Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 867: Chapter 111: Forget Worry, Helplessness (2)

The chessboard of chess is vastly different from that of Go, and each side in chess only has 16 pieces, far less than the number of pieces each side has in Go.

In simple terms, with chess pieces, one side can only make at most sixteen moves, and due to the confines of the chessboard space, the possibilities for a row of five are limited.

In fact, considering the other rules of Go, such as forbidden moves, three-move exchange, or the mountain mouth rule, this Go game of only sixteen moves is probably more challenging than one can imagine.

Both Ouyang Jie and Zhong Luoyue are people with exceptional memory and mastery of algorithms, so they easily calculated the possibilities of forming a row of five.

Essentially, using this method, unless deliberately done otherwise, the most likely outcome is a draw between the two sides.

But Tu Shenyi said that one must win to be able to pick grapes… which means Luo Qiu could only win. Undoubtedly, this might be a game destined for a draw from the start, and given the conditions of the game, Tu Shenyi still has the advantage.

“You are the guest, you choose whether to go first or later.” Tu Shenyi made a gesture of invitation and added, “There are forbidden moves.”

Luo Qiu nodded and directly picked up a Germanic Chariot without immediately putting it down but asked, “Just using these pieces here?”

Tu Shenyi nodded, “This game is simple, only using each of the sixteen pieces for each side.”

“Understood.” Luo Qiu smiled slightly, then placed it in the upper right corner of the chessboard, “I’ll choose black.”

Unlike the Go board, the chessboard is a grid of neatly arranged square blocks, with 8 rows and 8 columns, totaling 64 squares.

Luo Qiu’s upper right corner, position H8.

Seeing Luo Qiu place it there, Ouyang Jie and Zhong Luoyue both frowned… If it were them, even knowing it might be a draw, they should place it in the center to at least create more possibilities for themselves rather than starting with half the chance gone.

Moreover, with the added complication of forbidden moves?

Tu Shenyi glanced at Luo Qiu, saw his calm and composed demeanor, lightly smiled, picked up a Germanic Chariot, and placed it at position D5.

Then Luo Qiu picked up another Germanic Chariot and placed it at H7.

Tu Shenyi also picked up a Germanic Chariot and placed it at C5.

At this point, Luo Qiu picked up a Bishop and placed it at H6.

Tu Shenyi looked up at Luo Qiu again, nodded, picked up a Bishop, and casually placed it at D4.

Luo Qiu took the second Bishop and, as if walking a path to black, placed it at H5. Tu Shenyi shook his head, picked up his second Bishop, prepared to place it at H4.

But just as Tu Shenyi was about to drop his Bishop, he suddenly paused. He looked up, staring oddly at Luo Qiu.

Finally, Tu Shenyi didn’t place his Bishop but put it back in the chess box. Then, under the puzzled gazes of Ouyang Jie and Zhong Luoyue, he stood up and said, “Wait a moment.”

Tu Shenyi walked to another table under the grape trellis, took a hollow bamboo basket, and a pair of scissors.

He looked up at the bunches of full grapes hanging from the vine, finally selecting one, snipping it off with the scissors, and came to Luo Qiu, “Take it.”

Luo Qiu smiled, apologetically saying, “I took a shortcut.”

“Winning is winning, losing is losing.” Tu Shenyi shook his head, “I didn’t set the rules clearly from the start; it’s my misstep. But you are right, this was indeed a shortcut, breaking the rules. Yet these rules were set by people after all; it depends on how you see it.”

“Thank you for the grapes, Mister Tu.” Luo Qiu slightly nodded, “I have acquired what I wanted and given it was personally picked by Mister Tu, it must be the best here… Well, I won’t disturb your catch-up with your student. Gan Hong, shall we go?”

“Oh… oh!”

Gan Hong was startled, but seeing Young Master Qiu was truly leaving without hesitation, she quickly put on her shoes and followed him.

It seems… it seems the place where her heel was chafed didn’t hurt at all anymore, and Gan Hong looked at it instinctively, finding only faint red marks… Strange, wasn’t it supposed to be chafed?

