Chapter 187: Come Down
Qiu Wuji sat across from Qi Chengtai, and both sides began setting up the chessboard.
Nervously, Zhu Mengmeng held Qiu Wuji’s hand, wanting to call her “Qiuqiu” but fearing it might reveal their identities, her face reddened in frustration.
Qiu Wuji gently rubbed her hand and smiled, “Mengmeng, don’t worry. Watch as I teach him a lesson.”
Meanwhile, Du Lianfeng was talking to Zhong Yi with a smile, “Actually, if you were to play, the odds of winning might not be completely absent... Are you sure you want these young people to play?”
Zhong Yi enjoyed playing chess, and his age was a mystery. After all, he had played chess for several decades. Even if he couldn’t defeat Qi Chengtai, he probably wouldn’t lose too embarrassingly.
From the voice, this female Cabalash brother was definitely a young person... Of course, chess skills weren’t determined by age, but if you really said that just any young woman could challenge Qi Chengtai, who made a living by playing chess, even Zhong Yi himself wouldn’t dare to believe it.
He didn’t care about Du Lianfeng’s taunting and anxiously asked Chu Ge, “This... Isn’t it too radical? Must we challenge their strengths head-on?”
Chu Ge simply shook his head, “To defeat them with their own strengths is the way to intimidate them. Did throwing him down the building have any effect?”
No one trusted Qiu Wuji’s abilities more than Chu Ge. Even if he couldn’t trust himself, he would never doubt Qiu Wuji. Besides, this was chess; except for some difference in names, the other rules were entirely consistent with those in the book. If they were to play Go, she might have to study the changes in the rules.
Zhong Yi fell silent.
Chu Ge looked at the chessboard. As the pieces were placed, it seemed to create a unique space between the chessboard and the players, enveloped in an invisible aura, as if it separated them into two dimensions...
Even the rules of the world seemed to have transformed into the rules of the game, where the outcome of the chess match affected life and death.
Even though he had complete faith in Qiu Wuji’s abilities, Chu Ge couldn’t help but feel a cold sweat forming in his hands.
Qiu Wuji held the black pieces and went first.
“Snap!” The Cannon in the front.
((TL: This version of chess is called “Xiangqi” or “Chinese Chess.” Chinese chess and western chess are two distinct board games, they have significant differences in terms of rules, gameplay, and the pieces used.))
Onlookers could only see delicate hands moving pieces, but for Qiu Wuji, it felt like she was on a plain, and the two sides were confronting each other with determination. She became a general, giving out orders. Soldiers pushed the cannons forward, following her commands, and pointed them toward the enemy formation.
She knew that if she lost this battle, it would be like the “commander” being captured. However, at this moment, she couldn’t help but find it a bit amusing.
How does this adapt to the rules? In reality, the cannon fires over, not jumping over itself, right? Is it useful to have the horse jump over to protect the foot soldier? Or is this cannon also jumping over and smashing people? Ah, just thinking about it suddenly feels so cute.
The enemy’s formation shifted slightly, and a knight advanced, stopping behind the foot soldiers. Qiu Wuji didn’t test whether the cannon would jump over itself or not. She systematically directed her own knights to stand ready.
She found it quite enjoyable, much like the illusions she had encountered before, but the interaction with reality was much stronger. Each step was based on her own moves, and the outcome depended on chess skills.
Qi Chengtai nudged a foot soldier. In Qiu Wuji’s eyes, the loud cry resounded, and the right-wing soldiers marched forward in an orderly manner with a fierce killing intent.
Nudging a foot soldier, yet it was like an army advancing.
Du Lianfeng could clearly see it too. He sat up straight, his expression solemn, and his gaze towards Qiu Wuji held a hint of hostility. It seemed like something was about to happen outside the chessboard.
His ability was most suitable for working outside the chessboard with Qi Chengtai. Qi Chengtai’s battlefield was just an honest reflection of the chess position. Until the final victory or defeat, both sides’ generals would be unharmed. However, he was different; he could truly drag someone into the battlefield, with realistic chess pieces attacking. The opponent might not even know if it was Qi Chengtai’s original chess position or if a third party had intervened.
So, these two often acted together, perfectly coordinated. With their combined efforts, they were incredibly effective.
A whirlpool flashed in Du Lianfeng’s eyes, and he was about to step onto the stage when suddenly, his vision blurred, and Chu Ge gently blocked his way, saying, “My girlfriend said that you are my opponent.”
Are you guys here to fight or to feed dog food? One of you says, “my boyfriend said,” and the other says, “my girlfriend said.” Can you please take this argument home?
Du Lianfeng was anxious and didn’t want to waste time with Chu Ge, so he said directly, “A single game of gambling is boring. Since this young man is also interested, how about you and I have a match?”
Chu Ge smiled, “What are you pretending for? I’ve been waiting for you.”
Qi Chengtai’s expression became ferocious.
Zhong Yi urgently called out, “Chu Ge, be careful. His attacks are real, but don’t engage with them. It’s pointless...”
In the next moment, Chu Ge felt like he was spinning, and the whole room turned into a battlefield.
He seemed to have become a soldier in the midst of the contention, surrounded by intense battles. Swords and knives were flying all around, and his comrades were falling around him, with blood splattering onto his mask.
He touched it and found that it was real blood.
A knight galloped past with a spear, creating a path of blood. The spear’s cold gleam was just about to reach Chu Ge’s throat.
“Clang!” Chu Ge’s body swayed slightly, avoiding the spear. He grabbed the spear’s handle and pulled, causing the knight to scream and fall from the horse, colliding with Chu Ge.
“Don’t engage with them. It’s pointless,” Zhong Yi’s words echoed in his mind. Chu Ge grabbed the knight’s neck, using him as a shield and blocking the surrounding attacks of swords and spears, looking into the distance.
First, he found where Du Lianfeng was.
This really resembled his “Heaven and Earth technique”, as if time and space had changed in an instant. Du Lianfeng might not exist here; this was probably his sea of consciousness, or it had triggered his own sea of consciousness.
This is actually just a battlefield in imagination, what one has seen, thought about... from a past life, deeply etched in his memory.
Heaven-changing Earth-overturning, reincarnation. Just that.
The opponent’s tricks were just a small part of the Heaven and Earth technique...
So, this battlefield was just one corner of my world, where the immortal path was vast and the sounds of this mortal world’s battles have long disappeared. No one above the Nine Heavens pays attention.
Chu Ge’s perspective slowly rose and became distant, eventually turning into an aerial view. The battlefield became distant, and the fighting sides gradually moved away, like a group of ants. The sounds of battle faded away until they couldn’t be heard anymore.
Vaguely, he could see a certain peak where Du Lianfeng stood, nervously watching the battlefield and ready to manipulate it.
Chu Ge grinned, “Come down!”