I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 431 Fried Fish
"The decor of this chess hall is really nice."

Looking at the Phoenix Chess Hall with its antique decor, Wu Zhixuan couldn't help but sigh.

Yu Shao also looked at the chess hall with some surprise. The chess hall was made of green tiles and blue bricks, and the stone bricks made it look simple and ancient.

Actually, there are quite a few chess halls with retro decorations, but this chess hall is located in the ancient city and blends perfectly with the environment, which is quite elegant.

"Yu Shao".

Wu Zhixuan thought for a moment, then said with great interest, "I just bought a chess fan and was worried about where to play. I want to go in and play a few games to show off my skills!"

Having just bought the chess fan, Wu Zhixuan was in high spirits and couldn't wait to play a few games of chess with it.

“You have to show your skills in professional competitions. You’re a professional Go player. Isn’t it like throwing fish in a Go hall?” Wu Shuheng couldn’t help but contradict Wu Zhixuan as usual.

Wu Zhixuan didn't bother with Wu Shuheng at all, and pulled Yu Shao into the chess hall. Seeing this, Wu Shuheng had no choice but to follow.

The three entered the chess hall and found that the first floor was already packed with people, with many spectators standing by the chess tables, watching the game intently.

The players had different expressions. Some looked heavy and depressed, some were focused, some were smoking silently, and some were resting their chins on their hands, frowning as they stared at the chessboard in front of them.

Although the chess hall was packed with customers, it was surprisingly quiet, with only the sound of pieces being placed echoing through the air.

"Hey buddy, wanna play chess?"

A bald, middle-aged man sat at the front desk. When he saw Yu Shao and the other two walk in, he asked Yu Shao a question.

"I won't go down."

Yu Shao withdrew his gaze, looked at Wu Zhixuan, and smiled, "She's leaving."

"Female chess players? Our chess club is usually mostly frequented by men; we don't see many female players coming to watch."

The bald man looked at Wu Zhixuan with some surprise, then at Wu Shuheng, and asked, "Beautiful lady, are you playing with your friend?"

"No, no, he doesn't know how to play chess."

Wu Zhixuan had no desire to be at a disadvantage with Wu Shuheng, so she immediately shook her head and asked, "Boss, can you arrange for us to share a table with other guests?"

"This one……"

Hearing this, the bald man was immediately stumped. After thinking for a moment, he said, "These past two days have mostly been filled with friends playing together. All the people who wanted to share a table have already done so. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait for other individual guests or wait for others to finish playing."

"Huh? We have to wait?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhixuan was immediately disappointed. She glanced at Wu Shuheng and then shook her head with a look of disgust.

"What? Are you feeling wronged by talking to me?"

Wu Shuheng was furious when he saw Wu Zhixuan's expression.

Yu Shao thought for a moment and then said, "How about I..."

"no!"

Before Yu Shao could finish speaking, Wu Zhixuan interrupted him, resolutely refusing, "This is my first battle after buying the folding fan, and I absolutely cannot allow myself to lose!"

Yu Shao was somewhat speechless. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Then let's give five pieces?"

"Don't I have any shame?!"

Wu Zhixuan's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she said angrily, "I'm not playing with you!"

Just then, a man and a woman walked into the chess hall together. Both of them were wearing masks, but judging from their eyes and eyebrows, the man was probably around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and the woman was very young, probably under twenty, wearing a long dress.

Wu Zhixuan's eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly walked over to the two of them, greeting them, "Hello, hello! Are you here to play chess? Would you like to play a game with me?"

Upon hearing this, the two who had just entered the chess hall stopped in their tracks and looked at Wu Zhixuan with some confusion.

Seeing that the two hadn't responded for a while, Wu Zhixuan assumed they hadn't heard her clearly, so she spoke again: "Are you here to play chess? Would you like to play a game with me?"

At this moment, the girl, who was about the same age as Wu Zhixuan, spoke in English: "Excuse me, I don't speak Chinese."

"Not Chinese?"

Wu Zhixuan was a little surprised, but not too surprised. With the Phoenix Cup World Championship just around the corner, it was perfectly normal to have foreign tourists. So she quickly repeated her question in English.

"Playing chess?"

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged bewildered glances.

"You two made plans together?"

Seeing this, Wu Zhixuan assumed that the two had arranged a match and was immediately disappointed.

"No, no, we just came to this chess hall to take a look, we didn't intend to play chess." The girl shook her head and quickly explained.

Hearing this, Wu Zhixuan's eyes lit up again, and hope rekindled. She asked, "Do you want to play with me?"

"Play with you?"

