Leaving the yard, they got on the carriage and headed to the top of the mountain. After a short while, they saw a pavilion between the cliffs.
The pavilion didn’t look desolate in Autumn, because it was overly huge; it was a three-story-high building, decorated with cornices. Its appearance was majestic in the middle of red and yellow leaves.
The second game would be played in this pavilion.
Guan Hai led people into the pavilion and stopped. Since the Messy Phase Game by Jumping Tiger Stream had been canceled, most of the cultivators at present didn’t dare to speak aloud.
The Buddhist Carriage stopped 100 meters away from the pavilion. The president of Xuankong Temple’s Commandment Yard behind the curtain was still silent. In fact, most people outside the pavilion were observing him in the dark.
Ning Que said that if Sangsang and he were unable to pass the test, no one else could. The eminent monk seemed to agree with him and was going to do as he wished.
Maybe because of it, Quni Madi uncharitably stared at the black carriage, while the Flower Addict Lu Chenjia was very numb and indifferent.
There was an old monk in the pavilion who would preside over the second game.
He was in a plain robe, with a face full of deep wrinkles, drooping like fruit branches. He looked much older than the monk in yellow by the Jumping Tiger Stream.
He bowed to the Buddhist Carriage from a far distance.
The figure in the carriage seemed to return the salute.
Then he turned to the black carriage and said, “I’m honored to have the Lady of Light and Mr. Thirteen here.”
Ning Que didn’t know who he was, but he saluted him anyway.
The old monk continued, “Yuelun’s Aunt Qu, Sword Garret’s Mr. Chen, Flower Addict, Calligraphy Addict and South Jin’s Crown Prince, welcome all of you. It’s our honor.”
However, his voice said a different story as it sounded so mechanical. He named every bigwig at present just for being polite, without any other feelings.
After that, he went straight to the point.
He sat at a corner of the pavilion.
In front of him was a huge wooden Go board.
There was a wooden fork on the opposite and a curtain hanging from the ceiling to the ground.
The second game had always been a Go game. The fork was used to put the stones, but what was the thick curtain for?
The old monk was ready to play and invited his opponent with a gesture.
People outside the pavilion were in silence and no one stepped forward.
Everyone wanted a chance to play the game and get to the top of the Wa Mountain.
They all knew that Master Qishan was very likely to play the last game. Even though none of them could be the chosen one, it would be still a great fortune to play with him once.
The reason why no one stepped forward was not that they didn’t want to; it was because the people in the black carriage hadn’t spoken.
Even if they all wanted to play with the old monk, they could not get ahead of the girl in the carriage.
The black carriage slowly moved forward and stopped in front of the stone steps of the pavilion.
The old monk looked at it and his eyes twinkled. He flatly said, “I heard that the Lady of Light beat my brother with admirable mathematical ability. I think you must be a master of Go as well.”
Upon hearing this, Ning Que was more inclined to believe that playing chess must be a fashion in the Lanke Temple, even a Cryptozoic elder enjoyed competing in the game. He was worried that it would be difficult to beat him.
However, to his surprise, the old monk paused for a while and slowly said, “Since you can see through the will of heaven, why do you bother to play? Mr. Thirteen, you can take the Lady of Light to go up the mountain.”
Ning Que was stunned, and then he turned around to discuss with Sangsang.
Hearing Sangsang’s words, he shook his head and said to the monk, “I came here for a medical treatment, so we have to follow the rules. We would like to play Go with you.”
Upon hearing this, the cultivators beside the pavilion were all shocked. They thought, “When you were in the Jumping Tiger Stream and tried to break into the mountain, there were no rules in your eyes. Why do you want to follow the rules now?”
Guan Hai was confused too, so he looked at Ning Que in a daze. The Lanke Temple’s abbot became angry as well, and thought in his mind, “It’s so rude to say something like this. What do you take our sect for?”
Ning Que knew their thoughts very well, but he could do nothing. Sangsang told him that she wanted to play this game very much and she even wanted to play the third game with Qishan after she got to the top of the mountain later.
