Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 79: Theres No Alternative

The old turtle’s impatience frightened everyone, and the Wei family were all on heightened guard. Many of them had already moved to grasp their weapons tightly, but no one knew whether their martial arts would even be of any use.

The pressure they faced now was completely different from the pressure from facing a martial arts master. This was a giant turtle, a monster who had been cultivating for who knew how many years. Even though the head of the family, Wei Wuwei, called it an “Immortal Lord,” no one believed that he was truly an immortal.

The Uncle and Third Uncle of the Wei family, as well as the old butler, were standing in a triangle formation next to each other, their internal Qi surging, ready to fight for their lives at any moment.

Wei Wuwei almost had to rely on his willpower to prevent himself from retreating, and stretched out his hand to stop the others, signaling for them not to act rashly.

“Ah, Immortal Lord, please be patient! Wei has indeed met an expert…”

Seeing Wei Wuwei speak, the old turtle seemed to realize his own gaffe. He calmed down a little, and relaxed his tense body.

“Patriarch Wei is frightened. I this Old Turtle, am also in a hurry. Please, continue!”

Wei Wuwei gulped and quickly thought about what to do. Now, the situation was no longer a question of whether he should reveal the existence of Mr. Ji, but rather whether this matter could be resolved even if he told the truth.

Mr. Ji had already gone away on a long journey. Who knew if he would return? Even if he did return, when would that be? Could a god’s concept of time be the same as that of a mortal?

But would the old turtle think the same way? What if he told the truth, but the old turtle thought he was lying?

In the time it took to take two breaths, his thoughts raced as fast as lightning through his mind. Wei Wuwei knew that if he didn’t say anything, the monster’s patience would probably run out.

“Lord, I have had the good fortune to meet with a reclusive expert, but I am afraid that revealing his identity will offend him. How about I first tell you what I think I can say, and you can ponder it after listening?”

The old turtle raised his head and looked at the wealthy man in front of him.

“Okay, please speak!”

“Whoo…”

Wei Wuwei trembled slightly and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. It was both a sign of genuine nervousness, and a sign of weakness, letting the old turtle see that he really didn’t dare to lie at this moment.

“I first heard rumors of a group of chivalrous warriors in a certain county in Desheng Prefecture who had killed a man-eating tiger in the mountains and obtained a complete white tiger skin. At the same time, my grandfather’s birthday was approaching, so I thought of going out to purchase it. After all, my Wei family has many tiger skins, but white tiger skins are really rare.

“The first time I met that gentleman was when I was chatting with the county magistrate.”

The old turtle’s eyes widened slightly. He keenly noticed the subconscious change in Wei Wuwei’s words, stemming completely from the respect in the man’s heart.

“At that time, the master glanced at me. I thought he just casually gave me a random glance because I was talking to the county magistrate. But now, I believe the master must have realized that I was going to be in trouble!”

The old turtle heart jumped and he asked.

“Was it that Zheng Qianqiu who came looking for you?”

“Exactly, that Zheng Qianqiu, together with the remnants of the Thirteen Thieves of Yan and another first-class martial arts master, set up an ambush to capture me. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t know that I had been pretending to be someone who didn’t know martial arts since childhood. They were careless at a critical moment and were seriously injured by my sudden attack. I poisoned and then captured them!”

Wei Wuwei didn’t mention the that black-clothed master from the public sect. That detail seemed to be irrelevant to the old turtle, but were in fact a careful test by Wei Wuwei to confirm whether this monster could truly divine and see through each one of his words.

“Although my Wei family won a tragic victory, we could no longer rush on, so we returned to the county. This was also an opportunity for me to visit that expert!”

Seeing that the old turtle was listening very seriously with no other reaction, Wei Wuwei breathed a sigh of relief.

“At that time, I heard rumors of how a red fox with a pelt the color of fire had come to the county and been chased and bitten by several vicious dogs. It was also hounded and beaten by idlers on the street, trying to kill the fox to get its fur.

“According to the what the people of the county remembered, the gentleman had been walking on the street at that time. The red fox, in a crisis, played dead, and tricked the bystanders into fleeing to the street. After seeing the gentleman, it kept crying and begging him, and continuously kowtowed to him!”

The old turtle suddenly became nervous when he heard this. His eyes widened, and his almost inaudible slow breathing grew a little heavier at this moment.

“Did that gentleman save the red fox?”

The red fox was definitely no ordinary fox. At the very least, it had already gained intelligence. One should know, most monsters were hated by immortals, and even the old turtle, who cultivated peacefully, might not be regarded kindly. In addition, many monsters began their practice peacefully, but turned evil after gaining power. The saying, “in the end, one cannot change a demon’s nature,” had thus felled countless monsters.

Wei Wuwei took a breath and continued.

“Of course he saved it. The gentleman paid the bystanders to leave, and gently persuaded the vicious dogs, who retreated. He then took the red fox in his arms and sent it to the famous doctor in the county for bandaging and treatment. Then, he took it to his home so that it could recuperate…”

Wei Wuwei was stunned for a moment when he said this, not because he had forgotten something, nor because he was afraid, but instead because the old turtle revealed a very humanlike envy.

Indeed, it was just a feeling. After all, there was a huge difference between the face of a turtle and the face of a human, and the range of emotional expression could only be guessed at.

