There were still two days left until the fifteenth day of the second month. Wu Chijin had just received news that Yue Qingqiu had been assassinated. He could already foresee that this would severely affect the unity of the 170,000-man alliance army. It would also affect the position of the Crescent Country's future leader in the other countries.
At this moment, he was wondering if he could avoid this storm. If Rudong could hide, where was the answer? If he couldn't dodge it, what was the loss? Could the Crescent Country afford it?
He decided to go up the mountain and play a game of Five Beasts with Luo Xiaoyuan before thinking about it again.
Just as Tian Wu's golden hands completely concealed the entrance of the Clear Wind Study, he happened to bump into his master, Spirit Snake, and Luo Xiaoyuan, who were fighting, so he conveniently watched two rounds from the side. After Wu Chijin realized that Luo Xiaoyuan's way of thinking was different from the average person's, he had been repeatedly pondering over Luo Xiaoyuan's logic. These two games allowed Wu Chijin to discover a world that he had never discovered before.
It turned out that the depth of the Five Beast Chess was beyond his imagination. Whether it was using the weak to resist the strong, using the few to attack the many, bullying the weak, using the many to surround the few, or even the tit-for-tat between beasts of the same strength, or the tit-for-tat between beasts of different strength, it had given Wu Chijin a new understanding of military tactics. No wonder the Five Beast Nation always topped the other countries in terms of military tactics. It was all because of its origins.
Luo Xiaoyuan, who was in front of him, was an outstanding player in the Five Beasts Chess. Wu Chijin could not figure out her layout and divination skills. It was only after counting or dozens of times that he finally realized the subtlety of Luo Xiaoyuan's layout when Nimble Snake's master was surrounded. Wu Chijin also realized that Luo Xiaoyuan's train of thought was far beyond Xiaoyue's. No wonder Xiaoyue's words could not cut into Luo Xiaoyuan's logic.
Today, Wu Chijin hoped to see if there was a new solution to the current predicament through Luo Xiaoyuan's chess game. However, what made Wu Chijin feel troubled was that it was the time when Shui Yingyue was teaching Luo Xiaoyuan. Shui Yingyue had never liked others to disturb Luo Xiaoyuan's reading time, and this Shui Yingyue happened to be the person that the number one wise man in the mountains feared the most.
Especially today, Luo Xiaoyuan was once again in a quagmire. This time, the problem she encountered was "wind thread", which talked about the relationship between wind and all things. Unsurprisingly, Shui Yingyue and Luo Xiaoyuan were still in a state of talking to themselves.
Wu Chijin knew that Luo Xiaoyuan needed him to help her out, so he suddenly said from behind the two of them,"Xiaoyuan, mountains can become wind, water can become wind, forests can become wind, and human words can also become wind. Why can't wind become mountains, water, forests, or words?"”
Shui Yingyue and Luo Xiaoyuan were shocked when they saw Wu Chijin appear. The two of them jumped up happily at the same time. Shui Yingyue was happy because of the father-daughter relationship. The last time they met was nearly three months ago, so she was naturally very excited to meet him now. Luo Xiaoyuan's joy was that she saw the hope of relief. Luo Xiaoyuan found that every time the black gold appeared, it could effectively divert Water Reflecting Moon's attention and slightly relieve the pressure on her.
This special function of the Dark Red Gold was not something that others could do, especially the Spirit Snake. Every time he saw Shui Yingyue angry, he would always hide the furthest. This made it impossible for Luo Xiaoyuan to ask for help.
Wu Chijin's appearance changed the awkward atmosphere inside and outside the book house. The spirit snake heard the sound and quietly approached from outside the house. Long Po and Long Bo also walked into the house with tea and fruits in their hands. Shui Yingyue held Wu Chijin's hand and continued the question that Wu Chijin had asked Luo Xiaoyuan. She said,"That's right. Tell me, why can all things become wind, but wind can't become all things?"”
Luo Xiaoyuan was momentarily stumped by these words and did not know how to respond. It was not that she was unreasonable, but that Wu Chijin's words had nothing to do with the topic that Shui Yingyue was originally talking about. He had no idea why this sentence fell from the sky.
