Chapter 321

Sunset was approaching.

The weather was overcast, and the light snow that had just fallen had also stopped.

Su Yun took a group of servants and climbed into the carriage in the cold wind.

"Drive—"

The people of Bianjing all recognized the Su family's carriage.

Along the way, pedestrians and carriages all tactfully avoided it, or poked their heads out to take a look before lowering them.

Smooth and unobstructed!

"Whoa—"

"Young Master, we have arrived!"

The carriage finally stopped in front of a magnificent mansion, with a plaque hanging above the gate.

The words "Su Fu" were written in a flying dragon and dancing phoenix style; it was rumored that this was personally inscribed by the Second Master of the Academy.

The doorman at the gate hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

Su Yun and Chen Jiuyan took two carriages; men and women should be separated, this was the etiquette.

Su Yun got off the carriage with the help of servants.

Chen Jiuyan, however, jumped down gracefully, landing without a sound.

Although it had been snowing heavily these past few days!

Longyu Street had long been swept clean, bright and spotless.

There were not many people on the street, and there were some children wearing thick red cotton-padded jackets and tiger-skin hats, their faces frozen red, breathing out visible hot air and having a snowball fight.

They were called back to the mansion by their elders, their faces still showing "reluctance."

Bianjing, Longyu Street.

Its name was unique in its nobility in the capital of the Great Qi.

After leaving the Imperial City, the original "Chengtian Gate" was the main gate, but a hundred years ago, they changed the gate leading from the West Gate to Longyu Street to Chengtian Gate.

It didn't make sense!

The people of Bianjing were not surprised, because two great surnames lived on Longyu Street.

The Su family and the Xue family.

The Xue family was different from the other nine great surnames; they had no flamboyant style, and there were very few officials in the court.

The Xue family's influence was at the bottom of the nine great surnames, and there had been no notable figures in recent years.

Although they controlled the "meat market" business in Bianjing, several large banks, pawnshops, and vegetable markets.

However, compared to the other nine great surnames who often monopolized water transport, salt, and iron, they were indeed low-key.

The Xue family had a good reputation in Bianjing, and their bank loans were not like the other big surnames, "nine out and thirteen in," "decapitation interest," or forcing people to the dead end by using people as collateral for debt.

It's just that there had long been rumors in Bianjing.

The Second Master of the Academy was from the Xue family, but he was a collateral branch and not highly valued, and there had been grievances and grudges between them.

As for whether this was true or false, I am afraid only the nobles of the Great Qi would know.

Ordinary people just liked to talk about everything, and it was talk for wine in taverns and teahouses.

The big mansion did not open the main gate, but brought Chen Jiuyan into the Su Fu from the southwest gate.

Chen Jiuyan followed closely behind Su Yun, her mind clearly still on the ten games of chess played against Xie Guan, appearing somewhat absent-minded.

The Su Fu was grand in scale, much more spacious than the Xie Fu, but the layout was relatively simple and clear. A small path led directly to the chess house in the backyard, which was Su Jing's residence.

Su Yun walked calmly; he remembered that his grandfather should have returned from the Cabinet today.

He prepared to go and pay his respects to his grandfather.

His grandfather only returned home once or twice a month.

The maids encountered on the road all bowed respectfully to Su Yun.

The Fourth Master Su Jing had married early in his youth, and his wife was just the daughter of a butcher in a humble alley.

After giving birth to four sons, including Su Yun's father, she passed away early.

Su Jing did not remarry and raised his four sons alone.

After the four sons grew up and married, they were all worried that their father would be alone and helpless, so the four courtyards were not separated.

The four brothers of the Su family had a harmonious relationship, which was completely different from the confrontation in the Xie family.

When Su Jing's reputation reached the sky, he was already forty or fifty years old, and the four brothers in the family had already married and started their careers.

Most of the wives they married were also folk women, and they also inherited their father's devoted nature. All four of them only married one wife and never took concubines.

Su Yun's father was the fourth, the youngest of the brothers.

In Su Yun's generation, he only had two older sisters and one older brother above him, and a younger sister under ten years old below him.

