The work of the Go master

Past photos were displayed one by one in front of the camera. At the age of three, he was playing with chess pieces under the guidance of his father. At the age of five, he was already hitting people in his early childhood education class. With his opponent's loss as the background, he happily made a peace sign in front of the camera. That feeling was so cool.

However, the camera suddenly cuts to an unflattering photo of himself crying loudly after losing a game.

"Ugh! Why is there this photo?!" Harushima Deer blushed with embarrassment, her empress-like makeup instantly ruined.

"I thought it was cute, so I took it... Tears, is there anything more beautiful or more touching to a boy's heart than a girl's tears?" Mrs. Harushima shrugged and explained matter-of-factly.

Inside and outside the camera lens, there was a joyful atmosphere filled with laughter.

See? It really goes well with rice.

Next, Shiro continued to break character, misreading lines from the teleprompter and continuing to talk directly to her mother off-camera. If this were edited into post-production, the effect would definitely be quite good.

Ke Zhiguang's understanding of Harujima Deer has increased significantly, and he has seen her and Harujima Isshin together for the first time.

The man was cynical and talented, but physically weak. However, when he put his hand on his daughter's shoulder and stood behind her, he seemed exceptionally reliable.

In short, Ke Zhiguang became even more curious about the points carried by the Qingdao Deer.

Based on recent observations, one of the criteria for this score is definitely related to the harmony of his relationship with the other party; to put it bluntly, it might be the level of favorability.

However, the favorability rating is by no means the only evaluation criterion for this score; there are definitely other more important factors involved.

Given this complex calculation model, perhaps the term "bond value" would be more appropriate?

Before long, the interview reached its final topic.

"Before we conclude, here's a question: You are currently the strongest female Go player, but your fans firmly believe that you will never be satisfied with just the title of the number one female player. Of the three major titles... which one would you most like to win?"

Faced with this question, Harushima Shika hesitated for a moment.

This issue wasn't addressed in the script.

Her gaze unconsciously met that of Mrs. Harujima.

Mrs. Harushima smiled with relief, as if to encourage her, "Just say what you want in your heart."

Harujima Kashima nodded knowingly.

"If possible, then of course all of them, but of course that's not very realistic."

"If I had to settle for second best, it would definitely be the title of Imperial Chess, but... there are some really good people out there lately, so I probably won't be able to get it anytime soon."

"If we're just talking about hopes, I naturally want the title of Moon Sky."

"Can this be considered a daughter following in her father's footsteps?" the host asked with a smile.

"You can't say that. I just... wanted to see the scenery that my father saw back then."

And so, the interview ended amidst inspiring and uplifting moments.

"LuLu is really amazing, setting such a high goal. As for me, I'd be content as long as I can get Yue Nu," Xiong Ying said, resting her chin on her hand.

Princess, Celestial Palace, and Yue Maiden—these are the three titles for women. With Shireshima Kashina newly appointed as princess, Inoue Hoshiki firmly holding the position of Celestial Palace, only the Yue Maiden has a chance to compete.

Ke Zhiguang stared blankly at the television, which was already in commercial break, for a moment.

"Alright, her interview is over, now it's my turn."

......

......

January 25th, Tokyo remains gloomy and dreary, with freezing rain falling continuously.

The tournament is just around the corner, and the Go academy is now filled with hostile stares, with everyone subconsciously treating each other as rivals.

Ke Zhiguang walked into the media room, where a sofa set up like a symposium was already in front of the cameras. Besides him, unexpectedly, Zhu Daoduan was also present.

"You're also doing this round of interviews?" Bamboo Blade Forging asked in surprise.

"I actually wanted to ask you that too."

A host who looked utterly unscrupulous separated the two: "That's right, this interview is about the two of you. Zhudao 7-dan is a well-known master of rapid chess, and it is said that Ke 6-dan also has a strong grasp of rapid chess. Countless chess fans are looking forward to the exciting sparks between the two of you."

“Ordinary chess fans don’t know how good I am at rapid chess,” Ke Zhiguang said.

"Ah... well, it's just a minor detail." The host choked for a moment, but quickly recovered.

The host asked, "Mr. Bamboo Blade, only two people can advance in this tournament, forming a three-person round-robin with Xuan Yu 9-dan. Do you think you and Ke 6-dan will be the ones to secure these two precious spots?"

The microphone was handed to him, and Zhu Daoduan immediately straightened his voice: "This is of course the only answer. Senior Xuan Yu is one of the goals I have always wanted to catch up with, and Ke Zhiguang is also a rival I value very much. More important than what I think is what I hope is."

Somewhat surprisingly, he remained composed in this situation, without making any overly flamboyant moves.

This also explains why he has always sat in the standard Japanese formal sitting posture, which is reflected in his interviews. Apart from occasional moments of childishness, he is mostly quite humble.

"So, Ke Liudan, as someone who has created legends and myths since your debut, what are your thoughts on this competition?" The host didn't get the expected answer from Zhudao Tuan, so he turned the microphone around.

"I don't quite understand what you mean. Are you asking me what the odds are against them?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

"That's right, this is it!"

nonsense.

That's definitely a 50/50 chance, I often practice one-on-one during training... oops, I'm getting sidetracked.

