Day and night tour

Chapter 502 The Divine Lord's Chess Game
The East Market Street was exceptionally lively today. Last night, Zhou Xuan completed the reconstruction of the entire Mingjiang Prefecture. All the dead who died in the fire disaster in the prefecture were brought back to life.

People have returned to the city, and naturally, the once-thriving businesses and bustling crowds have returned as well.
Sugar vendors carrying baskets of sugar, going door-to-door exchanging sugar for worn-out sandals and old washbasins; dough figurine makers; vendors hawking hot glutinous rice balls… all sorts of artisans filled Dongshi Street today, making it as crowded as a grand market.

The chess stall on the street was also set up today.
As Zhou Xuan ate his rice, he strolled around. The roadside vendors, seeing him, greeted him and offered him some of their own food as a "feeding."

“Sir, eating only stewed fish isn’t nutritious enough. Try my freshly braised pork knuckle.”

Without saying a word, the braised pork vendor forcefully stuffed a large piece of pork knuckle into Zhou Xuan's large bowl. The pork knuckle was so well braised that it trembled when Zhou Xuan took a few steps.

"Brother Erlu, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"What's wrong with that? You need to nourish your body."

"Master, let me nourish you too." Aunt Li, who sells roasted goose eggs, pressed two fragrant roasted goose eggs into Zhou Xuan's bowl with a "click." Zhou Xuan gently lifted the egg white with his chopsticks, and the butter inside overflowed, making people shiver with its aroma.

"This isn't good. If I eat like this, I'll gain weight in less than two weeks."

Zhou Xuan carried a large bowl until he reached the chess stall, where all sorts of delicious food were piled up into a small mountain.

"Hey, Brother Xuan, the food is so good!" Zhao Wuyai raised his hand, greeting him as he grabbed a chicken leg from his bowl and began to chew it heartily.

"The food was all thanks to the kind stall owners who took good care of me."

Zhou Xuan picked up his chopsticks, took a couple of bites of the braised pork knuckle, and then, in a very down-to-earth manner, did an "Asian squat." He squatted on the curb, watching the crowd of onlookers gathered around the chess stall.
Yun Ziliang and Li Changxun were locked in a fierce game of chess with the stall owner, their faces flushed red, especially Yun Ziliang, who had clearly lost many games.

"Jump the horse, checkmate!"

Yun Ziliang shouted and slammed the chess piece in his hand heavily onto the chessboard.

"Then I'm sorry."

The stall owner tapped his large pipe on the stool leg and said with a smile, "Sinking car, falling cannon, this time I've got your old general completely out of control again."

After explaining his reasoning, he lowered the car to the ground, spread his hands, and said, "Sir, pay up."

"I lost again. Why can't I win? This game is so simple." Li Changxun said in frustration.

Yun Ziliang then pulled out a large bill from his pocket, slammed it on the chessboard, and said, "Again, again, I don't believe it."

"Again?" The stall owner winked at the onlookers and asked deliberately.

The passersby were also enjoying the spectacle and were unwilling to let the excitement end so early. They started to cheer and say, "Again, again! Our Master Yun has a large and powerful family, you can't win all of them."

"It's good to have a large family and a great business. No matter how big the family is, you can win this chessboard cleanly. The only thing I'm afraid of is that this old gentleman will lose and feel the pinch."

"Am I afraid of losing?"

Yun Ziliang, in a show of arrogance, poked his forehead and said, "I may have thousands of houses, but I can only sleep in a space of three feet. I may have thousands of pieces of silk and brocade, but I can't wear them all when I'm gone. Money is just an external thing. What's there to be afraid of if I lose? Let's set up the chessboard!"

His extravagant display drew cheers from passersby, and the stall owner said no more, continuing to set up the chess pieces.

Zhou Xuan squatted down and ate his rice while joking with Zhao Wuya, saying, "Old Yun is alright at Go, but when it comes to chess, he's really showing his true colors."

"Brother Xuan, how did you know my grandmaster wasn't very good at chess? You noticed it too?"

"Do you even need to look? Anyone who has studied chess manuals knows this endgame is unsolvable. Isn't this just like the horse leaping over the Tanxi River?"

Zhou Xuan said.

"Wow, Xuan-ge'er, you're a genius! You're even good at chess?"

“That doesn’t make sense.” Zhou Xuan honestly admitted, “My chess skills are only at the level of an old man grinding his teeth in the park, but I do know a little about these famous endgame puzzles.”

This endgame of "Horse Leaps Over Tanxi" is divided into two versions: "with form" and "without form".

The stall owner's stall features a modified version with a winning hand, where Black is guaranteed to win.

Yun Ziliang, on the other hand, is playing the red side; it would be a miracle if he won.

"You were able to recognize that it was Ma Yue Tanxi, so your chess skills are quite good." Zhao Wuyai sighed.

