Chapter 776, (2): Profound and Mysterious
Chapter 776, (2): Profound and Mysterious
Hei Baizi’s expression changed slightly. In the game of Go, it was better to place the pieces around the edges. Placing a piece at the center didn’t do much. It really was a waste. That was why placing a piece at the center was more of a handicap.
Was Zu An deliberately going easy on him? After all, between true experts, victory and defeat was only a fine distinction. He actually dares to go easy on me; doesn’t that mean that his skills are far beyond mine?
Zu An’s seated figure seemed more and more mysterious. Hei Baizi didn’t dare to show any carelessness now. He quickly sat up straight and used a hundred and twenty percent of his attention. He had played this five-in-a-row before, so he naturally knew which positions he had to guard against. Also, he had to change from a defensive position to an offensive one, or else he would be constantly pressured.
The two of them played one piece after another. At first, Hei Baizi still seemed rather relaxed, but his expression gradually became grave.
Jiang Luofu had a smile on her face. Even though this wasn’t her strong point, she could still tell that Zu An had the advantage. For some reason, she felt more happy than if she had won herself when she saw that Zu An was about to win.
On the other side, Xie Xiu was so happy he almost cheered in celebration. Hei Baizi, you old bastard. Who is laughing now? You kept bullying me day after day, but now, you were done in by a young junior! Let’s see how you’ll act arrogant in the future! Of course, there was no way he would speak such words out loud. On the surface, he had a look of grief for fear that his master would take his anger out on him.
He sneaked Zu An a few looks in the meantime. This kid is getting more and more formidable! Looks like big sis’ eye for men is better than mine…
Pah pah pah, my eyes are only good for checking out girls! Why do I need to be good at evaluating men anyway? For example, Principal Jiang is pretty good. Look at those long legs…
He suddenly felt a wave of killing intent. When he turned around, he discovered that Jiang Luofu was glaring at him with a look that definitely wasn’t kind. He quickly shifted his eyes guiltily.
Why don’t you glare at Zu An when he looks at you? Zu An can look, but I can’t? Zu An already has Chu First Miss, Pei clan’s miss, and my big sister… Of course, he only thought about those things. In the end, he became more and more confident that it was better for him to find those pretty daughters from humble families. Those girls were much more gentle and kind. Zu An could have his fun with those tigresses.
After Jiang Luofu shot Xie Xiu a dirty look, she said to Hei Baizi, “Fifth brother, are you going to make your move? Aren’t you being too slow? The sun is already about to set.”
Hei Baizi’s expression paled, and then his face turned red. In the end, he lowered his chess piece helplessly and conceded. “I lose.”
Zu An sighed in relief. The Go Saint was the Go Saint after all. He knew the sure-win method, but there were several times where he had almost been done in. He had been extremely focused in the end and hadn’t dared to make any mistakes, or else the one who won would have been Hei Baizi instead.
Hei Baizi stared at Zu An in a daze. “Your distinguished self is so young, yet you already play so well. Furthermore, you even gave me a handicap in the beginning. I have no choice but to admit defeat.”
Zu An’s face heated up. The one who went first clearly had the advantage. The only reason Hei Baizi thought that way was because he was thinking from the perspective of Go. “Senior is being too polite. Actually, victory and defeat were extremely close. There were several times where I almost lost.”
Hei Baizi chuckled. “You’re still young, yet you aren’t arrogant. Not bad, not bad. Eighth sister, your choice wasn’t bad after all.”
Jiang Luofu felt her veins popping. “Watch what you say; he’s just a friend.” What the hell is up with all these old farts? Why are they all playing matchmaker all of a sudden?
“Just a friend?” Hei Baizi had an ambiguous smile on his face. Like hell I’ll believe that! This woman is extremely fierce; when has she ever gotten close to any man before? Let alone personally bringing him to the academy’s rear mountain. Do you think we’re blind?!
Jiang Luofu couldn’t stand his strange look. She grabbed Zu An and said, “Ah Zu, we’re leaving. We’re not going to hang around this old thing anymore.”
They quickly left afterward. Zu An could only cup his hands apologetically to Hei Baizi. “Senior, we’ll meet again.” Because he had won the match, the restriction placed around them naturally disappeared.
“We’ll meet again for sure. However, I don’t dare to call myself your senior.” Hei Baizi sighed as he watched the two leave. He felt a strange sense of loneliness.
Even though Xie Xiu was having the time of his life inside, he still looked the part on the outside. He said with feigned sorrow, “Master, you don’t need to feel too hurt. Ah Zu was just lucky. His true chess skills aren’t as good as master’s.”
“You don’t know shit!” Hei Baizi was furious and roared at him, “Only capable people can attribute their success to luck! If your master lost, then he lost! Sir Zu’s game skills are the highest among all those I ‘ve seen in this life. He even gave me a handicap in the beginning, yet I still lost! I only have admiration towards him; how can I be a sore loser here?”
“You’re right, you’re right. Teacher really is open-minded.” Xie Xiu immediately changed to his flattery tactics.
