The work of the Go master

Someone asked, "Who is this person? How come he's even more capable than Ke Zhiguang?"

Someone answered, "This person is the owner of a wedding dress shop. The entire Harushima Deer wedding dress set, including stockings, was ordered from this person's shop."

After reading the joke, everyone gasped in shock.

“A treasure…” Xingcai exclaimed, covering her mouth as if she had witnessed a historical wonder.

As usual, Shiro's eyebrows twitched, and his expression froze on his face.

Ke Zhiguang breathed a long sigh of relief.

Now I finally feel better.

After finishing the Imperial City Chess Tournament, Koji Hikaru had a compulsive urge to feel like he hadn't done anything. Now, upon closer reflection, he realized he had forgotten to watch the joke.

And just like that, another circle was drawn.

......

......

As night fell, Tokyo donned its neon attire once more, with golden and pink bubbles expanding to their largest size ever.

Hanno Ken is lying in bed, waiting for the end of his life to come.

The entire ninth-dan group sat cross-legged and waited quietly by his bedside.

Yesterday's game was the last game he watched, and he was quite satisfied with the outcome.

By this point, the younger generation of chess players had fully matured and grown into new towering giants.

"Ah Xiang," Han Yexuan said softly.

"I'm here." Mu Gu stepped forward and listened to his instructions.

"How old am I this year?" he asked.

“Just yesterday, you celebrated your 100th birthday. You are exactly 100 years old now,” Mu Gu replied in detail.

"I see." Hanno Ken smiled with satisfaction. "When I'm a hundred years old, I'll still play Go. When I'm two hundred, I'll live in the universe... Now, I'm going to the universe."

Then he closed his eyes.

Like Yagami Kunikyo, he officially died of old age.

All the ninth-dan members couldn't help but take a deep breath, as if their hearts trembled.

The god of the Go world, Hanno Ken, has passed away.

The wind whistles past the window, a wind sweeping across the world, perhaps the soul of Hanno Ken is taking flight, soaring towards the universe he speaks of.

At the same time, the sound of air pressure bursting could be heard from the outside world... it was the sound of bubbles bursting.

Pink bubbles and golden bubbles burst one after another in the streets and alleys, and the lights of the whole city were noticeably dimmed by half.

The era of bubbles is over.

The Great Crash Has Begun.

Chapter Nine: The Road to the End

On March 24th, after more than ten days of housing price fluctuations, life returned to normal for almost everyone. People went to work and went to school as usual. The only thing that remained unchanged was the cherry blossoms on the streets, which were still in full bloom.

That morning, Ke Zhiguang collapsed onto the sofa in his living room as soon as he woke up.

"Ugh, I really don't want to go to work. Maybe I shouldn't go today," he muttered.

"Hey! Are you really going to start living like an old man so early?" Harushima Shika asked, while busy preparing breakfast with Zero, as she lashed out at Kazuhiro.

"After all, I've already achieved my recent life goals, so I can't really start a new college life or something, can I?" Ke Zhiguang replied with a yawn, and casually turned on the TV to watch the morning channel.

But as soon as he opened the morning channel, Ke Zhiguang immediately realized something was wrong... Wait a minute, what am I, a young man of eighteen, watching the morning channel? Only old men watch this stuff!

Thinking this, Ke Zhiguang quickly changed the channel, but no matter how he changed the channel, the morning programs were basically all news, and they were all talking about the same thing... Japan's bubble economy had exploded.

Just a few days ago, the Nikkei index began to plummet, and countless people jumped off buildings overnight, as if the end of the world had arrived.

Although many people remain optimistic about the future, Ke Zhiguang knows that the collapse of the asset bubble has begun, the economic myth is crumbling, and what follows will be a series of lost decades.

The effects of the fortune-telling have disappeared, which is visible to the naked eye.

The once dazzling neon signs suddenly lost their enchanting power and became ordinary signs, no longer attracting customers.

The intense consumerism and pink-hued desires that once permeated the night streets have vanished completely. Faced with their girlfriends' requests, men no longer lavishly buy them the fashionable clothes displayed in shop windows as they used to.

Pedestrians on the street suddenly clutched their wallets tightly, no longer willing to wave banknotes to hail a taxi.

This is only the visible effect. On the deeper, darker side, financial institutions are losing confidence and starting to sell off their stocks, rushing to flee and causing one stampede after another.

The golden and pink bubbles were all popped on the same night. Ke Zhiguang was shopping with a group of teammates that night and witnessed the moment the bubbles disappeared.

It wasn't until the bubble burst and Tokyo shed its glamorous facade, revealing its true appearance and colors, that Koji Hikaru was surprised to discover that he had been living in an unreal Tokyo all this time.

The never-ending vaporwave music was suddenly cut off, all the notes collapsed, and boundless loss and desolation rose from that collapsed hole, making people feel nostalgic and reluctant to part.

I knew it! How could a city at night possibly have such a dazzling, hazy glow?

It turns out that bubbles actually exist in a physical form.

Things turned out differently than Ke Zhiguang had imagined. He originally thought that his failure to stop Ye Shen Guojing would lead to the collapse of the bubble economy after the latter devoured the Chess Fate Wood.

In retrospect, the collapse of the bubble economy is a normal part of history; whatever the final outcome, it was bound to happen.

The only difference is whether, after it is extinguished, a spark of hope will remain.

The gods are destined to die, but new life will eventually emerge from the ice and fire.

"Here, breakfast is ready." Harujima Shika and Zero brought a pot of soup to the table together, interrupting Ke Zhiguang's artistic and chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) reverie.

The pot lid was lifted, and steaming hot vapor billowed out, making one eager to stick their head in and see what was inside... If Ke Zhiguang wasn't mistaken, today's breakfast was called Century Egg and Lean Pork Congee? The style suddenly became Chinese?

