Chapter 101

Li Hao returned along the way, holding the food and drink.

When passing through the bustling street, lanterns had already been lit along the way.

The pedestrians on the street were lively; there were servants leading tall horses, and the wheels of the carriage behind were rolling, looking ordinary.

Even those leading the horses were in the Ji Hun Realm; it really is lively...

Li Hao smiled.

As the time for the Li family to choose the True Dragon approached, the undercurrents in Qingzhou City were already surging.

In recent days, he had seen many figures wearing clothing from other states flowing into this city.

When eating in a restaurant, his ears were full of related discussions, and there were also discussions that some big shot with a third-rank official position had also come to Qingzhou City to cheer for their nephew...

As far as Li Hao knew, his mother didn't seem to have any clan relatives.

The eldest aunt said that his mother was born into a small family, which was later wiped out by demon creatures. She met his father, Li Tiangang, who helped her, and they met and formed a good marriage.

These figures rushing to Qingzhou were obviously because that second aunt was not reconciled...

That is very good.

Li Hao smiled lightly and didn't care; he just counted the days silently in his heart, looking forward to the arrival of that day very much.

Passing by a bustling bridge embankment, Li Hao saw someone playing chess there, so he leaned over to take a look.

Anyway, it was late to go back now, so he wasn't in a hurry.

"Don't crowd!"

"You're a child, why are you crowding?"

Most of those who had the leisure to watch and play chess were middle-aged and elderly people. Besides Li Hao, there were only two young men in their early thirties.

When he squeezed to the front of the chessboard, he saw that the game had only reached the middle stage, but the outcome had already been decided.

Li Hao took a quick look and knew that the white pieces were going to lose.

Although the white pieces had formed a dragon, they were trapped at both ends and had nowhere to retreat.

Unless the white pieces had the courage to circle and strangle, biting off one arm of the black pieces, they would have a chance of winning.

But being forced and trapped like this step by step, they had obviously already shown cowardice and could not possibly have such courage.

Li Hao shook his head slightly and looked at the one holding the black pieces.

The other party was an old man with a ruddy complexion and white hair and beard. At this moment, he was smiling, gently shaking his folding fan, stirring up a breeze in the evening.

He was waiting leisurely for his opponent to concede.

"I lost."

The white pieces fell back into the chess box, and the old man with the white pieces in front of Li Hao conceded dejectedly.

"Oh my, what a pity."

"Tsk tsk, there was hope if the piece had been placed here earlier."

"Nonsense, it was clearly here..."

"Why do I feel like it could still be played? Why concede?"

The crowd watching with furrowed brows only then started to discuss. Some felt sorry for it, some were regretting the previous mistake in placing the piece for the other party, and others didn't understand and thought that conceding now was too hasty.

Chess skills vary, so what they see is naturally different.

But the board was set, and this game of chess was already over.

While they were discussing, suddenly a carriage and horses came across the bridge.

Seeing the crowd gathered by the bridge, the leading coachman shouted angrily: "Get out of the way, all of you, get out of the way! What are you blocking the road for!"

His attitude was arrogant, which made many people very angry, but when they saw the dragon-blood warhorse of the carriage, their expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly avoided it, not daring to block it.

Soon, the crowd cleared, and the carriage drove over.

Seeing the chess stall by the side of the road, the carriage shouted angrily: "Get lost, get lost!"

The others who had avoided it were whispering that this coachman had been servile in his master's house for too long, and now he was acting like a villain and was unreasonable.

Resentment was resentment, but their power was not as good as others. The people in front of the chessboard scattered one after another, not daring to stay there anymore.

Even if,

They were in the right.

In the blink of an eye, only Li Hao and the old man with the black pieces remained on the spot.

As well as the two young men around thirty behind the old man.

The old man with the black pieces was still gently shaking his folding fan, but his gaze was looking at the willow trees swaying in the evening breeze by the river, as if he hadn't let the noisy and clamorous sounds enter his ears.

A murderous cold light flashed in the eyes of the two young men behind the old man. One of them turned his head and looked coldly at the approaching coachman.

"What are you looking at?" The coachman shouted angrily. He also saw that these few remaining people had an extraordinary bearing and seemed to have some background, but even so, he was not polite at all.

In terms of background, how many people in Great Yu could compare to his own master?

"If you don't want your family to have bad luck, get lost. Do you know who the master sitting behind me is?"

