Chapter 644: The Go Playbook. The Destined Fate

The Go playbook!

The three men standing behind Sir Bi were speechless.

'Eldest, we don't wish to discuss this repellent Go manual with you at all. What we're discussing with you right now is our life, death, and future! Do you not have any sense of priority? Are you unable to ascertain the relative importance of things?'

'The crisis is imminent now, yet you're still studying the Go playbook!'

Sir Bi said gently, "This Go playbook... I have seen it before."

The expressions of the trio behind him took on a look of shock.

"Then..."

Sir Bi heaved a soft sigh. Suddenly, there was a gurgling noise in his throat as blood rushed to his lips. Despite his best efforts, a hint of crimson still spilled from the corners of his mouth.

As he spat out a mouthful of blood, the trio behind him grunted in unison. Blood seeped from the corners of their mouth as well.

"Do you all understand now?" Sir Bi asked softly, as he gracefully wiped away the blood staining his mouth.

The trio was as pale as sheets, while their gazes flickered with fear. "W - what's going on?"

Sir Bi sucked in a deep breath - his gaze dimmed, before he spoke with an exhalation of his breath, "This time around, I've gotten all of you embroiled in this matter."

All three men spoke simultaneously, "We're brothers, it is understood that we are to share life and death with you. Any adversity is sweet as syrup, since the very beginning. We just don't understand what's going on now. What just happened? Why did we suddenly experience such terrible damage to our mental and physical states?"

Sir Bi glanced outside the window. His gaze was distant when he spoke, "Back then... When Heaven's Inquisition still roamed the mortal realm, I spent a princely sum to ask him to tell my fortune. Do you still have any memory of this?"

The trio replied bitterly, "Of course. It was the fortune telling session that almost emptied our savings. We won't be able to forget such a large expenditure, even if we wanted to!"

Sir Bi replied faintly, "You know about the session, but you didn't know that I was already the Four Seasons Tower's civil official then. I was ambitious to see our country rule the world and witness peace upon it; I wanted to help the emperor take down Tianxuan and contribute to the unprecedented feat of emperors. Nonetheless, I joined the Four Seasons Tower by chance. By then, my future was lost; I didn't know what to choose any longer."

"Because I had gone so terribly astray, I decided to seek my fortune, to leave my future in destiny's hands!"

"Heaven's Inquisition was, without a doubt, the best choice for me. He was the only option I could trust. Here is an individual who sees the astral providence and where fate lies!"

"I believe that all of you must still be pondering about the outcome of my fortune, but I have never revealed it to any of you. Do not get me wrong; It's not that I didn't want to tell you, it's because... I didn't fully understand the oracle then."

"It was only when this Go manual reappeared before me that, suddenly, everything became clear!"

"I understand everything now."

"This is my destiny. This is the destined fate that I can't avoid!"

Sir Bi spoke unhurriedly but the other three were growing increasingly puzzled as they listened on. They asked with no small degree of skepticism, "Eldest, your narration confuses us. Please tell us in plain terms."

Sir Bi chuckled and said, "Back then, Heaven's Inquisition gave me a few words. These were the words that I kept in my heart without telling anyone - not even all of you, but it's these words that changed the course of my life."

"Unpolished jade that stands in the secular world - a dragon among men to answer an extraordinary calling; what a pity it is to live life without autonomy, a wash of red that shocks the martial world. Who is to say this life is like a dream, victory or defeat is hard to tell when one is in the game. As a stone piece to be manipulated, the end comes when the manual is seen once again," His gaze was distant as he spoke.

Sir Bi inhaled gently and said, "For so many years, I contemplated these lines. I thought about them whenever I was free and even when I was occupied. Unfortunately, I never got anywhere."

The trio's eyes widened as they pondered upon the lines. Yet, despite the best of their abilities, they were still stumped and irritatingly baffled.

