The Blood of Youth – CH 041

Chapter 41: Consider All Under Heaven as a Chessboard

Sikong Changfeng knelt on one knee, his face completely at ease.

Xiao Se’s eyes were cold and his brows knitted, his expression indifferent.

Tang Lian and Sikong Qianluo looked at each other. They couldn’t understand what the most dignified Spear Immortal and Third Citymaster of Snow Moon City was thinking. Lei Wujie was a disciple of the Lei Clan, and his martial arts was outstanding among the younger generation. Leaving aside the final two floors of the Tower of Ascension, he had challenged the first fourteen floors with his own fists and skills. Then, what about Xiao Se? He was an innkeeper who didn’t know any martial arts besides the lightness skill that was useful for running away.

On what basis would the Spear Immortal accept him as a disciple?

Not just that, why did he look so irritated about it?

“Accept me as a disciple? On what basis?” Xiao Se challenged him coldly.

Both Tang Lian and Sikong Qianluo were shell-shocked, and Sikong Qianluo was this close to picking up her spear and smacking him with it.

Sikong Changfeng didn’t seem to mind, however. He chuckled and replied, “If I may be so humble, my life’s worth of martial arts can be considered presentable in the martial world.”

“I don’t practice martial arts.” Xiao Se shook his head.

“But isn’t that the Wuji staff hanging on your waist? Staff techniques and spear techniques have the same basic foundations,” Sikong Changfeng pointed out, eyeing the long staff hanging on Xiao Se’s waist.

Xiao Se brushed his fingers across the staff. Throughout the journey, he never drew the staff nor used it. Lei Wujie even asked him about it a few times, but his reply was that it was a walking stick for climbing mountain roads. However, Sikong Changfeng identified and named the staff with a single look.

The previous owner of the Wuji staff once sat alone with his staff on the city wall to guard Heavenly Revelations City, and he single-handedly defeated eighteen top-class martial experts who tried to invade the city. It was said that once the stuff came out, it was limitless, boundless, and endless.

“Just because I have this staff doesn’t mean I know martial arts. Someone once owed me money, so he gave me the staff as collateral,” Xiao Se replied casually as he ran his fingers lightly across the staff.

Sikong Changfeng didn’t pursue the matter further. “Of course, besides martial arts, my chess skills are also unmatched under Heaven. Do you like chess?”

“I can’t really say if I like it because I’ve never lost a game.” Xiao Se was still unmoved.

“Never lost a game? Then, we will play three rounds. If you can win just one round, I will back off. How about it?” Sikong Changfeng turned his head and spoke to Tang Lian, “Tang Lian, please bring us a chessboard.”

Although Tang Lian didn’t understand what was going on, whenever his Third shizun spoke with such seriousness, he wouldn’t dare to disobey. So, he popped into one of the wine shops along the street to borrow a chessboard. Xiao Se did not resist and sat down in a nearby teahouse with Sikong Changfeng.

“Was this how you cheated Luoxia Fairy to stay back then?” Xiao Se sneered.

Sikong Changfeng clicked his tongue with a “tsk” sound. “A willing gambler must admit when they’ve lost, right? How could that be called cheating? Tang Lian, bring Lei Wujie back to the city quickly. He’s completely exhausted and will probably need to sleep it off for three days and three nights.”

Tang Lian nodded, then lifted Lei Wujie onto his back and told Xiao Se, “Wujie and I will wait for you in the city.”

Xiao Se shook his head. “Don’t bother waiting. Once I get my eight hundred taels, I’ll be leaving. Still, we shared a fate when we met on this trip. Drop by Fallen Snow Villa for a drink when you have time. Obviously, there’s no such thing as free drinks, but a discount is not impossible.”

Tang Lian laughed but didn’t say anything else as he walked off into the city. Although he didn’t know why Third Shizun treated Xiao Se so importantly, he knew that once Xiao Se agreed to the wager, he had already lost. Because for the past four to five years, he had never seen the Spear Immortal Sikong Changfeng practicing his spear. Instead, he would be sitting in his courtyard every day, facing a chessboard, and pondering to himself in silence all day.

“Please.” Sikong Changfeng picked up a black stone, so Xiao Se had to pick white and make the first move.