Zhou Xuan asked, "Ya Zi, logically speaking, you're also skilled in chess, not to mention the Zen Master Wuya residing within you, whose chess prowess surpasses even the Buddhist master 'Moya Monk.' Why don't you offer him a few pointers?"

"Give me pointers? I'll show you how."

Zhao Wuyai squeezed next to Yun Ziliang and said, "Grandmaster, stop playing. This game is called 'Horse Leaps Over the Tanxi River,' which has been improved by the stall owner. Black will definitely win!"

"Go to hell! In this world, is there any game you can't win? Success depends on human effort, and so does success in chess."

"Whether it's for a reason or not, there has to be some logic to it!"

"Get out of here, don't delay your great-grandfather from making money."

Yun Ziliang waved Zhao Wuya away.

Helpless, Zhao Wuyai said to Zhou Xuan, "Brother Xuan, did you see that? What does it mean to be a bad cook with a big addiction? My great-grandfather is a perfect example."

"You dragon hunters have a really high gambling spirit."

Zhou Xuan ate his rice as he spoke, crunching raw chili peppers loudly, then watched Yun Ziliang lose money.
However, in this game, the stall owner, who played black, did not win. Yun Ziliang managed to checkmate the stall owner after more than ten moves.

We won the game.
Old Yun's gloom vanished, and he was so excited that he was incoherent. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to the people around him and said, "Oh dear, it was just luck that I, Old Yun, won this small game. It was just luck."

"Congratulations to Master Yun on your victory in the first game of chess."

"Brother Yun, while we're still in a good mood, let's beat him a few more times."

"What does it mean to have a good temper? Master Yun's chess skills are probably unmatched in the entire Mingjiang Prefecture."

After winning this game, Yun Ziliang became so confident that he became somewhat arrogant.

Zhou Xuan could figure it out with his own eyes: the chess boss was throwing the game—he could have won but didn't, keeping Yun Ziliang hanging.

"Brother Xuan, could it be that the stall owner has made a mistake?" Zhao Wuya asked in a low voice.

Zhou Xuan laughed and said, "If he can make mistakes in such a famous game, what's the point of setting up a game of endgames? He'd just lose everything. If he throws the game, he throws the game. There's nothing to say about it."

The game went on for three more rounds, and Yun Ziliang won all three remaining rounds. Because he had placed large bets in these three rounds, he not only made up for all the money he had lost before, but also won an extra two hundred yuan.

"The old gentleman's chess skills are superb, and I, a mere chess boss, can't keep up. We're not playing today."

"You're stopping so soon? If you keep playing, I, Lao Yun, will win until you're bankrupt."

"I'm not playing anymore, I'm not playing anymore." The chess stall owner took out a chess box and began to pack the chess pieces.

Yun Ziliang counted out 280 yuan, slapped it on the chess table, and said, "I, Old Yun, have a rule: I never take away the money I win. Your small business isn't easy to run, so take this money back."

"I didn't lose that much, at most I lost two hundred and thirty or four hundred." The stall owner wasn't in a hurry to collect the money.

"The rest of the money is yours as a reward."

Yun Ziliang stood up again, casually patted the corner of his robe, and said, "I won the game because my chess skills are at their peak; but I won't take a single penny with me. This is because I am kind-hearted and humble. Let's go, buy some roast duck and roast chicken, and go back to the shop for a couple of drinks."

Li Changxun was very obsequious, repeatedly saying, "Grandmaster, you won without being arrogant, which is the mark of a gentleman. I am convinced."

Seeing the way the master and apprentice were behaving, Zhou Xuan almost burst out laughing. He cheerfully said to Zhao Wuya, "Ya Zi, the case is solved."

"What case have you solved?" Zhao Wuya asked.

Zhou Xuan laughed and said, "Old Yun used to never win a single card game. He said he was saving up his luck and deliberately losing. Now it seems that he wasn't doing it on purpose; he was just a complete noob."

"..." Zhao Wuya.

“Look at Lao Yun, if he really could win, he would have won long ago. He just doesn’t take the money with him. He’s just accumulating luck.”

Zhao Wuyai suddenly realized and said, "If that's the case, then our grandmaster is also an unsolved mystery of East Market Street. He's been here for so long, playing cards every day, and he's never won once. Putting aside whether his card skills are bad or not, his luck is really bad."

"We'll see if it's good or bad later."

Zhou Xuan handed the empty bowl to Zhao Wuya and said, "Hold this bowl for me, I need to talk to the owner of the chess stall."

"What do you need him for? Grandpa Yun went to buy chickens and ducks; we're going to have a few drinks later."

"Let's wait a bit," Zhou Xuan said without explicitly stating his opinion.

