Chapter 649: The Unsolved Mysteries

Looking at the Go stone in Yun Yang's hand, Yun Xiaoyao suddenly broke the silence and asked, "Is this what Sir Bi was holding in his hand before he died?"

"Correct." Yun Yang nodded.

"How much can this piece of Go stone tell?" Yun Xiaoyao questioned closely.

Yun Yang pondered.

Yun Yang had already examined it repeatedly. It was just a very ordinary Go stone, and there was truly not much to tell from it.

Yun Xiaoyao paused and said, "A Go stone's actual meaning is nothing more than being a part of a Go board. In all other aspects, even if it's a concealed weapon of an ultimate expert, it is incapable of manifesting such a substantial effect as it does on a Go board."

Yun Yang said, "Still, this is not a certainty, just a matter of opinion."

"I actually think that if a Go stone were to be used to take the right move, it could determine the winner of a Go game," Yun Xiaoyao said.

"This is indeed true." Yun Yang was still nodding his head.

"Go stone..." Yun Xiaoyao scratched his head, wanting to provide Yun Yang with more clues, but even though he sent his brain through hurdles, there was nothing more to say.

"Go stone...' Yun Yang contemplated, 'Go stone... Without someone to use it, the Go stone is a piece of stone, rotten wood, a rigid object... Only when it falls into one's hands will it effectively come into play. In the hands of one with superior skill in secret weapons, even the most ordinary piece of Go stone could take another person's life. So, the key is still a person - a hand."

"When Sir Bi was on the verge of death, the last thing he did was to set up a Go game and grip the Go stone in his hand."

Yun Yang said, "Do you think he felt as though he were a Go stone and he would die without being used for his intended purpose?"

He turned his head suddenly and fixed his eyes on Yun Xiaoyao.

Yun Xiaoyao exclaimed softly, "Who in this world isn't a pawn?"

Yun Yang's brows drew together in a frown, and said, "His death is bizarre, yet, it looks like he was relieved. Was he thinking that he'd break away from being a pawn and the fate of being manipulated if he took his own life?"

"In the last moments of his life, by determining his own time of death, he'd break free from the control of a horrendous, manipulative hand?"

Yun Yang said, "If that was the case, it actually makes sense."

Yun Xiaoyao ruminated and was silent for a moment. Obviously, the logic in Yun Yang's words was somewhat beyond his scope.

"It seems that the man behind him is extremely atrocious... Otherwise, why would he take his own life just to make a stand against that man?"

Yun Yang said, "I think he had confirmed his final journey, his path resolved. However, he didn't expect that on the edge of death, he would still be under the player's control. Hence, he decided to end his life!"

"Since he would face death anyway, then it would be better for him to choose the way he died."

"Alternatively, might his suicide somehow sabotaged the plan of the player?"

Yun Yang cogitated, 'If I've been manipulated all my life, then before I die, could I retaliate against the man who has dominated my entire life with the power I'm left with?'

'If my death could serve as the final and most extreme vengeance, it would at least be of some comfort!'

'Sir Bi was truly a sage after all.'

'I just don't know if this wise man had the same thinking as I do or not!'

'Before Sir Bi died, he held the white Go stone in his hand. That color, white; does it imply anything else?'

Supreme Cloud of the Nine Supremes was also a font of wisdom among the Nine Supremes, hence the mind of a wise man and a sage would inevitably be similar!

'Great minds think alike', wise men shared the same thinking or even more!

Nonetheless, even after a long time of speculation, Yun Yang felt that he could not fully recover Sir Bi's thoughts. However, he was sixty to seventy percent confident of his theory.

...

Upon returning to the Residence of Yun, Yun Yang set up the Go game in his room.

He sat cross-legged, concentrating on the Go board. At that very moment, he amalgamated his state of mind completely into Sir Bi's.

According to Yun Yang's understanding of Sir Bi, this man could be regarded as infallible, blessed with a meticulous mind.

If such a person were to serve as an imperial court official, he could have been brilliant in the imperial royal court; even overthrowing the aristocracy and dominating the empire was simply an affair which required slightly more effort. At worst, he could likely obtain a position as a President.

If he were to serve in the military, he could have been another Han Sanhe. Even if he was not comparable to that of Han Sanhe, he was no weaker than Qiu Jianhan and Leng Daoyin.

'If I were Sir Bi...'

'I have the ability to rule the country and the wisdom to bring peace and stability to the empire, but I am just one of the civil and military ministers of the Four Seasons Tower, a martial world organization.'

'I have been under another's control all along - restrained, and have no way of extricating myself from this situation.'

'Would I feel aggrieved?' Yun Yang questioned himself.

'Yes!'

'I would feel aggrieved! Definitely!'

Yun Yang fixed his gaze on the Go board.

'Since I am resentful, what would I do? I can't even control my own fate. What else could I do?'

'There might be hope as long as I continued to live, and persevere longer. Perhaps I could put up with it until it's over, until the day I break free. This should have been the initial idea. A sage is a human as well, and a human is naturally reluctant to give up hope... and a chance at freedom.'

'However, after making strenuous efforts for ages and not attaining the outcome I desire - until one day, I find out that not only am I unable to get rid of the control over my own fate, I have come to a time when I am to be disposed of, what else would happen?'

Yun Yang's mind quivered a little, and he muttered, "Why did I think of the words 'being disposed of'?"

He immediately recalled the injuries of the four men, including Sir Bi.

Their life essence had dwindled to nothing, and their internal organs had turned desiccated!

Yun Yang abruptly thought of Supreme Lord Spring Frost, and finally, a glimmer of understanding shot through his mind. He had figured something out.

'If this is the case...' Yun Yang drew a deep breath while peering at the Go stone on his palm, and said softly, "Sir Bi, if there have been no mistakes in my guess, then you should have left something behind for me; but why am I not finding anything? What did you leave me?"

"This doesn't make sense!"

"More importantly, he knew that I am Supreme Cloud!"

"How did he know? Even if he had guessed it, there should have been sufficient proof of his claims!"

"He realized that I am Supreme Cloud, yet had said nothing. Before this, our stands were set against each other, and defying the Nine Supremes has always been the ultimate goal of the Four Seasons Tower. Despite knowing that I am the Supreme Cloud, he did not expose me to the higher authorities of the Four Seasons Tower."

"The Four Seasons Tower pays diligent attention towards the intelligence of the Nine Supremes. If he had known earlier, he would only need to make a report, and it would be a great merit to him. Therefore, he must have certainly just guessed it. With this credit, he desired to free himself from control; at the very least, he could be so much better off, and it would only be nothing but good!"

"Then, this could confirm that he did not know about this for long, but only learned of it recently."

"If he had just known about it, why didn't he choose to report it in exchange for benefits? Presumably, he refrained from sharing the knowledge because he had discovered that his internal organs had withered, realized that the Four Seasons Tower had laid hands on him and wanted him to die?"

"It was too late for him to turn the tide, so... he decided to hide my identity?"

Yun Yang cudgeled his brain mercilessly, as there were areas he still could not straighten out.

It was not because he could not understand the reasons Sir Bi helped to cover up his identity, Sir Bi's suicide, and the smile of relief that seemed so relaxed. He could already approximate the truth from those small signs.

However, how did Sir Bi know that he was Supreme Cloud?