Chapter 114: Chess Match Solution!
In this world, the only chess people knew of was Go. Chess, Five-in-a-Row, and other similar games simply didn’t exist. Who would have thought the first trial in the Wenchu Emperor’s secret realm would be so tricky!
Lu Miaoyin quickly sought out a woman named Qin Hui, a renowned Go player. In matters of chess, no one present was her equal.
“Miss Qin, can you figure out the intricacies of this chessboard?” Lu Miaoyin asked anxiously.
“I… don’t know,” Qin Hui shook her head in frustration, clearly embarrassed.
This only made Lu Miaoyin more anxious. She wanted to solve the trial more than anyone, but felt powerless to do so.
“I know!” Ji Bai suddenly spoke up, his eyes filled with fervor, and a smug grin curled at the corners of his mouth.
He recognized this chessboard from the Wenchu Emperor’s notes! He had studied it before and knew how to place the pieces.
“You know? You don’t know sh*t!”
“Get lost! Don’t mess this up!”
The others clearly had no trust in him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to pass this trial, follow my instructions!” Ji Bai shouted confidently. “Stand on the chessboard as I direct, taking the places of the chess pieces!”
“Fine, let’s give him one last chance,” someone muttered.
One by one, people stood on the positions Ji Bai indicated on the chessboard. Suddenly, their attire changed! They were now clad in armor, wielding swords like battle-hardened soldiers.
“It actually worked?” The crowd was shocked.
Ji Bai sneered, “Anyone who wants to pass the trial, listen to my instructions!”
More people took their places on the chessboard, transforming into soldiers. Some became pawns, others knights, and a few even cannons. Soon, sixteen chess pieces were placed.
Simultaneously, the black-armored soldiers on the opposite side also took up their corresponding positions on the battlefield. A massive clash seemed imminent.
“What’s going on? Why can’t I move?”
“Of course you can’t move. You’re a chess piece now; only the player can move the pieces!” The player, naturally, was Ji Bai. He hovered in the air, overlooking the entire board with an air of authority.
“Forward!” Ji Bai commanded.
Lin Qi’an almost couldn’t hold in his laughter. This idiot actually moved the general forward one step…
Was he planning to send the general straight into battle? Maybe he thought the piece looked the most imposing.
The problem was, while Ji Bai knew how to place the chess pieces, he had no idea how to play chess! He didn’t even know the movement rules for each piece.
Under his ineffective command, while their side barely moved, the opposing army’s pieces—chariots, knights, and cannons—swiftly surrounded them in a triangular formation. The result was predictable. One by one, Ji Bai’s “soldiers” were swiftly defeated, leaving them in disarray.
“This is cheating!” Ji Bai yelled furiously, “How can their pieces move like that? It’s absurd!”
As the game board reset itself, the Wenchu Emperor’s dispassionate voice echoed through the air.
“You have one last chance.”
Ji Bai’s misplaced confidence had cost everyone a valuable opportunity, instantly igniting the crowd’s anger.
“If you don’t know what you’re doing, stop pretending you do!”
“Get out of here before we throw you out ourselves!”
“How frustrating! We lost without any chance to fight back!”
Even Lu Miaoyin was seething with anger. It was bad enough that Ji Bai had embarrassed Qinglian Immortal Island before, but now he had wasted everyone’s chance in the Wenchu Emperor’s secret realm. If she weren’t concerned about maintaining her image, she would have slapped him on the spot!
“What do we do now? It’s our last chance…” someone muttered, despair creeping in.
Lin Qi’an, on the other hand, didn’t rush to take action. His chess skills weren’t exactly top-notch either. Instead, he approached Qin Hui quietly.
“Miss Qin, may I speak with you for a moment?”
“What can I do for you, Crown Prince?” Qin Hui, dressed in her simple white attire, followed him aside.
“As a master of Go, if you understand the rules of this chess game, you should be able to play it just as well,” Lin Qi’an said. “I’ll explain the rules to you, and you can take over the game.”
“You know the rules of this game?” Qin Hui’s eyes lit up, as though she were seeing a heavenly being.
Lin Qi’an then carefully explained the rules of Chinese chess to her. After a brief explanation and a simple mock game, Qin Hui was quick to grasp the concept.
“I understand now!” Qin Hui exclaimed, marveling at the unique mechanics of the game. “So there’s a game like this in the world!”
“Good luck!” Lin Qi’an smiled. “I’m confident you’ll succeed.”
Qin Hui nodded and stepped forward confidently to take control of the board. Seeing no other option, the crowd pinned their last hopes on her.
This time, they witnessed what it meant to have a true chess player at the helm. Qin Hui’s skillful maneuvers were like the shifting clouds and falling rain, directing the pieces with precision.
Under her command, they steadily defeated the opposing pieces, marching forward in a triumphant surge.
“Checkmate!” With a thunderous crash, the black-armored army was shattered into dust.
“We won! We actually won!” The crowd erupted in joy, their cheers echoing through the battlefield as they praised Qin Hui.
“Miss Qin is incredible!”
“Without you, we’d never have passed this trial!”
