Chapter 389: Just right, tomorrow we'll add a dish

On the chessboard, black and white stones have already intertwined for over ten moves.

Xiao Yuanhang places his pieces extremely quickly, almost without thought, each stone thrusting straight into the center and seizing vital points.

Gongsun Chi is far more steady; before each move he pauses to ponder, his pieces appearing scattered yet subtly forming a surrounding formation.

Gongsun Chi glanced at his opponent: "Your Majesty's style of play is exactly like your use of troops—brave and advancing, sharp and unmatched. But..."

He lightly placed the white stone from his fingertip, blocking a fierce "thrust" of the black stone.

"Excessive rigidity invites breaking."

Xiao Yuanhang didn't even glance at that white stone; his black stone snapped down on a seemingly unrelated corner with a "pak" sound.

"Your Majesty's style of play is also quite similar to governing the state." He lifted his eyes to face the emperor opposite him: "Step by step, you build fortifications, your calculations deep and far-reaching. But..."

He paused: "Your calculations are too many, making oversights inevitable. The ministers in the court can be your pawns, but the common people of the world are not."

Gongsun Chi's hand, hovering to place a piece, froze instantly.

He slowly lifted his head, locking eyes with Xiao Yuanhang.

"The common people?" Gongsun Chi suddenly let out a low laugh, his voice cold and full of mockery: "Prince Ning, Prince Ning, you've spent half your life at war, yet you still have this womanly benevolence?"

He leaned forward slightly, staring at his opponent: "I ask you, without my iron cavalry trampling the nations, how long will warfare continue to rage across this vast Central Plains?"

"One hundred years? Or two? Year after year of war, season after season of beacon fires—would the dead commoners really be fewer than those who die in my battle to unify the world?"

"Only after I pacify the Fierce Kingdom and West Lu will the common people you speak of truly enjoy eternal peace."

Xiao Yuanhang's expression remained unchanged, but his black stone struck the board with a "kak" sound, shaking the adjacent white stone so it jumped slightly.

"So, Your Majesty, you intend to make this choice for all the people?" His voice heavy: "You would wager this generation's mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the eternal peace you speak of?"

"This is inevitable—what gamble?" The scar on Gongsun Chi's face flushed red with excitement: "Division brings war, union brings peace; this is the way of heaven!"

"Now the three kingdoms stand in balance; today you raid my borders, tomorrow I plunder your cities—war will never know a day of peace!"

"Only with the world unified can true cessation of war be achieved!"

He let the white stone in his hand fall, capturing a cluster of black stones, his voice rising higher and higher:

"This is great benevolence! Prince Ning, you see only the corpses before you, not the myriad generations that will dwell in peace afterward—how short-sighted your vision!"

"You protect only a corner of the people of the Fierce Kingdom, yet ignore the enduring suffering of all under heaven!"

"It is people like you, narrow-minded, who are truly unkind!"

Xiao Yuanhang sat silently, slowly raising his eyes: "Your Majesty, your 'great benevolence' is too distant."

"So distant that it requires trampling countless living people and their homes to achieve."

Unlike Gongsun Chi, his voice was not loud, yet steady and forceful: "I lack such great ability, and cannot see that far into 'peace'."

"All I know is that the youths standing behind me tonight have parents, wives, and children waiting for them to return home."

"The people of the Fierce Kingdom think of tomorrow's rice seedlings in the fields and the hot porridge in their pots, not the glorious foundation of eternal unification you speak of, Your Majesty."

He paused, looking at Gongsun Chi's suddenly grim face: "To protect those before us, to let those who follow me live to see tomorrow's sunrise—that is my 'benevolence'."

"As for the world..."

He chuckled: "If you cannot even protect those before you, what talk is there of the world?"

Gongsun Chi's brows furrowed slightly; Xiao Yuanhang's argument about "those before us" fiercely challenged his notion of eternal peace.

"Good, good—an emphasis on 'those before us'!"

"It seems neither of us can convince the other."

"Since Prince Ning is so obstinate, I will first compete with you on this chessboard!"

He picked up a white stone and slammed it onto the board!

"Pak!"

With a crisp sound, the stone chessboard itself trembled slightly.

Xiao Yuanhang said no more; his black stone followed suit and fell.

The two ceased talking, yet the sound of stones falling grew faster and faster, heavier and heavier.

It was not a game of chess, but resembled the clash of metal on a battlefield.

In the thicket, Li Lao San was counting the hours.

"Now!"

A gleam flashed in his eyes; he struck a fire starter, lit it, took out the "fire arrow" from his pouch, and ignited its fuse.

"S—sh!"

A line of fire tore through the night, carving a blazing arc, precisely shooting toward the hindquarters of the male boar in the hollow, already frenzied to the point of madness, wildly digging the earth!

"Boom!"

The hemp ball burst into a small flame, instantly startling it!

"Woo—!"

The wild boars, heads down feeding voraciously, were as if struck by lightning!

The largest male boar suddenly rose on its hind legs, letting out a heaven‑shaking roar, its crimson eyes filled with terrified fury.

Following instinct, it lowered its head and charged wildly back the way it had come!

There lay the camp of Da Xia!

"Huff! Huff!"

"Ow! Ow!"

The remaining wild boars quickly followed, panicked, crashing wildly.

Seven or eight massive beasts, like a herd of out‑of‑control war chariots, rumbled over the undergrowth and surged straight toward the camp!

"What sound?"

"Wild boars! It's a herd of wild boars!"

"How did the nearby wild boars charge down?"

The soldiers were stunned by this sudden group of wild beasts, their shouts rising in a chorus.

The originally neat patrol formation was instantly thrown into disarray,

A large number of soldiers instinctively surged toward the direction of the commotion, torches waving wildly, shadows flickering.

"Go!"

In the drainage ditch, Lu Qi sprang up like a ghost, lowly shouting: "Go!"

Xiao Er hoisted Tuan Tuan onto his back, like a black panther coiled and ready, he darted out from the earthen ditch.

At the moment when the patrolling soldiers had just passed, a brief gap appeared due to the distant commotion; they flashed like lightning over the fence, rushing into the shadows beneath the commander's tent.

Lu Qi followed closely behind, firing several iron lotus seeds with a backhand, extinguishing several nearby torches, creating deeper shadow for Xiao Er to hide in.

The wild boars' cries mingled with the soldiers' shouts into a single din.

The personal guards stationed before the commander's tent dared not leave their posts, yet they clustered together, all gazing toward the disturbance caused by the wild boars.

"What's happening over there?"

"It looks like a herd of wild boars has charged in."

"Wild boar? Not bad, catch it! Killing it is fine too—perfect for adding a dish tomorrow!"

Lu Qi climbed onto the tent roof, lay prone, and overlooked the entire main camp.

Xiao Er seized the moment, ghostlike darting behind them, flashing into Gongsun Chi's large tent.