NOVPUBFenggao City had begun fasting two days ago, as Liu Bei felt that since it was a sacrifice, fasting was appropriate. To ensure respect for the deceased, Liu Bei directly ordered the entire city to fast. Everyone capable of burning incense was to pray three days in advance, and after three days, proceed to offer sacrifices to those who had fallen in battle.
Zhuge Liang, dressed in white, knelt in his room and performed the incense burning and prayers indifferently. He had no complaints about the orders issued by Liu Bei, but rather deeply appreciated Liu Bei’s benevolence. Having come to Fenggao and temporarily staying under Liu Bei’s rule, it was only right to follow Liu Bei’s commands. Moreover, it was fitting to sacrifice for the soldiers who had died in battle.
However, Sima Yi next door did not think the same way. He had nothing to say about Liu Bei’s sacrifice for the fallen soldiers, as he saw it indeed as a foolproof way to win the hearts of the military. But the citywide fasting that resulted in the restaurants lacking meat was something he could not bear.
In Sima Yi’s opinion, if Liu Bei wanted to win over the military, he should go ahead, but why involve the merchants and travelers staying in Fenggao as well? What was he trying to show?
"This is unbearable!" Sima Yi slapped the table inside the room. As someone skilled in music, he effortlessly tapped out a fervent, battlefield-inspired rhythm on the table. It seemed reasonable enough, but in reality, he was simply venting his dissatisfaction. To the untrained ear, it might sound like a soldier reminiscing about his comrade at arms, particularly fitting for the season. Soon, people started knocking in rhythm as well.
Zhuge Liang, hearing the neighbor’s table-knocking, frowned slightly. After listening to the short tune, and then to the sporadic knocking sounds coming from downstairs, he instantly became dissatisfied. That man was disturbing the solemn atmosphere built up in Fenggao.
Speaking of trust, Zhuge Jin and Sima Lang both had great confidence in their younger brothers. Before leaving, they had both cautioned their brothers not to cause trouble, and their brothers had promised to behave and stay inside the restaurants, not going out. With this assurance, Zhuge Jin and Sima Lang left without worry, but were either Sima Yi or Zhuge Liang the type to save oil?
Zhuge Liang was somewhat irritated. He had met those two brothers next door and couldn’t help feeling annoyed whenever he saw the youth who was about his age. To put it precisely, if encountering the self-important Pang Tong made him want to put Pang Tong in his place, then seeing that incoherent fellow made him want to give him a slap.
[How utterly lacking in manners!] Zhuge Liang endured the rhythm and, after completing his prayers calmly, directly picked up a chessboard and headed toward the next door. He was going to teach the other a lesson.
After three clangs, "clang clang clang," Zhuge Liang stood at Sima Yi’s door and stopped knocking.
Sima Yi, who was enjoying himself while playing with the solemn atmosphere of Fenggao, did not expect his pleasure to be disrupted so soon. He immediately felt discontent.
Sima Yi calmly opened the door to find Zhuge Liang, who he had met a few times before. He frowned slightly. Never had Sima Yi, precocious by nature, socialized with someone his own age. Therefore, his view of Zhuge Liang bore a hint of looking down on a child, and seeing the chessboard in Zhuge Liang’s hands, he chuckled inwardly.
However, despite his inner scorn, Sima Yi did not show it in front of Zhuge Liang. Instead, he spoke bluntly and dismissively. "I wonder what brings the young friend here?"
"I hear Brother Weno is idly causing trouble here, so I’ve come to play a game of chess with you, to calm everyone down." Zhuge Liang had not yet learned to be polite and gracious to those he disliked; he was unabashedly rude to the man who annoyed him. To tell the truth, he had come to put him in his place. Don’t think you can manipulate the common folks just because you understand a bit of music. I’ve come to cut you down a notch!
Sima Yi’s heart tightened; he had been very subtle, not something just anyone could discern. But even when his actions were exposed, Sima Yi didn’t blush, just felt extremely vexed as it pricked his pride.
If only Sima Yi had faced Zhou Yu, then he wouldn’t have gotten away with it. If it had been Zhou Yu there, he wouldn’t even have finished his tune before Zhou Yu could ridicule Sima Yi to death.
"I am Sima Yi, with the style name Zhongda, and I wonder how you address yourself?" Sima Yi looked at Zhuge Liang, who was about his height, unable to guess his age.
"I am from the Zhuge Clan of Langya, with the given name Liang and the courtesy name Kongming," Zhuge Liang said as he put down the chess board and bowed with his hands folded, his expression indifferent.
Zhuge Liang was there to cut down Sima Yi, this bastard, and naturally didn’t want to waste time with him. He entered the room, opened the chessboard, and the two of them sat down, one facing east and the other west.
"Since Kongming is young, it is only right for Kongming to hold the black pieces and make the first move." After some idle chatter, Sima Yi had already figured out that Zhuge Liang was young, so he generously suggested, already prepared for how he would deal with Zhuge Liang.
"That’s fine," Zhuge Liang said with a smile.
At the start of the game, Zhuge Liang knew Sima Yi would surely be careless, so he acted like a studious but wayward player who knew the chess manuals as he accompanied Sima Yi through the mid-game, playing until Sima Yi was nodding off.
A somewhat distracted Sima Yi looked at the Zhuge Liang before him. As the game unfolded, his esteem for Zhuge Liang rose a few notches – knowing that at such a young age, he could discern the subtleties in a piece of music and was well-versed in chess manuals was no easy feat. However, appreciation aside, Sima Yi was in no mood to go easy on a child courting death.
But as the game moved past the mid-point, Sima Yi suddenly sensed something was wrong. After quickly calculating, he discovered Zhuge Liang had not fallen behind. He frowned deeply, gazing at the youth in front of him who was silently smiling, toying with his folding fan. It turned out that it wasn’t just he who hadn’t been focusing on the game; the opponent was merely toying with him.
Afterwards, the course of the game took a turn completely beyond Sima Yi’s expectation. What was originally an evenly matched game changed after mid-game, and Zhuge Liang, holding a dominant position, directly forced Sima Yi’s white pieces into a dead end. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
Sima Yi looked up at Zhuge Liang with an expression of light clouds and gentle breeze, a surge of anger erupting in his chest. When had he ever been toyed with by a peer?
"Indeed surprising. How about another game?" Sima Yi said with a full, beaming face, this time placing Zhuge Liang on an equal footing with himself.
"That would be agreeable. I would also hate for Brother to be too bored," Zhuge Liang said indifferently.
"This time I shall hold the black pieces first," said Sima Yi, taking a black piece and placing it squarely at the central point.
Zhuge Liang glanced at Sima Yi, "Brother wields a strong presence, but the first move should not be placed in such a position." Despite saying so, Zhuge Liang did not protest and calmly picked up a piece, placing it in the upper right corner just as he had done with the black pieces in the previous game.
Following that, the two of them took turns rapidly, as if without a second thought. After one incense stick’s time, the entire chessboard had no empty spaces left.
Sima Yi looked up, his eyes flashing with astonishment. He was still at a disadvantage!
He then recklessly unleashed his Spiritual Talent in a probing move against Zhuge Liang, believing that music, chess, calligraphy, and painting were mere decorations while ruling a country and pacifying the world were true skills.
Unexpectedly, at the moment when Sima Yi fully activated his Spiritual Talent, Zhuge Liang’s spirit surged powerfully. His spirit, which had been wilting under the assault of Sima Yi’s talent, recovered swiftly. As the Spiritual Talent was expended, only an enormous Spiritual Capacity remained, sweeping through the surroundings. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