"Xiaoyuan, Xiaoyue's question is very knowledgeable. I'll try to enlighten you. It's not easy to understand Xiaoyue's knowledge!!”Wu Chijin said seriously and then said to Wu Yingyue,"Go and get the Five Beast Chess Set. I'll use it to enlighten him."”
When Shui Yingyue heard that her father wanted to use the Five Beasts Chess to enlighten Luo Xiaoyuan, she was puzzled. She asked,"Father, this kid played chess with the grandmaster until midnight before he fell asleep. Why did you play chess with him again?"”
Wu Chijin smiled and said,"You don't know this. Xiaoyuan's mind is filled with chess, so you have to enlighten him from the principles of chess. Only then will he understand." Look, you spend so much effort teaching him every day, how much does he understand? Hurry up and bring it over. Daddy will show it to you.”
Luo Xiaoyuan took the chess set from Shui Yingyue's hand and hurriedly unfolded the chessboard, skillfully placing the pieces on both sides. Wu Chijin smiled and said,"Since we're going to enlighten you about the wind today, we can't use the usual method to talk to Yi. Come, I'll give you some conditions. First, you have to lay out the layout on both sides."”
Luo Xiaoyuan nodded her head. Although she did not know Wu Chijin's intention, this suggestion sounded very interesting.
"First of all, both of us have a pack of jackals, tigers, and leopards. On the surface, we look evenly matched. You are not inferior to me, and I am not inferior to you. But in reality, in your territory, other than the tiger king and two wolves, the other chess pieces are my pawns. On the surface, they are your chess pieces, but they all listen to my commands. As for my territory, there are your two wolves and four horses. If you can let them return to your territory smoothly, they can continue to be used by you. Otherwise, they will be taken in by me. You only have 49 chances. At the same time, you have to protect your tiger king from being killed and bring your subordinates back safely. Understand?”
Shui Yingyue was confused by her father's question. It did not sound like it had anything to do with wind. How could she enlighten Luo Xiaoyuan? However, since her father said so, she could only listen for the time being.
Luo Xiaoyuan was very excited about this. Although she had been playing against Nimble Snake and Long Bo every night for the past three months, their Go skills were very different from hers. Most of them could only play against the Go manual in the book. It could not compare to the current situation, the conditions, and the challenge.
Facing Wu Chijin's conditions, Luo Xiaoyuan decided to go first. Wu Chijin paid more attention to Luo Xiaoyuan's first move because this move might be his next move.
Sure enough, as Wu Chijin had expected, this move made Luo Xiaoyuan think hard for a long time. Wu Chijin could tell from his eyes that he was in a dilemma. If he had to take care of the safety of the tiger king in his territory first, he would not be able to take care of his own people in the other party's territory. If they wanted to save their own people who were trapped in the enemy camp, they had to sacrifice the only two wolves in their territory to protect the tiger king.
This was also Wu Chijin's current dilemma. There were two wolves in the garden that the welfare student could trust. One of them was of course him, and the other was supposed to be Yue Qingqiu. However, with Yue Qingqiu's death, he didn't know where to find this wolf.
As for the Crescent Army and the Myriad Mountain Coalition Army at the foot of the mountain, they were their own people who were controlled by the enemy. Among the 170,000 alliance army, who knew how many of them had already been instigated by the enemy. Once the wind changed, their own people would instantly become enemies. Even if it was the Crescent Army, who could guarantee their loyalty?
And right now, the death of Yue Qingqiu was the source of this headwind. The death of the commander-in-chief would not only cause the countries of the Myriad Mountains to fall apart overnight, but it would also cause the five thousand Crescent Army to fall apart.
Luo Xiaoyuan moved. He chose to protect the Tiger King first. Although the tiger in his hand had not been settled, the rules of the game were that if the king died, he would lose. Therefore, there was nothing wrong with protecting the Tiger King.
However, why didn't he let the two wolves beside him go and help the king? If the tiger king moved alone, wouldn't the two wolves be further away from the tiger king? Wouldn't this make the tiger king seem more isolated and passive?
Luo Xiaoyuan placed her stone. The direction the Tiger King was heading to was the beast's den. He decided to let the Tiger King hide in the beast's den. This meant that he was prepared to cripple the Tiger King's martial arts, but also cut off the threat of his opponent. As long as the two wolves and four horses outside could earn a place to protect themselves, even if the Tiger King never came out of the beast's den, he could barely achieve a draw.