The number of males was relatively scarce!

In Su Yun's generation, his own brother worked in the court, mixed in the officialdom, and rarely appeared.

He was the only male of the Su family walking outside.

As for the two older sisters, the eldest sister eloped with a grassland slave to the Eternal Heaven in the north, and the second sister studied Daoist scriptures and became a Daoist nun.

Because of these two things, the family was in an uproar, and his uncle almost expelled the two sisters from the family.

In the end, it was his grandfather who came out to persuade them.

"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so don't worry about them."

His grandfather personally sent the eldest sister off, and the eldest sister knelt down and kowtowed to her grandfather at the city gate with tears in her eyes.

His grandfather just said, "Once you leave the Great Qi, don't come back."

The second sister practiced in the Chaoyang Temple in Hokkaido and returned once a year, always hiding from her grandfather.

It was almost New Year's Eve this year, and I don't know why she hadn't returned yet.

Su Yun withdrew his thoughts and had already walked to the chess house in the backyard.

After entering the backyard, the servants retreated, leaving only him and Chen Jiuyan.

The so-called chess house was just a three-story building.

The first floor was for guests, the second floor for reading, and the third floor for living.

It was already dark.

It was getting colder.

Outside the chess house, there was a small room as a gatehouse for entering the chess house.

Now there was a stove fire in the gatehouse.

There was an old man with white hair and beard, with a hunched figure, one trouser leg empty, lying on a chair by the stove and dozing off.

Su Yun stepped forward and bowed to the old man: "Old Chang, is Grandfather here?"

The old man called Old Chang had a bit of spirit in his turbid eyes, and after seeing who it was, he didn't get up.

"Oh, it's Young Master Yun, the Old Master is back, he said you can go in yourself if you come."

Chen Jiuyan also came back to her senses; this was the first time she had seen the Master since coming to Bianjing.

She also tidied up her robes, bowed to the old man on the recliner, and followed him in.

This Old Chang was no ordinary person; he was a martial artist of the Ninth Realm of the Xuan Dan who had been seriously injured and had followed the Fourth Master for many years.

The old man watched the two walk into the chess house, said nothing more, just closed his eyes, gently shook the recliner, and sighed:

"The Old Master's last disciple is truly outstanding. A girl of only ten years old has already stepped into the middle three realms of martial arts. Looking at her restrained spirit, I'm afraid she is about to break through to the Sixth Realm of the Primordial Spirit."

"Cultivating the Primordial Spirit is indeed the right path, otherwise, in the end, it will just be an old cripple!"

"Young Master Yun's foundation is good, but it's a pity he has no interest in martial arts... It's really a pity."

Su Yun and Chen Qiongyan gently pushed open the door. The room was simply furnished, with only a few chessboards and tea tables.

An old man was already waiting inside.

Su Yun bowed respectfully: "Ruwen, greets Grandfather."

Su Yun, courtesy name Ruwen.

"Chen Qiongyan, greets Master."

The young lady's real name was Chen Qiongyan.

The two stood by the door.

A vicissitudinous voice with a hint of a smile came: "Close the door."

Su Yun hurriedly closed the door.

Inside the room, an elderly man sat at the end of the chessboard. His appearance seemed even older than the Old Chang outside, looking like he was eighty or ninety years old.

His figure was thin, wearing a wide green robe, his face covered with wrinkles, but one could still see the handsome features of his youth, only now he was like a withered tree in the mountains.

However, under his gray and sparse eyebrows, a faint light flickered in the old man's eyes.

Su Yun stepped forward and skillfully brewed tea.

Su Xiang, who was "standing on the clouds" in the eyes of outsiders, now had a smile on his face.

The old man first examined the young lady, nodded slightly, and said kindly: "Sit down, don't be restrained."

Chen Qiongyan sat down opposite the old man, with a chessboard between them, on which only four or five chess pieces were sparsely placed.

Peculiarly, a white piece occupied the "Tianyuan" position, and the young lady looked slightly puzzled.

A white piece moved to Tianyuan after a few moves!

