NOVPUBChen Jiuyan initially revealed his sharpness at the thirteenth move, taking the initiative to launch an attack in an attempt to seize the advantage, causing an uproar among the crowd.
Dan Che maintained a calm expression as he responded, seemingly adopting a passive defense in the next few moves. However, in Zhao Douan's eyes, this was a methodical, gradual build-up of momentum.
Sure enough, when both participants had made fifty moves, a seemingly ordinary move from the junior monk Dan Che drastically changed the situation, turning the sky dark and the Earth gaping.
Even the confident chess envoy began to show signs of solemnity for the first time, sinking into a much longer period of contemplation than before.
"Dangerous now..."
"How could it be? The situation just now was clearly good."
A small disturbance stirred among the crowd, and even some started to debate in whispers; this was clearly no well-ordered chess house.
It was difficult to restrain people's discussions.
However, Chen Jiuyan had already entered a state of focus, completely oblivious to the external noise, furrowing his brows in deep thought.
Interestingly, the junior monk Dan Che even had the leisure to once again take out a bun wrapped in cotton cloth from his bamboo box, eating mouthful after mouthful, accompanied by swigs of cold wine.
Zhao Douan's brows furrowed tightly, the stark contrast between them too apparent.
He turned to look beside him at his "aunt," who was sitting squatting and intently staring at the black and white pieces on the chessboard, and whispered,
"What do you think?"
Princess Wen Zhu then came back to her senses, turned her head to look at him with a brow weighed down with heavy worry, and said,
"Chen Jiuyan is in a bad position."
Zhao Douan was silent, as this matched his own judgment.
Princess Wen Zhu seemed to be explaining, or perhaps lamenting,
"I've heard of the junior monk's reputation in chess back in...that place, but I did not expect him to be so formidable."
Well, judging from her microexpressions, her words did not seem to be lies, and there was no need for her to lie... So, Western Regions Buddhism really did hide a trump card, huh? Are they dissatisfied with the popularity of debating scripture with Divine Dragon Temple?
Buying a top trending search in the Capital first? To build momentum for what follows?
These monks aim for no small feat… Zhao Douan had many thoughts flashing through his mind, choosing to remain silent.
The chess game slowed down, but the number of people gathering in Yellow Court Alley kept increasing.
Before anyone knew it, the entire alley was nearly filled by people drawn by the news.
The topic of "Grandmaster versus Western Regions Monk" indeed had a full strength in drawing attention.
It was already noon, and many people were famished, but they couldn't squeeze their way out, or perhaps didn't want to leave.
Zhao Douan and Princess Wen Zhu each quickly ate some meat and drank soup, then shared the rest of the buns with three Lihua Hall Jin Yi, and the female warriors, making do with a bite.
The earlier promise to treat them had unexpectedly been delayed by this sudden game.
"Click."
"Click."
The sound of chess pieces striking the wooden board was extraordinarily clear amid the noisy surroundings.
Perhaps due to the crowd, the cold air was driven away; Zhao Douan even felt hot, loosening his collar.
Beside him, Princess Wen Zhu, too, felt the heat, her face flushed crimson as she took off her scarf and unbuttoned her neckline.
Chen Jiuyan was drenched in sweat, his back gradually soaked, but his face turned increasingly pale.
After a hundred moves, the confidence of his assured victory had already vanished.
One hundred fifty moves later, Chen Jiuyan's forehead bulging with veins, the situation appeared sticky and on the brink of collapse.
One hundred eighty moves later, he was completely defeated, his white pieces chopped into segments, his vigor as thin as a thread.
Although it was not yet the end of the game and it seemed he could still struggle a bit, higher-skilled chess players present had all realized that the Grandmaster was beyond recovery.
"Pop."
Dan Che took out a handkerchief, wiped his glowing bald head due to the lack of ventilation, while casually making a move, and said,
"You've lost."
Silence prevailed.
As if the scene was repeating itself, not long ago, the head of the chess institute at that moment seemed perfectly overlapped with the white-haired chess envoy.
Chen Jiuyan stared intently at the situation, large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead into his eyes, suddenly blurring his vision!
His complexion gradually turned ashen, mixed with fear!
This was not merely the fear of losing a game. As the imperial court chess envoy and national player of Yu Country, he had lost many games in his life.
But this game was different! 𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔭𝔲𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
He knew well that as the chess envoy, losing to someone from the Western Regions would have a terrible impact.
Whether it be due to overconfidence or political naivety, he had never before considered the possibility of losing to an obscure young man from the Western Regions.
He could almost imagine the thunderous rage that would come when the news reached back to the palace and the Empress was informed.
And the surrounding crowd, too, was already stirred up, their incredulous voices instantly overflowing the entire Yellow Court Alley.
"Grandmaster Chen has lost!"
These six words, like a sharp sword, pierced through the hearts of all the Yu Country chess players present.
Bone-chillingly cold!
Chen Jiuyan, the Grandmaster among imperial court chess envoys, with the most respected reputation, had publicly lost to a man from the Western Regions!
This was something that neither the high-ranking officials in the temples nor the common people could accept!
"Another game! Another game!"
Chen Jiuyan suddenly became agitated, supporting himself on the chess board, and loudly said, his blurry eyes fixated on Dan Che,
"In the next game, I won't be careless!"
The young monk sat calmly in his seat but stood up slowly, pointing to a modestly noticeable wooden sign planted on the ground with the squiggly written words "One game per person."
He spoke aloud, "According to the rules, you can come back tomorrow."
Chen Jiuyan leaned back, almost falling to the ground, absolutely drained, and said nothing.
