Poseidon in Arknights

"Ugh..." Xi angrily put away the water gun, collected everything she had drawn, and didn't continue. She knew that both of them were actually giving in to her.

Not to mention Ling, if Ling wanted to run away, I wouldn't be able to catch up at all, let alone spill several buckets of ink on him. As for Nian... whatever.

"Xi, can you put these inks away?" Xi Yue pointed to the footprints on the ground and the ink splattered everywhere. "Such a beautiful scene, you should put these inks away."

"Uh...okay." Xi nodded, and then the ink stains on the ground gradually disappeared. However, whether out of malice or for some other reason, Xi only dried the ink on Nian's body.

"Hey, this preferential treatment is a bit too much," Nian said, pointing discontentedly to the dried ink on her clothes. "Why did the ink on your sister disappear? Why can't mine?"

"Don't you have any shame?" Xi rolled her eyes. "If you want to clean up your own mess, go clean it up yourself. Who's the real culprit? Do you even know who's in charge?"

"Ah, don't be so stingy~" Nian spread her hands and gradually approached Xi, but Xi knew exactly what Nian was up to and immediately dodged behind Xi Yue.

"Tch..." Nian curled his lip, realizing that he was a little too slow and should have pounced on him directly.

"Alright, alright." Xi Yueqing snapped her fingers, and a heavy rain began to fall outside the pavilion. "Go take a shower, or do you need any clothes or shower gel?"

"That's unnecessary~" Nian waved her hand, then hurried over to the rain, after all, the dried ink on her body was still very uncomfortable.

After the year had passed, Xiyue timely lowered the rain curtain, allowing the heavy moisture to obscure the situation there.

"Alright, it'll probably be a while before the New Year arrives." Xi Yue turned to look at the two of them. "Let's wait a bit before we start eating."

Xi Yue turned to Nian, who was still in the rain, and said, "The next game should be finished. Remember to catch the pieces as they're about to be placed!"

"Hey~" Nian's voice came from behind the rain, "I haven't eaten yet, can I wait a bit?"

——————Shang Shu·Zhunjiang Peak——————

"Oh dear, I already told you to wait a bit, wait a bit." Nian looked at Zuo Le with a bit of a headache. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"I haven't even gone to eat because of this."

"So even the agents of the giant beasts need to eat?" Zuo Le walked to the side, glancing slightly at Tai He beside her.

"What's wrong?" Nian asked, hands on her hips, looking at Zuo Le with an annoyed expression. "You have a problem with that?"

"No." Zuo Le hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Now that we're here, can you tell us what your purpose is in looking for Xi and Ling?"

"Didn't you say that?" Nian tried to evade the question, "The Grand Tutor required that either of you, upon seeing me or Xi, complete the other task first."

"..." After a moment of silence, Zuo Le looked down and finally focused on the pavilion in the distance. "Then, where is Miss Xi Yue right now?"

"How come I'm involved in this again?" Xi Yue's voice came from behind Zuo Le. "Tell me, what is it?"

Hearing the sudden sound behind him, Zuo Le was startled and broke out in a cold sweat. He instinctively put his hand on the knife, but Tai He stopped him.

Stopped by Taihe, Zuo Le immediately relaxed. He had already learned some things about Xiyue from the Grand Tutor, and that the opponent was not someone that Yan Kingdom could match.

"Tsk tsk..." Old Carp looked at Xiyue who suddenly appeared in front of him, his eyes sweeping over the dragon horns on Xiyue's head and the tail swishing behind her. "I've never heard of such a thing."

"Sorry, Koi," Yuuki turned around, "but you know there are some things you can't say, and some things you shouldn't know, right?"

"I understand, I understand." Old Carp nodded. "Knowing too much about some things can cause a lot of trouble."

Xi Yue smiled and nodded, then turned to Zuo Le and asked softly, "So, what does the Grand Tutor want to see me about?"

"The Grand Tutor requires that whoever meets anyone during the New Year or Evening should request an introduction from that person and then give you this invitation."

"Oh~" Xi Yue drawled out her words, which clearly didn't mean what the Grand Tutor meant, because the Grand Tutor definitely knew that she had been with Xi these past few days.