Now, it was Wu Chijin's turn to respond. The tiger king was only two steps away from hiding in the den. In order to stop these two steps, he had to kill the two wolves beside the tiger king. If the tiger king wanted to protect these two wolves, he had to stay in a position where the wolves could take care of each other. If the tiger king abandoned the wolves and fled, these two wolves would become the target of everyone.
However, Wu Chijin did not choose to surround and kill the two wolves. Since the tiger king chose to hide in the den, it meant that he was prepared to sacrifice the two wolves. A chess piece that could be abandoned was meaningless to the entire game.
In the end, Wu Chijin decided to attack the enemies in his territory first. If the tiger king continued to hide in the beast den, there would be no hope for these scattered soldiers. Sooner or later, they would be recruited or eliminated by him. Once the tiger king became alone, the defeat would be a foregone conclusion.
Therefore, Wu Chijin's first step was to surround the two wolves and four horses in his territory. Wu Chijin tried to think from the enemy's point of view. The Crescent Country, which only had Fu Lisheng left, was insignificant. If they could annihilate or incorporate the 5,000-strong Crescent Army, not to mention the Crescent Country falling apart, even the Myriad Mountain Alliance would be defeated. In this way, they could easily use the power of the world to encircle and annihilate the Crescent Mountain.
Luo Xiaoyuan could not help but smile when she saw Wu Chijin's move. This strategy of killing two birds with one stone was indeed effective. As long as Wu Chijin set his sights on the two wolves and four horses, his situation would be greatly preserved. Maintaining a stalemate was the most basic bottom line, and there was a great chance of turning defeat into victory.
Facing Wu Chijin's siege of the two wolves and four horses, Luo Xiaoyuan's first reaction was not to struggle to break out of the encirclement. After all, it was impossible to completely protect the two wolves and four horses in this situation. His plan was to sacrifice one wolf. If sacrificing one wolf could exchange for the safety of the tiger king and the safety of the other one wolf and four horses, it was a good deal.
The problem was that the wolf had to be worth the opponent's pursuit, regardless of the cost, and it had to be able to make the opponent pay a painful price. Only then could the opponent's attention be diverted and the opponent's experience resources be consumed. Even if his opponent had succeeded, by the time he turned around, he had already completed his invincible plan.
Therefore, Luo Xiaoyuan's move was beyond Wu Chijin's expectations. She actually let a wolf under the tiger king charge towards the enemy's camp, completely ignoring Wu Chijin's attack on the other four horses.
Wu Chijin's thoughts were confused by Luo Xiaoyuan's unexpected move. Did Luo Xiaoyuan not want to protect the two wolves beside the tiger king? How could only one wolf cause any damage to the enemy? Why didn't they take the time to take care of their own people who were trapped in the other side's camp?
Impossible. Wu Chijin did not believe that Luo Xiaoyuan would be so thoughtless. He must have other plans, but what was it? To Wu Chijin, this was a piece that concerned his life. He was using the life and death of the entire Crescent Country to play this game of chess. He could not ignore any detail, because it might be the lives of his comrades.
For this obsession, he could not judge Luo Xiaoyuan's thoughts just by the chess pieces on the chessboard. He had to look at Luo Xiaoyuan's eyes and the strategy revealed in the depths of her eyes. Although he knew that treating a ten-year-old child like this was extremely unfair, for the sake of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, he could afford this humiliation. After all, only he knew how unbearable this was.
However, Luo Xiaoyuan's gaze made him feel like he was being rebuffed. Luo Xiaoyuan was smiling at Wu Chijin. This smile was not mocking or provoking, but a happy and satisfied smile. This made Wu Chijin even more puzzled. Why would Luo Xiaoyuan have such a smile at this moment?
Shui Yingyue, who was at the side, was even more confused. She had no idea what these two were doing. What did this game have to do with following the wind? They had only played a few moves and they were already smiling. What was the meaning of this? She was like an outsider playing chess with the young master. Not only was she playing chess with the young master, but she was also playing chess with her father. This feeling really made her feel extremely vexed.
At this moment, a kind and gentle voice came from behind Shui Yingyue and said,"Don't you know what Xiaoyuan means?"”
