The work of the Go master

"You're back really late. Did you get involved with some pretty girl again?" Akio said, lying on the sofa and looking at the newspaper.

"This time it's not with pretty girls. The team competition has already started, and those of us who are about to compete will be training with each other until very late." Ke Zhiguang opened the refrigerator and poured himself a refreshing 7UP.

"Not this time?" Akio Masakazu keenly caught the word "this time." "You mean you admit that your previous late returns were all related to beautiful girls? So the night before last, you didn't come home at all, which was related to beautiful girls in multiple forms, right?"

"You need to add an 's' to form plurals," Ke Zhiguang reminded him, explaining that this is a basic English grammar rule.

“Beautiful girl S, is that right?” Akio Shoichi added a “hiss” sound.

“Grammatically yes, but factually no. I was just unable to go home on a stormy night and was forced to sleep at a friend’s house for one night,” Ke Zhiguang said.

"Uncle Qiu, if I remember correctly, Kaoru went to the elementary school affiliated with Sakura-ou Middle School, right?"

Yes, is there a problem?

"The second striker and center back battles will be held here tomorrow, and I hope to make use of the opportunity."

"Of course." Akio Masakazu thought that Koji Mitsuko just wanted to take Kaoru to watch the game, never expecting that he had other plans.

"Then I'll go and discuss it with him."

Ke Zhiguang knocked on Xun's door. Taking advantage of Xun's reluctance to open the door, Ke Zhiguang slipped inside with a small step and closed the door behind him. Noisy sounds came from inside the room.

"They're just like two brothers, always bickering and teasing each other." Akio Masaichi vaguely saw a reflection of his own childhood when he was learning Go. "I need to find a chance to spar with him and show off my... at least 5-dan level..."

......

......

The next day arrived quickly.

It's time for our daily unpacking and inspection again.

To ensure the chessboard was in a dark area, Ke Zhiguang deliberately covered it with a cloth, giving the act of uncovering the cloth a certain sense of ritual.

"Come out, props!"

When the cloth was lifted, two things were revealed.

Item 1: [Special Item: Cat Petting Skill Scroll]

[This will enable you to master world-class cat-petting skills, making all cats rub against your feet, even the notoriously fierce Pallas's cats.]

[Once used, this skill is retained for life.]

this......

Strange things have appeared in my daily life. Does this mean I've obtained a life skill book?

But... petting cats is hardly a life skill!

Even more bizarrely, this scroll came from Ping Shisheng, the senior who claimed to be the second senior brother of the sect and looked the strongest and most muscular.

Hmm... I see. This seemingly tough senior is actually a cat lover in private. Maybe I can use this secret to blackmail him sometime in the future.

Based on the principle that having more skills is never a bad thing, Ke Zhiguang immediately used the scroll, and from then on, he was also a master of feline skills.

Item 2: [Special Item: Character Description Card (Inoue Hoshia)]

Oh?

Here it comes, the key information.

[A descendant of the Inoue family, he inherited his ancestors' excellent Go skills and is adept at playing steadily and methodically. However, he can also employ ruthless and venomous tactics at crucial moments. He has a detached personality, is not good at expressing his emotions, and possesses a unique arrogance. He is a formidable opponent for Shiro Mengyinyu.]

"Nemesis" is also a Go term, similar to a nemesis or counter. However, compared to the term "nemesis," "nemesis" carries more emotional connotation.

As for what this feeling is really like, you can get a sense of it by just tasting the word "unskilled".

The Inoue family needs no introduction; they were the perennial runner-up in Japanese Go, constantly being defeated by the Honinbo family.

I enjoy eating lunch alone in a quiet place, such as a flower bed at school, the courtyard at home, or the balcony when I travel.

I have absolutely no resistance to cats.

I see, I understand now.

We already have a boy, and as for a cat... I think we have one too. The stray cat that gets fed milk every day should be usable.

Combined with the amazing skill of petting cats, it seems that a logical thread has indeed been vaguely grasped.

Although the pressure of playing on three fronts is immense, fortunately, this mysterious quantum mechanical chessboard can help alleviate the pressure.

But unexpectedly, there was prop three—

[Special Item: Location Information Card (Black Shop)]

Here comes something even more crucial.

Ke Zhiguang was stunned. He lowered his breath and carefully picked up the card to examine it.

[The underground streets, which have been permeated with an eerie atmosphere since the Taisho era, are shrouded in mystery as to when Go (the board game) became popular there.]

[The neighborhood opens promptly at 12 PM daily. Welcome to patronize our store.]

