Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 108: The Yin and Yang of Chess

After laughing for a long time, Ji Yuan gradually stopped, took a deep breath, and relaxed.

“Haah… haah…”

He didn’t move, but just looked up at the sky. The branches of the trees in his peripheral vision were still blurry, but at least he wasn’t completely blind. When the blood spurted out of his eyes, Ji Yuan had really been afraid that he would become completely blind from then on.

Fortunately, he could still at least see some things now. As for how clear it was, that was a secondary concern. He was used to blurry vision anyway.

Although Ji Yuan looked disheveled and ragged at this moment, there actually was not much dirt on his body. Even his hair was simply wet and clung to his body, but each strand was clearly visible with no matted clumps.

Therefore, there was no peculiar smell coming from Ji Yuan’s body. However, there was inevitably dust on his clothes.

His eyes were fixed on the sky, but in his mind he was going over the exaggerated chess game’s progress. In the dream he had of the chess game, he calculated the changes according to the laws of nature and the earth. Although he could not fully understand the key to the coming catastrophe of heaven and earth, he nonetheless came to many conclusions.

“Hey…”

Ji Yuan sighed. The first conclusion was that he, Ji Yuan, would not have the opportunity to join any famous immortal sect, otherwise Ji Yuan himself would be transformed into one of those immortal spirits.

If one could not be certain of a decisive move, doing so would be like cutting off his own chess strategy, which would most likely hinder the development of the Tao’s chess game in his inner world.

In other words, he had to be a part of the game while at the same time being detached from it, so as to not get too deeply involved.

But he couldn’t truly stay out of it. After all, he also lived in this world and had his own emotions. If he wanted to play chess, he would need his own new chess pieces.¹

After playing chess for several years in the cave, Ji Yuan had already gained a preliminary understanding of chess moves and strategies.

The glimpse of the coming moment of calamity between heaven and earth actually encapsulated a saying: Heaven can give life, and Heaven can take it away; this is the principle of the Tao. Heaven and Earth are the thieves of all things, all things are the thieves of man, and man the a thief of all things. When these three thefts are in harmony, all will be at peace.²

As the saying went: The Tao gave birth to one, the one gave birth to two, the two gave birth to three, and the three gave birth to all things. All things carry the yin and embrace the yang, and the qi of the universe is harmonious.³

All these meanings could be summed up in one simple word – harmony.

Ji Yuan had no intention of fighting against the immeasurable calamity by himself. He did not have that great of a heart nor that great of a strength, but he knew that he could make his moves and arrange the world around him to make the best use of the situation. He could try to gather the power of all living beings and pave the way for the fight.

At least in this way, even if he failed, Ji Yuan would have a clear conscience!

As someone who aspired to become an immortal, after learning about such a terrifying calamity for the world, and knowing that he had the ability to influence or even change the outcome, “that catastrophe to come has nothing to do with me” was something he could never let himself believe. Moreover, if he truly became an immortal, he would inevitably have to face it.

If he didn’t have the ability to change anything, he still needed to try. If he did have the ability to change something, then he was even more obligated to do so!

It was imperative for him to improve his cultivation level; otherwise, Ji Yuan’s lifespan would run out before his chess game was over.

It was also necessary to search for his predestined people in the world. These “predestined people” referred to gods, ghosts, monsters, spirits, immortals, Buddhas, and even demons in this world… and he needed to make these predestined people into chess pieces to make them grow, otherwise there would be no pieces left to use halfway through the game!

The Northern Dipper brought death and destruction, while the Southern Dipper brought creation and life.⁴ The black and white chess pieces each had their own uses!

No fate was too big or too small. Even a child in the mortal world had the potential to influence the human spirit in the future. However, fate was not so simple,⁵ and it could not be obtained indiscriminately. Both the chess player and the chess piece had to stay true to their original intention.

‘Life is like a game of chess, never make a move you will regret! ’

Ji Yuan, still emaciated, stood up, swaying slightly. He clenched his fists by his side and raised his head to watch the changing clouds in the sky through his blurry vision.

“When Yin and Yang are in harmony, these two principles manifest; Heaven and Earth become one, becoming infinite… There is only one chance for this world, but there is still sufficient time. I still have a chance. I will persevere. The path of chess is the path of Yin and Yang. Let’s see what happens!” ’

After standing in the mountain breeze for a long time, Ji Yuan finally gradually regained his composure. The flesh on his face recovered a little, no longer looking as scary as before.

He stretched out a hand and smoothed his long wet hair. He didn’t know where his wooden hairpin had gone. He then looked at his clothes, which were in tatters. Fortunately, he was not naked, but the fabric wouldn’t be able to withstand any strong force.

“Oh…I look like such a mess!”

With a sigh, Ji Yuan waved his hand and five chess pieces appeared. Spiritual energy rolled in from the mountains…

After three years, Ji Yuan’s state of mind and cultivation level had changed a lot. The biggest change was with his mental state, but on the surface it appeared not to have changed as much. However, on second look, there were some changes, as if it had now become “true” from the bottom of his heart.

Cultivation was intuitive. The Qi of the Five Elements connected with the Qi of Heaven and Earth. Although he still had a long way to go before ascending,⁶ he nonetheless appeared to be at the Origin Realm, though his lack of spiritual power held him back from truly attaining it.