It turned out that Spirit Snake had already entered the study room and was watching the layout and game between Wu Chijin and Luo Xiaoyuan. The Crescent Country was in a troubled time. How could Wu Chijin have the leisure to look for Luo Xiaoyuan to play chess? This game of chess must have a deeper meaning.
When Wu Chijin saw his master, he immediately stood up and bowed. At the same time, he said,"I've made a fool of myself in front of you. I was itching to play, so I played a game with Xiaoyuan."”
Nimble Snake smiled and said,"Who are you?" No matter how much he wanted to play, he would not have made a trip to play chess with a child. Xiaoyuan has already given you the answer you want. Every time Xiaoyuan smiles, it means that victory is in her hands. There's no need to play this game of chess. Is that so, Xiaoyuan?"
Luo Xiaoyuan did not dare to say yes directly. After all, this was the first time she was playing against Wu Chijin. She did not know the depth of Wu Chijin's Go skills. Although victory was in her hands, she did not know that Wu Chijin did not have the power to turn the world around. She could only say awkwardly,"If the one playing chess was Grandpa Spirit Snake or Long Bo, I would probably have won. However, Pavilion Master Wu is not an ordinary person. I dare not think so."”
"Child, you don't mean what you say. Grandpa has played chess with you for three months. I'm very familiar with your smile.”The spirit snake touched Luo Xiaoyuan's head and said to Wu Chijin,"You probably still don't understand how this child won. Let me tell you, I'm the same. Every time I lose, I don't know why." Initially, I didn't believe it and insisted on playing until the end. In the end, it was just as he expected every time. Even the position in which I died was exactly as he expected. Hahahaha, if you don't believe me, you can continue playing. I guarantee that you won't even have the chance to change your position and die.”
Wu Chijin asked Luo Xiaoyuan doubtfully,"Xiaoyuan, what do you think will happen in the end?"”
Luo Xiaoyuan looked at the spirit snake and asked,"Can you tell me?"”
After all, the game had just started, and it would be rude to reveal the final outcome now. Nimble Snake responded with an expression that said it was okay to say it, encouraging him to say it openly.
"In the end, only two wolves and four horses or three wolves and three horses will be left to rescue the tiger king. Pavilion Master Wu…You probably only have the tiger king and two or three horses left.”
When Wu Chijin heard Luo Xiaoyuan's words, he was very excited. This meant that there was a way to win the current predicament. Although he still did not understand Luo Xiaoyuan's way of winning, this outcome made him extremely excited. After all, the trap he had set for Luo Xiaoyuan was a desperate situation. It was a desperate situation that was set up because of someone, but Luo Xiaoyuan could actually turn the tables. This naturally gave Wu Chijin great confidence.
Wu Chijin then asked,"What is the way to win?"”
"I didn't care about your attack on the two wolves and four horses because I wanted to save them from the bottom of my heart. I sent a wolf to provoke you to divert your attention. The worst case scenario is to sacrifice this wolf to restrain your army.
As long as you continue to hold on to this wolf, you might need to go through five or six moves of entanglement, at most seven or eight moves. At this time, I have successfully lured your army away. You won't be able to surround these two wolves and four horses again in the future. Once they return and regroup with the Tiger King, the overall situation will be settled.”
Luo Xiaoyuan took a sip of tea and continued,"If you ignore my attack and continue to surround the two wolves and four horses, then the situation will become that your front troops will be surrounded by me. This will immediately become a situation where we are evenly matched and waste your initial advantage. In this way, my losses might be even less."”
"Then where's your Tiger King?" Wu Chijin asked.
"Tiger King? At this point, it basically had nothing to do with the Tiger King. Anyway, he was staying by the beast's den and was safe. So what if he was a shameless cat? When his army returned, he would be a majestic tiger king. Who would care about what the tiger king was doing when the army was in a panic?”Luo Xiaoman said nonchalantly.
Hearing this, Nimble Snake had a rough idea. It seemed that Xiao Man had already given Wu Chijin the answer he wanted. This game of chess was not in vain. Just as Nimble Snake was about to comfort Wu Chijin, he saw Wu Chijin turn his face to the wall and clench his fists excitedly. Then, he turned around and held Luo Xiaoyuan's hand, saying,"Xiaoyuan, thank you. Thank you for this game of chess."”