At this moment, Chess Master Zhao had already started setting up the chess set. The passersby who had come to watch the excitement naturally dispersed, and the chess stall was deserted, leaving only Zhou Xuan, Chess Master Zhao, and Zhao Wuya.

Zhou Xuan reached out and took the small stool, sat down at the chess stall, and placed his hand on the chess table: "Boss, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Come on, let's play another game."

"Young master, we won't be playing chess today." "Not playing chess? That's fine."

Zhou Xuan suddenly grabbed the chess stall owner by the collar, then pulled him up sharply, saying, "Then let's have a couple of moves, sign a life-or-death agreement, and we'll do whatever it takes if you kill me."

"Young sir, what are you doing? I'm just a chess player, I don't know anything about martial arts." The chess shop owner immediately panicked.

Zhao Wuyai quickly advised, "Brother Xuan, what are you doing? If you want to beat him up, let's do it secretly. Right now, the whole street is watching."

"You need to be mindful of your image, you need to be mindful of your image."

Zhao Wuyai tried to persuade him earnestly, but Zhou Xuan had no intention of stopping. His gaze grew increasingly fierce, and his tone was icy cold as he said, "Don't bother signing any life-or-death papers. I'll kill you or not. If you don't make a move, I'll make the first one."

After saying that, Zhou Xuan's right hand suddenly grabbed into the body of the chess stall owner.

The stall owner had been trying to struggle, but his movements stopped as soon as Zhou Xuan Nuo Shen's hand penetrated deeper.

"You must have a master backing you, right? Trying to make trouble for me, Zhou Xuan, with this half-finished game?"

Zhou Xuan said coldly again.

Zhao Wuyai was even more puzzled and asked, "Brother Xuan, what are you saying? I don't understand."

“Ya Zi, the chess boss is playing chess with Lao Yun, but his real intention is not what he is playing. All those games he won were just to wait for me to come out.”

Zhou Xuan said to the chess shop owner, "The fact that you believe you can always win in the endgame with black means that your master is trying to tell me that I, Zhou Xuan, cannot win. I am the one playing red, and no matter what I do, I will lose. Is that what you mean?"

"you……"

"Those few games you let Lao Yun win were nothing more than your master warning me that the great victories I, Zhou Xuan, had won before were just a reward from him, right?"

"..." The chess boss was stunned again.

Zhou Xuan continued, “These unfinished situations, piled up together, represent the message your master wants to convey to me—he can turn the world upside down and make things happen at will, so I need to be careful in my actions and obedient in my conduct. If I am obedient, I will be rewarded; if I am disobedient, I will be ‘submitted to the general’ and await death!”

The chess boss was at a loss for words; he only felt that Zhou Xuan's understanding of the "chess game" came too quickly and too rapidly.

"Who is your master? I think... I won't ask you, so I won't. You're just a puppet."

Zhou Xuan's right hand touched some straw inside the chess boss's body.

This chess boss isn't even a "human being".

Zhou Xuan's hand moved upwards along the straw, and as he moved, he felt some invisible threads under the chess boss's head.

Zhou Xuan immediately used his perception to penetrate those threads, intending to follow the clues to find the source.

Just then, Yun Ziliang and Li Changxun, who were supposed to be buying roast chicken and roast duck, suddenly appeared.

"The wind and clouds rise from the dragon."

Li Changxun suddenly swirled something, and a gust of wind transformed into pale blue silk threads, which then entangled the thread above the chess master's head.
As the two lines intertwined, Yun Ziliang unleashed a dragon from his body, attaching his dragon energy to the line as well.

Instantly, a line of intertwined blue and gold, formed by the "force of the wind, the energy of the dragon, and the invisible energy," appeared on the horizon.

Zhou Xuan looked up and saw the lines stretching down from the farthest distance.

That place was neither the heavens nor the human world, but rather—the realm of time.

"Boss Chess, you really are a puppet sent down from the Time Realm."

Yun Ziliang sneered, "I've heard that in the Realm of Time, there are four great divine lords who love to use music, chess, calligraphy, and painting as hints to issue divine decrees. I was already a little suspicious when you played chess with me."

Li Changxun, with his hands behind his back, said, "What kind of dog-skinned divine oracle is this? It's nothing more than the Four Great Divine Lords instructing Xuanzi on how to do things."

"Chess Slave, return to the Realm of Time and deliver a message to the Four Great Divine Lords: the great master of the mortal realm does not need the Divine Lords of the Realm of Time to make decisions."

Zhou Xuan wasn't the only one who saw through the chess stall owner's true identity—who else, like the two old hands Li Changxun and Yun Ziliang, hadn't seen through him?
The chess shop owner, realizing his identity had been exposed, burst into flames, burning his entire body to ashes.
“Zhou Xuan, remember what was said on the chessboard: the Four Great Divine Lords can turn the world upside down with a flick of their wrist. If you obey them, that will be fine. But if you don’t, you can decide your fate.”

boom!
The flames exploded, and the chess boss was reduced to charred remains.

