Chapter 17: The old blind man

Chapter 17 The old blind man Zhao Wumian followed Yun Qi back to the inner hall of the Pacification Division and officially took over the job of guarding the imperial prison from Jiang Huan. He put on a brand new sixth-grade Feiyu suit and began his retirement life. The imperial prison has numerous institutions and is heavily guarded. There are prison guards watching secretly on each floor, so there is no need for the Jinyiwei to be stationed there at all. If you can endure the boredom and the bone-corrosive evil spirit, then this is a good job. Zhao Wumian happens to be very patient, and this is a rare learning opportunity. So far, his understanding of this world is limited to his original body's memories and the in-game beta content, which is not enough at all. The Zhenfu Division has a case library where he can look up information from all over the world, including various miscellaneous knowledge, various martial arts, and the origins of various factions. He also has top-level comprehension and can remember everything he sees. It would be a pity not to use it. then. Zhao Wumian borrowed a pile of books from the document library, carried them down to the sixth floor, and read them slowly. Now Hu Weiyong is dead, but there are still accomplices and remnants of Yipintang roaming around. If we catch one person, we can interrogate a bunch of his accomplices. The more we catch and interrogate, the more we catch, and the upper three floors are almost full. His main task now is to improve his realm and prepare for the inoculation of Taotie's blood essence, and then retrieve the treasure of Tianji Palace. He doesn't need to get involved in these messy things. His identity is special, and it is not suitable for anyone to get too close to him, to avoid a situation like Huang Yunxuan. So he went down to the sixth floor, which is sparsely populated but with strong yin energy.

The sixth level holds those trolls who once wreaked havoc on the local area, and the lowest level is the fourth realm. Zhao Wumian was like a sheep among wolves, even though these wolves had their teeth plucked... Zhao Wumian read very quickly, he could finish ten lines at a glance, and he read everything, odd stories, celebrity biographies, music, chess, calligraphy and painting, medicine, divination, astrology, astronomy, geography, etc. Through these materials, he outlined the background of the game bit by bit. From morning till afternoon, jailers and executioners would come to deliver meals. While munching on a bun, Zhao Wumian casually flipped through a chess manual called "Xuan Xuan Qi Jing", which was quite interesting. "The structure of chess contains the image of the roundness of the sky and the earth, the principles of the movement and stillness of yin and yang, the order of the distribution of stars, the mechanism of the changes of wind and thunder, the power of life and death in spring and autumn, and the situation of the inside and outside of mountains and rivers. The rise and fall of the Tao, the prosperity and decline of human affairs, are all implied in this... Isn't this too crazy? It's just playing chess, is it necessary to make such a big deal?" Zhao Wumian muttered the opening paragraph, feeling that it was a bit exaggerated. "Boy, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!" In the cell opposite the desk, a gray-haired blind old man tilted his ear towards Zhao Wumian and sneered, "In the past, Yao and Shun invented Go to teach their sons. Some people doubted it, thinking that Danzhu and Shangjun were stupid. A sage should teach them the ways of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. How could it be a tool for arrogance and idleness, or a trick to be cunning and deceitful, to suit their stupidity? Stupid!" "Am I stupid?" Zhao Wumian raised his eyebrows and sneered, "When it comes to using your brain, even a hundred of you are no match for me!" "You're not stupid? How come you don't know your life is at stake? And you still have the leisure to flip through a book? Huh?" The old blind man's face was full of ridicule. Zhao Wumian's expression changed, and he asked seriously, "What do you mean?" "I don't talk to the dead. Today is an exception." The old blind man picked up his bowl and started eating his rotten food. As the saying goes, "Don't break the law as a human being. If you break the law, you are not a human being." In every dynasty, prisons were allocated rations from government warehouses. However, jailers would never give the good rice in the government warehouse to prisoners. Instead, they would sell the good rice and buy old moldy rice. The taste of the cooked rice was self-evident. This is even more true for the imperial prison. In order to give prisoners the strength to ward off evil, the food is served in sufficient quantity but tastes bad.

