Chapter 60: Encounter

In a small town in the southwest, inside a noodle restaurant.

A monk was chanting scriptures before a plate of braised pig's head meat.

The monk had thick eyebrows, large eyes, upturned nostrils, big protruding ears, and very thick lips, yet he possessed a natural solemnity and dignified aura that made people easily overlook his unconventional appearance.

Beside him lay a traveling bundle, entirely devoid of any swords or weapons.

"...Namo amitābhāya... Tathāgatāya..."

As he chanted, a resonant humming sound emerged from his mouth, clearly a specialized method of chanting.

When he finished, the monk said to the shopkeeper, "Hurry up with those noodles, if you please."

After that, he proceeded to drink wine in large bowls while eating meat in generous mouthfuls. Once the shopkeeper served the large bowl of noodles, he slurped them down with great gusto.

Duan Yu, sitting nearby, frowned as he watched this monk. Having grown up in the Duan family and having been immersed in Buddhism and Taoism since childhood, he looked down upon such a precept-breaking monk from the bottom of his heart.

"This monk..." He shook his side and said nothing more.

Murong Xing paid no attention to the noodle-eating monk. Instead, his gaze drifted toward the distant, azure-blue waters of Erhai Lake, and he said, "According to the invitation, the game of chess is set within the Cang Mountains."

To the west of Erhai Lake lay the Cang Mountains.

Ever since the incident at the Apricot Grove, he, Duan Yu, and Old Yue No. 2 had traveled southwest all the way toward Dali. Halfway through their journey, they encountered Duan Yu's father, Duan Zhengchun.

Thus, they returned to Dali together.

In Dali, the handling of the deposed crown prince, Duan Yanqing, had sparked endless, fiery debates.

A deposed crown prince was still a crown prince, after all!

That concerned the dignity of the Dali royal family.

However, none of this mattered to Murong Xing and Duan Yu. Duan Yu spent all day taking Murong Xing sightseeing all over Dali, even visiting the Hall of Immeasurable Sword (Langhuan Fudi).

The two of them were closer than brothers.

Murong Xing had grown up in the Canhe Manor and had never known such freedom; he felt that the life of the pugilistic world was wonderfully joyful.

Suddenly, one day, they received a mysterious invitation stating that a game of chess had been set up in the Cang Mountains and inviting them to break it.

Duan Yu understood and loved chess, so with time to spare, the two decided to go take a look.

Halting on their way in this small town, they had encountered this scripture-chanting, meat-eating monk.

Yet Dali was famous for its many oddities, and Murong Xing was well accustomed to the unusual.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Murong Xing urged Duan Yu.

Duan Yu said helplessly, "Don't be in such a rush! Brother Xing, according to the date on the invitation letter, we still have a whole day left."

Seeing Duan Yu's lazy and dawdling demeanor, Murong Xing's eyes rolled, and he said with a smile, "Oh, is that person in the distance Murong Wangqing?"

"Murong Wangqing? Let's get out of here!" With that, Duan Yu tossed down a piece of silver and hurried out of the noodle restaurant.

After walking a couple of steps, he noticed the grinning Murong Xing and immediately realized he had been played.

One couldn't really blame him for his somewhat oversensitive reaction. When he had first met and fallen in love with Murong Wangqing, who could have ever imagined that she was actually his half-sister?

He had no choice but to bury those feelings deep in his heart, but Murong Wangqing was unwilling to accept it.

Therefore, Murong Wangqing constantly tried to persuade him to accept an incestuous romance, arguing that love could conquer worldly conventions!

Yet he was not a perverted monster...

Few men could ever accept their own sister.

Consequently, Duan Yu had been constantly avoiding Murong Wangqing ever since.

"Brother Xing!" Duan Yu laughed and scolded, "I'm keeping a tally of this! Someday, I'll get my revenge!"

Murong Xing chuckled, "I'll be waiting!"

The two of them walked toward the Cang Mountains, chatting and laughing all the way.

The peaks of the Cang Mountain range stood like a continuous screen, composed of nineteen mountain peaks stretching from north to south. After walking for half a day, the two arrived halfway up one of the peaks and saw a person walking toward them along the mountain path.

