Chapter 165: Great Sect Apprentice, A Comparison of Chess Skills

Li Fu, inner residence, a courtyard that was neither large nor small.

It was already past early spring, and although the weather was still slightly cold, it had passed the season requiring charcoal fires; however, four burning braziers were placed in the four corners of the room, making the inner chamber quite warm.

"You are the one surnamed Xu?"

Chen Ci sized up the woman before him; she was in her early thirties, and while not exactly a great beauty, how should one put it—her figure and appearance fully embodied the lingering charm of the Wei Wu style, and even with a sickly look, it could not hide that particular allure.

"This concubine is indeed she; I have seen the Immortal Master."

The woman bowed to Chen Ci, her voice gentle but lacking in breath, and a faint greenish aura appeared between her brows; Chen Ci took one look, understood the situation in his heart, and felt somewhat speechless.

This was clearly the handiwork of a cultivator; he had only come to look for someone, and he had not expected to actually run into a bit of trouble.

"Do you know why I have come?"

Chen Ci pondered for a moment and asked; it was impossible that not a single person in the Li family knew Geng Laodao, otherwise he would not have risked his life for a so-called junior.

Chen Ci ignored the woman's stuttering and asked curiously: "Since that is the case, then what is this business about the Han Family of Four Directions Mountain?"

Xu hesitated for a moment and replied in a low voice: "That person once said that if someone came to find Yuanqing in the name of Li Xuedao, then they had come to take Yuanqing into the He Mountain Sect."

Xu seemed to hesitate, looked at Chen Ci, but still said in a low voice: "Now that the Immortal Master has come, I wonder if you could ask for my child back and take him to He Mountain to cultivate?"

Xu held her chest slightly, her face full of sorrow, took a breath, and her whole body trembled slightly: "I will not hide it from the Immortal Master, when that Daoist came a few days ago, this concubine thought Yuanqing's predestined fate had arrived, but I did not expect that although that Daoist was looking for Yuanqing, he did not mention my husband's name at all, only saying that Yuanqing must go play chess with someone, and if he played well, he would take him as an Apprentice; that Daoist also had Immortal family methods, and the Li family is just an ordinary family, so naturally, we dared not refuse."

"Although this concubine is just a woman, I also know that one must trust one's own family, not outsiders."

Playing chess?

Alright, it seems he is indeed the person involved.

Xu gave a bitter smile: "Moreover, this illness of mine came about strangely; I suddenly caught a cold and coughed severely, and no matter what medicine I took, it would not get better. Seeing that I was about to die, that Daoist came to the door and dissolved a Spirit Pill for me to take, and I got much better, though it was not completely cured; he said he would bestow a Spirit Pill after Yuanqing finished playing chess. This concubine actually felt something was wrong in her heart, but I just dared not say it out loud."

"This concubine also does not know where to begin."

What kind of reason is this?

Chen Ci felt a bit strange in his heart, his thoughts turned slightly, and he asked: "I heard that the Han Family of Four Directions Mountain is also a top-tier clan in this area, and their ancestors once sought the Dao at Quanshan, so they have some foundation. Judging by your tone, it seems you do not want your child to be apprenticed under the Han Family?"

"This concubine... knows."

Seeing Chen Ci pondering in silence, Xu gritted her teeth and suddenly knelt on the ground: "This concubine still has some savings from these years, over thirty thousand taels of silver, which I am willing to offer to the Immortal Master as Yuanqing's tuition."

"You should get up first."

Chen Ci shook his head; it was originally a small matter, but now it had become troublesome, and there was something strange about it, so he was still not sure how to proceed.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ci took a Soul Fixing Talisman from his sleeve and stuck it on Xu's chest. As a Spirit Light flashed, Xu felt a wave of heat flow through her whole body, her chest suddenly itched, and she coughed violently, spitting out a thick, greenish phlegm that was actually emitting wisps of cold air.

"Senior Brother Geng has already passed away, and your child's teacher is someone else; I am just passing by to take him to Xishan Prefecture, not to take him as an Apprentice."

Chen Ci said indifferently. Hearing this, the face of Xu, which had just regained some color, first stiffened, looking somewhat dazed, and then felt a sense of relief; it was very complicated.

"Tell me everything you know. If I can handle it, that would be fine; if not, this matter may need to be discussed further."