Zhao Wumian's table was filled with fine wine and delicious food specially sent to him, but the old blind man couldn't even look at it, but he ate very naturally. He must have been locked up for a long time and was used to the food. Zhao Wumian's face was gloomy. The old blind man was able to be imprisoned on the sixth floor and still be alive and well, which showed his ability. He may have really "seen" something. This matter must be made clear! There are already few ways to survive, and if you get poisoned or something, there will be no hope at all. But when facing such people, it is useless to give in, you must provoke them. Zhao Wumian glanced at the chess book: "Do you know how to play chess?" The old blind man turned a deaf ear. Zhao Wumian was not angry either, and said calmly: "How about this, let's play the next game. If I win, you tell me the reason. If I lose, I will provide you with chicken, duck, fish and meat for three days. How about that?" The old blind man remained calm, but his rice-eating movements slowed down. No one wants to leave good food behind and eat stale food. Zhao Wumian said leisurely: "Don't worry, I just flipped through a few chess books and learned a little bit about the rules and principles of chess. I have never played against anyone before, so you don't have to be afraid of losing." "Is this old man afraid of losing?!" The old blind man said angrily: "Boy, your method of provoking me is too clumsy!" Zhao Wumian smiled and said, "The method is not important, as long as it works. You like playing chess so much, but you haven't played for a long time since you were locked up here. Now you can play, and you can also get good wine and food. The price is just to 'condescend' and say a few words to a dead man like me. Since you have already made an exception, why insist on it?" "..." The old blind man was silent for a moment and said, "Go find a chessboard." "No need." Zhao Wumian said, "You can't see the chessboard, and I can't see it either, so let's just play blind chess." The old blind man's face showed even more sarcasm: "You want to play blind chess with me?" "Correct." "Hahaha! Good, good." The old blind man laughed and said, "I haven't seen anyone in the sixth floor of the Imperial Prison for a long time. I didn't expect a dead person to come here today, and such an arrogant dead person! If someone like you were to kneel down and beg me, I would not even bother to make a move, but who made me not eat meat or drink alcohol for several years? For three days of chicken, duck, fish and meat, I will play a plate with you. You go first." Zhao Wumian was not polite and immediately said, "Ping May Fourth." The old blind man: "Three-five." Zhao Wumian: "Ping Si Si." "Two sharp strikes? Inverted lotus?" The old blind man was a little surprised: "Do you still want to know?" The inverted lotus is a standard Go pattern, with White one making a small flying move and White two making a sharp attack.

With this way of playing, the fighting starts in one corner as soon as the game starts, with close combat and the fighting is very intense. Once the fighting starts, it is difficult to tell the difference and hard to control, but it also tests your computing power the most! If a novice uses this pattern, he is basically giving up victory. Zhao Wumian thought to himself, "My comprehension is perfect, and you are at most the same as me. Can you beat me in terms of computing power?" The old blind man is an expert in this field. Since the black chess pieces are deliberately provoking a war by taking advantage of the initiative, the white chess pieces cannot ignore it and can only crush it with a stronger attitude! I have to say, this kid's provocation hit the mark. The old blind man hadn't played Go for a long time, and he had been itching to play Go. Every move he made was decisive and ruthless, which made him feel a little fond of him. It didn't matter if he couldn't fight, the most important thing was to dare to fight. Go is all about momentum! "Level post." "Flat point." "Fly at the same level." The chess game continued, as if an invisible chessboard was lying between the two of them. The old blind man's voice became more and more solemn, but Zhao Wumian remained the same. The two began to play fiercely, immersing themselves completely in the game of chess. I don’t know how much time has passed. The sixth level of the imperial prison suddenly fell into silence. Sweat began to appear on the old blind man's forehead. He lowered his head and thought hard. His face showed both disbelief and excitement that could not be concealed! It has been so many years, but this is the first time that someone has been forced to this extent. Moreover, this person is a beginner who has just learned chess. He relies purely on calculation power, calculating a hundred steps ahead with one move, and making careful moves at every step, to reach such a point! It’s incredible! If there was a physical chessboard, then at this moment, the black and white pieces would be crisscrossed and almost full. There was fierce fighting in every place, and the whole chessboard was filled with a thick smell of gunpowder. But that’s as far as it goes. "I lost……" The old blind man had forgotten how long it had been since he had said these three words, and they felt so strange. "call……" Zhao Wumian breathed a sigh of relief. After the fierce battle at the beginning, the fight in the middle game, and the intrigue in the endgame, the old guy was finally caught in a trap in the final battle. There was no need to calculate, the black chess lost by three and a half points. "Hahaha!" A loud laugh came from the cell deep in the corridor, and the energy surged like a huge wave: "'Chess Demon' Shi Sanjue, you also lose sometimes! Have you been locked up for too long and your brain is not working well anymore? Interesting! Interesting!" "Shut up!" Although the old blind man Shi Sanjue lost, he did not feel much disappointed. Instead, he was extremely happy and full of energy. His face was radiant, and he recalled the game of chess just now, nodding his head repeatedly: "'The moves were made with a fairy spirit, there was no mundane trick, this is probably a gift from heaven, it is beyond the reach of ordinary people'... So there really are people who can reach this level! Good! Good! Good! There are so many scenes, the killing method is exquisite, it's thrilling, it's really a good game of chess!" Go depends on comprehension. If one has high comprehension, even a child can beat a national player. This has precedent in chess history.

