He has blond hair like a male escort and gives people a weirdly disgusting handsome feeling. He often appears in various entertainment sections and has also acted in movies. He is a very free person.