"Never mind. I'll explain it lest all of you waste even more effort. The first two lines - unpolished jade that stands in the secular world - a dragon among men to answer an extraordinary calling."

"This likely means that I'm a talent. If I could build an extraordinary career, I'd become a dragon among men. As for being a dragon among men, the normal definition mostly refers to being an extremely influential mandarin whose power can tip the scales of the imperial court."

"What a pity it is to live life without autonomy, a wash of red that shocks the martial world. These two lines indicate that no matter what my original intentions were, no matter what I want to do, I will never get to walk the path I first chose. Not entering the imperial court caused me to become a huge influence in the martial world instead."

"Next, 'Who is to say this life is like a dream, victory or defeat is hard to tell when one is in the game'. Sigh..." Sir Bi heaved a long sigh and said, "I understand these lines as well. How does one determine merit and failure, right and wrong... Whatever it is, I'm already in the game; I won't get to escape it."

"All I want - even in my dreams - is to become a simple man who plays Go. However, in reality, my destiny is just to be... a playing piece. A Go stone."

Sir Bi said with a heavy sigh, "As for 'As a stone piece to be manipulated, the end comes when the tattered manual is seen once again'..."

"Initially, I only understood the former line. Since I was already a stone piece, I would naturally be manipulated. Perhaps, I would be manipulated by someone that would deploy me to perform better in my fate of being a playing piece, adding some highlights to my life. That should be all. It's the last line that I never actually fathomed... until I saw this manual. It was a moment of enlightenment."

"I see now that this is the tattered manual. This is the end of my fate."

Sir Bi sighed softly and said, "As for saying this is the second time I've seen this Go playbook..."

"That day, Fang Yun got this Go manual from Yun Yang..." He was deep in his thoughts for a moment, as if he intended to say something but was holding it back; after some time, he spoke in an absent manner, "I remember the first time I saw this manual..."

Not completing his sentence, he fell silent again. The other three men felt their insides churning, feeling a wash of blood rising in their mouths, but they tried holding it in.

Sir Bi spoke, "Back in that year... my path to becoming a mandarin was crushed. I was oppressed by someone's intentional conspiracy. Utterly bored, I turned my attention to the art of Go. I lusted after nothing more in this life... It seemed like a great choice to live in seclusion in a forest..."

"During that time, I roamed the world with the alias of Qi Yishou1 and challenged Go experts everywhere... I eventually won the title of 'Go Saint'... Do all of you still remember the line 'A single move dictates victory, despite multiple strategies'?"

Sir Bi chuckled bitterly, his gaze alight with memories as if he had physically returned to the days he was recounting.

"Speaking of which... those times were the happiest days of my life, the most gratifying... Each time I reminisced about it in the night, I longed to immerse myself in those memories. If I could live my entire life like that, it'd be the most joyous thing I could ever do..."

"A few years later, I was contacted by the Four Seasons Tower's Empyrean Palace. The Peak Tower caught me by surprise and said that an otherworldly expert would like to play a game with me."

Sir Bi spoke softly, "I was never very much impressed by the term otherworldly expert, but I've heard of the name of the Four Seasons Tower, even after being outside for so long. I dared not neglect the matter, and rushed over right in the middle of the night..."

"It seems funny now that I am recollecting these memories. Back then, I prided myself for rarely having a worthy Go opponent in this world. I honestly didn't worry about the other party; I even thought of holding back so that the other party wouldn't lose face. After all, the opponent was an otherworldly expert - they wouldn't have cared about winning or losing. As long as I knew the outcome, it would be sufficient!"

"Who would have known... my opponent allowed me to rest for three days when I got there, to give me a chance to replenish myself. When the fourth day came, we played while sitting on separate sides of a curtain. When we started the game, the person asked me, 'How many games do you want to play to decide between victory and defeat?'"

Translator Note:

1Qi Yishou (齐一手qí yī shǒu): 一手 (yī shǒu) also means being an expert or a move.