But he is not an ordinary national player. Before he was imprisoned, the old blind man was a "chess demon" who roamed the world. He was unrivaled in the game of Go and won all over the world. He even used Go to create a unique skill called "Chess Stars". He had never lost in more than 50 years, but today he actually lost to a novice... If this happened to an ordinary person, his or her Tao heart would be broken and he or she would find it difficult to accept. But this is the day Shi Sanjue has been waiting for! Compared to trying hard to be defeated but failing, failure is a good thing. It proves that the way of chess is not over, there are always mountains beyond mountains and there are always heavens beyond heavens. He now has a goal to pursue, study and defeat! Zhao Wumian didn't understand what he was thinking, and he didn't bother to guess, so he immediately asked, "Can you tell me now?" Shi Sanjue: "Of course you can, but I have a condition." Zhao Wumian's face turned cold: "'Senior', a man without faith cannot stand!" Shi Sanjue smiled and said, "I never promised you that I would tell you if you won... I just agreed to play chess with you, but you thought I agreed." Zhao Wumian glared: "You——" Shi Sanjue waved his hand: "My condition is very simple, a game of chess every three days. I'll tell you if you agree." "..." This is negotiable. Zhao Wumian was silent for a moment: "I am a Jinyiwei, the time is not decided by me. I will have to go out on field missions in the future. If the time and place cannot be determined, I will not be able to leave." Shi Sanjue said: "As long as you are in Beijing, as long as you have time." The conditions are very relaxed, just find a chess friend. "That's fine." Zhao Wumian nodded and agreed: "But it has to be changed to five days. As long as I am in Beijing and as long as I have time, I will come to the next game. Let me make it clear in advance that I can guarantee the performance of the contract, but I cannot guarantee the time." Shi Sanjue nodded: "You have been infected by [Untainted Dust]. Just like Zhao Pusheng in the past." Zhao Wumian didn't know what [Untainted by Dust] was, but he knew very well who Zhao Pusheng was. The last person who practiced "The Mirror of the Actor"! Zhao Wumian immediately realized that this [Bu Ran Chen] was targeting his disguise! Shi Sanjue said: "Unstained Dust is a special material made from the hair of the alien beast Heavenly Dog. When it falls on the skin, it is like a tarsal ulcer that takes root in the flesh. To ordinary people, this dust is tiny and fine, colorless and odorless, but in front of people who have cultivated the spirit Heavenly Dog, its smell can be clearly smelled even thirty miles away! You have Unstained Dust on you, and you have been targeted. If you don't remove it in time, Zhao Pusheng will be your lesson!" How could such a thing happen?! Zhao Wumian was shocked, his brows furrowed, and he had no idea at all: "How do I grow this thing?" Shi Sanjue said: "To be frank, [Unstained by Dust] is just dust. Only when it is within one foot of you can it fall on your skin and take root in your flesh. It's up to you to figure it out." It's him! Zhao Wumian’s mind immediately flashed back to the little flag officer who came up to him and reported him when he entered the room in the morning! court death! ! Zhao Wumian's anger surged, and he stood up to send that person to the imperial prison and force him to reveal the mastermind. But after thinking carefully, he sat down again: "Since this thing is colorless and tasteless, only people with the spirit of [Heavenly Dog] can detect it... Senior, I believe you know how to remove it. Please teach me. Wumian will ask people to prepare wine and food immediately!" "Ruzi can be taught." Shi Sanjue nodded with satisfaction: "You should know who did it and where it was planted. I will now teach you how to remove it. As long as you notice it, the rest will be easy..." He then taught Zhao Wumian the removal method.

