The work of the Go master

Since he's developed all sorts of strange syndromes, based on his understanding of Harujima Kaoru, she'll only develop even more. She might spend the whole night contemplating life under the moon, or she might directly rally her entire group of girlfriends for a pillow fight to relieve the tension of the night before the battle... Of course, a pillow fight is fun for a moment, but it'll leave you completely exhausted in the morning.

“Great strategic composure, but I have to warn you… today’s Harushima Deer isn’t so easy to deal with.” Zero mischievously raised the corner of his eye, his eyebrows twitching as if Tom was plotting something against Jerry.

Ling was actually at Qingdaolu's place last night, and only came to Kezhiguang's place this morning, all to convey this exciting pre-battle mood.

"I'll wait and see."

After breakfast, Ke Zhiguang went downstairs, where a luxurious black car was already waiting to take him to his destination.

The finals were held at Rikugien Garden, a Japanese garden that is over 300 years old. A magnificent vertical cherry tree, 15 meters high and nearly 20 meters in diameter, stands in the center of the garden. At this moment, it is presented in its most magnificent form in front of Ke Zhiguang, like a cherry blossom waterfall.

The chessboard is placed among these layers of cherry blossom branches, as sacred as an altar.

How beautiful!

Surrounded by cameras, Ke Zhiguang walked down the red carpet into the cherry blossom-colored waterfall, sat on the chessboard, and the warm sunlight overhead was broken by the branches and leaves, casting soft and scattered light spots. As the spring breeze blew, his ears were filled with rustling notes.

On the other side of the chessboard, Shireshima Deer had not yet arrived.

Ke Zhiguang suddenly remembered the first official match, in the upper floors of the hotel where the New Star Wars took place, it was the same, one side waiting for the other to enter.

Now the roles seem to have reversed; he's the one waiting for the other person to push open the door.

So how will the other party approach this?

Just as this question arose in Ke Zhiguang's mind, the wind blew again, and the fallen cherry blossoms all over the ground swirled up, forming a sea of ​​waves.

All attention was unconsciously drawn to the other end of the cobblestone path, where an arched wooden bridge led to a gurgling stream.

She arrived, striding confidently with an air no less impressive than the blooming cherry blossoms.

"That...that is...?" Someone stared in that direction, mouth agape in surprise. After a long pause, they set up their camera and frantically pressed the shutter button.

Amidst a flurry of bright camera shutters, the deer of Harushima entered the public eye like a proud empress stepping into the hall of her coronation.

What she was wearing... was actually a wedding dress?

A white gauze dress came into everyone's view, like a white divine sword cutting through the cherry blossom tide's circular formation, advancing proudly towards the center of the formation.

Six-centimeter crystal high heels propelled her forward, also enhancing her imposing presence. A large group of her girlfriends surrounded her, helping to hold onto her excessively long skirt.

Everyone wore makeup, and their expressions were no longer silly as usual, but solemn, as if they were fighting for some sacred moment.

“You…you all…” Ke Zhiguang subconsciously stood up, looking at the group of best friends slowly walking towards him…or perhaps a wedding procession, but more like a knight order.

"See? This is my resolve." Shizuka Harushima breathed softly, one hand covering her rapidly beating chest, the other pointing at Koji Hikaru. White lace patterns were wrapped around her arms and palms, revealing only the fingers that needed to hold the chess pieces steady.

The two sides stared at each other for a while, and then the surrounding media and referee teams took another step—applause! Crazy applause! Clap clap clap clap!

No need for further explanation, everyone understands. Tomorrow... no, this afternoon, this news will spread throughout the streets and alleys, letting everyone know this good news.

"Quick! Get a priest over here; you never know when he might come in handy!"

"Just turn the entire church upside down, and when the game ends, change the background music to a wedding mass!"

"One day, Ke Zhiguang and Qingdaolu..."

"Tell your mother's jokes! At a time like this, you're still telling them!" The person was about to speak when he was silenced.

The falling cherry blossoms danced in everyone's palms like raindrops, and the whole world seemed to be lifted up by this magnificent cherry blossom rain, every frame a perfect picture.

"I finally mustered up the courage to put on this outfit," said Harushima Kashima, pressing her hand to her chest, her eyes becoming exceptionally ethereal and serene.