One of the young men stepped out suddenly, appearing in front of the coachman like a teleportation, and slapped him.

The coachman's head tilted to one side, his neck actually snapped, and he died on the spot.

The crowd that had been driven away earlier was shocked by this and let out an exclamation.

Some secretly thought it was satisfying; the villain had met his end, and it had vented their anger.

Others felt that although the coachman was evil, his crime did not deserve death.

And they began to sympathize with the other party.

But the young man didn't even look at the coachman again, lifted the carriage curtain directly, and stepped inside.

Exclamations came from inside the carriage. A fat old man in brocade clothes sat inside, as if he hadn't expected someone to break in suddenly.

There were also female family members inside, who also let out exclamations and wanted to shout angrily, but were forced to turn pale by the cold, sharp gaze swept over by the young man. They felt that as long as they opened their mouths, they would be twisted to death by this martial artist immediately!

"Slap your own mouth, kneel down, and then get lost."

The young man said a total of eight words.

The fat old man trembled and said angrily: "Do you know who I am? I know the Prince of Yan, I..."

"There might be someone above your head."

The young man coldly interrupted his words: "But above our master's head, there is no one left!"

"Say one more word, and none of you will be able to leave!"

A chilling murderous aura filled the carriage. The female family members were so scared they wanted to cry but couldn't, curling up and shivering.

The old man's face was as ugly as a pig's liver. Even if he had immense power, at this moment, he was facing an enemy of the country. When a commoner is angry, blood splatters five steps; kings and marquises are no different.

He could only grit his teeth, slap his own mouth, and then kneel down, enduring the humiliation.

Seeing this, the young man withdrew from the carriage and patted the rump of the dragon-blood warhorse.

This horse was originally fierce and difficult to train, but under the young man's pat, it was startled and galloped all the way, scaring the pedestrians on the side of the road to scream one after another.

But in the end, there was no one to control it. It didn't run far before it rushed toward the river, as if it had lost its way, and crashed into the river, bringing the carriage with it.

With a splash, it fell into the water, attracting many people in the distance to stop and watch.

And the young man seemed to have done nothing, returning quietly to the front of the old man with the black pieces, his expression calm, as if he had been standing here originally and had never moved.

The old man with the black pieces was a bit disappointed. He withdrew his gaze from the river and sighed: "What a pity for this autumn water in the river."

Saying this, he intended to get up and leave.

But as his gaze swept over, he saw a young man standing by the side, motionless, but picking up the chess pieces in the chess box.

From beginning to end, Li Hao's gaze had not swept over the arrogant coachman and the carriage.

In Qingzhou City, he didn't need to bow his head to anyone yet.

Unless it was in that mansion.

At this moment, he picked up the white pieces in the chess box, one, two, three...

He played as if for his own amusement, filling these white pieces into one position one by one, connecting them into a line and forming a force.

The force formed a dragon claw, tearing a bloody gap in the original black pieces.

He did this not to continue playing, because the outcome had already been decided, and this was not his chess game.

It was just that today, he simply didn't want to see such stuffy and oppressive things anymore.

So he sketched a stroke for it.

The old man with the black pieces raised his eyebrows slightly and swept his eyes over the pieces on the board, but suddenly he was slightly stunned.

The two young men in plain clothes standing behind the old man changed their expressions slightly. The young man who had made the move earlier seemed to want to take action to teach Li Hao a lesson, but was blocked by the folding fan raised by the old man.

"Does the little friend also understand chess?"

The old man with the black pieces smiled.

"Slightly."

Li Hao finished filling the pieces and felt a bit more comfortable.

"Looking at the little friend's placement, it is exquisite and has the blood of a youth. Not bad!" The old man praised.

"Youth naturally has the madness of youth."

Li Hao said lightly: "Old gentleman, don't blame me."

The old man with the black pieces recited Li Hao's words slightly and couldn't help but smile: "Since the little friend understands chess, why not sit down and play a game?"

Li Hao looked at the board and thought for a moment: "Okay."

At this moment, the crowd watching the chess had already left, and there were only the four of them under the weeping willows.

Li Hao put the many snacks and acrobatic toys he was holding onto the grass on the side and sat down.

The old man with the black pieces took a look and smiled inwardly; it was youth after all.

But as Li Hao took away the things he was holding, revealing his brocade clothes, his gaze swept to the beautiful jade hanging from Li Hao's waist.

His eyes couldn't help but freeze.

