Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 35: Black Chess Piece

“It’s very similar, but to what?”

Yin Zhaoxian raised his head and followed Yin Qing’s line of sight. The calm and oppressive statue of the Lord City God sat high in front of the altar, and an inexplicable sense of familiarity arose in his heart.

“Dad…”

“Let’s go home!”

Yin Qing was too afraid to speak, and Yin Zhaoxian didn’t point it out. He picked up his son and walked out of the temple in silence.

They passed by the many pilgrims going in and out from the City God Temple, not bothering to glance at the various commodities the hawkers were selling on the way up. Mr. Yin’s pace was even faster than when he came.

It was not until he had left Temple Administration Lane that Yin Zhaoxian slowed his slightly sore feet.

“Qing’er, what did you just say?”

Yin Qing answered, nervously facing his father’s gaze.

“That old gentleman just now looked like the Lord City God in the temple! Dad, I really saw it right, I’m not making things up!”

“Yes!”

Yin Zhaoxian responded softly, causing Yin Qing, who was waiting for his father’s criticism, to be a little stunned.

“Dad also felt that it was a little familiar just now, but I wasn’t sure.”

A normal person would not pay attention to the appearance of the City God that they were worshipping. In addition, they had only glanced at the old gentleman a couple times, and couldn’t recall his face very well. Yin Zhaoxian was unsure, but Yin Qing remembered it clearly.

“Qing’er, you can’t tell anyone about today’s events, not even your mother. Do you understand?”

“Oh…”

“Hm?”

“I understand, Dad…”

Yin Qing was a little puzzled. Why couldn’t he say anything to his mother? But he didn’t dare talk back to his father.

“Well, Qing’er, you have to remember that women have long hair, but short insight.¹ Your mother is better, but nonetheless still limited. When gossiping with her neighbors, everything you say will be passed on!”

Now Yin Qing seemed to understand.

“By the way, if in the future you see that gentleman you mentioned, you must salute and greet him respectfully, understood?”

“Yes, I’ll remember!”

Yin Zhaoxian led Yin Qing home. In his mind, he thought to himself that if nothing happened to the new resident of Ju’an Pavilion for half a month, he would bring Yin Qing to visit in person!

Some people believed in ghosts and gods, while others scoffed at them. There were many rumors and tales that spread by word of mouth, but few had ever seen it with their own eyes. However, it was undeniable that most people preferred to believe in them, and maintained a sense of awe regardless.

But for Yin Zhaoxian, these events really were mysterious!

. . .

Ji Yuan arrived home. Even though he didn’t lock the courtyard or back room when he went out, there was nothing to steal, and no thief dared to come to Ju’an Pavilion.

Pushing open the door, he took out the willow branch that he had snapped off no the road from his sleeve pocket, rolled up his sleeves, and belatedly started brushing his teeth.

Brushing his teeth was one of the most inconvenient things that Ji Yuan experienced since he came here. The willow branch could not be used just as it was.. Before brushing teeth, he needed to break the willow branch section by section, then take two of the sections and soften them into fibers at the tip, like a small brush. Then, he needed to brush over all the areas of his teeth in the same way, then use the thinner willow branches to pick between the teeth.

After fiddling for a long time, Ji Yuan picked up the wooden ladle, filled it with water, and poured half a scoop into his mouth.

“Uh, bah, bah bah…bah…”

He spat out a mouthful of green mouthwash and rinsed his mouth several times before he felt it was clean.

In fact, using salt was more effective, but it was expensive. If one wasn’t a high-ranking dignitary, it was too wasteful to use it for brushing teeth. Ji Yuan felt he wasn’t worthy of such a luxury.

After brushing his teeth, Ji Yuan realized that he might have nothing to do all day. There was no internet, no mobile phones, and no acquaintances to chat with. There was no point in going out, unless there was a temple fair in the evening, and he could still go shopping.

‘Hey, I’m like a lonely old man… How did my grandfather and uncle-in-law pass the time before? ’

As soon as he thought of this question, the answer popped into his mind.

Playing chess!

