"How... how could this be..." Jin Zhong and Bai Yue stared at the Go board in disbelief. They tried to mentally deduce the moves in their hearts, and the reality was exactly as Qing Xi had said—the entire board was a trap laid by the Black Stones. No matter where the White Stones were placed, the Black Stones could seize the opportunity to move heaven and earth, perhaps through the Four Symbols transformation, the Five Elements transformation, or the Eight Trigrams transformation...
Both of them were masters who had played Go their entire lives. Not only had they never encountered such a game, they had never even heard of one like it.
When Qing Xi was playing, they had also been watching, trying to deduce countless possibilities for each move. Step by step, they had never detected the Black Stones' traps. How could it be that upon closer inspection now, the entire board was filled with traps?
How could this be?
They didn't understand, and they couldn't figure it out.
Not only did they not understand, but Qing Xi, as the player herself, didn't understand either. For every White Stone she placed, she had also deduced countless possibilities, only placing it after repeated confirmation. Yet, she never imagined that playing until now would result in the entire board being filled with her opponent's traps.
She gazed at the board, just staring, carefully recalling every move during the game. But no matter how she recalled, pondered, or deduced, she couldn't understand how her opponent had set up this trap, or even when she had fallen into the trap he laid.
What to do now?
She had already lost.
And what she lost was the Mystic Grade apex flying sword that her Uncle-Master Jin Zhong had spent centuries painstakingly tempering.
Qing Xi felt apologetic and deeply sorry for her uncle-master. If possible, she truly wanted to use her own Spirit Treasures to preserve her uncle-master's lifebound flying sword. But upon careful thought, all the Spirit Treasures on her person combined weren't as valuable as that lifebound flying sword of her uncle-master.
She didn't know what to do.
Jin Zhong was even more clueless. Standing there, he felt dizzy and disoriented. When he came, he firmly believed his grandniece would surely win. After all, even Reincarnated Mighty Ones were no match for Qing Xi—how could she possibly lose to this kid?
Ideals are beautiful.
Reality is cruel.
Now that he had lost his lifebound magical treasure, what was he to do?
He didn't know.
Jin Zhong had never considered this problem before.
Across from him, Gu Qingfeng tilted his head back and drained the peach blossom wine from his jug, then laughed heartily and reached for that Mystic Grade apex flying sword. At that moment, the flying sword erupted with radiance, whooshing through the air before landing back in Jin Zhong's hand.
"What's this? Can't accept a loss?"
Gu Qingfeng smiled faintly. "Trying to renege?"
Jin Zhong gripped his lifebound flying sword, glaring at Gu Qingfeng. He truly couldn't accept the loss. Losing this lifebound flying sword was equivalent to losing half his life.
If only Bai Yue, Qing Xi, and Qinglian were here, he might have been able to weasel out of it. After all, they were all his own people, and this kid was only at the Golden Core cultivation level. With just a little maneuvering, he could have muddled through.
But unfortunately, the hall wasn't limited to just these people.
Earlier, when he was playing chess here, seven or eight people had already gathered. Later, when he brought Qing Xi over, even more arrived. Perhaps because Qing Xi appeared here, within this short time, dozens of people had gathered in the hall. Half of them might have come to watch the game, another half to see Qing Xi, and some probably just for the spectacle.
Reneging in front of so many people was a face Jin Zhong simply couldn't afford to lose.
Once word got out, his reputation would be ruined forever. Not only would his own name be tarnished, but it would also drag down the long-standing chivalrous prestige of Wuse Mountain.
"Old Monster Jin, if you can't accept the loss, just say so outright."
Gu Qingfeng took out a jar of peach blossom wine, opened the jug, and poured the fine wine into it. Without looking up, he said leisurely, "This lord doesn't lack your broken sword."
"You!"
Jin Zhong was now filled with regret, his guts twisting with remorse. Why on earth did he have to play chess with this kid? If he had stopped after losing a few games, it would have been one thing. Although the loss was heavy, at least he wouldn't have lost his lifebound magical treasure!
Damn it!
What to do now!
