"good."
At the start of the second game, the pieces from both sides clashed fiercely, a bloodbath that left rivers of blood and corpses strewn everywhere...
It's a bit like two novices who have just learned how to move their knight in an L-shape and their bishop diagonally. When they play chess, they don't care about anything else, they just focus on capturing pieces, killing, killing, killing!
However, if a chess master were watching the game here, he would definitely be astonished.
The two sides appear to be engaged in a frenzied, irrational battle of attack and counter-attack; in reality, however, they are proceeding cautiously, setting traps at every turn, their strategic moves ruthless and unpredictable. The game is both bizarre and dangerous.
at last……
Both sides have very few pieces left after the battle.
Black has one general and two pawns, while Red has one king and one horse.
However, although the red horse seemed to be stronger than the pawn, it was no longer able to bring the black general to his death; while the two red pawns, after sacrificing one of their own warhorses and killing one of the enemy's chariots, forced the red general to his death in the central camp.
It was a very fierce battle.
The old man lost another game.
He straightened up, leaned back on the sofa, picked up the purple clay teapot, and took a sip of the slightly cool tea. He half-closed his eyes and looked at Xu Zhengyang, who was sitting up straight with a calm expression.
The old man said calmly, "Your chess skills have improved greatly!"
"Grandpa, please be lenient with me."
The old man shook his head slightly and said, "Your playing style is ruthless, relentless, and fiercely brave, which is commendable, but it is not the way to win."
"That's all the ambition you've got," Xu Zhengyang chuckled.
"Zhengyang, let me ask you a question... In this game of chess, are you the one playing, or is it?" the old man asked calmly.
Xu Zhengyang thought for a moment and said, "I'm playing this game of chess."
What did it say?
"Stop investigating..."
Is this a compromise? Or a threat?
Xu Zhengyang sighed and said, "Pity."
The old man's face darkened.
"But I'm in a dilemma," Xu Zhengyang said, sounding somewhat aggrieved. "I'm caught in the middle; going left isn't right, going right isn't good either. Actually, I think it's better to talk things out than anything else. Why insist on determining who's right and who's wrong? After all, no one meant any harm, right?"
"We need to think long-term and consider more factors." The old man squinted at the landscape painting on the wall and said calmly, "Perhaps the gods think differently from us humans. They don't care much about human lives, but we can't, Zhengyang, do you understand?"
Xu Zhengyang shook his head and said, "It has always been doing good deeds and has no malicious intent."
Sometimes, good intentions can lead to bad results.
The old man didn't care whether the deity could hear their conversation, because if Xu Zhengyang was sent to deliver a message, then the deity must be unable to communicate with him. The old man didn't believe that he was unworthy to see the so-called deity.
“God will be angry,” Xu Zhengyang said softly.
The old man smiled and said, "Zhengyang, don't go astray..."
“I understand.” Xu Zhengyang looked at the old man and said very seriously, “Grandpa, please stop investigating my people. I’m worried that if we keep investigating like this, sooner or later we’ll find out about my relatives…Grandpa, I’m actually a bit fierce in temperament, and I’m very protective of my own.”
The old man's expression suddenly turned serious. He probably never expected Xu Zhengyang to say something that sounded questioning, dissatisfied, and even somewhat threatening.
"Do you think God is willing to get involved in these mundane worldly matters?" Xu Zhengyang asked.
"This is the human world, not heaven." The old man's voice became authoritative. Clearly, he had completely come to regard Xu Zhengyang as the spokesperson for the gods. These words, including some of Xu Zhengyang's previous remarks that were completely incongruous with his age, were now, in the old man's mind, spoken on behalf of the gods. "From ancient times to the present, where has justice ever been?"
Xu Zhengyang's lips curled into a cold smile as he said, "Throughout history, how many gods have interfered in the human world?"
The old man nodded and looked at Xu Zhengyang.
"Therefore... it is not God who should reflect, but humanity!"
The old man looked straight at Xu Zhengyang, his aged face expressionless, his eyes calm and deep.
