I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 313: China vs. Japan

Meanwhile, in the commentary room, the atmosphere was stiflingly heavy.

"We lost..."

Someone mumbled in despair, their face full of gloom.

"Today... we actually lost to Team China too..."

Previously, Korea had won the championship four years in a row. Even though last year was a tough battle, they still managed to clinch the title in the end.

This year, they had aimed to reclaim their honor and win the team tournament beautifully.

Lee Junhyuk had played his best — even when at a disadvantage, he somehow forced a triple ko cycle onto the board.

But just when everyone thought a draw was inevitable and a blitz playoff would follow, Higashiyama Kaoru shocked the world — abandoning the triple ko and sacrificing half a board’s worth of a dragon to win the game!

Last year, only Lee Junhyuk and Pei Yan had lost their matches.

But this year, only Pei Yan and Shen Xuze managed to win — and even Shen Xuze’s victory was hard-fought!

It wasn’t like they couldn’t accept the result — Japan had always been a major threat in the team tournament these past few years.

But still... to lose today...

It had been nine years since Korea last finished at the bottom of a team tournament!

Such a crushing defeat hadn't happened in nine years!

---

At the same time, in the Japanese review room—

"Team China wins, three to two."

Watching Kim Chaoen resign on the television, Miyamoto Shun said in a low voice,

"Team China has defeated Team Korea."

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the Japanese review room turned even heavier.

Higashiyama Kaoru still sat with his head down, staring at the board from the main general match, his fists unconsciously clenching tight.

"Tomorrow, I’ll be facing him."

He stared at the board, images of every move Yu Shao had played flashing through his mind.

Beside him, Fujiwara Terashima was also staring at the deputy general match, clenching his jaw unconsciously.

There hadn’t been anything flashy in that game. Su Yiming had just maintained a small advantage throughout.

If things had gone normally, Park Zhiguo would have only lost by a point or so.

But Park Zhiguo refused to settle — he tried to shake things up to seize the initiative, only to get caught by Su Yiming and finished off instantly.

Park Zhiguo had no choice but to resign.

The game seemed unremarkable, but Fujiwara Terashima, who had just played Park Zhiguo the day before, knew better.

He knew how tough Park Zhiguo was — this wasn’t a weak opponent!

It was just that Su Yiming had casually dismantled every desperate strike Park Zhiguo threw at him.

Everyone else also studied their future opponents' games, their faces grim.

After a while, Miyamoto Shun suddenly turned to Higashiyama Kaoru. After a brief silence, he asked:

"Higashiyama Kaoru, do you have confidence for tomorrow?"

"Confidence?"

Yan Qinfan took a deep breath and answered firmly,

"I only know one thing — I absolutely must not lose to him."

"But—"

Miyamoto Shun was about to say something when Higashiyama Kaoru cut him off.

"Miyamoto-san, there’s no ‘but’."

Higashiyama Kaoru's voice was cold.

"I said it before — I’m not asking for an apology for myself. I want him to apologize to Go itself."

"You don’t look like you’re brimming with confidence,"

Miyamoto Shun stared at Higashiyama Kaoru, as if he could see through him.

"You’re feeling the pressure."

Being so directly called out, Higashiyama Kaoru’s expression darkened slightly.

"I..."

He opened his mouth but didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

After a pause, Higashiyama Kaoru closed his eyes tightly.

After a while, he opened them again, his expression now calm and steely.

He looked back at the board and spoke:

"Miyamoto-san, do you know why I was able to play like I did yesterday?"

Miyamoto Shun froze and looked at him.

Everyone else in the room also turned to Higashiyama Kaoru.

"Normally, once a triple ko is formed, people assume it’s a draw. No one would even think about trying to break through it to win."

Higashiyama Kaoru stared at the board in front of him and said slowly:

"But at that moment, I kept thinking — Yu Shao must be watching this game. He must be watching."

