109: The kingly way is arrogant, the treacherous way is changing

Night.

Inside a pavilion at the embassy, a stove was lit.

“……”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi stared at the chessboard in front of her, slightly lost in thought.

“Grand Tutor, Tianqi City should be very lively tonight.”

Ji Yuehua, Second Princess of East Zhou stood by her side, speaking softly.

The State Preceptor Li Guanqi before her was none other than Li Guanxuan, the Grand Tutor of Eastern Zhou. He had hidden his appearance and cultivation to come to Great Xia, making him undetectable to anyone.

Grand Tutor Li Guanxuan, he was a powerful expert of the Divine Court Realm.

State Preceptor Li Guanqi whispered, “With the ten thousand souls banner appearing and people arriving from the Nine Heavens Tower, it will naturally be lively.”

Ji Yuehua, Second Princess of East Zhou asked, puzzled, “Is there something special about this ten thousand souls banner?”

“It’s too deeply involved, you don’t need to know too much.”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi said with a calm expression.

Ji Yuehua, Second Princess of East Zhou nodded gently, no longer asking questions.

State Preceptor Li Guanqi looked towards the window and said softly, “Princess, you may go attend to your own matters.”

“Yuehua takes her leave!”

Ji Yuehua, Second Princess of East Zhou bowed and then turned to exit.

The pavilion door closed.

State Preceptor Li Guanqi held a chess piece casually and said indifferently, “Come out!”

Inside the pavilion.

Instantly, a black-robed figure wearing a mask appeared. He carried a pot of wine and held a wine cup, smiling calmly: “Green ant new wine, red clay small stove. When evening comes, snow is about to fall, can we not have a drink?”

The person who arrived was naturally Xie Weilou.

He poured a cup of wine, and with a wave of his hand, the wine cup flew towards State Preceptor Li Guanqi.

State Preceptor Li Guanqi did not take the wine; the wine cup floated in front of her, unable to move forward in the slightest. She said indifferently, “You just heard some news you shouldn’t have. Do you think you can walk out of this pavilion?”

Xie Weilou chuckled, “I don’t like fighting and killing, but I do enjoy playing chess. I can solve this Eight Wildernesses Chess Game!”

“Oh?”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi stared at Xie Weilou, a faint light flashing in her eyes.

Xie Weilou sat down beside her. He looked at State Preceptor Li Guanqi: “I will solve the Eight Wildernesses Chess Game for you, and you help me do one thing, how about it?”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi reached out and took the wine cup. She said indifferently, “Solve the game. If you solve it, you live; if you don’t, you die!”

Xie Weilou looked at the chessboard and said with a calm voice, “The Eight Wildernesses Chess Game, also known as the Tianyuan Chess Game. A piece placed at the Tianyuan (center) dominates the Eight Desolations, embodying the King’s Way of chess. From the current situation, the black pieces are indeed following the King’s Way…”

A hint of surprise appeared in State Preceptor Li Guanqi’s eyes. She nodded gently: “Continue!”

Xie Weilou smiled faintly, “Conversely, the white pieces appear weak and on the verge of destruction, but is that truly the case? I presume Grand Tutor, after obtaining this game, you have pondered the moves of the black and white pieces many times. The black pieces follow the King’s Way, but Grand Tutor, have you discerned what kind of chess the white pieces are playing?”

Li Guanxuan frowned slightly: “The King’s Way of the black pieces is evident; this is also the essence of the Eight Wildernesses Chess Game. However, the white pieces belong to the slaughtered, with no clear strategy to speak of.”

To solve the game means to find a path for the white pieces, but in the current situation, the white pieces are about to be annihilated and lack a strategy, which makes it very troublesome.

Xie Weilou chuckled, “No strategy? How could a game of chess be played for so long? This game appears to be dominated by black, but in reality, it’s not, because white has already laid out its trap, just waiting to close the net!”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi gazed at Xie Weilou: “So what kind of chess do you think the white pieces are playing?”

