I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 429 Phoenix Soaring
Two hours later.

A plane that had departed from Jiangling slowly came to a stop at Phoenix Airport. Soon, the cabin door opened, and Yu Shao and his entourage walked out of the cabin one after another.

"A lot of people."

Looking at the passersby through the glass corridor leading to the airport, Wu Zhixuan said excitedly, "This is my first time in Fenghuang, I didn't expect it to be so lively!"

"Although Phoenix already has a lot of tourists, this time the large number of people is thanks to the World Championship. Most of them came for the World Championship."

While putting on his mask, Ma Zhengyu said with a smile, "So hurry up and put your mask on, otherwise it will be troublesome if you are recognized later."

"I don't need to wear it, I'm not a competitor."

Wu Zhixuan looked weak and helpless as she spoke, "I am just a weak and helpless fourth-dan Go player."

"I'm afraid the number of people who know you is no less than the number of people who know me, right?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qin couldn't help but joke, "People may forget a 9-dan Go player named xxx, but most people will definitely remember a 4-dan Go player named Wu Zhixuan."

"Oh wow! I love hearing that!"

Wu Zhixuan laughed as soon as she heard this, her eyes crinkling with laughter, and she quickly and obediently put on her mask.

Beside Wu Zhixuan, Wu Shuheng rolled his eyes speechlessly and complained, "Conspicuous bag."

"I heard it!"

Wu Zhixuan raised her head and grinned at her older brother.

Upon seeing this, everyone couldn't help but smile.

"This way."

Ma Zhengyu walked at the front, leading the way for everyone while introducing the venue: "This competition is being held in the ancient city. During the competition, chess players from all over the world will also be eating and staying in the ancient city."

"This is also the first time that the World Championships have been held in a scenic area, which not only promotes the scenic area but also adds a sense of significance to the World Championships."

"In order to attract more people to develop an interest in Go, this World Championship is semi-open. Some professional players and amateur masters who have won amateur championships can apply to watch the games directly at the venue."

"Of course, you must strictly abide by the rules and regulations of the competition, such as not speaking while watching the game. Those who do not abide by the rules and regulations will be severely punished, and in serious cases, they may even be banned for life."

Ma Zhengyu paused for a moment, then continued with a smile, "As for those who are coming for the World Championship, our chess academy has also arranged live broadcasts for them. After purchasing tickets, they can watch the live broadcast in several large stadiums, where high-ranking professional chess players will take turns providing commentary."

"Although there were 40,000 tickets available, they were all sold out as soon as they went on sale. And as far as I know, scalpers were even selling them for over 10,000 yuan, but they were still hard to come by."

Ma Zhengyu joked with a smile, "It makes me want to become a scalper myself."

Upon hearing this, Yu Shao seemed to be deep in thought for a moment.

The world championships in this world are very different from those in the previous world. In the previous world, Go competitions were often held in closed hotels, and most of the audience watched the competitions at home via television or computer.

However, in this world, the commercialization of world championships is more mature, and people are more enthusiastic about watching the games live.

Even though Go matches can't attract as many spectators as football matches, there are still a great many people who want to watch the games live.

Therefore, most world Go tournaments in this world are in this semi-open format.

Although ordinary people still cannot watch the games live, they can watch the live broadcast in the stadium. With so many people watching the game with them, it is just as atmospheric.

"There are still a few days left in the competition. In the next few days, everyone should rest well and recharge their energy."

Ma Zhengyu smiled and continued, "The World Championship is a very tough battle because the competition goes on almost day after day until the champion is finally decided. So you must get enough rest, as physical strength is also part of your chess strength."

As Ma Zhengyu walked and talked, he was mainly introducing these things to Zheng Qin, Yu Shao and others who were participating in the World Championship for the first time. As for Zhuang Weisheng, Chen Shan and others, they were already regulars in the World Championship, so there was no need to say much.

Yu Shao was aware of this, so he listened attentively the whole way.

After all, although he was a regular participant in the World Championship in his previous life, he was completely clueless about the World Championship in this world, and even less knowledgeable about it than Zheng Qin.

The group walked along and soon left the airport, boarding a bus to Fenghuang Ancient Town. After a bumpy ride, the bus stopped in the ancient town not long after.

We've arrived at Fenghuang Ancient Town.

"Okay, here we are."

Ma Zhengyu stood up and handed out room keys to everyone while saying, "It's still early, so you can wander around the ancient city as you like. Remember to wear masks to avoid trouble. If you don't want to wander around, just go back to the hotel."