“Grandpa, God wouldn’t want to harm people.” Xu Zhengyang said very seriously, even with a hint of persuasion in his tone, “Just like you, God is actually doing things for the good of people. He wouldn’t do anything extreme. Everything has its limits… God has its limits, and we humans also have our limits. We shouldn’t provoke the wrath of Heaven and bring down endless punishment.”
"for example."
"Oh, demolishing temples is blasphemy against the gods and disrespect for the people's faith. Those who win the hearts of the people are at peace, and the people's hearts are the gods. We should reflect on this, not force it."
Are you lecturing me?
"I wouldn't dare, it's just my personal opinion, or rather, the City God asked me to pass on a message to you..." At this point, Xu Zhengyang suddenly felt a little ridiculous. His words sounded a bit like "The Imperial Army asked me to pass on a message to you..." as if he had betrayed humanity and stood on the opposite side of humanity. So he changed his tone and said, "Consider it my own opinion. Gods are very tolerant, but I'm actually very petty. If someone bullies me too much, I'll get angry. If I don't have the power to get angry, I'll find someone to help me... To be honest, that person was really kind to me."
The old man snorted coldly and waved his hand impatiently, signaling Xu Zhengyang to leave.
Xu Zhengyang got up and didn't linger. When he reached the door, he paused briefly and said, "Grandpa, there's something else I need to tell you. I have two major taboos, and I also dislike the two things the most. The first is that someone harms my relatives and friends, or does something that makes me feel uneasy; the second is that they cross the river and then burn the bridge, or to put it bluntly, they use someone and then discard them. I would be very angry if that happened. So I hope that no one in your family will try to influence Bingjie's thoughts."
After saying that, Xu Zhengyang lifted the curtain and went out.
Inside the room, the old man placed the purple clay teapot beside him, gently clenched his hands and rested them on his abdomen, squinted his eyes and leaned back on the sofa, as if he was tired, weary and about to fall asleep.
After a while, the old man opened his eyes and smiled.
With a confident smile, he thought, as expected, even the gods have something to fear, otherwise why would they come to negotiate with people?
...
As Xu Zhengyang drove, he muttered to himself, "He really doesn't care about his own life or the lives of his family, he only cares about the world... How noble."
The white Audi A4 sped along the national highway toward Fuhe City.
It was a little past 11 a.m. in the antique market of Fuxing District, Fuhe City.
A black Passat sedan was parked in front of Gu Xiang Xuan. Two middle-aged men in suits walked out of Gu Xiang Xuan with gloomy faces. Behind them, Master Gu, Yao Chushun, followed out with a somewhat frightened expression.
Just as the two men were about to get into their car and leave, a white Audi A4 sped up and parked sideways behind the Passat's parking space.
The car door opened, and Xu Zhengyang got out. He casually closed the door, lit a cigarette, and walked calmly toward the entrance of Gu Xiang Xuan restaurant, saying to the two middle-aged men, "What? Leaving already?"
The two men frowned, but one of them smiled and said, "Brother, could you please move your car?"
"Explain yourself before you leave." Xu Zhengyang, seemingly unfazed by the cold, leaned against the car door, crossed his legs, clasped his arms in front of his chest, and spoke with a rather arrogant tone, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
What do you want to say?
Xu Zhengyang exhaled a puff of smoke, a white cloud of mist rising in the cold air, and then slowly said, "If I see you conducting random investigations or intimidating people again, I'll beat you up every time I see you!"
The two looked at each other, both with puzzled expressions.
They never expected that this young man named Xu Zhengyang, whom they had only seen in photos, would suddenly say something like, "Does he know us?"
Yao Chushun hurriedly walked down the steps and quickly approached Xu Zhengyang. With a slightly nervous expression, he whispered, "Zhengyang, what are you doing? Let them go. It's nothing serious. Don't cause trouble for Old Li..."
“They’re liars!” Xu Zhengyang sneered.
"What?" Yao Chushun was stunned for a moment, then his eyes flashed with anger. Damn it, no wonder the two guys asked such irrelevant questions just now.
The two men's faces darkened. One of them said, "I hope you won't interfere with our work!" As he spoke, he pulled out an ID with a police badge from his pocket, held it open with one hand, and showed it to Xu Zhengyang. Hmm, Qin Liangyu.