This was also related to the power he relied on the most, so Ji Yuan couldn’t help but feel fortunate that he also asked the Old City God about the chess manuals.

At this thought, Ji Yuan sat on the stone bench in the courtyard, stretched his right arm, formed his hand into sword fingers, and visualized the chess piece in his mind.

The familiar electric tingling sensation arose, before the phantom chess piece also appeared at the tip of the sword fingers.

‘It’s black!’

Ji Yuan was shocked. The original chess piece felt like a vague illusion, it was difficult to tell whether it was white or black. But at this moment, although the chess piece was still illusory, it was definitely a black piece.

Not only had color turned black, but the piece also felt closer to reality at his fingertips. Ji Yuan couldn’t help but wonder if this stone could really physically “drop” onto the chessboard.

As for why this change occurred, it probably had something to do with him pointing his finger at the evil spirit the night before. Remembering the cold feeling of something spinning into his arm, it was not difficult to deduce what was absorbed by the chess piece.

‘Yin qi? The evil earthbound spirit? It can’t possibly be hostility, could it? First, let’s try to see if I can absorb the spiritual energy. ’

In fact, Ji Yuan had felt something strange before. Usually, holding a piece to gather spiritual energy created some kind of suction into the chess piece, but it never absorbed the spirit energy, or else absorbed very little. He would need to figure this out later.

Putting aside the incomprehensible things for the time being, Ji Yuan got rid of his distracting thoughts, and began to visualize the game of Lanke’s chess in his mind.

As his distracting thoughts diminished and he became more and more focused, a breeze began to pick up in the small courtyard.

The wind was not too strong, but it was continuous. is not big, but it is continuous. It surrounded Ji Yuan in a ten-foot² radius, and streams of vital spirit energy gathered from all directions. The increasingly dense green gradually gathered around the black piece.

‘Okay, very good! ’

This time, no one interrupted him, so Ji Yuan decided to test if there was a limit.

Wooo… woooo…

The wind was still as strong as before, but Ji Yuan could now hear the sound. The branches and leaves of the jujube tree in the courtyard swayed, and a rustling sound scattered along the wind.

Ji Yuan’s fingertips, except for a little black point at the center, had gathered a big ball of vital energy. It had reached half his height, and resembled a slowly rotating whirlpool.

At this point, Ji Yuan couldn’t hold on any longer. His mind began to tingle, and his arm felt as if they were lifting a heavy dumbbell.

Everything had to be done in moderation. People like Ji Yuan who cherished their lives didn’t dare absorb so much spiritual energy.

‘Dissipate some first, then absorb it when it’s thinner!’

He forced his thoughts back to the chess game. The surrounding green spiritual energy to dissipated bit by bit, turning into a stream of spiritual winds that circulated in the courtyard. When it finally thinned to a third of its original density, Ji Yuan finally thought about moving the energy in the piece.

Sizzle…

At first, there was a sensation of electric shock, and then his fingertips became sore. Vital qi flowed into his body, and the soreness climbed up his arm.

“Hiss…”

Ji Yuan stood up, almost in reflex.

Hold it!

It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling. It was a signal that the body was being overwhelmed. If one ate too much, even food could become poison. Fortunately, he had developed his pain resistance in the mountain temple before, so he could still bear it.

Ji Yuan kept his mind focused on circulating the Qi, trying not to let the spiritual energy gather at one point, but rather guided it around the body, slowly reducing the pressure.

About ten minutes later, the pain began to ease. Ji Yuan’s body was already trembling, with some involuntary light spasms.

‘Fortunately, I was smart and dissipated most of the green energy first. Otherwise it really would have been stupid to kill myself like this! ’

After another ten minutes, the reactions in his body subsided.

“Hu… Hu… Hu…”

Ji Yuan gasped for breath, easing his heartbeat and tired body. He sat down lazily on the stone stool, not wanting to move.

He could feel the surrounding wind slowly dissipating. The jujube branches and leaves in the courtyard swayed happily.

1. … 😡 Thankfully it just seems like this is YZ speaking, not the author, since there are plenty of capable, intelligent female characters in the rest of the story. ↩︎
2. A little over 3m ↩︎