…

“Master, why did you concede this game?” Ouyang Jie asked after Luo Qiu had left, sitting down with a frown, “You hadn’t even placed your piece.”

Tu Shenyi calmly replied, “Then tell me, where should I have placed my piece?”

Ouyang Jie instinctively pointed to H4, “Of course here, otherwise he will surely… wait, without a clear rule beforehand, does it mean… outside the board?”

Tu Shenyi chuckled, then began tidying up the chessboard and pieces, “He didn’t win with chess skill but with something beyond the rules.”

“That’s cheating.” Ouyang Jie shook his head.

However, Tu Shenyi slowly responded, “Playing Go on a chessboard, is that formal? He asked me if we only use these pieces, but didn’t say, it must be within this board.”

Ouyang Jie opened his mouth but was speechless.

“Winning is winning, losing is losing. I have lost before.” Tu Shenyi said with a heavy heart, “It’s just a bunch of grapes, I can afford to lose.”

“But…” Ouyang Jie wanted to say something further.

Tu Shenyi shook his head, then gently patted Ouyang Jie’s shoulder, “Time is almost up, take this Miss Zhong to the cellar, I’ll go change clothes and should be heading over soon.”

Tu Shenyi walked out from under the grape trellis, surveyed his surroundings with a light smile, “Outside the game, those playing… truly have a broad mind.”

He tucked his hands behind and left.

…

…

These freshly picked grapes, Luo Qiu said he wanted to give them to someone. Gan Hong initially thought it might be something to take back for her father to eat, but she suddenly realized that the grapes Young Master Qiu was holding were gone.

“Maybe left it somewhere.” Luo Qiu said nonchalantly.

“Hard-won, I should go look for them.” Gan Hong hesitated for a moment.

But before she could start moving, they had just returned to the banquet hall where Song Ying found them and scolded them for running around.

However, upon hearing from Gan Hong that they had already met the God of Gamblers, Tu Shenyi, and that Luo Qiu even played a game of Gomoku with him, Song Ying widened her eyes in sheer disbelief—she knew Gan Hong wouldn’t lie to her, at least not about something like this.

But the fact that this was true left Song Ying feeling powerless—because on a whim, she decided to steal some grapes from someone else’s yard, only to bump into the legendary God of Gamblers.

Why does this plot sound like a student who just entered campus encountering a janitor who turns out to be the principal?

“Did you meet Tu Shenyi, have you invited him to join the Song Dynasty?” After internally griping, Song Ying immediately inquired.

Luo Qiu shook his head, curiously asked, “Can I represent the Song Dynasty Group?”

“Of course you can’t,” Song Ying glared fiercely, snorted coldly.

Luo Qiu smiled, unbothered.

At this point, Luo Qiu suddenly noticed a bunch of guests gathering in a corner of the hall and curiously asked, “What are they doing?”

“Want to know?” Song Ying, arms crossed, continued to snort coldly, “Go see for yourself!”

Luo Qiu nodded and walked toward the crowd in the corner. Song Ying watched, suddenly glared again, inexplicably irritated, stomping her foot, “Listening so obediently?”

Just then, a burst of exclamations could be heard from the corner crowd.

Gan Hong, quite experienced as an attendant, had already wedged through the crowd before Luo Qiu arrived so he could easily see the object that astonished the guests.

It was a man in a worn-out suit, sitting cross-legged on the ground, leaning against the wall.

The man’s complexion was rather pale, his face a bit stubbled, looking like he was nearly forty, and his hair was somewhat messy, presenting a typical Eastern appearance.

From every aspect, this man seemed out of place among the attendees, like a poor bloke who accidentally intruded upon a wealthy gathering.

At this point, this slightly down-and-out man held in one hand a sphere slightly larger than a fist, like a crystal, or perhaps merely a glass artifact. In front of the down-and-out man was a slightly plump middle-aged gentleman.

This middle-aged man was squatting before the down-and-out man at that moment, earnestly gazing at the small sphere in his hand like polished crystal, and the exclamations indeed came from this gentleman.