After two days and nights of practice, Ji Yuan had recovered to a state full of energy and abundant spiritual power. The size of his alchemy space had exceeded ten mu, so he could no longer be considered someone with a shallow level of cultivation. The blazing Samadhi True Fire in his inner world’s alchemy furnace was even more spectacular, even causing a layer of flames to spread on the golden bridge connecting the alchemy furnace to his Dantian.

But Ji Yuan’s most amazing discovery was that he was now truly untouched by dust. He didn’t know any art of repelling dust, nor did he deliberately perform any other magical techniques, and yet he was completely clean.

The wind and dust swept past his body, and even the muddy water in the stream was picked up by his long hair, but only the mud fell away quickly, while clean water remained.

This was a phenomenon that puzzled Ji Yuan, as there was no record of something similar happening, not even in “A Historical Account from Outside the Tao” and “Bright Strategies.”

Of course, Ji Yuan wouldn’t reject this kind of thing.

He took a step forward and leaped from the mountain. With a wave of his hand, the Green Vine Sword flew into Ji Yuan’s grasp.

“Haha… Thank you, you’ve worked hard for the past three years!”

Buzz…

The longsword hummed softly in Ji Yuan’s hand, without any resentment.

After a short while, Ji Yuan returned to the cave where he had sat cross-legged for three years, and found that the wooden chessboard was of good quality; it felt intact, aside from some rotting corners. There were quite a few broken ceramic pieces on the chessboard, and the two chess piece boxes were empty.

After searching around the cave for a while, he couldn’t find his bag nor his umbrella. He must have left them in the inn.

There was nothing valuable in the bag, just a set of clothes with holes in the armpit, a scroll of chess strategies engraved on bamboo slips, “Bright Strategies” and “A Historical Account,” along with a purse, the two small jade slips from Yuhuai Mountain, and Wei Wuwei’s jade insignia.⁷

“But this chessboard… I think I stole it back then…”

Ji Yuan rubbed his head. This was probably the first time in both lives that he had robbed something without paying and then run away, aside from one time when he stole candies as a child in his previous life.

With a casual wave of his hand, a dead branch on the group flew up into Ji Yuan’s hand. He peeled off the bark and broke off the extra branches, and a six-inch long, slightly bent, smooth stick appeared in Ji Yuan’s hand.

He combed his fingers through his hair and used the wooden stick to fix it into a simple bun. It looked just as untidy as it had three years ago, but a little more natural.

“Let’s go back to Juntian Prefecture’s capital city once more!”

Ji Yuan seemed to speak to the Green Vine Sword, and perhaps also to himself. He took a step forward, moving like a dragon, as if the ground was shrinking beneath him…

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T/n: TT_TT JY can you please be a little less knowledgeable in Chinese literature, my mind is swimming in references… I’ve opened like 30 tabs already and have been steadily translating all the different articles and analyses and annotations and full-text renditions of these quotes you’re spouting…

1. T/n: what’s essentially happening here is that as JY is right now (a mortal/human who’s just a little bit more) he has a lot of freedom in how he “plays chess,” or goes about his life. If he were to enter into an immortal sect, he would become an immortal and be constrained by the rules of immortals. Additionally, there’s the subtext that this game (like the one in chapter 1) is played between the forces of Heaven and the forces of Evil. Joining an immortal sect would be like becoming one of the pieces of Heaven — he would no be longer a player of the game. Therefore, he needs to be a part of the game (as a being in this world) while still remaining detached from it (keeping the flexibility of his current existence and not choosing any affiliations)
2. This saying comes from the Yinfujing, an ~8th century Taoist scripture (read it here), and has to do with establishing balance in give and take. The saying in chapter 104 (“If heaven was filled… changes would be established.”) also comes from this same text. It’s a comparatively short text, but a very difficult read. If you’re interested in reading several articles interpreting it, feel free to google the original Chinese: 天生天杀，道之理也，天地，万物之盗，万物，人之盗，人，万物之盗，三盗既宜，三才既安
3. From chapter 42 of the Tao Te Ching. A concatenated explanation based on the interpretations I used: The Tao is unique (one). The Tao itself contains Yin and Yang (two). Yin and Yang interact to form a balanced state (three). All things are born of this state. All things carry yin and embrace yang (alternatively: all things carry a shadow and embrace the light). With Yin and Yang together, the universe is harmonious. (Feel free to find your own interpretation among the thousands that are out there, too)
4. Doesn’t reference a specific text. The Northern Dipper/Big Dipper constellation is associated with death, judgment, and punishment, and controls destiny. The Southern Dipper (NOT the Little Dipper, the Southern Dipper is not recognized as a constellation in the Western world), is tied to life and rebirth, and controls birth and the generation of life. Both are tied to lifespan (one ends it and one extends it). They also refer to Yin and Yang forces.
5. Lit: “fate was indeed fate”
6. 圆满 (yuánmǎn): satisfactory/perfect. Alternate TL: “although perfection was still a long ways off”
7. T/n: … I mean I think those books and the jade slips are pretty dang important. Also maybe his purse, since he had a decent amount of money and he now needs new clothes