Since it wasn't the Grand Tutor's intention, but he still instructed the people at Ke Suitai to do it, there's only one possibility: someone asked the Grand Tutor to deliver a message.

"Alright." Xi Yue nodded, raising her hand to Zuo Le. "Then what about the invitation?"

"Here it is." Upon hearing this, Zuo Le immediately and respectfully took out the invitation from his clothes and presented it with both hands.

Xi Yue took the invitation and opened it without hesitation, while Nian curiously came over.

【Please come to the foot of the mountain, Miss Xiyue, for a chat.】

"So simple?" Nian looked at the invitation; she had expected something more complicated.

"Don't be so eager to stir up trouble." Xi Yue gently tapped Nian's head. "What kind of message can an invitation possibly have?"

Xi Yue closed the invitation and casually held it in her hand: "I've accepted the invitation. You two can chat at your leisure."

After saying that, Xi Yue walked down the mountain, while Zuo Le watched Xi Yue's figure gradually disappear into the mountain path. After a moment of silence, he turned to look at Nian.

"Then where are Miss Nian and Miss Xi?"

--------------

Before descending the mountain, Xi Yue left their sight and stepped into an elegant room.

Yuuki wasn't surprised; she simply smiled as she looked at the person sitting in the shadows.

"Good afternoon." Xi Yue raised her hand and waved at the figure. "You're still using someone else's appearance, no need to show your true form."

"...I'm sorry, I can't do that right now." The figure in the shadows shook its head. "I'm glad Miss Yuzuki accepted my invitation."

“After all, the invitation has already been handed over.” Xi Yue looked at the person. “Why don’t you come and take a look?”

"After all, it seems difficult for you to make a move while I'm there?"

"..." Faced with Xiyue's blunt words, Wang also felt somewhat helpless. "Yes, if you keep following Xiyue, it will indeed be very difficult for me to take action."

"You can't stop me here." Xi Yue raised her hand and gently touched the vase next to her. The vase instantly turned into a wisp of line and disappeared from its original place.

"I know that even the original age cannot stop Miss Yuzuki." Looking at the ink painting that was constantly spreading around Yuzuki, a Go board appeared on the table at some point.

"All I can do is try to pique your interest and delay things a bit. Fortunately, I still have some confidence in my Go skills."

Chapter 196: The Game Ends

"Go?" Yuuki looked at the Go board that Nozomi had set up. "Playing Go with me at a time like this?"

"If you're interested, this is the only way I can delay you for a while." Nozomi looked at Yuuki and made her intentions very blatantly. "Other methods are meaningless, but I still have some confidence in Go."

“Whether it’s Ling’s dream or Xi’s painting, you can leave whenever you want.” Wang looked at Xi Yue with a sincere tone, “But if you come to Ling and the others, it will be very troublesome for me.”

Looking at Wang's unusually sincere expression, Xi Yue was suddenly speechless: "I don't know whether to say you're sincere or that you're too straightforward."

In fact, Wang was also not used to being like this. He was better at using schemes to achieve his goals than to use a pleading approach to keep the other person here.

However, there was no way around it. It was precisely because Wang frequently used schemes that he understood even more clearly that all schemes were useless in the face of absolute power.

And Yuuki is that absolute power; at least, Nozomi can't think of any way to restrain Yuuki.

Entering a dream? The other party's spirit was as deep as the ocean, and Wang didn't even have the thought of trying. Wang understood that if he dared to go in, he had to be prepared to never come out.

A painting? The other party was merely sitting there, yet the surrounding environment began to distort. If the other party wanted to leave, it would only take a wave of their hand.

The same applies to other methods; some might be effective, but the values ​​aren't high enough, while the rest don't even have the potential to be effective, let alone have the values.

So Wang had no way to deal with Xi Yue, but Xi Yue would also be very embarrassed if she just stood there. Originally, he planned to use the shadows of Xi, Ling, and Nian to create a Sui Xiang, which was originally intended to provoke Da Yan.

However, Xi Yue had already come over and given him an ultimatum: "Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future." It sounded like just a piece of advice, but Wang doubted whether he would have a future if he really followed the original plan.

He knew that the Grand Tutor had only brought the other person over as a decorative element, but now that the other person was here, he couldn't do anything, since what the Grand Tutor wanted was peace and prosperity for the country.