"Stop looking, it's just congee with preserved egg and lean pork. Xiao Ling said you really like this, so I made it especially to try." Qingdao Lu put her hands on her hips, raised her nose, and had an expression that said, "I'm so good, why don't you praise me?"

"Oh, impressive, impressive." Ke Zhiguang, remarkably, didn't read in a flat tone, and even patted the other person's head.

To be honest, Ke Zhiguang's breakfast interest panel doesn't include things like preserved egg and lean pork congee.

What puzzled him even more was how these two managed to get their hands on such a rare commodity as preserved eggs in Japan.

"Alright, let's get started."

And so, a pleasant morning begins.

In fact, three days after the Moon Sky title match, Koji Mitsuko and Harushima Kashima went back to her hometown in Seto and met her parents.

It wasn't until they arrived at the ancestral residence of the Harushima family that Koji realized she really was a young lady. Rows of servants lined the road to welcome her, while Mrs. Harushima changed into a gorgeous kimono and waited for her future son-in-law in the living room.

The future mother-in-law was very enthusiastic, shaking Ke Zhiguang's hand while humbly saying, "Oh, my Lu Zi is like this and that..."

After making her self-deprecating remarks, Mrs. Harushima took the initiative to show Ke Zhiguang around Harushima Deer's bedroom and even showed him some of her childhood photos, which recorded moments of her growth at different ages.

The final step was to sweep Yixin's grave.

Besides offering incense, there was also a ritual of burning paper money... By the way, is the Tenchi Bank (Heaven and Earth Bank) also used in Japan?

Of course, Koji also burned a game record of his match against Harushima Kashiwa during the Moon God Battle, hoping that Isshin-senpai could feel the power of this match even in the afterlife.

Now, for the two of them, it can basically be considered that they have officially announced that they are living together. It is no longer a matter of you coming to my room to play during the day and going back to your own room to sleep at night. Instead, you are at Ke Zhiguang's place all day long.

In response, Ke Zhiguang suddenly recalled a line from a movie he didn't remember: "She's amazing, so petite, she doesn't take up much space..."

However, no matter how good it is, it has certain side effects, such as... gradual weight loss...

Ahem, let's not talk about this anymore. Starting tomorrow, I'll start working seriously, nine to five, and conserve my energy.

The landline phone on the coffee table rang, and Zero picked it up: "Hello, this is Ke Zhiguang's house... Is that right... I see... I understand, I will pass it on to my brother."

As if she had heard some bad news, Zero sighed and hung up the phone.

"What did they say?" Ke Zhiguang asked somewhat uneasily.

"Something unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable... Mr. Hanno Ken passed away a little over a week ago, at a peaceful age. I hope you two can attend his funeral."

A gloomy atmosphere suddenly descended upon the breakfast table, causing both Harushima Deer and Ke Zhiguang to pause and pause with their chopsticks.

Indeed, it was unexpected yet reasonable. In Ke Zhiguang's eyes, most of his impression of Hanye-sensei was still that sunny and good-natured boy, Ishizumi, who was just a runner-up for his team before the Dragon Throne Battle. No matter how the funeral was conducted, it seemed that he had no connection with him.

However, he is indeed 99 years old, and will be 100 this year, so it's time for him to retire.

Presumably, the collapse of the bubble economy a little over a week ago was also closely related to his departure.

Koji suddenly realized that compared to the tree of Go luck, Hanno-sensei was the real tree of the Go world, and everyone grew up under his care.

The reason he collapsed was because the children had grown up, wasn't it?

......

......

On March 23, a large number of vehicles were parked on the roadside in front of the Hanno Mansion, all of which were vehicles that had come to attend the funeral.

This is an old house located in a bustling area, which should have been an eye-catching tourist attraction, but thanks to good fortune, it has gone unnoticed by others.

Ke Zhiguang and Qingdao Lu also arrived on time, dressed solemnly like everyone else, exchanging greetings with their eyes.

Once everyone had arrived, Kiko Seinoka came out of the mansion and bowed to everyone, saying, "Master Hanno said that he does not want his funeral to be filled with sorrow and tears, so he will not include any funeral rites or music. Please keep yourselves relaxed and smiling. This is exactly what Master Hanno would like to see."

Although she said that, everyone's expressions remained awkward, with only embarrassed smiles on their faces.

Nobody really dares to jump out and laugh at this time, unless they're planning to retire early.

Led by Mu Gu, the group entered the house. The interior was indeed not decorated for a funeral. Candy and buffet food were placed everywhere, as if it were prepared for children. Indeed, many middle-aged chess players had brought their children with them.

The walls on both sides are covered with his past honors and awards, all in black and white, and there are even newspaper clippings, which immediately immerse people in the vicissitudes of that era.

Besides things related to the Go world, the walls were covered with posters of his favorite movies and anime, ranging from the ancient Akira Kurosawa series to recent romance films. There was even a robot on one of the anime posters. Music from all sorts of movies and TV shows filled the corridor... It seems he has always lived a very young life.

This situation made everyone feel much more relaxed. The children ran around in groups and formed playmates. The adults also agreed, because Mr. Hanno really didn't want the funeral to be tinged with sadness.

Arriving at the room at the end of the corridor, Hanno Ken's body was laid out. Even in this place, the atmosphere remained lively and carefree because... the surrounding walls were covered with posters of beautiful female celebrities, giving one the feeling of being so angry that one felt alive again.

"Actually, Mr. Hanno might not even like these female celebrities. He just deliberately adds some colorful elements to liven up the atmosphere," Saito whispered, who had been following closely beside Keiji.

“As far as I know, this is not Hanno-sensei’s type,” Saito added.

Ok?