The Legend of Fangren

Chapter 163 Chess, and Man

"This game is called Go. The rules are very simple. Black goes first and places a stone at the intersection of the lines. The number of adjacent intersections above, below, left, and right is called the liberties of that stone. If all of them are occupied by the opponent's stones, the liberties of that stone are exhausted and it must leave the board. Stones of the same color that are connected horizontally or vertically and share liberties can be regarded as a whole. This is called connecting the liberties."

As Fang Shi spoke, Huang Ying nodded: "No wonder it's called Go, because you can surround the pieces and then capture them."

She thought that perhaps Fang Xiaodi's resources were limited, and he couldn't find such exquisitely crafted chess pieces, so he used this method instead.

Don't be fooled by Huang Ying's simple little box of animal chess pieces. It was carved by a master craftsman at great expense. Even if it's not used as chess pieces, but just as an object of appreciation, it can fetch a good price when sold.

Fang Shi continued, "Under this rule, there will also be situations where two adjacent pieces surround each other. In this case, the two pieces capture each other, which creates an endless cycle. Therefore, you need to place a piece in another place before you can return to place a piece here again."

Anyone who has played Go has likely encountered this situation: adjacent black and white stones surround each other, resulting in either black capturing white or white capturing black. Without rules, this situation would become a perpetual motion machine.

"Mmm." Huang Ying listened to such simple rules with a bit of absentmindedness and just went through the motions.

She was still waiting for Fang Shi to continue, but he didn't. When she looked up, she saw Fang Shi clapping his hands: "That's the rule, that's it."

"Huh? That's it?" Huang Ying thought she had missed something. "That's too simple. Even a two- or three-year-old could play it."

"Yes, isn't that how playing chess is?"

"Then how can the outcome be determined? These black and white pieces keep capturing each other, returning to one's hand and then back to the board—isn't that an endless game?"

Huang Ying blurted it out without thinking much, but quickly realized that some of the enclosed areas were actually impossible to place pieces in, and in the end the entire board would inevitably be enclosed and filled.

"Oh, I see. In the end, it comes down to who fences off the biggest area, right?"

"Indeed, Miss Huang is truly intelligent."

"Okay, that sounds simple, let's get started." Huang Ying still didn't think that such simple rules could lead to any complicated game.

She and those around her thought this game was too boring. Wasn't it just a matter of each person placing one piece and seeing who placed the most at the end? She just needed to place her pieces densely so that her opponent couldn't surround her. Even if she accidentally lost a few pieces, how many could she possibly kill?

She had never thought that playing chess could be so boring, with a predictable ending that didn't even require thinking.

As it turns out, those from the mystical world who have never seen Go do not possess this kind of thinking.

"Alright, Miss Huang, please step down first."

"Then I won't hold back. Don't forget, I just won three games against you." Huang Ying confidently placed a black piece, without any regard for strategy, and actually placed it directly in the far corner.

Ordinary chess pieces have four liberties, but the pieces in the far corner only have two. Fang Shi didn't remind him; whether it was good or bad, he let the opponent figure it out in the following game.

He picked up a white piece and placed it near the black piece. Without thinking, Huang Ying immediately placed another piece next to the first one. Fang Shi smiled slyly and followed suit.

The two of them quickly started making a lot of noise, and soon the chessboard was filled with more and more pieces.

Huang Ying initially had no intention of surrounding and killing the white pieces. Having played animal chess since childhood, she found it extremely troublesome to surround a whole bunch of pieces. Moreover, often when she was only halfway around, her opponent would extend outwards, requiring her to add many more pieces. It was too much trouble, so she preferred to quickly occupy more territory and avoid getting entangled with the opponent, thus saving her energy.

"Hehe, you think you can surround me? You're too naive." Huang Ying's personality was indeed very different from her size. Even with the rules of chess that she initially found boring, she could still show smugness after gaining an advantage.

However, what she thought was an "advantage" was just her imagination. Fang Shi hadn't experienced the feeling of bullying a novice in a long time. The seemingly scattered white pieces were actually brewing a huge conspiracy. They appeared to be just desperately trying to block the spread of black pieces, placing one piece here and one piece there, making Huang Ying more and more relaxed and vigilant.

"Hiss—" However, several people nearby couldn't help but gasp.

As the saying goes, those involved are often confused while bystanders see things clearly. Fang Shi's intentions were quite obvious to outsiders. The seemingly flawed encirclement was actually gradually tightening. The mountain of black pieces, though seemingly powerful, had quietly fallen into the encirclement.

Fang Shi finally placed his white piece, smiled, and said softly, "Done~"

"Hey, what are you doing? Why are you reaching for the chess pieces?" Huang Ying called out to Fang Shi as he suddenly reached for her chess pieces.

But someone next to her reminded her, "Miss Huang, your black pieces are surrounded."