Not long after, Chen Ci left the Li Fu, went out of the county city, and rode an old horse to the Yizhuang west of the city. In any place, Sect Apprentices, miscellaneous cultivators, and wandering martial artists were clearly divided yet had intersections; if one wanted to inquire about things, finding those from the lower nine classes of peers was never wrong.

After Master Chen brought some wine and meat, spent some effort, and spent some silver, he had figured out the matter more or less.

It was not a big deal, and it did not have much to do with that Li family kid, which made Chen Ci's heart settle down.

It really was just playing chess.

According to what Xu said, the Li family were scholars who farmed, and although they did some business, it was not very big; it was only because 'Li Xuedao' sent money back from time to time to subsidize the household that the family lived quite well, so they had not divided the family, and Xu's status in the residence was also very transcendent.

And her son Li Yuanqing, although not old, had some reputation among the scholars in Dongshan Prefecture city because his chess skills were excellent, with almost no rivals, and he was commented on by his chess hall teacher as having the potential of a national master. If it were not for the fact that Xu was waiting for her son's Immortal fate, she might have sent him to the capital of the Liang Kingdom for further study. Nowadays, chess masters have a very high status, and some even have the opportunity to play against Immortals; even the Liang Kingdom royal family would show them three parts of respect.

As for the chess playing, it was because a great sect Apprentice had recently come to Dongshan Prefecture to travel. Although he did not have much contact with local cultivators and only loved traveling through mountains and rivers to temper his heart in the mortal world, he was particularly fond of chess. If he played comfortably, bestowing Spirit Pills or giving guidance on cultivation was not a problem at all. There was even an old man playing chess on the street who was bestowed a Longevity Pill, directly returning from his sixtieth year to his forties, becoming a topic of conversation in the marketplace, making some cultivators so envious that their back teeth were crushed.

And as for the Han Family of Four Directions Mountain, the old Daoist at the Yizhuang said that it seemed a few families of cultivators had encountered some difficulties and wanted to ask that great sect Apprentice for help, so they catered to his preferences and scoured Dongshan Prefecture for some good chess players.

It was just that this method was not very honorable.

As for the Han Family's background, it was nothing much, not even as good as the Wang Family of Xishan Prefecture; their ancestors had only been Outer Transmission Apprentices of Nine Springs Temple, later coming down the mountain to branch out, doing some secular and cultivator business, and had some incense-burning ties with Nine Springs Temple, but it could only be considered a miscellaneous lineage.

"It's just that there is some trouble in the Dongshan Prefecture territory; otherwise, the name of the He Mountain Sect alone should be enough to hold the fort."

Chen Ci touched his chin, thinking about how to handle it—whether to go directly to the door to demand the person, or wait until the chess game was finished and then take the person away. Presumably, that so-called Han Family would not make things difficult for him for the sake of a Registered Disciple.

In this world of cultivation, although the titles for Apprentices apprenticed to great sects differ slightly, they are generally divided into four grades: 'True Inheritor', 'Inner Gate', 'Outer Transmission', and 'Registered Disciple'.

In fact, in the cultivation world, only 'True Inheritor' and 'Inner Gate' can call themselves Apprentices of a certain sect, while 'Outer Transmission' and 'Registered Disciple' are actually just outsiders. When walking outside, they can still pull the tiger's skin to intimidate miscellaneous loose practitioners, but in formal occasions, they can only say they have sought the Dao on a certain mountain, and cannot call themselves Apprentices of a certain sect.

For example, Chen Ci; if one were to be serious, he could not say he was a He Mountain Apprentice, but rather that he had cultivated on He Mountain, and he did not have the qualifications to take Apprentices or transmit the Dharma on behalf of He Mountain.

To put it more bluntly, it is the difference between 'administrative staff', 'public institution staff', 'contract workers', and 'labor dispatch'. Master Chen has not yet passed the exam for a He Mountain position, while on the contrary, Ahu has gone straight from a contract worker to an administrative position, and can even advance in the future, making A-Ci envious.

"Sigh, old Geng, oh old Geng, you said why did you hide the person in Dongshan Prefecture? It is truly troublesome."

If it were not for the fact that they had fought side by side and he had once eaten Lin Laohu's pie, Chen Ci would really be too lazy to intervene. Going back to improve his cultivation and bitterly practicing the Soul Fixing Talisman—wouldn't that be better?

(End of chapter)