But the thing I'm going to do is destined to not bring peace and prosperity to the country, so even if it seems like I'm just here to prevent them from causing trouble and I'm a neutral party, as long as I come here, it will be a victory for the Yan Kingdom.

But now that the plan has come to this point, it's like an arrow on a bowstring, and there's no other way but to take this gamble. I want to gamble on something, something with a 10000% return if I win.

To paraphrase one of my younger brothers, the return on investment in this matter is enough to warrant betting everything to secure victory.

Not to mention that he hardly needs to invest anything; others have already invested for him, and all he needs is confirmation.

"Please, Miss Yuzuki." Looking at Yuzuki who had already sat down, "If it's inconvenient for you to touch the pieces here, I can do it for you."

“No need.” Xi Yue shook her head. “But let me make this clear first: I only know the most basic rules of Go, and playing against me might not be a pleasant experience for you.”

“It’s alright.” Wang shook his head, his tone unusually confident. “If Miss Xiyue is interested, she can play as many rounds as she wants, as long as she has the time.”

"Well, you said it yourself~" Yuzuki smiled slightly, "So, shall we go first or should I go first?"

“Since Miss Yuzuki isn’t very familiar with Go,” Nozomi confidently placed the black stones on Yuzuki’s side and the white stones on her own side, “then I’ll let her go first.”

"Then I won't be polite~" Yuzuki picked up a black piece from the side and calmly placed it on the chessboard.

"It's nothing, it's what I should do." Wang Ye picked up a piece of white paper and placed it on the chessboard.

Just as Wang placed the white piece, a deafening roar came from outside the painting.

——————Shang Shu·Zhunjiang Peak——————

Amidst the mist and clouds, a giant dragon surged through the clouds, stirring up layers of cloud waves, its roar like a deafening war drum.

“…” Nian looked at the giant dragon churning in the clouds and scratched his head in frustration. The moment he put his hand down, a broken greatsword appeared in his hand. “Ah, I’m getting a little annoyed.”

"..." Xi Ye silently took out his greatsword and secretly took several deep breaths.

"Xi, are you a little nervous?" Nian repeatedly relaxed her hand on the sword hilt. "Don't be scared and hide in the painting later, okay?"

“Hmm…” Ling took out his wine gourd and took a sip. “Compared to my unique perspective on the year, it does seem a bit more forceful.”

"It may have a majestic appearance and form, but it lacks the spirit."

“We’re still here, so how can it be considered ‘divine’?” Xi tried to calm her tone. “It probably used a similar method to that wine cup, but did it in reverse, and only achieved a superficial resemblance.”

"Having form but lacking spirit is ultimately just..."

Sui Xiang seemed to see through Xi's forced strength, looked at Xi, and then let out a roar.

"Hmm!" Looking at Sui Xiang who was roaring at her, Xi subconsciously raised the sword in front of her, holding the unfolded scroll in her left hand.

Now, Xi has to admit that Xi Yue is no longer by her side, and her strength is ultimately just an illusion she has built up.

Standing next to Xi, Nian burst out laughing at Xi's actions: "What? You're quite scared, aren't you?"

At this moment, Xi was as tense as a powder keg ready to explode: "You, what did you say!"

“What do you mean by ‘having form but no spirit’…” Nian was still in the mood to joke at this moment, “I always feel like you’re insulting me.”

But Xi Ke wasn't in the mood to respond to that year's joke: "It's temporarily detained in this pavilion, but if we let it cause trouble for a while longer... who knows?"

“You’re right.” Nian nodded. “So do you have any magical gadgets that Xiyue gave you, preferably ones that can directly pull Xiyue back?”

“…No.” Xi shook her head. “Besides, Xi Yue’s departure just now…never mind, it’s nothing.”

——————The Chess Room in the Painting——————

"I'll have to comfort Xi Bao later." Xi Yue calmly placed the black pieces on a corner of the board, then picked up the white pieces that had lost their liberties.

"..." Wang carefully observed the scene on the field, placed the white stone in an empty corner, and after putting the stone down, looked up at Xiyue, "Miss Xiyue really doesn't understand Go?"

He did indeed hold back during the game, but his actions were far beyond what an average player could handle. Yet, his opponent not only perfectly countered, but even managed a counter-attack, and...