"The final round should be a game of Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game) between the three of us, but I think Xuan Yuzhi will most likely be the first to be eliminated," Ke Zhiguang said.

As soon as he said this, the camera shutters around him started flashing non-stop, and the host's eyes lit up, realizing that this was a promising talent!

Bamboo swordsmith's expression wavered slightly, but he remained serious and tense.

"In the final match, if I were to face him with bamboo sword, his chances of winning would be about 50%."

"Do you think this will be a closely contested match?"

"Not really, because he has 50%, while I have about 95."

--What?!

At this point, even Zhu Daoduan couldn't remain calm. His expression changed drastically, and the host's jaw dropped for a moment.

"That's it! That's the answer I wanted!"

.....

......

Soon, the editorial headquarters of "Between Black and White" also received the news.

"That's right! Ke Zhiguang is the person we've been searching for all this time!" The editor-in-chief slammed his hand on the table.

"Exactly, exactly. These chess players haven't improved much on the chessboard, but they're all incredibly good at being humble. How many years does it take to produce a player who dares to trash talk before a match?"

However, some people objected: "As a competitive sport, it's not good to make provocative remarks before the match, especially since it's a direct provocation. And we're in the world of Go, so this is somewhat..."

"That's where you're missing the point. The NBA has always considered pre-game trash talk a necessary part of the game, as important as the cheerleaders dancing around during halftime. If there's no trash talk, what's the point of the competition?" The editor-in-chief smiled knowingly.

Is that so?

"Regardless of whether that's the case or not, we need Kezhiguang. The latest issue of the magazine is coming out soon. Have you decided on a theme for this issue's joke column?"

"There hasn't been much news in the Go world lately, so we plan to continue using Princess Harushima as material."

"Hmm, that works, but remember to add the Kezhiguang element... Never mind, give me the pen, I'll write it myself." The editor-in-chief decided to take the plunge.

......

......

On January 29th, Hokkaido was still shrouded in snow and wind.

Saito lay on a grand chair in the rest area of ​​the hot spring resort, flipping through the latest issue of Black and White.

The cover features Ke Zhiguang and Zhu Daotong as the main characters, sitting on opposite sides of a sofa, exuding a strong sense of antagonism between them. The lighting is also just right, making the cover very photogenic.

It has a typical gangster vibe, with a touch of Godfather-like aura.

In addition, the positions of the two are also very important.

Originally, Ke Zhiguang was seated on the right and Zhu Daoduan on the left, but during the cover shoot, the two switched positions at the photographer's instruction, with Ke Zhiguang now on the left.

According to the principles of drama, the person on the left side of the screen naturally has the presence of the protagonist, just like in a game where you move from left to right.

Of course, neither Taketo nor Keji were aware of the photographer's ulterior motives in arranging these seats; otherwise, Taketo would have been so anxious that he would have pulled out the word "bamboo knife" from his name and started slashing people.

"This kid is stirring things up again. If he lived in my time, he'd be beaten to death," Saito said, flipping through the interview section of the magazine.

"That's not necessarily true. If he's really blessed by fate, he might be able to do what Mr. Hanno does, charging into the enemy lines to fight while playing chess."

Beside Saito, a lazy young man responded.

Kitaro Hikazeya, the holder of the Moonlight, is also Saito's training opponent during this period.

Saito chuckled: "I don't know how good he is at fighting, but he's definitely the fastest runner. After taunting his opponent, he can run far away in an instant."

Hikaze continued, "To be able to form a master-disciple relationship with someone who has the potential to challenge for the top position in the game, perhaps this is a gift from fate to you, Saito-sensei."

"It's just a twisted fate, nothing as profound as destiny." Saito's lips always held a faint smile.

Continuing to flip through the magazine, we reached the last page, where the weekly, highly anticipated joke segment had arrived—

There's a rule in hell: if someone makes a mistake on the chessboard and kills their own invincible dragon, the dragon's blood will overwhelm that player. This applies even to ordinary training games.

Once, God went to inspect Hell and found that the blood only reached the legs of the man named Ke Zhiguang. God was very surprised and asked, "You have killed so many people, how come the blood only reaches your legs?"

Koji Mitsuaki replied confidently, "Because I stand on the shoulders of the great female Go player, Harushima Kashima!"

That's the end of the joke.

After reading the joke, Saito gasped, "A gem of civilization!"

Hikazeya nodded in agreement: "A gem of civilization."

"Alright, it's time for us to get started today. Get up." Saito rose from the armchair, instantly switching from a relaxed state to a working state, his body radiating heat from within.

Only those with profound chess skills can see the layer of heat emanating from him, which resembles fighting spirit.

These days of training are not only about chess skills, but he also doesn't forget to strengthen his body, ensuring a strict and rigorous schedule, and almost completely isolating himself from entertainment such as electronic devices.

"He only did seven days of intensive training and beat me in rapid chess. If I do a few months of intensive training, taking the throne shouldn't be a problem, right?" He chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Rather than feeling that there was nothing wrong with me, I was more inspired by Ke Zhiguang's remarkable feat at the time.

He had originally intended to simply disappear and find a talented person to impart his unique understanding of chess moves and strategies, but he never expected that this talented person would, in turn, touch the heart of this sixty-year-old old man with their actions.

Even rotten wood, if sharpened, can be killed with a single stab.