The girl looked at Wu Zhixuan with a slightly strange expression.

She hesitated for a moment, seemingly somewhat tempted, then glanced at the young man beside her. Seeing that he didn't react, she finally nodded and said, "Okay, no problem."

"great!"

Seeing that she had finally found a worthy opponent, Wu Zhixuan was overjoyed and quickly looked at the bald man at the front desk, saying, "Boss, are there any seats left? Please find us a table."

"There are seats available. The first floor is full. Come up to the second floor. There are seats available on the second floor. The fee is forty yuan." The bald man quickly spoke up when he saw that a customer had come in.

"Row."

Wu Zhixuan nodded, and soon after scanning the code to pay, the five of them went upstairs together.

Where are you from?

As Wu Zhixuan walked upstairs, she asked curiously, "North and South Korea, Japan?"

"Japan."

The girl answered in a soft voice.

"Japan?"

Wu Zhixuan was even more excited for the upcoming match. After all, she had been a professional Go player for so long, but apart from playing online, she had never played against a foreign Go player in real life.

Just then, the girl asked, "What's your rank?"

"I--"

Wu Zhixuan hesitated for a moment, then rolled her eyes before finally replying, "Fourth dan, impressive, right?"

Hearing Wu Zhixuan's answer, Yu Shao couldn't help but chuckle. Wu Zhixuan was telling the truth when she said she was a fourth-dan; she really was a fourth-dan, just with the word "professional."

"Four sections?"

Hearing this, the girl was clearly a little surprised. Even an amateur fourth dan was indeed very impressive for most people.

"Ah."

Wu Zhixuan looked at the girl, then at the young man beside her, and asked uncertainly, "So who will play with me later?"

The girl smiled and replied, "I'll take it."

"You come?"

Wu Zhixuan was somewhat surprised. She had assumed that the young man who was traveling with the girl would play chess with her, since she had just seen the girl glance at the young man before agreeing to play, and only agreed after seeing that the young man did not refuse.

However, Wu Zhixuan didn't think much of it and quickly nodded, saying, "Okay."

Soon, the five of them arrived on the second floor. Wu Zhixuan and the girl found an empty chess table, pulled out chairs and sat down. Yu Shao and Wu Shuheng stood behind Wu Zhixuan, while the young man who was with the girl stood behind her.

Do you want to play black or white? Or would you like to coin toss?

As Wu Zhixuan opened the chess box, she asked with a smile.

"Let's just guess who goes first," the girl said, opening the chess box as well.

"Row."

Wu Zhixuan nodded. There were white pieces in the chess box next to her, so she grabbed a handful of white pieces and held them in her palm. Seeing this, the girl opposite her also took out two black pieces and placed them on the chessboard.

White has five pieces.

Black has two pieces.

"I'll play black."

Wu Zhixuan quickly picked up the white pieces from the chessboard and put them back in the chess box. After exchanging chess boxes with the girl, she bowed to the girl and said, "Please give me your guidance."

The girl opposite returned the greeting, saying, "Please take care of me."

Wu Zhixuan looked at the chessboard, pondered for two seconds, and quickly picked up a piece and made her first move.

Hey!
Sixteen columns, four rows, stars!
As the game began, the girl opposite him also became extremely focused, completely absorbed, as if she could only see the chessboard in front of her. She quickly picked up a piece and gently placed it down.

Four columns and sixteen rows, a star!
Wu Zhixuan followed suit, placing her piece as well.

Sixteen columns and sixteen rows, stars!

The girl placed her piece again.

Four columns and three rows, small eyes!
"Xing Xiaomu?"

Wu Zhixuan seemed to be deep in thought. After thinking for a moment, she put down the folding fan in her hand, reached into the chess box, picked out a chess piece, and quickly placed it down.

Hey!
Three columns and seventeen rows, dot 33!
Seeing Wu Zhixuan play the 3-3 move, the girl's expression didn't change. She quickly picked up a piece and placed it on the board.

Four columns and seventeen rows, block!
The two sides began to take turns placing their pieces, and the crisp sound of pieces being placed could be heard continuously.

Not far away, two young men had finally finished their game after a fierce battle. There were quite a few people watching, and when they saw that the two had finally decided the winner, they couldn't help but whisper among themselves, causing a little commotion.

"Brother Li, your little flying move was pretty good."

"Haha, we can't stay stagnant forever, I learned a new skill and I'm putting it to use today."

"Wang Tianzhi, there seems to be something wrong with your hand-held medicine..."

"Really? I feel that was indeed ill-considered. I originally thought it wouldn't be so easy for White to break through."