Just two days after the semi-finals ended, with only one step left to the finals, she finally chose to uncover the brilliant plan left by her father.

The first sentence above is: "Put on your wedding dress! And bring your bridesmaids, then you'll be invincible!"

Harushima Kaoru imagined herself standing in front of a crowd, blushing and furious, wearing a wedding dress, and felt it was extremely unreliable. But then she thought about it, and realized that she had a team, and everyone would support her decision and protect her as she moved forward. In the end, the plan was adopted.

Yesterday, they spent the whole day putting together their outfits, and in the end, they simply bought a complete set from a wedding dress shop, enough to equip the entire team.

Such a sacred and precious thing, only after actually wearing it did Harushima Deer discover that it didn't make her feel embarrassed or ashamed at all, but only made her stronger.

To perfectly reveal one's inner thoughts and determination, that honesty!

“Mr. Hikaru, did you see that? This is our power! How about that? Are you scared out of your wits?” Hoshino put her hand on Harujima Shika's shoulder and waved her fist at Hikaru.

“There’s a rule in the Go world that female Go players don’t necessarily have to wear formal attire during matches, as long as they look good. If I remember correctly, there is such a rule, right?” Xingcai popped up from the other side.

"Go for it, Little Deer, your mothers all support you!" Bai Meng appeared behind Qingdao Deer and pushed her down.

Normally, if someone were to verbally take advantage of her mother, Harujima would probably lash out in a tirade, but at this moment, she remained largely unmoved, her eyes reflecting only the image of Keiji.

Before the game even began, the intense intent had already surged forth, causing the entire cherry blossom tree to sway.

As the referee, Hikaze Tani arrived at the match venue and stood between the two players to announce:

"This is the final game of the Moon Sky title match. It is a single-elimination game, and the champion will be decided in one game."

“No objections,” Harujima Shika and Keiji Hikaru said simultaneously.

"The rules of this game are those of medieval Go. White moves first, places stones, returns the head of the stones, and does not give komi," Hikazeya added.

"No matching?" Someone in the crowd was surprised by the last rule. "Isn't that equivalent to giving someone a head start? If you can guess the first player, the advantage would be enormous!"

“But the odds of guessing correctly are fifty-fifty for both sides,” Nikko replied naturally.

Although that's what they say, it inevitably contains some blatant lies. If it were really done that way, Go would become a game of flipping a coin, with whoever goes first winning.

However, this game is an exception. Everyone knows that Ke Zhiguang's current skill level is already enough to give him a head start... just like Shi Xin.

"Then why use the medieval Go tournament format?" the man asked again.

"Because the title is called Yue Tian, ​​which is taken from Huang Longshi, the Go Saint in the Middle Ages, this game must be played according to the rules of the Middle Ages."

This is still blatant lying. Every previous Moon Battle had a normal format. It's just that a few months ago, before the final Ragnarok began, I took some time to visit Sunwind Valley and asked for their help... Sunwind Valley agreed.

After thinking for a while, Ke Zhiguang decisively nodded: "No objection."

"no disagreement."

"The match will begin in five minutes. Please take your seats."

His voice sounded like a wedding officiant.

Moments later, Harushima Deer's friends and family were forcibly cleared out of the area. They held up a sign in the distance that read "Go Harushima Deer!" and included a heart shape.

Beneath the enormous cherry blossom tree, Harushima Shika and Keiji Hikaru sat facing each other across a chessboard. Thin, gauze-like cherry blossom petals kissed the chessboard. Before the game even began, the atmosphere had already seeped into everyone's hearts.

They were both reminiscing, and they could see each other reminiscing in each other's eyes. As they began to reminisce, they also began to think about the future.

"So you already know how I'm going to defeat you?" Harujima asked calmly, still dressed in her wedding gown, which looked as if it were covered with pure silver inlays.

"If I think about it, it shouldn't be intense love that's holding me back, right?" Ke Zhiguang responded with the same force.

Harushima Kashiwagi's only way to win is obvious: she has to win the coin toss and get the white pieces. Even if this condition is met, she has only just obtained the ticket to enter the battlefield, and things will become even more difficult afterward.

“First of all, using the rules of returning the first move in medieval Go, your strange 3-3 point tactic will not work,” said Shika Harushima.