Ning Que was not going to allow her to play the game. They would have driven the carriage straight to the top of the mountain if not under this condition. However, at present, things were different. As long as she could handle it, he would not go against her will. If this could make her happy, it didn’t matter if she lost or won.
The mountain was high and the wind was cold. He took out his winter robe to cover Sangsang with it, and then he carried her into the pavilion. Looking at the old monk, he said, “She is a little weak, no offense intended.”
The old monk said, “As a patient, why does she insist on playing the game?”
Ning Que answered, “A patient also has her right to demand two more candies. I cannot stop her.”
The old man laughed and his wrinkles rippled as water. He said, “I have tried everything to prevent myself from competing, but I failed. In fact, I want to play this game as well.”
Upon hearing this, Ning Que could not help laughing. He thought this monk was more interesting than the previous one.
The old monk looked at Sangsang who was in the black robe. He pointed at the thick curtain and said, “Since you are a patient, you can sit inside to avoid the wind.”
Ning Que carried Sangsang through the curtain and found that it was made of cotton, hanging from the ceiling to the ground. It sealed the pavilion to prevent wind. There was a blanket in the middle of the ground. They could see the entire Go board through a seam in front of it.
He didn’t expect the Lanke Temple to be so thoughtful. In this situation, he would no longer worry about Sangsang. He was quite satisfied until he remembered a thing which made him nervous.
A cultivator’s weakness was the body. Hundreds of arrows shot by normal people could kill an expert at the Seethrough Realm. However, cultivators could sense the heaven and earth and were unlikely to fall ill like the people outside the pavilion.
Then who was the curtain prepared for?
Of course it was for Sangsang.
Until now, Ning Que realized that the Lanke Temple had prepared this for a long time, and they had been sure that Sangsang would be able to pass the first test instead of him. Maybe the Academy had sent a letter to inform Master Qishan that they were coming, but how did he know Sangsang would be his opponent? Was he a prophet?
While he was thinking about this, the Go Master from South Jin said outside the curtain, “Can I get closer to watch the game? I have a bad vision and I can be a judge for you.”
The old monk looked at the man who came in without permission and asked, “Do you play Go?”
The Go Master smiled and said, “Only a little.”
The old monk seemed satisfied with his answer and asked, “Who is your teacher?”
The Go Master answered respectfully, “Xu Chu is my teacher.”
The old monk said, “Xu Chu? Can you beat him?”
The Go Master answered, “If I try.”
The old monk nodded and said, “That’s good for you.”
The Go Master was upset to hear this. He was trying to be modest by saying this, but he didn’t expect that the old monk would take it seriously.
He only admired three men in Go: A royal Go Master in the Yuelun Kingdom who has been missing, Master Dongming in the Lanke Temple who was declared dead long ago and Song Qian, his most respected predecessor, who had been a legend in South Jin. Except these three, he despised all. He only wanted to take Sangsang as a student regardless of her being very capable with arithmetics.
He was not pleased and was going to argue with the old monk, and then saw the monk’s face. He suddenly froze and forgot what he was doing.
He had definitely not seen him before.
However, he was somehow familiar with his face, as if he had seen him once somewhere.
He tried to remember but failed.
At this time, the second game began.
The old monk looked toward the curtain and said, “Lady of Light, which color would you like?”
Sangsang’s voice sounded inside the curtain without any hesitation.
“Black.”
Hearing her answer, the old monk sighed. His face became became filled with regret.
Behind the curtain, Sangsang heard his sigh.
She had a sense of familiarity when seeing the old man as she entered the pavilion. She could feel his regret and could not help asking, “Can’t I choose black?”
The old monk slowly shook his head and said with unwillingness, “People are only allowed to use white stones in the first game, so they believed that only by choosing white could they win the second game. You, however, choose black which I find surprising.”
Sangsang said, “I chose black because I want to make the first move.”
The old monk did not expect to hear that.
At this point, the Go Master from South Jin finally recalled something and cried out as if he was looking at a ghost, “I saw a portrait of you when I was a kid.”
“You, you… are Master Dongming, aren’t you? Weren’t you dead?”
…
…