"Actually, I’ve been paying attention to Yu Shao longer than any of you — I noticed him all the way back during the Torch Battle."

"Because I’ve studied so many of his games, I believed he could beat Lee Junhyuk."

"And if he could beat Lee Junhyuk, then I had to win too — I had to win for him to see, even if it meant refusing to settle for a draw!"

Finally, Higashiyama Kaoru lifted his head, his voice ringing with conviction:

"Tomorrow will be the same! I’ll pour every ounce of my heart into this. I’ll use everything I’ve ever learned.

I’ll teach him a lesson.

I absolutely must not lose!"

"Absolutely not!"

Everyone looked at Higashiyama Kaoru, momentarily speechless.

They had known him for so long, but had never seen him like this — so serious it was almost frightening, so determined it chilled the room.

"I’m heading back to my room. I want to rest well for tomorrow’s match."

Higashiyama Kaoru turned and walked toward the door.

Miyamoto Shun stared at his back.

When Higashiyama Kaoru reached the door and placed his hand on the knob, Miyamoto suddenly called out:

"Higashiyama Kaoru."

He stopped but didn’t turn around.

Miyamoto pulled a cigarette from his pack, lit it, and said:

"I’ll be waiting to see your victory tomorrow."

Higashiyama Kaoru said nothing, opened the door, and left.

Miyamoto Shun sat there smoking heavily, exhaling a swirl of smoke.

In the swirling smoke, he couldn’t help but recall the match between Yu Shao and Lee Junhyuk —

and then, the match yesterday between Higashiyama Kaoru and Lee Junhyuk.

"One game decided by a breathtaking brilliant move at move 293.

One game decided by quiet precision at move 90."

He couldn’t forget the impact of those two games.

A dazed look crossed his face.

He turned to the others left in the room and asked,

"What kind of game do you think we’ll see tomorrow?"

---

At the tournament venue, Yu Shao and the others were walking outside together.

"In the end... I still lost."

Even though today’s overall result was a win, Le Haoqiang’s face was full of gloom, his voice faint.

Beside him, Gu Chuan’s mood was also clearly down.

But Gu Chuan quickly took a deep breath, forced himself to perk up, and patted Le Haoqiang on the back:

"It’s fine. Winning and losing is part of the game. There’s still tomorrow."

Hearing this, Le Haoqiang clenched his teeth and said:

"I’m definitely going to win tomorrow."

"Yeah."

Gu Chuan also clenched his fist.

"Tomorrow, no matter what, we have to win!"

Not far ahead, Ma Zhengyu’s group spotted them.

Seeing them, Ma Zhengyu smiled:

"You guys are done?"

"Chairman Ma,"

The five greeted him.

"You all worked hard. Come on, let’s grab a meal — it’s on the Go Association!"

Ma Zhengyu looked at Le Haoqiang and Gu Chuan and noticed their unhappy faces.

Laughing, he said:

"Why the long faces when we won the match?"

"Even though you two lost your games, you played well.

Besides, you grow by losing.

I believe you’ll perform even better tomorrow.

Let’s aim to win tomorrow’s match too!"

"All five games today were fantastic!"

Looking at the group, Ma Zhengyu couldn’t hide his smile.

It had been five years since they last achieved anything notable at the team tournament.

This year, not only had they escaped third place — they did it by stepping over Korea!

It was definitely a moment of redemption!

He thought about how many times he’d had to deal with Shen Shengxian’s passive-aggressive taunts before —

now he could finally taunt him back!

Just thinking about Shen Shengxian’s future face made Ma Zhengyu feel one thing — 爽 (爽: pure satisfaction!).

As for tomorrow’s match against Japan, Ma Zhengyu didn’t really expect Le Haoqiang and Gu Chuan to win.

After all, this year’s Japanese team was terrifyingly strong.

Still, even if they lost tomorrow, this trip to Seoul was already a complete success!