Soon, Yu Shao also took the room key from Ma Zhengyu. He glanced at the information on the key, which showed the name and room number of a guesthouse in the ancient city. This should be the place where he stayed during the World Championship.

Before long, Ma Zhengyu had finished distributing all the room cards. He then looked around at everyone, took a deep breath, and said again, "I'll stop here. From now on, it's all up to you."

"I wish you all the best in your journey to the World Championship, the highest stage for chess players, where you will achieve great success and advance unstoppably!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qin looked somewhat nervous. He took several deep breaths, his expression becoming extremely serious, and his fists clenched tightly.

Although the others didn't react as strongly as Zheng Qin, the atmosphere inside the bus subtly became a bit heavier.

People began to get off the bus one after another. After everyone had disembarked, the bus doors slowly closed and then drove back in the direction they had come from until they disappeared from sight.

"Wow! So beautiful."

Wu Zhixuan gazed at the ancient city scenery with delight, her eyes sparkling.

Yu Shao also turned his head forward and saw a winding bluestone path leading to the end of the road. On both sides, stilted houses built along the river were supported by wooden pillars, preserving an antique charm and style.

The streets were bustling with pedestrians, and peddlers on both sides of the street called out loudly to attract customers, creating a picturesque scene.

However, Yu Shao didn't have a strong desire to wander around the ancient city. He glanced down at his room key and prepared to go straight to his accommodation to rest.

"Yu Shao, would you like to come with us for a walk?"

Just then, Wu Zhixuan suddenly turned to look at Yu Shao and asked with an expectant expression.

"Uh……"

Yu Shao hesitated for a moment, but seeing Wu Zhixuan's expectant look, he finally nodded and said, "Okay."

After saying that, Yu Shao turned to look at Xu Zijing behind him and asked, "Want to come along?"

Xu Zijin glanced at Yu Shao, then at Wu Shuheng beside Wu Zhixuan, and finally shook her head gently, refusing, "No, I'm going back to the hotel. You three go ahead."

"Zheng Qin, what about you?"

Yu Shao then looked at Zheng Qin beside him and asked.

"I'm not in the mood."

Zheng Qin shook his head: "I'm afraid I won't be in the mood to shop until after the competition is over."

Seeing that Zheng Qin wasn't in the mood to wander around, Yu Shao turned to Su Yiming and asked, "Su Yiming, what about you? Are you going straight to the hotel too?"

“I didn’t plan to go straight to the hotel.” Su Yiming shook his head, looking at the ancient city not far away, and said in a somewhat complicated tone, “However, I would like to explore the city by myself.”

Hearing Su Yiming's words, Yu Shao was somewhat taken aback, feeling that Su Yiming was acting rather strangely.

"Fine, let's just the three of us."

At this moment, Wu Shuheng spoke up.

"Row."

Seeing that Zheng Qin, Su Yiming, and Xu Zijin were unwilling to go for a stroll, Yu Shao nodded and walked towards the ancient city with Wu Zhixuan.

They hadn't walked far when Wu Shuheng said to Wu Zhixuan with some dissatisfaction, "You don't have a competition, but others do. The World Championship starts the day after tomorrow. How can we have the mind to stroll around? Why did you have to drag Yu Shao along?"

"I was just asking, and if Yu Shao doesn't agree, fine. More importantly, I don't want to shop with you."

Wu Zhixuan wrinkled her nose and said fiercely to Wu Shuheng, "You're such bad luck, I need to find someone to ward off evil spirits!"

Seeing this, Yu Shao was speechless. Judging from the relationship between Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng, they were obviously siblings.

Wu Shuheng was at a loss with Wu Zhixuan, and said apologetically to Yu Shao, "I'm sorry, she's quite old, but she's so immature."

"Who's so old!"

Wu Zhixuan immediately became angry, her beautiful eyes widening as she retorted, "I'm only eighteen! Eighteen! Eighteen!"

The fact that Wu Zhixuan emphasized "eighteen" three times shows just how angry she was.

“You’ll be nineteen in a month, and you still have the nerve to say you’re eighteen.” Wu Shuheng rolled his eyes, hitting Wu Zhixuan’s sore spot precisely.

"There's still a month left, it's not over yet!"

Wu Zhixuan was so angry that her teeth itched, and her full breasts heaved up and down.

"it's okay no problem."

Yu Shao couldn't help but chuckle, and quickly tried to mediate, saying, "It's good to take a stroll, it can ease the tension. Who wouldn't perform better in the competition then? Didn't Chairman Ma also recommend that we take a walk?"