Luo Xiaoyuan was shocked by Wu Chijin's actions. Not to mention that he was thanking her without any reason, just his excited appearance was enough to scare her.
Seeing this, the spirit snake also stroked Wu Chijin's head lovingly. During this period of time, this child must have been under immense pressure. In decades, he had never seen Wu Chijin lose his composure like this. At this moment, he could only pretend to be relaxed and say,"Xiao Jin, the chess game has already started. This is cutting into your daughter's team. Now, Xiaoyuan's progress in her homework should be lagging behind again. What do you say?"”
Shui Yingyue was not a silly child. When she saw her father's expression, she knew that something big must have happened. At this moment, she did not dare to be willful and make a scene. Although she did not understand what had happened from the beginning to the end, she could still be a considerate and obedient daughter.
"Junior brother, I'll let you play chess to your heart's content today. Just now, daddy said that he wanted to play two games with you. You should play another game with daddy.”Shui Yingyue said generously to Luo Xiaoyuan.
"That's enough. I still have important things to do immediately. Moreover, Xiaoyuan's chess skills are so high. I have to practice more in private before I can ask him for advice.”After Spirit Snake and Water Reflecting Moon's chattering, Wu Chijin regained some of his composure.
Then, he asked Luo Xiaoyuan,"What do you think I should do to make me fall into your trap?" What about the result you expected?"
Luo Xiaoyuan thought for a moment. Anyway, she did not know what the problem behind Pavilion Master Wu was. As long as she said it according to the method of playing chess, she did not need to think too much. So she said,"I thought that when I was at the end of my rope, you would not give me a chance to live." At first, I pretended that I only wanted the Tiger King to hide. I even hid the most powerful Tiger King. You would naturally think that I only wanted to make peace in this game of chess, or even win by losing less.
If you found out that my lifeblood was right in front of you, you wouldn't hesitate to attack, regardless of the price, because you knew that taking my lifeblood was equivalent to taking me down. In this game of chess, this lifeblood was that wolf.
However, I can't get something for nothing. That piece of bait is for you. When you have meat in your mouth, you will bite it tightly. The tighter you bite, the more I can free my hands to do other things.
Even though I gave you a wolf, I would have to exhaust you for at least seven or eight steps. These seven or eight steps are the key to my life and death.”After Luo Xiaoyuan finished speaking, she smiled again. He was very satisfied with his chess game. Although he had only played three moves, it was as if he had already experienced the battle of thousands of troops. He liked the feeling of anticipating the enemy's opportunity and winning thousands of miles away.
Wu Chijin carefully thought through Luo Xiaoyuan's words in his mind. Then, he got up and tidied up his appearance. Then, he respectfully bowed to Luo Xiaoyuan and said,"I've learned a lot."”
Immediately after, he said to the spirit snake,"Master, after Jing Xiaoyuan said this, the situation is already very obvious. Once the country ruler is in trouble, I beg the Crescent Mountain to become a beast den to protect him."”
Wu Chijin's words sent shivers down Spirit Snake's spine. He obviously knew what he meant. Wu Chijin was prepared to be the wolf and attract the other party's attention. In this situation, could there be a better plan than this?
There was no doubt that Wu Chijin was the lifeline of the Crescent Country. His value was not even comparable to the welfare students. Only Wu Chijin could make the enemy chase after him. With Wu Chijin's ability, he could at least struggle for a long time. With this gap, if he could fight for some breathing space for the Crescent Army, if he could let Xiaoyuan and Xiaoyue inherit the mantle, if he could protect the welfare students, and even the safety of the Crescent Mountain.
Although Spirit Snake didn't know how Wu Chijin planned to take this step, he knew that it would be extremely dangerous. Thus, he replied to Wu Chijin," I know what you plan to do. I will never let you fight alone. Putting aside the fact that you are my disciple, everything you are doing now isn't to protect Crescent Moon Mountain. This is the entire mountain's matter, not just your own.”
Nimble Snake walked to Liang Feng and Ke Ren and gently stroked their heads." You must take good care of Xiao Jin and yourself. This journey is not like in the mountains."”
Spirit Snake asked Shui Yingyue and Luo Xiaoyuan to accompany Wu Chijin to the exit of Qingfeng Study. She was afraid that this would be the last time the father and daughter would see each other, so she could only try to let them spend more time together.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]