Of course, if they could somehow win tomorrow too —

Ma Zhengyu would probably laugh himself awake in his sleep.

After leaving the hotel, everyone found a barbecue place for lunch, then dispersed.

Since they had a big match tomorrow, the five didn’t go out to have fun.

After lunch, they went back to the hotel to rest and recharge.

"Tomorrow... we’re facing Japan."

In the elevator, Gu Chuan suddenly spoke.

Hearing this, both Le Haoqiang and Qin Lang couldn’t help but look over.

The atmosphere immediately grew heavy.

The relaxed mood from the barbecue faded away.

Soon, they arrived on the seventh floor.

Le Haoqiang’s room was on this floor.

As he walked out, he said:

"Yeah... facing Japan."

---

One day passed quickly.

By seven or eight in the morning, even before the matches began, the live chat for the China-Korea-Japan team tournament was packed.

Comments flooded the screen.

It was winter, and Seoul’s winter was brutally cold.

Dragging themselves out of bed at dawn was almost physical punishment.

Even so, by around eight, people bundled up in thick coats were steadily filing toward the commentary room.

Everyone heading that way wore a heavy, serious expression.

Even if they ran into acquaintances, few spoke — they simply walked in silence.

Today was the final day — China vs. Japan.

You could call it the championship match.

This year’s tournament had been utterly thrilling.

On the first day, Higashiyama Kaoru had abandoned a triple ko, sacrificed half a board’s dragon, and stunned the world.

On the second day, Yu Shao had played a calm, uneventful game — and ended it cleanly in just ninety moves.

The contrast between them left people both shocked and confused.

Go has three phases: opening, middle game, and endgame.

If you compared this team tournament to a single game of Go —

Day one was the opening, day two the middle game — and today, the endgame.

After a long night, people’s hearts grew more complicated.

But as the match time approached, a strange calmness settled over them.

Everyone just wanted to see the final battle — the closing chapter.

"So cold... even with the heater on, it’s still freezing."

A young man rubbed his red, frozen hands and complained as he breathed onto them for warmth.

"I heard it’s going to snow today,"

said a bald man sitting next to him.

"Surprised you even made it here."

"It’s the final day of the team tournament!"

The young man kept warming his hands.

"Besides, I really want to see what kind of game Yu Shao and Higashiyama Kaoru will play today."

Hearing this, the bald man fell silent.

He remembered the words the young man had said yesterday — "Sitting side by side with heaven."

The commentary room grew more crowded.

People found their assigned seats.

Even couples came to watch.

At first, the room was noisy — but as the start time approached, it grew strangely quiet again.

Maybe it was just the cold.

Or maybe... it was something else.

A heavy, oppressive feeling settled over the room.

Twenty minutes until the match.

At the entrance of the Seoul Grand Hotel, a man bundled up like a mummy walked through the doors — only to be stopped by the hotel’s greeter.

"Hello, may I see your ID or tournament ticket?"

The greeter smiled politely.

The man pulled his hand from his pocket — but instead of showing an ID, he took off his mask and looked at her.

The moment she saw his face, the greeter froze — then realization hit.

Her expression turned to shock, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"A-An Hongshi, the Go Sage!"

An Hongshi smiled gently.

"I wasn’t planning on coming today, so I forgot to ask the Association for credentials.

Could you make an exception?"

The greeter’s face flushed red instantly.

She quickly stepped aside and bowed deeply:

"Of course! You don't need any credentials — your face is the best ticket of all!"

Meanwhile, inside the hotel lobby, another man noticed the commotion.

When he recognized the man at the door, his eyes widened, and he nudged his blond-haired friend.

"Hey, look... look who it is!"

His friend turned to the door curiously.

Seeing the familiar face, the blond youth’s eyes widened too.

He couldn’t help but blurt out:

"It’s An Hongshi, the Go Sage!"

Hearing this, everyone in the lobby turned their heads toward the entrance!