Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Fine.
Everyone had different ambitions.
He had already quit, so it was too late to say anything.
Li Nianfan was speechless when he saw that the Chess Fanatic looked like he was waiting for a compliment.
Maybe he was happy and delusional.
Li Nianfan calmed down and said, “Looks like you really like chess.”
“Of course!” the Chess Fanatic said. “Actually, I came here to ask you something, Mr. Li.”
“Oh? Did you want to play chess with me?” Li Nianfan raised his eyebrows. “Sure, I can see how far you’ve improved at chess.”
“Not that. I’m currently facing an obstacle,” the Chess Fanatic said. “If a game of chess becomes too difficult and hopeless, and you don’t know where to place the chess pieces, what would you do?”
Li Nianfan was slightly baffled. “Duh? Restart the game.”
The Chess Fanatic looked at Li Nianfan seriously. “No way, it can’t be restarted.”
Li Nianfan said, “Then it’s unsolvable.”
The Chess Fanatic shook his head. “No, there must be a solution.”
“Then, play it slowly.”
“It’s too hard. I can’t do it.”
Li Nianfan was silent. He suddenly realized the Chess Fanatic was an idiot.
He was a Meng Junliang knock-off.
Not only was he ruthless for quitting cultivation just to play chess, he was also abnormal in the head.
What if he went nuts because of the ‘won-God-by-a-nose’ story?
Suddenly, Li Nianfan felt guilty.
He looked at him with pity and tried to make up for it. He said, “I should play chess with you.”
The Chess Fanatic shook his head. He was in a daze as he said, “If I can’t figure it out, I’ll never play chess again.”
Why was he being stubborn?
Li Nianfan frowned and had an idea. He said, “What if we don’t play Chinese chess today? Let’s play a simpler one.”
The Chess Fanatic shook his head, still in a daze.
It seemed like he was far from sensibility.
Suddenly, Luo Shiyu weakly spoke up from the sidelines, “Mr. Li, maybe I can play with you?”
Li Nianfan groaned for a moment before he said, “Alright.”
Luo Shiyu sucked at chess, but Gomoku was way simpler. Playing this should be simple enough to pass the time.
“The game’s easy. It’s called Gomoku.” Li Nianfan roughly introduced the game and explained the rules. Everyone understood it.
It was unimaginably simple.
Was this also considered chess?
The Holy Emperor and Luo Shiyu could not believe it.
The Chess Fanatic started to have hope in his eyes. He was slightly frowning while looking at the chessboard.
Although he said he would not play chess again, he was still interested in chess. He paid close attention to their game.
Li Nianfan gestured at the board and said, “You first.”
Luo Shiyu nodded and took a deep breath.
Tap.
She placed a white chess piece on the chessboard.
Li Nianfan placed his chess piece next to hers without thinking about it.
Tap, tap, tap.
In just twenty moves, Luo Shiyu lost due to her carelessness.
“Argh! I didn’t notice that there!” Luo Shiyu looked troubled and sighed heavily. “So close. Mr. Li, can we play another round?”
Li Nianfan did not say anything. He merely gestured at the chessboard again.
Tap, tap, tap.
During the second round, the two of them attacked each other, their black and white chess pieces going back-and-forth. At that point, it seemed like it was anyone’s game.
However, after a short while, Luo Shiyu still lost.
Luo Shiyu was not satisfied. It was so easy. She almost won. Why did she keep losing?
Then, the third round started.
Then, the fourth round…
The Chess Fanatic was sitting by the side. He was extremely focused.
He looked at the chess pieces on the chessboard and started to breathe heavily.
Sometimes, the white pieces would be blocking the black pieces. Other times, it was the other way around. The two of them were not allowing each other to move. They were constantly playing defense while also poised to attack. It looked simple, but it was hard for either of them to make a move.
Wisdom!
It contained Wisdom!
The Chess Fanatic’s eyes widened. He had goosebumps all over. He was trembling from being emotional.
From his point of view, the game was constantly expanding and changing. In the end, the black and white dots formed a small universe that was coming at him.
Gomoku seemed easy, but it was hard trying to connect five chess pieces because it was the opponent’s objective to stop that from happening. However, one could start with a seemingly insignificant chess piece as the opening, then expand from there and overcome obstacles!
The goal was clear, the methods were easy, but…the process was difficult.
He was frightened by the difficult process so he did not dare to play chess. How ridiculous was he being?
As long as the goal was clear, he could do it slowly, step by step. Look for an opportunity, stop the opponents, and improve himself. He would win in the end!
‘I understand!’
He was flushed from being emotional.
This was not a game, the expert was clearly giving him a hint!
The sixth round was over. Luo Shiyu lost yet again.
“Alright, I’m done.” Li Nianfan chuckled. He looked at the Chess Fanatic and said, “Are you sure you don’t want to try it?”
The Chess Fanatic suddenly stood up.
He looked determined and respectfully bowed at Li Nianfan. “Thank you for solving my problem, Mr. Li. I understand now.”
“You understand?” Li Nianfan was dumbfounded.
‘What did I do? What did you understand?’
The Chess Fanatic said humbly, “Luckily, I learned quite a bit from your Gomoku games. Thanks for solving my problem, Mr. Li.”
Li Nianfan was quiet for a while before he said, “I didn’t even try to solve your problem. It’s all in your head.”
He tried to deny it because this guy had a pretty abnormal mindset. He did not want to be blamed if anything happened to him.
The Chess Fanatic nodded continuously as he said, “I get it, I get it.”
Li Nianfan rolled his eyes. ‘What did you get?!’
The Chess Fanatic seemed to be in a hurry to go back and learn from his mistakes. He said, “Sorry for the disturbance today, Mr. Li. Farewell.”
Li Nianfan did not want him to stay. He waved and said, “Yeah, goodbye.”
The Holy Emperor and Luo Shiyu read the situation and hurriedly say their goodbyes, too.
They walked out of the four-part architecture and chased after the Chess Fanatic. “Pal, wait up.”
The Holy Emperor asked, “May I ask, pal, what did you understand? Did the expert give you a hint again?”
“The expert used the chess game to help me solve my issue.” The Chess Fanatic paused. Then, he said, “I recall you were troubled because you thought you were worthless to the expert?”
The Holy Emperor sighed softly and said, “Yes.”
The Chess Fanatic looked upon the horizon and said respectfully, “The expert’s an expert after all. He invented Gomoku, a game that’s so complicated in its simplicity. He didn’t just solve my problem, he solved yours, too!”
