The work of the Go master

Ke Zhiguang used the intercom built into the hot spring area to call the front desk and asked a waiter to come and take the person to rest.

As a result, the place became a private event hosted by Ke Zhiguang.

Ke Zhiguang measured the temperature of the Emperor's Pool.

Hmm, let's forget about it for now. Let's see if we can secretly pour some snow in later to lower the temperature before soaking it.

Ke Zhiguang is probably certain that since each hot spring here can reveal something, it proves that this place is also related to Go. It is very likely that a group of high-ranking people in the Go world created a professional tourist destination in Hokkaido.

That makes sense. These people go to Hawaii in the summer, so they naturally need to find a different place to relax in the winter. The hot spring resorts of Hokkaido are a great choice. When it comes to enjoying themselves, these guys, who are all over fifty, are just as good as the young people.

It seems like this trip to Hokkaido will be full of unexpected events.

Ke Zhiguang's mind was now filled with the thought of quickly soaking in the water and enjoying himself. Even with his strong constitution against the cold, he couldn't take it after being exposed to the air for so long while wearing a layer of cloth.

He chose a pool of water with the effect of "purifying the fatigue of the past year" and soaked in it.

"call--"

With a satisfying sigh, half of his body was submerged in the pool, and a refreshing sensation flowed through every pore.

The bottom of the pool was made of small, round black pebbles. Stepping on them sent a scalding, electric-like sensation through my body, and my fatigue level dropped to zero in a tangible way.

While a cozy little house can help relieve fatigue, it only applies to physical fatigue and aches and pains in the back and waist.

The weariness deep in one's heart can only be relieved through travel and vacation.

Suddenly, the sounds of fighting came from the women's bath area next door.

The pool at Kezhiguangpao is right at the edge of the fence.

"Ha, Lulu, I didn't expect to run into you here! You even brought a friend!"

"Ugh! Why are you two here?! Kuma Sakura, Takami!"

"Professor Seinoka came to attend the meeting here and brought the two of us along as well."

"That old woman came too? Where is she?"

"Master's words weren't spoken in this hotel, but in a more secluded and luxurious place, discussing important matters with a group of important figures... By the way, it's not very nice of you to talk about someone else's master, that old woman, take this, LuLu!"

Then came the sound of splashing water and the sweet shouts of girls.

Hmm...

The scene must be difficult to describe in a short time.

With the help of the X-ray vision cheat, Ke Zhiguang can see a bunch of symbol boxes on the other side of the fence. Although he loses the ability to see the warning colors, he can still see the item display, so he can also use it as an FPS X-ray vision cheat.

Damn it! Upgrade my wallhack from an FPS-style cheat to a Sims-style cheat!

On the other side of the fence, you can see a string of question marks touching the deer all over.

Since I defeated Harushima Kashima once before, the items she dropped were successfully displayed, so I was able to pinpoint her location clearly.

"Hey, it looks like the men's bath is next door. Shall we peek in?"

"Go away, go away! How could you do something so shameful?"

"What's shameful about this? What's truly shameful is men peeping into women's bathhouses. What's wrong with us women peeping into men's bathhouses?"

Suddenly another cold voice interrupted: "If we can spy over there, it means the other side can spy over here too. Anyway, I'm going to soak first, you guys can do as you please."

Bai Meng said, "Wait! If that's the case, there are so few people here, so it's very likely that only Guang Jun is on the other side. And if Guang Jun is alone, he'll inevitably lower his moral standards. Could it be that he's right here...?"

"It's no use. There's so much steam in here, even if he peeks over the wall, it won't work," Shao Gong said. "And what's with all the excitement? Wrap your towel properly!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Bai Meng was repeatedly scolded.

"Xiao Guang, are you over there?" Of all the people, only Shui Cheng asked that question.

"I'm here."

With just that one greeting, the other side immediately erupted in chaos.

"You, you, you... if you were here, you should have said so sooner!"

"To be honest, you didn't ask me if I was here or not," Ke Zhiguang calmly replied.

"Hey, Comrade Xinxing, you know what? Last time at the Luluzi Women's Cup, it was because I was rushing to see you..."

"Damn it, shut up, you stupid bear! Eagle Beauty, come and lend a hand too."

"coming."

Various voices overlapped, and things became chaotic over there.

Speaking of which... I feel like the number of women around me is getting bigger and bigger? Two more have arrived?

It's okay, we already have a forging brother, the gender ratio is balanced.

Kojiro already knows the identities of the two new women: Otto Kuma Sakura and Horie Takami, the famous Cold War couple in the Go world. These two were the ones who were snowballing at each other in the courtyard before.

Their teacher is none other than the 30-year-old "Princess," Kiko Seinoka. Currently, she and Harushima Kaka are the only two female 9-dan players in the Go world.

However, Shinohara Harushima, a 9th dan, does not hold real power, while Seinoka Kiko, a 9th dan, carries extremely high weight, even higher than that of a typical veteran 9th dan.

After all, she held the highest title for women for thirty years. Even if she was only called a princess, she was undoubtedly an empress in reality.

As we can learn from Xiong Ying's words, besides this hotel, there is an even more luxurious hot spring resort nearby, where a group of ninja masters are holding a meeting.

It's probably some kind of year-end team building activity.

A biting wind swept across the roof, causing the accumulated snow to fall restlessly.

However, this was only the first wave. Soon after, the second and third waves of cold wind blew up, and the girls on the other side of the fence immediately shrank into the hot spring, instantly falling silent and beginning to enjoy themselves quietly.

Something unusual must be amiss, and Ke Zhiguang, a seasoned metaphysician, keenly sensed this.

One of the unique features of Otaru is that it is not windy, so the sudden increase in cold wind at this moment seems quite unnatural.

