After Yin Yang won the second game, the way those people looked at him was as if they were looking at a monster.
Yin Yang pointed to the board, indicating that they could count the score.
Qin Ye's expression shifted several times before he let out a carefree laugh and pushed the necklace toward Yin Yang.
“You are very skilled.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you mind switching to a different game?”
“I don't mind, but do you have others here?”
“I brought a set of Chinese Chess as well.”
“Sure.”
Yin Yang agreed and tucked the necklace away. “It seems Student Ye came well-prepared. Did you plan to play a few games with me from the start?”
Qin Ye smiled calmly. “Is this psychological warfare, Student Zheng?”
“You could interpret it that way.”
The students cleared the Go board and replaced it with a Xiangqi board. Everyone crowded around, eager to know what the wager would be this time.
This time, Qin Ye didn't offer any courtesies and chose the red side immediately.
As the two began setting up their pieces, Yin Yang chuckled. “Xiangqi is a bit less complex and the pace is faster. Shall we add a little incentive?”
“Sure. As for transcendent items, I still have a few on me.”
Qin Ye's tone was nonchalant, but those nearby gasped in surprise.
Even if they hadn't known much about transcendent items before, the previous two games had given them a rough idea of the price. And Qin Ye actually had several more of such items on him!
“What would I do with so many transcendent items? Besides, I'm just an ordinary person. If I carry too many, I won't be able to handle the side effects,” Yin Yang said with a wave of his hand. Qin Ye had finished setting up his pieces and looked up at him.
“Then what do you want as a wager?”
“What do you think about hair?”
“Hair?”
“Yes. If I lose, I'll shave my head. Vice versa. How about it?”
Qin Ye narrowed his eyes at Yin Yang, his thoughts unreadable. Yin Yang toyed with the 'General' piece in his hand.
“If you want to beat me, your best chance is the first game. It won't even take two games for me to figure out your thought process.”
“Fine. Shaved heads it is.”
Qin Ye agreed and made his first move.
Cannon 2 to 5.
Yin Yang moved his piece as well.
Cannon 8 to 5.
Head-on! That was Yin Yang's choice!
The two sides began their slaughter, pieces being taken one after another.
Yin Yang's soldiers crossed the river, advancing steadily. Qin Ye's chariots and cannons roamed the board, wreaking havoc.
On the surface, Qin Ye seemed to have the upper hand, but as the game progressed, his brow furrowed deeper.
Those two soldiers that had crossed the river had already penetrated deep into his territory, hitting him right where it hurt!
He began to think rapidly, calculating what his opponent would do and how he should counter. Xiangqi was simpler than Go; with his mental capacity, it was definitely manageable!
He pulled back a chariot, intending to eliminate the two soldiers first. To stabilize the outside, one must first secure the inside!
But as he calculated, he suddenly froze.
“Oh, you noticed.”
Yin Yang's calm voice rang out. Qin Ye snapped his eyes open and scanned the board. His expression turned grim.
“Checkmate.”
The others were left in a daze. Not everyone understood Go, but most knew the basic rules of Xiangqi. A checkmate shouldn't happen unless you've actually reached the opponent's General, yet they didn't see that on the board.
Yin Yang smiled and looked at Qin Ye. “Did you calculate it?”
Qin Ye stared intensely at the board. A few seconds later, he let out a bitter laugh.
“Brilliant! Truly brilliant. I lost.”
When normal people play Xiangqi, they can usually think three moves ahead. They can roughly anticipate where they place a piece, how the opponent will defend, and how they will attack.
Above that is thinking five moves ahead, which is considered quite good among common players.
Then there is thinking ten moves ahead, which is strictly nearing the level of professional players. At this stage, besides knowing how to play and how the opponent will react, one must also set traps and lure the opponent into them.
Qin Ye could think thirty moves ahead! This required immense memory and calculation power, which was the source of his confidence.
It wasn't until he calculated deeper that he realized the person in front of him was thinking fifty moves ahead!
He had lost, completely and utterly.
“I lost.”
Qin Ye sighed and looked at Yin Yang with a wry smile. “Student Zheng, you won. I'm not a sore loser, but I have to accompany my uncle to meet someone the day after tomorrow. Could you give me some time? Let me shave my head when I return after that day?”
Yin Yang laughed. “Of course. We only said we'd shave our heads; we never specified when. Don't mention two days—even if you said you'd come back in twenty years to shave it, I wouldn't mind. After all, it's within the rules, and I am a man who respects rules above all else.”
Yin Yang stood up and stretched. “Student Ye, feel free to find me whenever you want to play.”
Qin Ye also stood up, his expression extremely serious. “Student Zheng, please believe me. I will definitely come to find you the day after tomorrow.”
Yin Yang's smile was gentle. “I'll be waiting.”
...
“Meow~”
Canned Food looked at the blade-wielding ghost and pointed a paw toward a building not far away.
The blade-wielding ghost nodded and transformed into a shadow, creeping toward it.
Canned Food stayed behind, its tail flicking back and forth.
The blade-wielding ghost reached the third floor. After sensing the surroundings, it slipped inside.
Its eyes were met with a sea of crimson!
The room was entirely covered in waterproof tarps. The corpses of children were piled haphazardly on the floor. Some of the bodies were severely decomposed, having been there for an unknown amount of time. Others were relatively fresh, blood still trickling from the wounds on their necks; they might have been dead for less than ten minutes.
The blade-wielding ghost frowned slightly. It used its zhanmadao to nudge the corpses aside, revealing a small shrine hidden beneath the pile.
There was a faint trace of sacrificial power remaining inside the shrine.
Seeing this, the blade-wielding ghost moved more corpses and cautiously pried the shrine open with its blade.
Inside was a hand-sized statue of a child. It appeared emaciated with mangled limbs, and there were several severe wounds on its chest and ribs. Through the wounds, one could even see the internal organs. The statue was lifelike, with vivid details.
It carried a very faint trace of sacrificial energy. Had the blade-wielding ghost not been extremely familiar with this power, it might not have noticed.
It tried to gently nudge the statue with the tip of its blade, but the statue didn't budge, as if it were one with the shrine.
Only then did the ghost realize that the shrine was made of bone! It was unclear what kind of bone it was, but there were no visible seams, as if it had been carved from a single solid piece.
Buzz—
The air hummed. Faint glows lit up beneath the corpse pile as waves of sacrificial power emanated—this was likely the energy Canned Food had sensed earlier.
The blade-wielding ghost closed the shrine, restored the corpse pile, and stood outside the array. It began attempting to share its vision with Yin Yang.
It couldn't make sense of it, but Yin Yang surely would.
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