"Wu Shuheng, did you hear me?!"

Wu Zhixuan glared fiercely at Wu Shuheng: "I'm doing this for Yu Shao's own good! You're just being nosy! Any woman who ends up with you is really unlucky."

"Any man who marries you will be incredibly unlucky!" Wu Shuheng retorted angrily.

The two bickered and joked all the way, and before they knew it, they had entered the ancient city. The ancient city was bustling with people and noise. Wu Zhixuan was soon attracted by the goods sold on the street.

"This Go bead bracelet is so beautiful!"

Wu Zhixuan walked quickly to a street stall, picked up a delicate bracelet made of black and white beads from the carpet with some surprise, and examined it repeatedly with great affection.

Yu Shao was also somewhat surprised to see the Go bracelet. He then turned to look at other street vendors and found that there were many Go-related items for sale.

For example, there was a chess box with the word "phoenix" written on it, a chess table engraved with three phoenixes, and Yu Shao even saw candied hawthorns shaped like Go pieces.

"Since the World Championship is being held in Phoenix, the merchandise sold here is naturally all related to Go."

Wu Shuheng was used to this, but he noticed Yu Shao's confusion and explained, "It's always like this at the World Championships. Wherever the World Championships are held, the number of tourists there will surge, and these things will sell better."

"so."

Yu Shao was quite taken aback. It really felt like his eyes had been opened, and for the first time he realized the prestige of Go as the number one board game in the world.

"Beautiful lady, buy one! This bracelet is of very good quality; it will definitely look beautiful on your wrist," the middle-aged woman at the stall said with a smile when she saw that Wu Zhixuan liked it.

"Um……"

Wu Zhixuan looked at the bracelet a couple more times, liking it more and more, and asked, "Auntie, how much is it?"

"Five thousand."

The middle-aged woman looked completely harmless and said with a smile.

Upon hearing the price, Yu Shao knew that Wu Zhixuan most likely wouldn't buy it. Given Wu Zhixuan's money-grubbing nature, she would never buy a bracelet priced at five thousand, let alone two hundred.

Although Wu Zhixuan is a fourth-dan Go player with a good track record, she should be quite wealthy. But that has nothing to do with whether she is rich or not; Wu Zhixuan is just particularly greedy for money.

"How many?!"

As Yu Shao expected, Wu Zhixuan's smile froze instantly. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she asked incredulously, "Five thousand?"

"It's not expensive, beautiful lady. These pebbles are the best ones we found on Nanhua Mountain around here, and they were carefully polished by a master craftsman. Beautiful lady, feel how smooth they are."

The older woman quickly spoke up, afraid that Wu Zhixuan would be swayed by the price: "And beautiful lady, pick it up and look at it in the sunlight. Don't you see phoenix patterns on each of these chess pieces? Like they're about to spread their wings and take flight?"

"This bracelet is called Phoenix Soaring Together, and it's one of a kind. The patterns on other bracelets aren't like this!"

The older woman spoke with great conviction, giving the impression that if you bought it for 5,000, you would make a profit, and if you didn't, you would lose out.

"Uh……"

Wu Zhixuan said with a long face, "This is too expensive..."

"Beautiful lady, it's not expensive. This bracelet looks great on you, and it will even make you better at Go," the older woman said earnestly.

Wu Zhixuan stared at the bracelet on her wrist, hesitating for a long time before tentatively asking, "Can you make it cheaper?"

"Four thousand eight."

The woman thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and quoted a price: "This is the lowest price I can offer. This was really made by a master chef. I can't go any lower."

"Ok."

Wu Zhixuan looked pained, but finally nodded, took out her phone, and said, "Scan the QR code with WeChat."

Upon seeing this, Yu Shao and Wu Shuheng were stunned for a moment, then both were shocked. Their eyes widened, and they looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief.

Wu Zhixuan spent 4,800 on a bracelet on the carpet?!
At this price, let alone Wu Zhixuan, even they probably wouldn't buy it.

Wu Shuheng only came to his senses after Wu Zhixuan scanned the code and paid, but it was too late to stop her.

"Here you go, Yu Shao."

Wu Zhixuan took the bracelet, turned around, and handed it to Yu Shao.

Upon seeing this, Yu Shao was stunned.

Under the summer sun, Wu Zhixuan smiled, her eyes crinkling and two dimples appearing on her face. She said, "Phoenixes fly together, phoenixes soar together, and playing chess even has a buff. You're about to have a competition, this is perfect for you!"

(End of this chapter)