“I once heard from the child who often visited the expert’s courtyard after he left for a long journey that the red fox missed his home so much that, after it had recovered from its injury, the expert took the red fox back to the mountains and released it to send it back home.”

“What?!”

The old tortoise was incomparably shocked. The fishy breath from his mouth blew at Wei Wuwei’s hair vigorously. He was so agitated that he dug at the riverbank with all four of his legs.

“This fox actually wants to leave on his own! It’s so, so, arghh—! I’m so angry!!!”

The last sentence was more like a suppressed growl. His voice was not loud, but everyone present could feel his anger and unwillingness, enough to make him wish to take the fox’s life.¹

“Wait! You said that ‘the gentleman’ sent on a long journey?”

After venting, the old turtle seemed to finally realize the first half of Wei Wuwei’s words.

“That’s right!”

Wei Wuwei was a little nervous again, and hurriedly continued.

“Sir,² please listen to me first. That day, we were injured, and returned to the county to recuperate. After hearing this strange story, I just forced Zheng Qianqiu to tell me about the ‘immortal fate,’ nothing more. I was so eager that I begged the county officials to take me to visit the expert.”

As he spoke, Wei Wuwei recalled the scene at that time with some emotion.

“In the courtyard, a man in white and a man in blue were quietly playing chess under a jujube tree… I was a bit presumptuous to disturb them at that time…”

With a light sigh, Wei Wuwei now realized at this moment that he might have missed a more precious opportunity, whether it was regarding the jade of Yuhuai Mountain or his family’s immortal fate. However, there was no medicine that cured regret in this world.

“After I explained the purpose of my visit, I begged him, and the master graciously agreed. I don’t know what method he used, but as soon as he touched the jaded pendant, the blue jade glowed slightly, revealing four small words: Yuhuai Sacred Land. The master then said that the jade came from Yuhuai Mountain, but he didn’t say much else, only that he did not know much about it.”

“Then when did this ‘gentleman’ depart on his journey? Do you know when he will be back?”

The old turtle asked eagerly.

“I don’t know either. Supposedly, I left, the gentleman spoke with his friends about going on a long journey. Oh, by the way, there was another strange thing! That day, the gentleman announced that he was planning on traveling far away, and asked his friends to wait until autumn came to share the fruits of the jujube tree in his yard together with the neighbors. But that night, all the flowers of the jujube tree ripened into hanging fruits. By dawn, the jujubes that should have matured in autumn were already ripe on the branches! Alas, when I learned about this, it had already been a few days, and the gentleman had already left…”

The old turtle was silent for a long time before he spoke.

“The person who played chess with the ‘gentleman’ should be just a mortal, right?”

“That’s right. He was the head teacher of the county school, a close neighbor of the expert, and the expert’s only friend in the county at that time.”

After Wei Wuwei finished speaking, the old turtle nodded slowly, but didn’t make any sound for a long time.

The old turtle didn’t speak, and the Wei family members didn’t dare to move. They just waited.

After about the time it would take to drink half a cup of tea had passed, when the Wei family members were all feeling chilly due to the evening breeze on their cold sweat from before, the old turtle sighed again.

“Alas… he truly is a virtuous master.³ What a blessing to meet him! Truly, what a blessing!”

In fact, everyone in the Wei family was in a state of shock at this moment. Aside from the old butler and Wei Wuwei’s Uncle and Third Uncle, the other Wei family members had never heard of this incident. If it sounded so miraculous, how would it feel to have experienced it personally?

“That… Immortal Lord, I really don’t know where the gentleman might be, let alone when he might return… There’s the name of the county…”

“Patriarch Wei doesn’t need to say more… I won’t make things difficult for you.”

The old turtle looked solemnly at Wei Wuwei.

“If you want to enter Yuhuai Mountain, one way is to have a descendant with excellent qualifications. Another way is to send a child under the age of five from the direct bloodline of your Wei family’s ancestor to the Yuhuai Mountain Immortal Sect. The immortal crane guarding the mountain rotates every 20 years. Starting from the first month next year, it happens to be one who has a longstanding relationship with your Wei family…

“Bring the jade pendant with you, and the crane will surely appear. At that time, you must beg him to recommend your child to the mountain gate, and beg him to accompany your child for three years as his elder. The crane will definitely help you to the best of his ability to repay the past kindness. There is a 70% chance of success! Yuhuai Mountain is located here…”

The old turtle spoke his following words in a very low voice, such that only Wei Wuwei could hear them. After saying this, the old turtle looked once more at Wei Wuwei, and then climbed directly into the river.

Unfortunately, this fate did not involve him, and he was not lucky enough to be able to witness it. He would go and pray to the River God again this year!

“Splash!”

The sound of the turtle falling into the water startled Wei Wuwei, who was deep in thought, and he hurriedly shouted to the river where only a small whirlpool remained on the surface.

“Thank you Immortal Lord. Next year, my Wei family will prepare delicious wine again here!”

1. Both “take a life” as in kill and “take a life” as in take the fox’s place and exchange lives ↩︎
2. T/n: my head is spinning with all of these different honorifics. I almost definitely translated some inconsistently but they all should be mostly correct and get the ideas across. Sorry, everyone! ↩︎
3. Could either be “virtuous person” or “master of the Tao,” so I went with a compromise ↩︎