"?" Huang Ying realized what was happening and hurriedly counted the pieces one by one on the chessboard. She then realized that the scattered white pieces had somehow formed a very thin encircling line.

Fang Shi smiled and said, "Miss Huang, you flatter me."

"Ah—how could this be?" Huang Ying was filled with annoyance when he saw that all the dozen or so black stones he had painstakingly placed had been picked up by Fang Shi and thrown back into his chess box. He raised his hand and patted his forehead, causing the huge mountain in front of him to sway twice. Fang Shi and the onlookers were all amazed.

How terrifying! When they can't win a game of chess, they resort to mental attacks.

Fortunately, Fang Shi's encirclement was very wide. Although the black pieces had been killed inside, the huge space inside still allowed the newly arrived black pieces to have a place to settle down.

Huang Ying has been playing chess for many years and has experienced the feeling of defeat a lot. She will not give up so easily. Looking around, there are still many empty spaces on the chessboard. Since white can capture black pieces, black can of course capture them back. At worst, she will just have to put in some effort.

An invisible flame ignited in her eyes, her hatred burning over the white pieces that had captured her black pieces. She silently vowed to avenge those black pieces.

Finally, after witnessing the effectiveness of encirclement and attack, Huang Ying was willing to seriously consider playing Go.

However, experienced players have many tricks up their sleeves, and newbies are easily fooled. Once a newbie has completely revealed their intentions to an experienced player, the experienced player can only resort to all sorts of underhanded tactics to torment the newbie.

"Snap!" After hesitating for a long time, Huang Ying put down the chess piece with extra force this time, as if to express her determination.

"Snap." Fang Shi followed casually. At this moment, his aura changed, and he became taller and more composed, like a statue.

After experiencing the twists and turns of the game, those around them were also inspired to continue watching.

As the game progressed, the difference in atmosphere between the two sides became increasingly pronounced. In the end, Huang Ying dared not make any moves lightly, fearing that if she placed a black piece, another black piece nearby might be captured. She pitifully held a black piece in both hands, leaned forward, and looked down at the board as if she were nearsighted. She hesitated between at least three empty spaces, and with a heart full of fear, she finally chose one and shakily placed the piece. She then looked at Fang Shi with a pitiful, pleading gaze.

"Snap!" Unfortunately, the sound she least wanted to hear still appeared. Fang Shi usually placed ordinary chess pieces gently, but he would put them down with more force when forming an encirclement. As a result, Huang Ying was almost in a state of shock from this sound, which had appeared at least a dozen times.

"Ahhhhh!" Huang Ying finally abandoned her composure as a lady from a respectable family, looked up to the sky and cried out in despair, her towering peaks unleashing a second off-field mental attack.

Eight more black stones were felled. Who knows how many ups and downs she experienced in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn? She was happy that she had finally managed to surround and kill a few white stones, but then her heart stopped when she was wiped out by the black stones that followed.

Looking up at the sky, she realized that not much time had passed, yet she felt as if she had just experienced a dramatic battle, a feeling that the game of Beast Chess had never given her before.

Only when the last white piece was placed did the game end, and her tense mind finally relaxed. Even though it was clear from the board that she had lost, she still felt a sense of relief.

Finally, there's no more backstabbing and intrigue.

"Is this Go?" She lowered her head, looked at the scattered Go stones, and took two deep breaths. "How did you come up with this way of playing?"

Fang Shi merely narrowed his eyes slightly, feigning profundity as he casually said, "Playing chess is essentially a simulation of things. Beast Chess simulates the battles of mythical beasts, which is a natural law, following the principle of the strong preying on the weak. It's very simple and clear. However, on both sides of the chessboard, it's a battle between people."

How complex is the human heart? Greed, anger, delusion, abandonment—how could a mythical beast possibly express these? Therefore, I use the black and white pieces as a metaphor for the conflicting positions of the two sides in a chess game, using chess as a metaphor for the thoughts in the human heart. Only then can one truly say that the joy of fighting against others is endless!

Huang Ying and the people around him were stunned by this, all amazed that Fang Shi, who was only sixteen or seventeen years old, could say such shrewd words.

Huang Ying muttered to himself, repeating "Fighting with others is endlessly enjoyable" again. Then, as if he had realized something, his eyes shone brightly, and he said to Fang Shi with a beaming smile, "Brother Fang, I now understand that the craftsmanship of making bottles is truly insignificant compared to your literary talent."

"You flatter me," Fang replied politely with a smile, then prepared to put away the chessboard.

Go was merely a stepping stone, a bargaining chip for him to negotiate business later.

But to everyone's surprise, Huang Ying slapped the chessboard, preventing him from taking it away, and his eyes seemed to be somewhat fascinated.

"Brother Fang, let's play another round!"

"Uh... okay."

Oh no, it seems someone is going to get addicted.

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