The two young men behind him also noticed that this young man seemed to have some background, and his performance just now didn't look like an ordinary person. They also noticed the dragon-blood treasure jade at the young man's waist, and their pupils shrank.

"Old gentleman, please."

Li Hao said.

The old man with the black pieces came back to his senses slightly, a smile appeared on his lips; he didn't expect to see that child from back then by chance. He smiled and started this chess game.

Soon, the pieces were placed in order, Li Hao held the white pieces and played second.

The onlookers who had retreated to the distance didn't dare to come over at this moment, worrying about causing trouble.

Besides, the young man who had just shown extraordinary skills behind the old man with the black pieces didn't seem to be from an ordinary family, and they didn't want to get close to avoid accidentally offending them.

More passersby were attracted by the carriage that had fallen into the water in the distance, and many people threw ropes to rescue them.

And on Li Hao's side, the black and white pieces on the board were already fighting and clashing.

Following the end of the initial layout, it was layer upon layer of attacks.

Li Hao didn't hold back when placing his pieces; they were all killing moves, and they were even more ruthless and fierce than usual.

The speed of the old man with the black pieces placing his pieces became slower and slower, and the folding fan that was gently shaking earlier had been put away at some point.

Every time he placed a piece, he would stare with furrowed brows, thinking for a moment before playing.

But the young man was fast, accurate, and ruthless, his offensive posture was coiled, presenting a vast and crushing momentum.

The expression of the old man with the black pieces became more and more solemn, with total concentration.

The two young men behind the old man with the black pieces changed their expressions and looked at this young man.

A moment later, the outcome on the board was decided.

The expression of the old man with the black pieces was a bit gloomy; obviously, he didn't expect that he would lose, and lose so miserably.

He hadn't... lost for many years.

Anger appeared in the eyes of the two young men behind him, and they both looked coldly at the young man.

It seemed that as long as the old man with the black pieces expressed his attitude, they would strike like thunder in an instant to end this young man.

Li Hao seemed to sense something, looked up and glanced, but didn't care.

If they really made a move, he wouldn't be afraid.

The old man with the black pieces stared at the board for a long time and said slowly: "Let's play another game."

Li Hao had already stopped and said lightly: "Even if you play another, you will still lose."

The old man with the black pieces was slightly choked; no one had ever dared to say such disparaging words to him.

But seeing that the young man didn't mean it, he took a deep breath, calmed the anger in his heart, and said:

"Play another game. If you can still win, I will give you a small gift."

"I don't lack anything," Li Hao said.

Just after saying this, he smiled.

The old man with the black pieces smiled and said: "The thing I give, you will definitely like."

"That's not necessarily true," Li Hao said lightly: "Besides, if you win again, I'm worried that the people around you might have to protect their master."

The two young men changed their expressions and stared at Li Hao with cold eyes.

The old man with the black pieces waved his fan and smiled at Li Hao: "They are ignorant; don't be like them. If it makes you unhappy, I apologize to you."

Hearing this, the two young men changed their expressions, and shock appeared in their eyes at the same time.

The master actually... apologized? Although they could only see the master's back, under that kind voice, they seemed to feel a kind of majesty emanating from that back. Both of them were awe-struck and didn't dare to show murderous intent again.

Li Hao was surprised, looked at the old man, and seeing his sincere and gentle eyes, it was indeed sincere.

"Okay."

Li Hao agreed.

Thinking that the fight just now was indeed too fierce, it wasn't worth venting this anger on the other party.

Soon, the second game of chess began.

This time Li Hao's move was much gentler, and both sides had give and take.

The old man with the black pieces' thoughts were not as tense as before. While playing chess, he had the leisure to chat: "Speaking of which, you are young, why are you immersed in the chess Dao instead of going to the border to join the army, or practicing martial arts hard to strive for fame and fortune?"

"Fame and fortune are all dust, and glory and wealth are also floating clouds."

Li Hao played a piece casually and said: "The ultimate purpose of life is nothing more than being full and warm. I seem to have good luck; I have been free from worry about food and clothing since I was born, so why bother."

"Hmph, useless!"

A young man behind the old man with the black pieces couldn't help but snort coldly.

Li Hao looked up and glanced. Being a bodyguard, you have use?

The old man with the black pieces looked at Li Hao in surprise. This didn't look like words a young man could say, but rather like the state of mind of an old man who had washed away the lead and experienced the vicissitudes of life.