Suddenly, she thought of the tenth game she lost today, and what Xie Guan said, that Go is not the Heavenly Dao but the Dao of War.

Not only was her expression stunned!

The old man saw this and asked: "Qiongyan, what's wrong today?"

Su Yun silently brewed tea for the two and interjected: "Grandfather might not know yet, but Qiongyan lost a game today."

The old man threw the chess pieces back into the chess jar, revealing a thin right hand, with prominent knuckles, covered with age spots, thin skin, and clearly visible veins and blood vessels.

He coughed, his chest heaving, while his left hand was hidden in his wide sleeves.

"In Bianjing, those who can steadily defeat Qiongyan are only Du Jing and Tang Ziang of the Chess Recruitment Office," the old man said slowly.

Su Yun saw his grandfather like this, his eyes full of worry.

"Grandfather, don't go to the Cabinet tomorrow, rest for a few days."

The old man waved his hand: "It's just an old ailment."

Chen Qiongyan found it strange; with the Master's cultivation, why was his body so poor? It seemed he had been this weak since she became his apprentice.

Su Yun knew his grandfather's character; he couldn't be persuaded once he made a decision.

He didn't dare to keep him in suspense: "It's not Master Du or Old Master Tang, it's someone from my Caotang Poetry Society, who hasn't even reached twenty yet."

As soon as these words were spoken!

The old man looked at Chen Qiongyan's slightly dejected appearance and couldn't help but laugh: "Qiongyan, who has always suppressed others with her chess skills, has met her match today."

Chen Qiongyan raised her head, her tone filled with dissatisfaction: "That person must have studied chess since childhood and deliberately hid his strength; he is truly cunning. If we started over, I definitely... wouldn't lose."

The young lady recalled the last few games of the match and had to change her words gloomily: "I wouldn't necessarily lose to him."

The old man looked at the young lady's slightly unconfident appearance and became curious.

Su Yun hurriedly recounted today's events, including the process of playing ten games against Xie Guan.

"Xie Guan?"

The old man pondered for a moment and asked, "Could it be the student who wrote the line 'The Peng in the Su Beihai, the Phoenix facing the sun, carrying books and swords on a vast road' a few days ago?"

Su Yun nodded, a bright smile on his face: "That's right, Xie Guan is now also a member of the Caotang Poetry Gathering."

The old man smiled upon hearing this, naturally knowing about the Caotang Poetry Gathering founded by Su Yun.

"To be able to win six games in a row against Qiongyan, this person is indeed extraordinary."

The young lady changed the subject and asked: "Master, what is the game of chess like?"

Su Jing couldn't help but laugh:

"This is your own question, yet you come to ask the Master. Whatever you think it is, that is what it is."

"Then what do you think, Master?"

The old man gently took the white piece that was finally placed at the Tianyuan position back into the chess jar and said lightly: "Playing chess is just playing chess, no need for too much attachment."

Chen Qiongyan was stunned; these words were exactly the same as what Xie Guan said.

She said solemnly: "Master, I want to play a game."

The old man nodded in agreement.

The old man smiled: "Then how many pieces should I give?"

Chen Qiongyan hesitated, wanting to say eight pieces, but thinking of the Master's chess skills, she didn't dare in the end.

"Give nine pieces!"

The old man played black and gave nine pieces.

The young lady played white, with the first move at Tianyuan.

Giving more than nine pieces in Go is a teaching game.

Chen Qiongyan played black against the old man.

Su Yun didn't need to watch the game to know the result.

Sure enough, after less than dozens of moves, Chen Qiongyan was indecisive and finally conceded in the middle game.

The young lady felt it was a matter of course, but didn't expect to lose so cleanly.

This time the Master didn't take Tianyuan cleverly like Xie Guan, but just placed pieces at will, and won by walking step by step with the general trend.

The Chess of the Heavenly Dao could not suppress the Master.

The young lady sighed slightly, feeling lost in her heart; the Dao of Go seemed to be a mountain that she could never move away from the Master.

Her chess skills had not improved much over the years, and she seemed to have hit a bottleneck.

And that Xie family concubine-born son she met today, his chess was also tricky, flawless, and won by surprise.