Jin Zhong felt like crying but had no tears. His thoughts raced like lightning, and he suddenly remembered what Qing Xi had said earlier. Steeling himself, he said, "This... Young Master Gu, right? You're here to visit Old Master Kumu, and you're the descendant of an old acquaintance of his. Look..."
"Visiting is visiting, old acquaintances are old acquaintances, gambling is gambling. These are two different matters."
Gu Qingfeng laughed. "I already said just now, if you admit you can't accept the loss, I don't need that lifebound magical treasure of yours."
"You brat!"
Jin Zhong pointed at Gu Qingfeng, his face flushed red, panting heavily. He was, after all, one of the famous Eighteen Swordsmen of Wuse Mountain and a disciple of Grandmaster Cangsong. In the outside world, he was a figure of some standing. How could he possibly utter such words about being unable to accept a loss, especially in front of so many people?
Seeing the surrounding crowd whispering and pointing fingers, Jin Zhong gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, closed his eyes, grimaced, and threw his lifebound flying sword onto the ground, shouting, "It's just a broken flying sword! What can't I accept losing! Take it, you brat!"
"Not bad. At least you have some gambling integrity."
Gu Qingfeng picked up the flying sword, glanced at it, and said, "It's a decent flying sword."
Jin Zhong pointed at Gu Qingfeng again, furious. "Don't get cocky, you brat! I will definitely get my revenge!"
As soon as the words fell, Jin Zhong leaped up, his figure already vanished.
"Senior Bai Yue, I'm worried my uncle-master might do something foolish in his despair. Could you follow him and check on him? I would be deeply grateful."
"Don't worry, Miss Qing Xi. This old man understands."
Bai Yue shared the same concern and hurriedly followed.
"Young Master Gu."
At this moment, Qing Xi spoke up. "This flying sword is my uncle-master's lifebound magical treasure. Could you temporarily return it to him? I... I can exchange something of equivalent value with you."
"Oh? Tell me, what will you exchange?"
Qing Xi took out all the Spirit Treasure resources from her Storage Bag. Beside her, Qinglian also took out all the Spirit Treasure resources she could from her own Storage Bag. Qing Xi said, "I know this is still far from enough, but my junior sister and I only have this much... I hope Young Master Gu can grant us a few days' grace. After the Wuse Flower Festival, I will definitely find a way to make up for the owed resources."
The onlookers nearby also volunteered to share some of the burden for Qing Xi, each taking out some Spirit Treasure resources from their Storage Bags. However, Qing Xi politely declined them all: "I appreciate everyone's kindness, but your resources are hard-earned too. I will handle this matter myself. Thank you all."
"Hey, Young Master Gu, all the Spirit Treasure resources my senior sister obtained from her past trials were handed over to Wuse Mountain. Otherwise, forget a single Mystic Grade apex flying sword, even a rare-grade one, my senior sister could afford it."
Qinglian said, "Besides, everyone knows my senior sister's character. Since she says she'll give it to you after the flower festival, she definitely will."
The people nearby also began to speak up for Qing Xi, with some even defending her indignantly, saying Gu Qingfeng, a grown man, was bullying a woman, that his victory was dishonorable, and others accusing Gu Qingfeng of cheating. Opinions varied, with all sorts of comments. In their eyes, Gu Qingfeng had instantly become a despicable, sinister villain.
"Everyone, there's no need for this."
Qing Xi stopped the crowd, explaining, "Young Master Gu did not win dishonorably, nor did he cheat. I was simply outmatched in skill."
After speaking, she turned to Gu Qingfeng again. "Young Master Gu, is it really not possible to grant a few days' grace?"
"How dare I not? If I don't agree, they'll probably eat me alive."
Gu Qingfeng threw Jin Zhong's lifebound flying sword over.
"Thank you, Young Master. Rest assured, after the flower festival, I will definitely find a way to repay what I owe."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at the sky, which was already turning faintly bright. He stood up, yawned, and said, "Alright, it's getting late. Time to go back and rest."
"Wait."
"What?"
Qing Xi originally wanted to say some words of thanks, but with so many people speaking up for her, she felt as if she were threatening the other party. She wanted to explain but didn't know how to begin. After thinking for a moment, she simply said, "Young Master, rest early."