Zhao Wumian followed the Qi flow, inhaling first and then exhaling, forcing all the dust on his shoulders and neck into his palms, wrapped them with his true Qi, and placed them on the paper. They were indeed tiny, colorless and odorless, and felt as light as a feather in his hands. No wonder he didn't notice it at the time. learn from mistakes. From now on, no one of these people can get within three feet of me! Needless to say, it must have been those nobles who ordered it, but they have so many lackeys that it is probably impossible to find out. Zhao Wumian wrapped Bu Ran Chen tightly and put it into his waist bag. Now is not the time to throw it away. When he leaves Beijing, he can use this thing to ambush the pursuers and give them a taste of their own medicine. Passively taking a beating is not Zhao Wumian’s style. We have to find a way to take their heads off! After this incident, Zhao Wumian became more cautious and more aware of the importance of knowledge. If I leave Beijing in a daze, I'm afraid I won't even know how I died! He began to read all kinds of books more eagerly, learn all kinds of knowledge, and memorize all kinds of poisons, traps, etc. Shi Sanjue sat in the cell, drinking and eating meat, listening to the clattering of flipping pages in the cell: "I've heard of reading ten lines at a glance and never forgetting everything, but this is the first time I've seen it. This kid's comprehension must be sky-high. No wonder he can calculate a hundred steps just after a brief practice..." Three days later. Zhao Wumian lives a very regular life. He reported for duty on time every morning, went to the document library to borrow books, carried the imperial edict and read for a whole day, occasionally played a game of chess with Shi Sanjue, and waited until the evening, went down to the ninth floor, practiced for an hour, borrowed the help of evil spirits, and used evil skills to open up his meridians. In just three days, he not only opened up the Yamen acupoint, but also the second meridian, the Yinwei meridian. His progress was rapid. During this period, Fei Ling and Zhou Ji were both very honest. The three of them had no communication and did not interfere with each other. At night, I go home and practice the Great Formless Sutra... Three days passed like this, busy and peaceful. Unexpectedly, on the fourth day, something unexpected happened again. Zhao Wumian grabbed the jailer's hand and looked at him with a cold gaze: "What are you going to do?" "S-Sir..." The jailer had just brought up the dinner box when Zhao Wumian suddenly moved, startling him. He stammered, "Your humble servant, I've been ordered to bring the meal to you, my Lord..." Zhao Wumian said coldly: "On whose orders?" The jailer said tremblingly: "The pacification envoy specifically instructed..." Zhao Wumian stared into his eyes: "He asked you to bring this bottle of poisoned wine to me?" The jailer fell to his knees, and said in horror: "Sir, why do you say that! This is the Qingfengzui brewed by the kitchen! I, I would never dare to poison you even if I die!" Zhao Wumian stared at him, "This is not poison. I drank Qing Feng Zui for three days and I remember the taste clearly! But this bottle in front of me has been added with ingredients. Just by smelling it, you can tell that there are at least [Yaocao], [Jinshi Water], and [Tianrang Plum Fruit], which stimulate desire, anger, and fear!" The jailer was horrified, sweating profusely, and kowtowed tremblingly. "Even if you die from knocking your head against the wall, you still have to settle the score!" Zhao Wumian said this, stood up angrily, drew his sword from its sheath with his right hand, grabbed his neck with his left hand, and carried him straight down to the ninth floor: "Damn it, they do this again and again, I really give them face!!" Four thousand six, two for one.

  (End of this chapter)