Perhaps, something strange is about to appear again.

......

......

Not far from Otaru City, a luxurious resort is built next to a natural hot spring.

This place has been booked out by a group of chess players.

Besides Hawaii, this is also one of the groups' strongholds, but it is not as popular as Hawaii.

After all, you can still go to Hawaii even in winter, since it's located in the tropics.

As people get older, they tend to want to go to warm places. After all, there is a line in many literary works that says, "He couldn't survive that winter," as if winter and cold are naturally associated with death.

Today is their year-end gathering. According to past practice, it's just a simple gathering without any meetings. The meetings were already over on the beach.

However, due to an emergency, a meeting had to be squeezed into the rest schedule this time.

Their meeting today revolved around two people, Yagami Kunikyo and Koshikawa Tatsumi, although neither of them were present.

More precisely, it revolves around the conflict between them.

Chapter Six: Council of Elders

Under the snowy night, in a hot spring town shrouded in mist, a group of elderly people over fifty years old lay soaking in the hot spring. With the help of special medicinal ingredients, the pool water turned a soft turquoise green.

There were 23 people present, all of whom were veteran 9-dan players. Although their skill level may have been much lower than at their peak, they were all highly respected and held extremely important decision-making power.

Although they are advanced in years, the vigor they exude is no less than that of strong young people, as if some kind of magic has made them all much younger.

The sound of wooden clogs approached from afar; it was the unique clatter of wooden clogs on the hot spring floor, revealing a distinctive Zen-like quality.

Upon hearing the sound of wooden clogs, some of the ninth-dan players who were chatting with each other immediately stopped laughing and became serious.

Before long, the figure of a woman in a kimono appeared in the mist at the edge of the hot spring, and finally came to the front of the group.

Kiko Seinoka, as always, wore a noble and simple white kimono. Although she was surrounded by a group of men taking a bath, it did not affect her empress aura.

Moreover, mixed-gender bathing areas are usually frequented by elderly men and women, so no one would feel shy about seeing the other's skin.

"I'm glad that 23 people can still attend today's meeting. I will be the one to chair this meeting. The topic is how to reconcile and resolve the conflict between Mr. Mishirogi and Mr. Ryuza." Kiko Seinoka bowed slightly, her voice clear and distinct, without a trace of the senility often associated with old age.

Thanks to her princess title over the years, she looks very young. Her explanation to the outside world is the same as that of Yagami Kunikyo: she takes good care of herself and receives care from some medical institutions. There is often speculation that the two of them may have received care at the same institution.

As for the real reason behind this, everyone here knows it perfectly well.

For example, the hot spring they are in now is called Dragon Turtle Pond by Yu Chengqi. Long-term soaking can rejuvenate people and make them feel young again, and can even prolong their lifespan.

Every winter, a team-building activity here is an essential part of our routine, and spending an evening here is a must.

Aside from them, only a few big capitalists and councilors who knew the relevant secrets and had good relations with the chess world were qualified to bring their families and spend a night here.

“Not long ago, Yabu Ruijin, whom Mr. Mishiroki was grooming as his successor, fell into the demonic path under the influence of the Dragon Throne. This is intolerable to Mishiroki, and we must retaliate. I would like to hear your opinions on this matter,” she said.

"The conflict between Oshiro and Ryuzao has a long history. The former is a calm madman, and the latter is a fanatical madman. Although both of them are madmen in terms of their major subjects, what they pursue is absolutely opposite. The Yabu incident was just the fuse." A senior 9-dan player leaning against a rock by the spring, sipping his wine, said drunkenly.

“That’s right. If we had to choose sides between these two, I firmly believe that most people would still choose Yu Chengqi’s side. Isn’t there a saying in Hollywood screenwriting classes that you shouldn’t be afraid to portray the protagonist as a villain? The screenwriter just needs to create an even more evil character.” Another 9-dan player added.

But he was quickly refuted: "That's not necessarily true. I admit that a large part of the prosperity of our chess world today is due to Yagami Kunikyo, but can't you see that he definitely has a grander and more evil conspiracy? I'd rather believe that everything Dragon Throne did was just to sabotage his plan."

The meeting did not start smoothly; instead of discussing solutions, everyone was immediately faced with the issue of choosing sides.

"Let's vote by raising our hands. The Imperial Palace Chessboard, the Dragon Throne, will each select one person. You can abstain... The vote begins." Kiko Seinoka said, following the natural flow of the atmosphere.

"Raise your hand if you support Mr. Yu Chengqi."

"Those who support Mr. Dragon Throne, please raise your hands."

After two rounds of raising hands, seven people supported the Imperial City Chess, four people supported the Dragon Throne, and the rest chose to abstain.

She herself chose to support Yu Chengqi.

“It seems that neither of you are very popular, but I think that if we are rational, every one of you who abstained from voting will eventually choose to support Mr. Oshirogi’s side, right?” said Hiiroka.

No one could deny it.

“Then let’s approach this from Mr. Oshiro’s perspective, and resolve their conflict within that framework,” said Hiiroka.

"For chess players, if they want to resolve conflicts, competing in a game is naturally the only way. In this situation, following the ancient method and deciding the winner with a ten-game match is the best option, isn't it?"

"The ten-game match between Yagami Kunikyo and Koshikawa Tatsumi—if this news gets out, it will cause a sensation in the entire Go world for a long time. Major TV stations will fight tooth and nail for the broadcasting rights to this ten-game match, and sponsor invitations will come in like snowflakes."

Kiko Seinoka shook her head: "No, in Oshiro Ki's plan, there is no option for a ten-game match. The holders of the major titles cannot have direct conflicts in the game. This is a rule that Mr. Oshiro Ki himself set. Even if it is absolutely necessary, he does not want to break this rule."