Hei Baizi harrumphed. “Set up the chess board again and play a few rounds with your master.”
“Huh?” Xie Xiu’s face immediately fell. He really wanted to throw up whenever he saw a Go board.
“What do you mean huh? Hurry up.” With a swing of Hei Baizi’s sleeves, the white and black pieces separated into two piles. “We’re playing five-in-a-row now. Repeat what Sir Zu did just now. We’re going to review that game.”
“Okay, no problem!” Xie Xiu’s eyes brightened. He thought to himself, I might not be able to beat you in Go, but do you think I never played five-in-a-row before? Zu An didn’t seem to have that much trouble just now. I’ll just repeat what he did. Just wait, I’ll get you good this time… He sat down in high spirits, but he regretted it quickly afterward. He lost after just a few moves.
Hei Baizi criticized him from time to time.
“Idiot, how can you lose so quickly?!
“What am I going to do with you?
“Why don’t you look at Sir Zu for once? Your ages are similar, yet the difference between the two of you is so great!”
Xie Xiu wanted to cry. That guy managed to get my sister, but I couldn’t get his sister. Of course there’s a big difference…
…
Meanwhile, Zu An had no idea that his friend had been put in a tough spot because of him. He found a chance to ask Jiang Luofu, “Big sis, who are the other seniors in front of you? Can you tell me about them? That way, I won’t run into them without knowing a thing.”
He felt as if he had already been hollowed out along the way. The only reason he could deal with them was because of his advantage from being a transmigrator, since he’d had access to millennia of human knowledge.
Even so, in the past, he had just been a keyboard warrior. He knew how to shoot his mouth off online, but he’d be easily exposed in front of a real expert. Just as earlier, he had almost been exposed by Hei Baizi. He really didn’t want to experience another situation like that again.
Jiang Luofu smiled. She was quite fond of a handsome young man calling her big sister. She coughed and explained, “You don’t need to worry about that. There are no more in front of us.”
“No more?” Zu An was shocked. “Doesn’t the libationer have twelve disciples? How many did we even meet?”
Jiang Luofu said, “Among the twelve disciples, three of them have mysterious identities. Not even we are guaranteed to know who they are. At the very least, we’ve never seen them in the academy before.”
“Which three?” Zu An was rather curious. He wanted to use this chance to get some information. Even though he had heard about some of these things, how could it compare to the information one of the libationer’s core disciples provided herself?
After some hesitation, Jiang Luofu said, “The second senior is a doctor. We don’t know his name; we only know that he disappeared many years ago. The sixth senior is an artist who pursues the dao of art. Unfortunately, I’ve never met this person before, nor do I know who she is. Ninth sister is a singer. I don’t know much about her, and she’s always been a mysterious person. When the time comes, you’ll naturally know.”
Zu An was stunned. The libationer’s disciples were all mysterious. Looks like the female to male ratio isn’t low! Together with that junior sister Jiang Luofu had mentioned earlier, didn’t that mean that there were at least four?
Is the libationer an old pervert? Zu An immediately dispelled the thought as soon as it appeared in his head and apologized inside. He had met the libationer before, and he was the very example of someone who stood aloof from worldly affairs, a true elder. Furthermore, he had taken in outstanding disciples from all manner of different fields, so how could he be someone who appreciated such lowly interests? No problem, just leave all of these lowly things to me.
Zu An’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait, that second brother of yours is a doctor? He’s not Ji Dengtu, is he?”
“How could it be him? Don’t bring up that guy in front of me.” Jiang Luofu’s face immediately turned cold. Even the temperature around them seemed to drop a few degrees.
Zu An remembered that she was Ji Xiaoxi’s aunt. Ji Xiaoxi mentioned that her mother had passed away at a young age. Jiang Luofu probably hated Ji Dengtu because of her sister’s death. He didn’t want to bring up her sore spot either and quickly changed the topic. “Then what about the libationer’s other disciples?”
Jiang Luofu’s expression finally eased a bit and said, “Third senior calls himself the Drunken Sword Immortal. He wanders the world and isn’t in the academy. Tenth senior specializes in military strategy, so he remains by the border and isn’t here either.
“The remaining senior brother is a rune master. He’s always locked up and studying those scribblings of his. He took in Xie Daoyun recently as well, so we shouldn’t run into him.
“Fourth brother is an alchemy master. If he isn’t hiding in his room and concocting pills, then he’s fiddling with those puppet soldiers of his.”
“That’s why in the end, we’ve pretty much already run into every single one we can possibly run into. We shouldn’t meet any more disciples today.”
Zu An was curious. “The libationer’s disciples seem to have all taken in different schools of thought. Then, big sis, what is your specialty?”
Jiang Luofu touched the rim of her glasses. She said through her red lips, “I’m of the legalist school.”
Zu An’s eyes scanned over her special cold exterior, her office lady outfit, her long legs, and her high heels. His heart began to pound. The profession of a lawyer really did match her perfectly! Teachers, secretaries… That series would obviously include lawyers and prosecutors!