That person was none other than the monk they had encountered earlier.

"How strange. Could that monk be heading to the chess game as well?" Murong Xing looked at the monk carrying his travel bundle and couldn't help remarking, "Monks play chess too?"

Duan Yu glanced back and said, "Monks eat meat, so playing chess is hardly unusual!"

"That's true!" Murong Xing nodded in agreement.

"Over there! I see the place mentioned in the invitation!" Duan Yu pointed toward a valley in the distance and said, "Who would have thought such a remote place would have people?"

The Cang Mountains were within the borders of Dali, and he had visited them several times before.

Following the direction of Duan Yu's finger, Murong Xing spotted a valley.

Amidst the cluster of mountains lay a valley filled entirely with pine trees; as the mountain wind swept through, the sound of the pines resembled roaring waves.

When they arrived within the pine forest of the valley, they saw three wooden houses deep among the trees, with a massive tree standing right in front of them.

Beneath the great tree lay a large boulder atop which rested a chessboard, its black and white stones glowing with a crystalline brilliance. A wizened old man was staring intently at the board, studying something.

"Judging by your ages, you must be Duan Yu, the Prince of Dali, and Murong Xing of Gusu, right?" Seeing that both Duan Yu and Murong Xing were young, talented, and strikingly handsome, the wizened old man was exceedingly pleased.

"Correct! I am Duan Yu."

"I am Murong Xing!"

Duan Yu and Murong Xing introduced themselves to the wizened old man.

"This old man is Su Xinghe, the Deaf-Mute Scholar!" Su Xinghe let out a sigh and said, "Due to a misfortune within my sect, I have been forced to swear an oath to drag out a wretched existence. People of the pugilistic world also call me the Deaf-Mute Elder."

Murong Xing said, "Could it be that you have some enemies? Just name them, and the two of us will avenge you!"

Hearing Murong Xing speak thus, Su Xinghe was even more gratified. With a smile, he said, "How can the vengeance of a sect be entrusted to outsiders? Since the two of you have come, why not examine this chess game?"

Murong Xing thought to himself, "This old man clearly has enemies, yet instead of practicing his martial arts properly, he insists on studying some chess game. Truly..."

Duan Yu was a connoisseur of chess. Seeing that this particular game featured captures within captures, containing both mutual survival and endless longevity, counter-attacks, and breath-capturing maneuvers in a bewilderingly complex maze of intertwined patterns, he could not resist picking up a white stone and making a move.

Su Xinghe's eyes lit up as he picked up a black stone and played in response.

Duan Yu pondered for a moment, calculating dozens of moves in his mind, and then played another piece.

The two of them played a dozen moves with sharp, crisp clacks.

After a while, Duan Yu frowned and thought for half an hour before finally shaking his head and saying, "The wondrous chess formation set up by the elder is profound and ingenious; I cannot crack it."

Su Xinghe's face paled, as if he himself had lost the match. He said, "Prince Duan's tactical path is meticulous, and these dozen moves have already reached an extremely high realm. It is only that you could not think one step deeper—what a pity, what a pity!"

He sighed once more.

"Ah, what a pity, what a pity!"

Repeating the lament several times, his profound regret was evident.

"This young master, why not give it a try?" Su Xinghe restored the chessboard to its original state and said to Murong Xing.

Murong Xing shook his head, however, and replied, "Just by looking at it for two seconds, I knew this wasn't a game I could play."

For the scions of noble families, the four arts of the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting were indispensable. Yet ever since he was a child, he had spent his time catching fish and shrimp or studying the postpartum care of sows.

As for playing chess, his level was merely capable of understanding the rules.

"A pity! A pity!" Hearing Murong Xing say this, Su Xinghe could not help feeling regretful as well.

"The miraculous chess formation has invited talents from all under heaven, and there is still one day left before the appointed time. Why don't the two young masters study it carefully here?" Su Xinghe harbored a private desire; he felt both youths were exceedingly well-suited to become successors to his master.

Handsome in appearance and kind at heart, they were truly ideal candidates.

Just at that moment, a voice echoed through the pine forest.

"This humble monk Xuzhu pays his respects to the elder!"