[If you don't have an amateur 6th dan, it's not recommended to join.]

The Taisho era sounds very historical, but Koji Mitsuaki doesn't care about that. He just doesn't care if the old Japanese Go masters like Shusaku and Dosaku are dug out of their coffins to play against him.

You can only access it after midnight every night... That's really annoying.

There are competitions every day, the kind that start early in the morning. If I run here at noon, my physical condition will definitely be terrible the next day.

The only day off is the 27th, which means it's best to get things done here on the evening of the 26th. That day happens to be the vice-general's battle, and after a whole day of competition, my condition will definitely be incredibly hot, so I can take advantage of the situation and break through here in one go.

As for money, he still has some, more than 2 yuan, which should be enough even if there is an entrance fee.

"Zhiguang, it's time to go. I'll take you today." Qiusheng Zhengyi called out from outside the door. He drives Xun to school every morning, and today he'll take Ke Zhiguang with him as well.

"coming."

Once everything was ready, we set off immediately.

.....

.....

The second day of the competition started as scheduled, but this time the opening ceremony was omitted and the battles began directly: the second-string battles in the morning and the middle-string battles in the afternoon.

"Go, Senior Ping Shi! Let them see how awesome Yun Jing is!"

"Cat lover plus... cough cough, good luck, second brother."

As everyone watched him go, Ping Shisheng waved and walked into the arena.

Then Ke Zhiguang disappeared without a trace, to make plans ahead of time.

It was almost noon, lunchtime.

In a quiet flower bed on campus, Inoue Hoshino's figure slowly came into Keiji's field of vision.

"Brother, that woman is here."

"Very good, time it right, get ready... release the cat."

At a command, Xun released the cat she was holding and pushed it away.

Just as Inoue Hoshia sat down on a bench to enjoy her lunch, she noticed a chubby orange cat appear by the roadside.

Her eyes flickered slightly, and her chopsticks froze.

I put down the lunchbox, walked over to the orange cat, and started petting it.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

Encountering a cat at lunchtime can brighten one's entire day. The only thing that puzzles her is that although the cat is clearly male, it feels just like a female cat when she pets it.

"Now's the time, let's go!"

"Brother, do we really have to do this? I think it's so stupid," Xun retorted without holding back.

"Once it's done, my Famicom plus all my cartridges are yours," Ke Zhiguang emphasized, reiterating the terms they had agreed upon the previous night.

Although she was very reluctant, Xun still went along with it because of her own interests.

Suddenly, a cute little boy tumbled out of the grass in the flowerbed and came into Inoue Seiya's sight. He landed on the ground in a perfect duck-like sit, exclaiming, "Ouch!"

“That’s someone else’s cat…” Xun revealed a sincere and pitiful look.

Inoue Seika was immediately struck by a devastating blow.

Chapter 51 So this spell can be interrupted?

Wow—this is incredibly lethal! It's even more lethal than laundry detergent, which is often called a weapon of mass destruction!

Ke Zhiguang thought it would be better to do it himself, since it's good to keep the benefits within the family.

"Oh... I see. Then there's really nothing we can do." After several seconds of shock, Inoue Hoshino reluctantly pulled her hand away from the cat, but her gaze never left it.

"I only said it's mine, I didn't say I couldn't let my sister touch it." Xun remained in the duck-sitting position. His script required him to maintain this duck-sitting position until the incident was over.

Every boy can sit like a duck when he's little; that's basic common sense.

"Thank you very much." Inoue Hoshino continued to pet the cat, but her gaze remained fixed on the little boy in front of her.

Her throat moved, as if she swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

I feel like I want to devour this cute little boy in one bite.

She couldn't understand why a cute boy with a cat had suddenly appeared.

Seeing her mental defenses crumble, Koji Hikaru slowly rose from the nearby bushes and said with composure, "Inoue-kun, would you like to play a game of Go with me?"

With a single sword, go straight in if you can; open the door, and see the mountain if you can.

“I don’t remember having an appointment with you.” Although Inoue Hoshino wasn’t startled by his sudden appearance, she became much more wary.

“This is my younger brother. If you defeat me, he will be yours, and you will be his older sister.” Ke Zhiguang took simplicity and directness to the extreme.

He pondered repeatedly how to express his meaning, but found that what he wanted to express was too shocking, so he simply used the simplest and most direct wording.

"Hmm?" Inoue Hoshiaki's eyes widened, her expression unusually rich.

What kind of devilish line is that?

Xun was stunned. This wasn't in the script he received. He thought it was just a simple matter of being cute.