"Damn it, what bad luck! I've spent the whole morning playing chess with this puppet."

Yun Ziliang cursed.

Zhao Wuyai immediately asked, "Grandmaster, did you all notice that this chess shop owner is not normal?"

"That's natural... Our Dragon Seeking Hall has some dealings with the Four Great Divine Lords, and we have a good understanding of their character."

Li Changxun stepped in and cleared up Zhao Wuyai's confusion.

Zhao Wuyai then asked Zhou Xuan, "Brother Xuan? How did you figure that out?"

“If I don’t come out to watch the game, the chess owner won’t give me a handicap. But as soon as I come out to watch the game, the chess owner starts giving me a handicap. That’s because he’s targeting me.”

"Since he's coming for me, I'll find out more about him."

Zhou Xuan asked Yun Ziliang, "Old Yun, can these four divine lords descend directly to the mortal realm?"

Yun Ziliang didn't say much, but pointed to the Jingyi Shop.

Zhou Xuan then stopped talking and returned to the Jingyi Shop with everyone. After closing the door, he started talking again.

“Xuanzi, those four Divine Lords came from the Realm of Time and Space; they are also at the Heavenly God level.”

Yun Ziliang said.

Li Changxun said, "However, judging from past experience, these four celestial beings are the kind who don't care about worldly affairs. They have been cultivating in the Time Realm for so many years, but why did they suddenly make a move today?"

"I can understand why they took action."

Upon hearing the words "God-level," Zhou Xuan immediately understood.

He said to Li Changxun and Yun Ziliang, "Old Yun, Old Li, think about it, what is the purpose of a Celestial God? Their greatest role is to resist the arrival of the Heavenly Fire Clan."
And I, now, am the alchemist of Baiyujing, responsible day and night for refining all kinds of powerful golden pills for Baiyujing.

The Four Divine Lords, fearing I would assist Bai Yujing and the Heavenly Fire Clan, used the chessboard to discipline me, telling me to be obedient and not to have too much contact with the Heavenly Fire Clan and Bai Yujing.

"Oh, I see." Li Changxun asked Zhou Xuan, "Then, Master, what are your thoughts?"

“Of course I’ll do what I want,” Zhou Xuan said, arms crossed.
"I don't care what the Four Great Divine Lords are thinking. As long as I have a clear conscience, that's enough. But... it seems... it's not that simple."

Zhou Xuan thought of a certain detail and said, "You just said that the Four Great Divine Lords have been cultivating for many years. Do you think it's possible that he's eyeing my alchemy skills and wants a share of the profits?"

These words were a wake-up call.

Yun Ziliang immediately slammed his hand on the table and said, "It's not impossible! In the past, when there were no elixirs in the mortal world, those gods did not appear and remained detached from the world. But now that there are elixirs, those gods have also seen the future of cultivation and are probably going to enter the mortal world."

“Now, whoever controls the Great Master is the most likely to be promoted to Heavenly Venerable!” Li Changxun also said.

There are only four Heavenly Venerables in the Kingdom of Well. Which of those so-called Heavenly Gods doesn't want to become the fifth Heavenly Venerable?

"Am I in high demand now?"

After Zhou Xuan discovered that his "golden elixir" had appeared in the world, he immediately became a sought-after figure in the Jing Kingdom.

The Heaven and Earth want pills, the Heavenly Fire Clan wants pills, Bai Yujing wants pills, and now, those Heavenly Gods have also made their move; they want pills too.

"Young master, the pills you refine every day might not be enough to go around."

A voice suddenly rang out from the ritual shop, and a paper banner grew larger and larger, from which the wine master of Pingshui Prefecture walked out.

However, this time, the Wine Master is being controlled by the Witch God.

"Greetings to the God of Sorcery."

Li Changxun, Yun Ziliang, and Zhao Wuya all knelt on one knee before the Witch God, bowing deeply in worship.

Zhou Xuan also made a gesture to bow, but the Witch God quickly helped him up: "We are all on the same side, so there's no need for such formalities."

“I didn’t mean to kneel before you. I just wanted to get you a cup to make you tea.” Zhou Xuan bent down, grabbed the clean teacup, and went to pour hot water for the Witch God.

The Witch God: "..."

Zhou Xuan poured water, brewed tea, and handed it to the Witch God, saying, "Old Witch, what do you think we should do about this situation? Are we still dealing with the Buddhist Kingdom? The Well Kingdom is already in a state of chaos."

Since the Witch God had finally come all this way, Zhou Xuan felt that it would be a disservice to the Witch God's great supernatural powers and his extraordinary status in the Jing Kingdom if he didn't give him some tasks. So, he immediately started playing the "sob card"...

(End of this chapter)