“Oh my gosh, it changed again! This time it’s the long run! Unbelievable!” The middle-aged man gasped once more.

Luo Qiu interestingly focused his gaze on the small sphere in the down-and-out man’s hand, while Gan Hong asked a lady nearby, “Excuse me, what’s happening here?”

After glancing at his attire, the lady indifferently spoke, “This man claims he’s holding a treasure, and different people can see various sceneries through it, like a miniature world inside. Some didn’t believe it, so they tried… it seems true? My goodness.”

From the tone of the lady, she seemed to be one of those onlookers as well.

“A sphere through which different sceneries can be seen?” Gan Hong doubtfully glanced at Luo Qiu, followed by Song Ying coming up from behind.

“Such an incredible treasure.”

At this moment, the middle-aged man, slightly excited, directly asked, “Sir, do you intend to sell this Precious Sphere? Name a price, I hope to own it… it’s so exquisite, so incredible!”

“Sorry, this Precious Sphere is not for sale.” The down-and-out man spoke fluently in the local language, calmly said, “There could be only one of its kind in this world, selling it would leave me without it.”

The middle-aged man was reluctant to give up, hurriedly added, “Name a price regardless of how expensive! It’s truly a gem far superior to any gemstones or diamonds!”

“This… would you consider again?” The middle-aged man’s attitude was rather humble, merely imploring the man to sell, without force, even proposing a startling price.

On one side was his concern for dignity, considering many notable figures were present.

On the other side, despite appearing down-and-out, this man made it through numerous checkpoints to be here, unexpelled, indicating he might be a guest invited by the God of Gamblers, or capable of acquiring an invitation.

“Alright, please give me some time to consider.” The man seemed reluctant, hesitating to decide.

“Pretentious,” suddenly came the voice from the crowd—it was Song Ying who spoke.

The down-and-out man swiftly turned toward the sound, seeing Song Ying. He faintly smiled, “It’s real or not, why not take a look yourself?”

Speaking thus, the down-and-out man gradually rose, holding the ‘Precious Sphere’, and approached Song Ying, raising the ‘Precious Sphere’ for her to see.

Not particularly fond of this attention-seeking fellow, Song Ying felt indifferent. But given the ‘Precious Sphere’ was already before her, avoiding it was difficult. She sighed and glanced at the ‘Precious Sphere’.

“Isn’t it simply nothing? Just a deceptive toy.” Song Ying frowned, the ‘Precious Sphere’ appeared as an ordinary glass bead, larger than usual, but utterly unspectacular.

“Look with your heart.” The man calmly said, “Legend has it, fish only remember seven seconds; thus they couldn’t retain the world’s beauty, an utter cruelty for them. There’s a kind of fish that stores seen beauty in their tears to remember. Years have passed…”

The man’s voice turned magnetic, like waves caressing a beach at dusk, tender and intentional, offering a soothing sensation merely by listening, “And years later, the tears turned into pearls, embodying their lifetime beauty. Why resort to skepticism?”

Song Ying’s gaze on the ‘Precious Sphere’ started changing.

Initially transparent, able to see the handprint through the material, but now, it became hazy, something seemed to be brewing inside the ‘Precious Sphere’.

Like myriad clouds shrouding, as they parted, Song Ying glimpsed an island in the middle of the sea.

Clear skies, blue seas, white sand… an untainted primitive paradise, surpassing any so-called pirate tourism holy place she had visited.

“So beautiful…” Song Ying instinctively extended her hands, cradling the ‘Precious Sphere’ from the man’s hand, entranced.

Just then.

Luo Qiu suddenly covered the ‘Precious Sphere’ with his hand, blocking Song Ying’s view, and took the ‘Precious Sphere’ into his hand.

Song Ying was momentarily stunned, then saw Luo Qiu looking at the man, calmly said, “May I have a look too?”

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Thanks to ‘Yanchi Jiangshan’ for the adorable Lord, extending my purest regards to the capitalist bigwigs (beep——!).

PS2: Along with prior ones, seven extra chapters added… thus, starting next week for a seven-day period, double updates daily (as much as possible), hoping to clear the debt.