But to their surprise, Qin Hui simply smiled and shook her head. “There’s no need to thank me. If anyone deserves credit, it’s the Crown Prince. He was the one who taught me the rules of this game.”
“The Crown Prince taught her how to play chess?” The crowd was left astonished once more.
“Are you kidding me? The Crown Prince is good at everything?”
“Thank you, Crown Prince!”
“Compared to that idiot Ji Bai, the Crown Prince truly puts everyone at ease!”
“Exactly! Ji Bai claimed the Crown Prince had no talent, yet he doesn’t even know himself!”
Even Lu Miaoyin stepped forward and gave a respectful bow. “Thank you, Crown Prince.”
Her beautiful eyes shone with admiration and gratitude. This secret realm left by the Wenchu Emperor was far too important for her! If she were forced to leave without achieving anything, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Lin Qi’an said with a gentle smile, shaking his head.
At that moment, the voice of the Wenchu Emperor echoed again, “Congratulations on passing the first trial.”
A beam of golden light shot into Lin Qi’an’s forehead! Since it was his understanding of Chinese chess that broke the puzzle, he was recognized as the most outstanding performer in this round. No one raised any objections.
Lin Qi’an felt his mind imprint two large golden characters: *Lin, Bing!* He had just learned two of the nine-character mantra of the Wenchu Emperor—an incredible divine ability.
Suddenly, a door of light appeared on the sandy chessboard, leading to the next trial.
“Hurry, we can move forward!” one person shouted, and everyone rushed toward the light. Ji Bai, unwilling to be left behind, moved to follow but was kicked to the ground.
“Still trying to tag along? Get lost!” someone scolded.
Furious, Ji Bai clenched his fists but had no choice but to wait until everyone had passed through before following them, head lowered in humiliation. *I’ll make you regret this…*
As they entered the second trial, everyone was left in awe once again!
The first trial had been a sandy chessboard, with humans acting as the chess pieces. But this second trial was something entirely different—a massive painting!
The group stood within the painting, as if they were part of it!
“This is incredible…”
“No wonder this is the secret realm left by the Wenchu Emperor!”
“I’ve never seen a painting of such a grand scale…”
Within the painting, there were a thousand scenes of bustling life! People heading to the market, noble processions, people on horseback, and commoners walking with donkeys. There were busy boatmen, porters, and carts being pushed through crowded streets.
The painting depicted farms, trees with new leaves, giant riverboats, and city walls—all within one frame, capturing every aspect of life.
“This is breathtaking…” Mo Shuiqiu, who specialized in painting, couldn’t help but marvel in admiration. “What kind of painting could encompass all of this…? Such a painting could only exist in the heavens!”
Despite their admiration, the group quickly realized they needed to solve the puzzle. How could they break through this trial?
Lin Qi’an recognized the painting at once—it was the famous ’Along the River During the Qingming Festival’.
He hadn’t expected the Wenchu Emperor to leave trials so well-suited to him. Was this the mutual benefit of being a transmigrator? If it had been anyone else, they might have been stuck here for a long time.
“How do we clear this trial?” someone asked in confusion. “I thought I was well-read, but in the Wenchu Emperor’s secret realm, I feel like I know nothing!”
Ji Bai confidently declared, “I know what to do!”
The crowd responded in unison, “Get lost!”
Eventually, all eyes turned to Mo Shuiqiu.
“Saintess Yunmo, do you have any insight?” someone asked.
Mo Shuiqiu examined the painting carefully before responding, “This painting depicts the grand scenes of a city in full bloom, with carriages, pavilions, and towers bustling with life. However… something seems to be missing.”
She pointed to a woman in the painting. “Look at this woman. Her hand is stretched out, as if she should be holding a child, but there’s no child there…”
Hearing this, everyone began to ponder. Lin Qi’an then spoke, his words cutting through the confusion like a blade, “We can immerse ourselves in the painting and fill in the missing parts to make the painting whole.”
“The Crown Prince is right!”
“If we take the place of these missing figures and complete the painting, we should be able to pass the trial!”
“Let’s try it!”
The results were astounding. It wasn’t just about standing in the correct positions—they had to fully immerse themselves into the roles depicted in the painting.
For example, if one became a cart driver, they had to imagine themselves as that cart driver, fully embodying the character to fill in the gaps of the painting.
“This is truly remarkable…”
“Look, there’s a group of pigs over here, but one pig is missing!”
“Who will play the missing pig?”
“Ji Bai, who else but you?” someone taunted.
“What! Why me?” Ji Bai protested angrily.
“Because you’re the most useless!”
In the end, under the pressure of the crowd, Ji Bai had no choice but to crawl on the ground and play the role of the pig, seething with humiliation.
One by one, people filled the missing parts of the painting.
“I found another missing piece!” someone called out. “Look here, it’s supposed to be a family, but there’s only a child—no parents.”
“This will require two people… but all the men have already entered the painting, except for the Crown Prince.”
“It seems only the Crown Prince can take this role.”
“We’ll have to trouble you, Your Highness.”
“Who will play the mother and child?” another asked.
“I can do it!”
Both Lu Miaoyin and Mo Shuiqiu spoke at the same time.