But just now, the young man clearly still had the arrogance of "youth naturally has the madness of youth."

"Youth should have the ambition of the clouds, galloping across nineteen states in one day."

The old man with the black pieces said with interest: "Are you unwilling to see the scenery at the top of the mountain?"

"What's so good about it? It's just the human world after all."

Li Hao said casually: "Some people's journey is the stars and the sea, while I only want poetry, wine, and fields. Everyone has their own aspirations."

The old man with the black pieces was slightly startled, and the piece in his hand stopped.

He gazed at the young man before him, and his sealed heart seemed to have a feeling of loosening.

And the young man behind the old man with the black pieces sneered: "You haven't climbed to the top of the mountain, how do you know the scenery at the top of the mountain? You dare to say this big talk!"

Li Hao frowned slightly, glanced, and didn't pay attention.

The old man with the black pieces came back to his senses, his face suddenly became serious, and he said: "Hua'er, apologize to the little gentleman!"

What? The young man seemed not to have heard clearly, couldn't believe it, and looked at the old man with the black pieces in shock.

His father actually let him... apologize to someone? What kind of status was he?

How many people could bear his apology, and how many people dared to bear it?!

"Fa... Master, I this..."

"Mhm?"

The old man with the black pieces turned his head slightly and looked at him.

His eyes were as calm as the wind and frost after the heavy snow, but it made the young man break out in cold sweat instantly.

His face changed in shock, sweat appeared on his forehead, and he hurriedly bent down, bowing to Li Hao: "Little gentleman, it was my presumption and slip of the tongue. I hope you will forgive me."

"Forget it."

Li Hao waved his hand and said.

The old man with the black pieces smiled slightly, then continued to play, and continued to chat word by word.

From fame and fortune to those figures who stirred up the wind and clouds, the old man with the black pieces asked the young man if he had ever yearned for them?

The young man asked if they were still alive?

The old man with the black pieces thought for a moment and couldn't help but laugh dumbly.

The second game was finished.

Li Hao won again.

But this time the move was much gentler, with more pulling, and it could be considered give and take.

Li Hao felt that the old gentleman's chess skills were slightly higher than the Fifth Uncle's, but compared to himself, they were still a few points worse.

"It's getting late, old gentleman. Let's meet again if fate allows."

Li Hao stood up, picked up the acrobatics and food that added up to no more than three taels of silver on the ground, waved at the old gentleman with a smile, and turned to leave.

"I haven't given you a gift yet."

The old man with the black pieces said immediately.

"No need."

The young man didn't look back, just waved his hand behind him: "I said, I don't lack anything."

The old man with the black pieces was stunned and couldn't help but laugh, whispering:

"In this world, where is there anyone who really doesn't lack anything..."

"Hmph, is this the third generation of the Li family that shakes Qingzhou? The cultivation base is indeed powerful; I can't see through it, but it's a bit stupid."

Looking at the back of the young man leaving, the young man who had apologized earlier had a gloomy expression and said with sarcasm.

That young man was probably still unaware of how big a chance he had just abandoned, right?

Ridiculous!

Hearing his words, the old man with the black pieces looked at him lightly without speaking, but looked at the street where the young man left, sighing secretly: If this child were my son, how good would that be? But it was just a thought.

He shook his head and smiled, saying: "This child's talent is only afraid of exceeding your imagination. At only fourteen years old, this chess skill is already master-level. Even if there is natural chess talent, it requires some research..."

Fourteen years, being able to research chess skills to this extent, and also being able to cultivate to the Fifteen-Li Realm, this is very terrifying.

The two young men were silent when they heard this.

They couldn't refute this; it was indeed the case.

The Fifteen-Li Realm at fourteen years old, even they were out of reach of this talent.

"You were humble. His chess skills are only displayed on this small chessboard, while your chess pieces, master, are placed on this world..."

Another young man with a bit of literary spirit said with a smile.

Hearing this, the old man with the black pieces couldn't help but laugh out loud, even though he knew it was flattery.

He felt that the frustration of losing two games in a row just now seemed to be much better.

"Haha, not bad!"

"However, if I see this young man again next time, I must win back on the chessboard!"

He wouldn't admit defeat.

After saying that, he shook his sleeves and left toward the city gate with a big laugh.

"Master, we just arrived, and the good show hasn't started yet. Don't you want to go and see it?"

"I've already seen it, very good, very good!"

(End of chapter)