Ke Zhiguang nodded, understanding the meaning behind those words.

The "returning the head" rule is the most distinctive rule in medieval Go. When the game is over, if all your stones are connected into one large group, while the opponent's territory is divided into two groups, then the opponent has to give you two points as a penalty.

If you have one piece and the other person has three, then place four pieces, and so on.

This rule is based on the fundamental principle that for a group of stones to live, it must have two eyes. In other words, a living group of stones must be able to surround at least two eyes. In other words, these two eyes are for the purpose of making the group live and cannot be counted as points.

This is why players in medieval Go often chose to place their pieces on the outside, preferring to be attacked in a vulnerable position rather than have them cut off and then survive on the spot.

“If you play the 3-3 point, it will inevitably be cut off in the corner of the board, resulting in a loss of two points.” Harushima Shika looked directly at Koji Hikaru.

Two points may sound like a small number, but it carries significant weight in a game. Even if two players are evenly matched, they might only win by half a point after giving it their all. Two points is enough to lose four games.

“Then… I’m bound to get the white pieces,” Harushima Shika said.

"It's a 50/50 chance. Even if I wanted to help you, there's nothing I could do."

She shook her head: "No, I will definitely find it, I definitely will..."

As Harushima Shika said these words, she subconsciously clenched the two Go stones in her hand. These were the two Go stones that Isshin had casually picked out of the Go box before his death, and Harushima Shika was now feeling the power of these two Go stones.

Ke Zhiguang did not respond, but he could see the determination and faith in the other person's eyes.

So-called faith is often difficult to prove in terms of its existence, but it is precisely because it cannot be proven that believing in it is meaningful.

If it can be proven, then one only needs to "believe" immediately, so what is the point of faith?

"Time's up, the match begins." Hikazeya announced, and everyone around fell silent.

Koji Hikaru reached into the chess box. He was the one who would draw pieces in this game, while Harushima Kashiwa was the one who would guess first.

However, just as Ke Zhiguang was about to make his move, Qingdaolu also made her move—

She flipped her hands to the sides of her head, her fingers deftly moving, smoothly removing the two ponytails, leaving a trail like a shooting star from her fingertips.

At that moment, a powerful wind arose, blowing her unbound ponytail into countless strands of hair. Petals fluttered among her hair like butterflies. Only then did Ke Zhiguang finally realize that Qingdaolu had actually been growing her hair for a long time. The moment it was all loose, Ke Zhiguang's entire field of vision was focused solely on her.

This scene was visually striking to everyone, especially to Ke Zhiguang, who was sitting right in front of the other person.

When Ke Zhiguang came to his senses, he realized that the guessing game was already over.

He played two pieces, and his opponent also played two pieces... Guessing an even number, correct.

After all, the twin-tailed character design of Harujima Deer had been imprinted in Ke Zhiguang's mind for a long time, so when it was revealed, Ke Zhiguang's heart was also quietly moved... To put it bluntly, he was hit by her cuteness.

Sure enough, I forget which great person said it, but all treaties are meant to be torn apart, rules are meant to be broken, glasses are meant to be taken off, and ponytails... naturally await the moment when their seal is broken.

Ke Zhiguang had already decided that if he really lost this round, he would say that he was defeated by the beauty of the other party.

Another beam of light shot out from Shizuka's fingertips, this time placing a piece. Behind her fingertips was her unwavering expression and her long, beautiful black hair.

The second line of the advice is: "Choose the right moment, let your ponytail down, and conquer him with your beauty!"

Chapter Five: Let me teach you how to use underhanded tactics!

The game begins!

Two storms raged across the chessboard, and each piece descended from the sky with the force of the wind!

Although Ke Zhiguang's vision of the chess piece effects has weakened considerably since the mission ended, he can still vaguely see the force splashing on the chessboard, each move carrying a fiery temperature, like the pulse of a heartbeat.

Outside the game, a large group of female Go players flocked to the commentary booth, successfully pushing Naosaka off the stage. Hikazeya tactfully made room for them.

"Alright! Today we'll talk about chess!" Xingjia exclaimed enthusiastically.

Inside the chess academy, everyone carried small stools and sat in front of the television, staring blankly at the various celebratory scenes on the screen. Many channels that didn't usually broadcast chess matches also turned their cameras here.