Xiao Se did not object. He picked up a white stone and tossed it carelessly on the table.

Sikong Changfeng thought a little and placed his own stone.

Xiao Se continued tossing his pieces at random.

The game continued like this and standing to one side, Sikong Qianluo’s frown deepened the more she watched. The two men played chess in a completely different way. Sikong Changfeng was calm and steady, and he would think before every move. Xiao Se, on the other hand, played as if he was a complete novice, and his every move seemed random and reckless. Nonetheless, even though this method of playing was full of messy placements and the board looked all mixed up and chaotic, it somehow managed to revive itself. Thanks to her father, Sikong Qianluo had played chess for many years, but she had never seen such a game. More than once, she felt her heart skip with fear, and her back was drenched in sweat.

It took almost an hour for the first round of chess to finish, and the two of them didn’t exchange a word. After a brief moment of muttering to themselves, they each collected all their respective pieces and started another round. The same situation repeated itself three times.

All three games ended in a draw, and neither could claim victory.

Sikong Changfeng smiled and said, “Evenly matched?”

Xiao Se smirked. “Chess is an ancient hoax, not the Great Dao. Is the respectable Third Citymaster of Snow Moon City someone so consumed by an ancient hoax?”

“What if we used the four nations as chess pieces and all under Heaven as a chessboard? Would that be considered the Great Dao?” Sikong Changfeng put away the chessboard.

Xiao Se stood up and cleared his throat. “It still couldn’t be greater than silver. Give me my money!”

Sikong Changfeng thought for a while and said, “I heard from Tang Lian that you used to be an innkeeper. How about this? If you become my disciple, besides teaching you spear arts, I will also allow you to take charge of all the finances of Snow Moon City.”

Sikong Qianluo was shocked and interjected angrily, “Father! How could you entrust such a job to a random outsider!”

Xiao Se was still unmoved. He reached out a hand. “Monthly salary?”

“Monthly salary, eight hundred taels!” Sikong Changfeng rarely spoke with such arrogance.

Xiao Se tucked his hands into his sleeves and raised his head to look at the sky. After thinking for a long time, he decided, “Not enough.”

Sikong Changfeng was not angry, and he asked, “Then how much would you say is enough?”

Xiao Se got up and walked further into the city. “Eight million taels, then. On the day I leave the city, pay it all together.”

“Eight… eight million taels?” Sikong Qianluo yelled angrily, “Why don’t you just take over as city master too!”

But Sikong Changfeng declared loudly, his heroism reaching the clouds, “Fine. Deal!”

Xiao Se waved a hand backwards and continued walking ahead without looking back. He sighed softly and murmured to himself, “Using the four nations as chess pieces and all under Heaven as a chessboard. From the moment this game of chess began, everyone was destined to be a chess piece. We are no exception.”

He kept his voice very soft, but Sikong Changfeng seemed to hear him. He looked at the spear in his hand and muttered, “Yes, there are no exceptions, so we can only try our best to win.”

Xiao Se did not say anything else as he walked slowly into the city. Suddenly, he reached out and caught a camellia flower. It was one of the camellia flowers from the whole wave of flowers that was swept up by Sword Immortal Li Hanyi’s sword move. Once the sword immortal left, the camellia flowers that had been gathered were scattered by the wind again. His steps came to a stop, and he looked at the camellia flower, his mind full of thoughts as he whispered, “We live in the span between Heaven and Earth, yet…”

“Wham!” A sudden and clear sound rang out. Xiao Se only felt something very hard hit him on the head. Dazed, he turned around with difficulty and saw Sikong Qianluo holding her long spear, her pose heroic but her expression filled with rage as she glared at him. “Since you’ve recognized my father as your master, then you will have to call me shijie from now on! This shijie hasn’t given you permission to leave, so you had better sit tight and wait right here!”

“You…” Xiao Se sputtered, enduring the pain.

Sikong Qianluo raised her spear again and knocked Xiao Se’s head again.

Xiao Se’s vision went black, and he crumpled to the ground.

Sikong Qianluo waved her spear triumphantly. “See if you dare talk so much again.” She didn’t understand why, even though her father accepted this disciple for no apparent reason, deep in her heart, Sikong Qianluo felt a spark of joy.