She felt more discouraged, thinking that her proud chess skills had lost to a peer younger than herself.

At this time!

Her thoughts drifted involuntarily to the illusion Xie Guan pulled her into in the small courtyard.

Chen Qiongyan's expression became dazed, her eyelids heavy, and her pupils unable to focus.

She seemed to have fallen into the cold Dezehu again, and the yellow pupils the size of lanterns at the bottom of the water made her terrified.

Like a drowning person, she frantically wanted to escape this terrifying place, her hands and feet cold, her chest filled with water.

She couldn't stop trembling, her hands tightly covering her neck.

"Wake up!"

A vicissitudinous voice exploded in Chen Qiongyan's ear like thunder, pulling her abruptly from the illusion back into the chess house.

The old man raised his eyes and said slowly: "Guard your heart and mind, let the Primordial Spirit sit in the Yellow Court."

"How could you have a heart demon?"

Chen Qiongyan exhaled, stabilized her mind, and told the story of Xie Guan pulling her into the illusion exactly as it was.

This confrontation between the two behind the scenes.

Su Yun listened from the side and suddenly realized why Qiongyan had such an expression just now.

Although he did not practice the Primordial Spirit or martial arts, he knew the difficulty of Primordial Spirit cultivation. Xie Guan actually possessed such terrifying Primordial Spirit cultivation, which was truly unbelievable.

A ray of light flashed in the old man's eyes, the young lady was stunned, and then came back to her senses again.

She was surprised to find that those dreamlike memories had become blurry and could no longer be remembered clearly.

Su Jing asked: "Dezehu?"

"What else happened today? Tell me in detail."

It was the first time Chen Qiongyan saw a solemn look on the Master's face.

The young lady recounted everything in more detail, even how the ten games of chess were laid out.

"When leaving, Xie Guan also said something about asking me for help."

"It was about one of his enlightenment teachers, who died drunk at home..."

The old man frowned slightly: "Enlightenment teacher?"

Su Yun added: "It seems his name is Dong... Shao."

"Dong Shao!"

The old man's pupils condensed, and his expression was shocked.

This time even Su Yun was frightened. Since he could remember, he had never seen his grandfather have such an expression; his grandfather was always calm and composed.

"Grandfather, this person..."

Chen Qiongyan was also a bit shocked; she had never seen the Master show this expression, and there was a hint of "fear" in his expression.

Could it be that this Dong Shao had some connection with the Master?

It shouldn't be enough to make the Master like this; her heart was full of doubts.

There was a bit more cold light in the old man's eyes, he didn't say much, and his tone was cold:

"This matter has nothing to do with you."

"Go down."

Seeing Su Jing's serious expression, the two didn't dare to linger and hurriedly said goodbye.

The two left, and the door of the chess house was gently closed.

Inside the chess house.

Only the old man in a wide green robe remained, silently lowering his head, his face hidden in the shadows.

A bright moon rose in the sky; it was already near the fifteenth, the moon round like a plate, casting clear brilliance.

"Chang Qi!"

Old Chang outside the chess house was awakened.

Chang Qi appeared in the room in an instant. Strangely, the door of the chess house didn't open, and he knelt on the cold ground on one leg.

"Old Master, Chang Qi is here."

The old man sitting by the chessboard slowly opened his eyes and said:

"Go and guard the Xie family. You can't get in if Xie Hong is there. As long as Xie Guan leaves the Xie family, take his life."

Chang Qi just whispered: "Yes, Old Master."

"Go!"

Chang Qi disappeared in the room.

The room returned to silence, leaving only Su Jing.

He slowly extended his left hand from his wide sleeves. The hand was actually fair and tender, like a young man's skin, forming a sharp contrast with his old face.

The old man twisted his neck slightly, revealing the skin below his neck, which was also fair and young, and even his facial skin was peeling off, revealing a younger face inside.

This bizarre scene was chilling.

Su Jing frowned, his eyes full of complexity and struggle, and he let out a long breath.

Hu—

"Surname Dong... Master, your real name should be Dong, right."

(End of this chapter)