Chapter 611: Grueling Go Game

Sir Bi was no longer as calm and composed as he had been earlier. His eyebrows were knitted into a tight frown as he immersed himself into the Go board.

In a normal Go game, the results were more or less certain once it came to the hundred and thirty-fifth move. If the players were of a higher standard and somewhat equal to each other, then could there be an opportunity for a stand-off. Whichever way it went, the number of stones between black and white would always differ; it was always obvious which side was taking the upper hand in the game. Even when both sides were incredibly careful in laying down the stones and had crafted extremely secure strategies, there would still be a slight distinction among the players.

However, the game Yun Yang had laid out was different.

Since the beginning of the game, an intense battle unfolded; both sides were fighting with their all. This was not the most shocking development; what was truly astonishing was that the Go game had reached its hundred and thirty-fifth move, but no one had removed any stone from the board yet!

This was an unbelievable result.

The game had been risky, with tactics planned out at every step, but no one had suffered from any loss or gained any benefit from removing stones. The game was only growing more dangerous as it progressed. Whether it was the black or white player, the entire game was engulfed in an atmosphere that threatened the participant, be it taking one step ahead or moving one step back.

It was either your death or mine! This was what the game had boiled down to after so many moves.

The hundred and thirty-sixth move should be made by the white stone, but Sir Bi was hesitant, holding the white stone between his fingers.

"Cut1?" He shook his head immediately. "No, no. Cutting it here looks like a good move, but I'll only fall into the other's trap. Once the opponent does a follow-up move, not only will the cut area be sacrificed, my dragon2 will be lost as well. It'll be a landslide defeat."

"Clamp3? I can't do that either. It reeks of unnecessary desperation."

"Underneath attachment4? Worse. It'll only show my weakness and cause self-sabotage."

"Knight's move5? Too weak for a counter. It'll only give the enemy a chance."

"Go diagonal6? No, no. Absolutely not..."

"Bump7? An even bigger mistake, undoable..."

"Do I do a knockout8? But how can I do a knockout with such a game? There's nothing to capture."

As Sir Bi studied the game, the more he thought the black stone was truly malicious; each step was full of traps and threats. The white stone had been cautious in each ambush-filled step and was already defending itself to the limit.

Coming to this point, the situation had turned into an unusual realm where whoever initiated the attack would be attacked first.

If it were to be compared to cultivators, it was like two masters on a battlefield; both of them had fought for three hundred rounds to a draw and entered an immobile situation where no one took initiative first. Both were experts and well prepared, both wanted to finish the battle with a counterattack, hoping for the other to move first. If so, they could then break the tactic and launch an overwhelming counterattack to defeat the opponent! With one step, the opponent would be forced into a disadvantage that the end result could be distinguished!

In spite of this, this was a game where both sides were heavily guarded and invincible, thus prolonging the standstill.

"This... Whose Go playbook is this?" Sir Bi could not help murmuring with a frown after a long period of contemplation but was still indecisive on where to move.

"It was unnamed." Yun Yang placed the playbook on the table and said, "The book contains no record of the author; there are no hints or clues of any sort. I thought that Sir Bi might have an idea or two since you're wonderfully skilled."

"This is a marvel." Sir Bi said, "A man leaves his name passing, a wild goose leaves its sound flying by. A player who can render this game must possess unparalleled Go playing skill. How can he not leave his name behind?"

Yun Yang replied, "I have no idea about this. Actually, finding the original owner of this playbook is secondary. My true intention is the final result of this game. I don't usually belittle myself and am rather confident about Go, but this game, especially coming to this step, I've studied it for so long yet no matter what the next move is, I feel like it's suicide. I get only headaches when I think about it, but I'm terribly curious about the outcome. That's why I looked for Go experts everywhere to dispel this mystery; otherwise, I wouldn't have come to His Highness out of the blue for help."

Sir Bi racked his brain, saying, "Such a game is truly enticing and captivating..."

He then continued, "By listening to Young Master Yun, I am certain that you must be cultivated in the art of Go as well. As I am lacking, I'd like to take the white stone and play the game with you to see the possible tactics. Maybe we'll find something new."

As he spoke, he placed the stone to cut.

Yun Yang reacted as if he did not need to think about it, encircling to clamp and forming a capture9. Sir Bi strived to do a stretch10 and countered but Yun Yang's black stone struck the crucial point of the white stone's dragon with a pop. Then, the white stone lost its edge, unable to contend further.

"This doesn't work. Allow me to change this move."

Sir Bi frowned. "I'll bump here."

Yun Yang made an underneath attachment without hesitation. Sir Bi forced an invasion11 to which Yun Yang made a stretch; Sir Bi cut him again and Yun Yang performed an atari12. Sir Bi followed suit and the situation seemed to come along fine. Yet, Yun Yang's black stone did a knight's move and embedded itself into the white stone's dragon, causing the game to take another dramatic turn.

As such, if Sir Bi were to look for an alternative, his dragon would unavoidably be cut in half, thus putting him into an unprecedented passive stance. However, if he were to ensure his dragon's completion, he had to lose three moves to achieve it. The opponent would then take great advantage of that delay. Estimating with reservation, at least five points of territory13 would then be lost.

In such a battle of expert against expert, forget five points of territory - even the difference of half a point of territory would affect the end result. Any loss of any sort was costly!

He could not attend to one thing and neglect the other. It was an impasse. Evidently, this approach could not work either.

"This can't do as well... Let's change it again."

It had only taken the time of a meal, but Sir Bi had swapped seven to eight approaches to which Yun Yang had completely countered. The white stone lost each time, unable to turn the table around.

"If so, doesn't that mean that the white stone... has no hope at all?" Sir Bi was thinking hard. "Still, why does the bottom state that the white stone wins?"

Yun Yang replied, "This is where I'm stumped as well. According to the book, getting the game here, the white stone should have played something remarkable and set the victory's path, progressing on to a win against the opponent. That's why it's cut here."

"The problem now is that I can't find that move."

Sir Bi nodded and said, "It should be so. If I were the one to make this playbook, I'd do the same. Nonetheless, this move of the white stone that decides its victory... where does it take place?"

He stood up and looked over the Go board for a long time, silent within his thoughts.

After a long time, he switched to another direction and studied the board diagonally, hoping to see some hints by looking at it from different angles.

"Those involved cannot see as clearly as the bystanders..." Sir Bi's action was visibly trying to extract himself out of the Go board and look at the game from a bystander's point of view. Unfortunately, he still had not gained anything after a long time.

Translator Note:

1cut (断duàn), 2dragon (龙lóng), 3clamp (夹jiā), 4underneath attachment (托tuō), 5knight's move (飞fēi), 6diagonal (尖jiān), 7bump (顶dǐng), 8ko (打劫dǎjié), 9capture (吃chī), 10stretch (长cháng), 11invasion (打入dǎ rù), 12atari (打dǎ), 13point of territory (目mù): jargons in Go game. For a further understanding of the terms, this is a good site to refer: https://senseis.xmp.net/?ChineseGoTerms