NOVPUBChapter 424 -154 Chen 94: Nan Batian, is your game hard to break? (10,000 words for monthly votes)
Chapter 424 -154 Chen 94: Nan Batian, is your game hard to break? (10,000 words for monthly votes)
Outside, Chen Jie, Xiao Hu, and the Qin brothers were having a meal.
Beside them sat the first doctor of the Fishing Guild’s Inner Hall, the divine healer Liu Yishou, and at this moment, the dining table exuded an eerie vibe.
Chen Jie ate his meal gracefully, while Xiao Hu gnawed on a lamb leg vigorously. Opposite him, Qin Bao also held a lamb leg as if spurred on by competition, the two of them seemed to be racing to devour their meal.
Neither willing to admit defeat.
Chen Jie’s dining manners were quite elegant, picking up a piece of green vegetable and placing it onto his plate, then turning his head to discuss medical theory with divine healer Liu Yishou.
“Uncle Liu.”
Chen Jie was very respectful towards Liu Yishou, addressing him as “Uncle,” which was appropriate given their relationship. Doctor Bai was Chen Jie’s mentor, and Liu Yishou was once the leader of the Inner Hall Eight Doctors, of which Bai Wenjing was also a member; thus, the two shared a good relationship.
“Uncle Liu, you just mentioned insufficient qi and blood, and the internal flaring of heart fire leading to fatigue, dizziness, palpitations, and inefficacy. How should one go about treating and medicating such a condition?”
Liu Yishou said, “There’s no need for medication. Has Bai Wenjing never told you that medicine is inherently a poison? If it can be avoided, it should be. For such cases, one only needs to routinely press the Mingmen Acupoint, the Taiyuan Acupoint, and the Sanyinjiao Acupoint to adjust the condition. If it’s fast, one month; if slow, three months for a cure.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, “Uncle Liu’s words are infinitely enlightening.”
“My master has said that Uncle Liu excels in taking pulses. No matter what difficult and complex diseases there are, Uncle Liu, with a single touch, knows all, hence people in Jianghu call it a sure hand.”
Liu Yishou heard this and laughed, “Hehe, it’s just a minor trick. Your master is the true expert in pharmacology. When he was around, his theories were the most formidable. It’s a pity that, due to slander from petty individuals, he was forced to leave. Otherwise, he would have been the number-one doctor in Mianshui.”
“Uncle Liu is too modest. I have many confusions in the art of pulse diagnosis, and I wonder if Uncle Liu would be willing to enlighten me.”
Hearing this, Liu Yishou looked at Chen Jie and asked, “You want to listen?”
“Of course, I wish to learn from Uncle Liu’s teachings.”
Liu Yishou laughed and said, “Well, it’s rare to see someone of your stature who is still so keen to learn; I’ll tell you something genuine. Let me tell you why my pulse diagnosis is so precise. It’s because I understand the root of taking pulses. The inch, bar, and foot measurements of both hands correspond to the changes in the Five Elements throughout the Zhou dynasty…”
Chen Jie and Liu Yishou continued to discuss medical techniques as if no one else was present, while Qin Ying and others frowned, not understanding a word they saying, and Xiao Hu went on gnawing his lamb leg.
At this time, not far away, Nan Batian stood with his hands behind his back, watching them, accompanied by Fishing Guild’s Bai Zhishan and Tang Ziyue.
Nan Batian, looking at Chen Jiusi who was unwittingly situated within the Fishing Guild, said, “This Chen Jiusi is indeed carefree, to be discussing medical techniques with Liu Yishou at a time like this.”
Tang Ziyue said, “Hehe… The brave are fearless when they’re skilled. With his current power, there aren’t many in Mianshui who can threaten him. Seriously considering, apart from that person above, only you and Elder Liu are left who can pose a threat to him.”
Nan Batian said, “Without reaching the peak, one should not take things lightly. Moreover, even upon reaching the peak, there’s a world beyond Mianshui to consider.”
Tang Ziyue chuckled and said, “Gang Leader truly aspires to swallow the world. I am impressed.”
Nan Batian said, “Hehe, what aspirations to swallow the world, when at the moment we need to set a trap to deal with this insignificant Chen Jiusi. Sigh, it’s not enough, far from enough.”
Hearing these words, Tang Ziyue said, “Gang Leader, the time is about right. I’ll go have a chat with Chen Jiusi, so as not to arouse his suspicion by our prolonged absence!”
Nan Batian nodded lightly and said, “Hmm, go ahead.”
Tang Ziyue smiled, stood up, and took a chessboard from another table, upon which two boxes containing black and white chess pieces were placed.
He then smiled and walked towards Chen Jie.
At this moment, Chen Jie was pondering the strategies Nan Batian had concocted against him and calculating the time, guessing that it wouldn’t be long before the intelligence update at midnight.
As Chen Jie was thinking, Tang Ziyue arrived in front of him, and Chen Jie looked up, meeting his gaze.
“Master Chen, would you care to join me for a couple of games of chess?”
Tang Ziyue shook the chessboard beside Chen Jie, who smiled and said, “Sure, I have nothing else to do right now.”
The two laughed and headed for a pavilion outside, setting up the chessboard. Tang Ziyue said, “Please.”
Chen Jie sat down.
Tang Ziyue looked at Chen Jie and asked, “Master Chen, do you prefer the black or the white pieces?”
Chen Jie said, “The black pieces.”
“Oh, I thought Master Chen, as a young man, would prefer the white pieces. After all, the white pieces are as pure as jade—flawless and perfect—the very image of a heroic youth, splendid and gallant in martial valor.”
“Hehe…”
Chen Jie could not help but chuckle and said, “Mr. Tang, you jest. Which one of us guild members has clean hands? There’s no such thing as a splendid and gallant young warrior. We are but miserable souls struggling through the world of Jianghu.”
“Mr. Tang, I shall make the first move with the black pieces!”
Chen Jie shook the black piece in his hand, and Tang Ziyue slightly furrowed his brow.
He said nothing, realizing his first probe of Chen Jie had failed. Chen Jie did not seem like an eighteen-year-old youth; his thinking and way of acting were more reminiscent of a middle-aged man who had seen through life’s hardships and deceptions.
The spiritedness and innocence that a young man should possess were absent in him; there wasn’t even a hint of nostalgia.
He seemed too mature for his age!
While he was thinking, Chen Jie had already indicated for him to make the first move with the black pieces, and Tang Ziyue suddenly felt the pressure. What seemed like a simple game of chess was, in fact, a tool for Tang Ziyue to probe Chen Jie’s character. He wanted to understand Chen Jie’s nature through the game.
In Go, the game sprawled across nineteen horizontal and vertical lines, forming 361 intersections, corresponding exactly to the 361 stars in the heavens.