As they were chatting, someone suddenly noticed the situation at Wu Zhixuan's table not far away and said with some surprise, "There are two beautiful women playing chess at that table."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards Wu Zhixuan's table, their eyes filled with surprise.

"Go take a look? Two women playing chess, that's a rare sight."

"I've seen plenty of men and women doing this, but I've really rarely seen women doing this."

"Even though I can't see their faces, they all seem to be beautiful."

"Go take a look? I love watching women fight."

"Hahahaha, let's go, let's go!"

Many people walked over to Wu Zhixuan's table, and soon the chess table was surrounded by a crowd.

Soon, after another dozen or so moves, Wu Zhixuan looked at the chessboard in front of her, pondered for a moment, and then picked up a piece and placed it down again.

Hey!
Eight columns and twelve rows, Tiger!
Seeing this move, Yu Shao's face didn't change at all, but the people around him were stunned and surprised, and then they started whispering among themselves.

"That tiger move was brilliant."

"I originally thought Black was going to extend the side here, since extending the side is a big move that is obvious. But Black's tiger not only reinforced the position, but also implied the deeper meaning of extending the side."

"Is it that powerful? White is in a difficult position to respond to. If it tries to push, Black will cut it off in half..."

The girl opposite Wu Zhixuan looked somewhat surprised when she saw Wu Zhixuan's move.

"Tiger?"

The girl stared at the chessboard, her mind racing, calculating the possible outcomes of her next move.

"A skillful method."

However, the girl showed no panic; in fact, a faint smile appeared in her eyes.

"Upon arriving here, her layout is very solid. Although her pressure and attack power are somewhat lacking, her maneuvering techniques are very skillful."

"I thought it would be a one-sided match, but she's much stronger than I expected."

"Let's take her down in one fell swoop, consider it a warm-up for the Phoenix Cup World Championship."

The girl lowered her eyes slightly, and after a moment, she finally picked up another chess piece and quickly placed it on the board!

Hey!
Seven columns and thirteen rows, jump!
"How should we respond?"

When the white pieces used this move to jump and respond to the black pieces' tiger's mouth, everyone around stared in disbelief.

"No...not bad!"

"It's difficult to respond to the top, so she jumped away directly here, and the changes suddenly became very complicated, and some are hard to calculate, but it feels like White is just as good!"

"real or fake?"

The crowd couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"She actually figured out how to do that jump? That's pretty good."

When Wu Zhixuan saw the girl respond with a jump, she was a little surprised. She subconsciously tapped her palm with her folding fan, thought for a moment, and then put down the fan, picked up a chess piece, and placed it down again.

Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
Black and white chess pieces began to spread across the chessboard.

The people around them watched more and more intently. At first, they just wanted to watch the excitement, but before they knew it, they were all drawn to the fierce battle between the two sides in the game.

"What are they looking at so intently?"

At this moment, other chess games ended, and they saw that Wu Zhixuan's table was surrounded by a crowd, so they looked at each other in bewilderment.

"You're so engrossed in watching two girls play chess?"

"How about we go take a look too?"

"……Walk."

More and more people walked toward Wu Zhixuan's table, and soon the chess table was surrounded by people, and before long, they were all attracted to the game.

The entire chess hall fell silent for a moment.

Soon, another dozen or so moves had passed.

"Wu Zhixuan... I'm afraid things are not going well."

Yu Shao silently observed the game and had already discerned the situation. Although it was only recently in the middle game, it seemed that both black and white were in a fighting position. However, this was not actually the case.

Black is in a somewhat passive position. Although the territory at the bottom is large, it is unlikely to escape being diminished. Once White breaks through the territory at the bottom, it will be difficult for Black to make any progress, and Black will likely be attacked all the way down.

Yu Shao glanced at Wu Zhixuan and noticed that Wu Zhixuan had already frowned and was gripping the handle of her folding fan tightly in her right hand, probably realizing that the situation was not good.

This put Yu Shao at ease a little. If Wu Zhixuan hadn't realized that his situation was bad, then he would probably have suffered a crushing defeat. Fortunately, Wu Zhixuan had already realized it.

If Wu Zhixuan can come up with some solutions at this point, then the situation is still acceptable.

After a long period of contemplation, Wu Zhixuan finally put down her folding fan, picked up a chess piece again, and quickly placed it down!
Hey!
Eight columns and fourteen rows, sandwiched!
"Planning a strong attack from the bottom right corner?"

Those around stared in disbelief at this display of skill.

"Isn't this... a bit too forceful?"

"Why? The situation is about the same; there's absolutely no need to take such a risky move!"

(End of this chapter)