I alone am the Honoured One!
Chapter 797 797: A small game?

A week had already passed-

Zhao Tian and Yan Zijin are sitting across from each other at the low table with a Weiqi board in front of them.

(A/n: Its a chinese game. Kinda like chess, but different, lol)

Zhao Tian leaned back slightly and crossed his arms over his chest as he eyed the board with narrowed eyes.

"Hmm..." He nudged a white stone between his fingers before finally placing it at a diagonal.

A soft clink echoed through the room as it settled into place "That move would've caught me last time."

Yan Zijin, seated cross-legged with her hands folded neatly in her lap, gave a faint hum in response.

"You still underestimate me," she said mildly, reaching out and placing a black stone on the board's upper left quadrant, cutting off one of his side extensions.

Zhao Tian frowned as his group iss now dangerously close to being surrounded.

"Haa," he exhaled, leaning forward and peering at the corner. "That was clever."

Yan Zijin tilted her head slightly, "It was obvious."

"No," Zhao Tian chuckled. "It was you baiting me three moves ago, wasn't it? You made that weird overextension to make me think the left side was weak."

She didn't answer but she had a faint smirk on her lips.

He sighed, picking up another white stone and rotating it slowly between his fingers.

The game was entering mid-stage now.

Territory was drawn but not yet solidified, and life-and-death battles had begun cropping up along the edges.

Minutes passed.

Stones clicked one after another, sometimes quickly, sometimes after long, intense thought.

"…You've become more patient," Yan Zijin noted, glancing up at him from across the board.

Zhao Tian let out a soft chuckle and looked at the board.

He placed a white stone carefully.

It shored up his left flank, barely avoiding capture, but it also left an opening in the center that she could exploit if she was bold enough.

She is.

Her hand hovered briefly over the board before dropping a black stone into the heart of his territory like a dagger.

"Ouch," he muttered, sitting back. "That hurt more than expected."

"Then maybe don't leave your center exposed while trying to save the corner."

Silence fell again.

The game entered its endgame phase.

Both players had their territories defined, Yan Zijin with the firm hold on the top and bottom corners, Zhao Tian with a wide but loosely connected center.

He tried pushing for an invasion, a few desperate white stones worming their way into her territory.

"Persistent," she said, capturing two of his stones.

With that, she her final stone on the board, securing the bottom right completely.

Zhao Tian stared at the board for a long moment, then placed his hands on the table and leaned in.

He slowly counted the territories, reviewed the captured stones, and finally gave a low whistle.

"You win."

Yan Zijin blinked in surprise "I do?"

He gestured toward the board "Sixty-three to my fifty-one. You beat me by twelve."

She looked down and her brow furrowed ever so slightly as if double-checking the result in her mind.

Then, a small smile curved her lips.

"I won."

"You did," Zhao Tian confirmed, rubbing the back of his neck with a grin. "That trap you set on move forty-three sealed the game."

"Hmm... I almost didn't go for it. Thought you'd read it and counter."

"I saw it. Just a move too late."

With a deep sigh, he leaned back on the bed "Well, guess dinner's on me tonight."

Yan Zijin leaned forward "Looking forward to it."

...

Meanwhile in the room, the woman's long black eyelashes gently fluttered.

Her chest rose with effort, as though even breathing was a task her body wasn't yet prepared for.

Her eyes felt very heavy, and it was a struggle to even open her eyes.

As she slowly parted her eyes, the dim light of the room spilled into her vision.

As she opened her eyes slowly, the first thing she noticed was the unfamiliar room and the bed she was lying on.

Then her gaze fell on the pendant resting just above her collarbone.

She lifted her hand sluggishly, and her fingers trembled as they closed around the familiar shape of her necklace.

The delicate silver chain with the smooth, egg-shaped gemstone hanging from it.

Looking at her intact arm and leg, her gaze narrowed 'I am... alive?'

'But how... I was trapped in that rupture.'

'No one could come there and save me..'

She shut her eyes tightly, trying to recall the last moment before everything had gone dark.

There had been the roar of collapse, the distortion of space folding around her.

She remembered shielding her head, feeling her bones tremble beneath her skin.

The last thing she'd heard was her own heartbeat thundering in her ears, and then...

Nothing.

Her gaze condensed slightly 'My cultivation is also broken...'

She tried to sit up, but the sudden motion sent a wave of stillness crashing through her.

Her arms buckled beneath her and she sank back into the bed, groaning softly.

"Ugh..."

Since it's been so long since she moved her muscles, everything feels so foreign.

At this time, the door opened and Yan Zijin entered in.

Huh?

Her eyes widened in shock looking at the woman and she rushed over to her side.

"You're up?!"

The woman blinked, slowly nodding her head. "Mhm…"

Yan Zijin let out a deep sigh of relief "Heavens… I thought it might take another week at least."

She sat carefully beside her, the bed dipping slightly under her weight.

"How do you feel now?" she asked softly, looking at the woman's face.

The woman paused for a moment, as if checking in with her own body.

"I feel… good," she murmured. "Just a bit… stiff."

Yan Zijin smiled gently as the tension in her shoulders eased "That's good to hear. Honestly, we weren't sure if you'd ever wake up."

The woman hesitated, her gaze lingering on Yan Zijin "Was it you… who saved me?"

Yan Zijin blinked and shook her head. "Not really. I helped, but Tian… he's the one who did most of it."

She stood quickly. "I'll go get him."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and exited the room.

The woman remained still and closed her eyes for a moment before sitting up on the bed.