“The King’s Way dominates, the Devious Way shifts; the King’s Way charges forward, the Devious Way is hidden; the King’s Way points its sword at the world, the Devious Way lays out its traps in all directions.”

Xie Weilou said with a smile.

“The Devious Way…”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi immediately stared at the chessboard, her pupils shrinking involuntarily.

Xie Weilou shook his head: “You can’t see it yet, because this game hasn’t reached its later stages. The white pieces haven’t closed their net yet, so how could you know it’s the Devious Way?”

After speaking, he casually picked up a white piece and placed it down directly.

“Hmm?”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi saw the white piece Xie Weilou placed. She shook her head and said, “Within three moves, this piece of yours will be useless.”

Xie Weilou said, “The black pieces are sharp, unstoppable; the white pieces hide their weakness, faint and dim. However, the Devious Way is unpredictable; sometimes what you see is not necessarily real. To place oneself in a deadly situation and then find life, is not necessarily not a way to break the game.”

“Is that so?”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi picked up a black piece and placed it down.

Xie Weilou continued to place pieces.

As State Preceptor Li Guanqi had said, after three moves, the white piece Xie Weilou had placed was already a useless piece.

“Now what?”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi asked.

Xie Weilou smiled and said, “In the current situation, black occupies ninety-nine percent. Any other person playing would continue to attack, wanting to crush white in one go. So they would focus excessively on white, but by doing so, they would overlook some internal issues with black. Look at your black pieces; compared to before, have there been any changes?”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi immediately stared at the black pieces, observing carefully. At first, she didn't notice any major problems, but slowly, her pupils contracted.

“The black pieces are starting to scatter!”

Li Guanxuan’s gaze sharpened. The piece placed at the Tianyuan dominated the Eight Desolations, but the Tianyuan was beginning to scatter.

Xie Weilou smiled faintly, “Someone once said that in military campaigns, courage is extremely important. A surge of morale, then decline, then exhaustion. The black pieces are like the King’s Way of chess, advancing relentlessly. In the short term, there will naturally be no problems, but over time, problems will arise.”

He stood up, went to the window, looked at the wind and snow outside, and murmured, “Endless conquest, even if you have the power to dominate the world, if it lasts too long, it will exhaust the people and resources. Food supplies and the morale of the army will all be affected.”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi looked at Xie Weilou’s back and frowned, “But it only takes a few more moves for the white pieces to be annihilated.”

Xie Weilou shook his head, “This is precisely the terrifying aspect of the white pieces. They keep black on a leash, giving black the illusion that it can be quickly devoured, making black constantly charge and constantly consume.”

He chuckled and said, “It’s like you’re riding a thousand-mile horse, with a bundle of grass dangling in front. The horse stares at the grass, and at first, it runs very fast, but it consumes itself quickly. At this point, you let it eat a tiny bit of grass, taste just a little bit of sweetness, and let it stare at the remaining grass, and it will still run.”

“Slowly, it might not even finish the bundle of grass before it dies of exhaustion, because what it eats cannot make up for what it consumes. Yet, this horse might not even realize it; it might think until its death that it didn’t run fast enough, which is why it didn’t get to eat all the grass!”

“……”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi stood rooted to the spot.

Xie Weilou waved his hand, and a white piece continued to fall onto the chessboard: “The black pieces are scattered, indicating internal problems. At such a moment, the temptation must be increased!”

State Preceptor Li Guanqi took a look, took a deep breath, and continued to place a piece. But as soon as she placed it, her body trembled again—she had fallen for it!

The black pieces advanced further, seemingly devouring another part of the white pieces, but the true situation was that even greater problems had emerged within the black pieces.

Xie Weilou smiled calmly, “Having reached this point, black must have noticed the problem. So now there are two choices: continue to advance, or mend the fold after the sheep are lost. To continue advancing might completely devour white, and then the internal problems can be resolved; to mend the fold after the sheep are lost means to temporarily give up the immediate gains and instead resolve the internal situation.”

He turned around and stared at State Preceptor Li Guanqi, “At this point, as the black piece player, how do you think you should choose?”