The other person also produced identification; it was Zhao Rong.
Xu Zhengyang casually glanced at their identification documents, his expression still showing disdain as he said, "Don't try to fool me, you can get one of these for a little over a hundred yuan outside..."
"you……"
"Speak, why are you investigating me?" Xu Zhengyang asked with a sneer.
Qin Liangyu and Zhao Rong remained calm and said unhurriedly, "Since you don't believe us, then come with us to the Municipal Bureau."
“Okay!” Xu Zhengyang took out his phone. “No need to go with you guys. I’ll make a call and have someone from the Municipal Public Security Bureau come over. We’ll go together…”
"Wait!" Qin Liangyu hurriedly stopped Xu Zhengyang from making the call. The investigations they were conducting were supposed to be kept secret, and the people at the Municipal Bureau wouldn't even know who they were.
Xu Zhengyang sneered, "Speak! Who sent you to investigate me? Do you have some ulterior motive?"
Qin Liangyu and Zhao Rong exchanged a glance, then their expressions both darkened. They said, "Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. It's confidential!"
"Oh, okay, I won't ask." Xu Zhengyang said, flicking away his cigarette butt, shaking his right hand, and walking towards the two of them, saying, "Remember, don't investigate things you shouldn't investigate in the future!"
"What are you trying to do?" Zhao Rong immediately scolded Xu Zhengyang when he saw his unfriendly expression.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Xu Zhengyang strode forward and slammed his leg down on Zhao Rong's head.
Zhao Rong instinctively raised his arm to block, while simultaneously striking Xu Zhengyang's chest with his right fist. However, to his surprise, Xu Zhengyang's leg was extremely powerful. When it struck Zhao Rong's raised left arm, it was not blocked. Instead, it slammed Zhao Rong's left arm into his head, causing him to stagger and fall several steps backward.
Qin Liangyu struck with lightning speed, aiming straight for Xu Zhengyang's waist and ribs.
Xu Zhengyang turned his body, and the other party's fist grazed past his leather jacket. Xu Zhengyang then elbowed Qin Liangyu in the chest. With a bang, Qin Liangyu's body slammed uncontrollably into the back of the car. He barely managed to stay upright, but a bloody taste rose in his throat, and he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
Zhao Rong lunged at him again, and Xu Zhengyang, without dodging or flinching, swung his fist and smashed it back.
With a few quick punches and kicks, Xu Zhengyang was far superior to Zhao Rong in both strength and speed, and Zhao Rong was quickly knocked to the ground. However, Xu Zhengyang's stance was rather unseemly; it looked more like a fight between thugs than the demeanor of a master.
"Go back and tell him I'm angry! If there's a next time, it will be very serious." Xu Zhengyang coldly said this, then opened the car door, got in, and drove away slowly.
In front of the Gu Xiang Xuan shop, next to the black Passat sedan, Qin Liangyu and Zhao Rongqiang endured the pain without uttering a sound. After watching Xu Zhengyang drive away, the two men wiped the blood from the corners of their mouths with grim faces, got into the car, and the Passat soon drove out of the antique market.
The cold wind howled and raged in the air, sometimes suddenly swooping down and sweeping through the antique market, swirling up snowflakes from the piles of snow and blowing them everywhere; in the sky, the sun hung listlessly in the pale gray sky, its sunlight seemingly frozen before it could even touch the ground, not dazzling at all.
Yao Chushun stood at the door for a long time, still not coming to his senses. What on earth was going on?
Wang Jiayu and Jin Qiming ran out, both with excited expressions on their faces.
"Master Gu, Brother Xu was really amazing just now! He took on both of them by himself!" Wang Jiayu was very excited, his face full of admiration.
Jin Qiming asked, "Master Gu, what happened?"
"Stop asking questions and talking! Damn it, go back to the shop and do your own thing!" Old Master Gu came to his senses, felt the cold air outside, and couldn't help but shiver. He threw down these words, opened the door and went into the shop.
...
Sitting in the living room, Xu Zhengyang leaned back on the sofa, calmly took out his phone, and dialed a number:
"Asagami, let's do it."
"Okay." Chen Chaojiang replied coldly on the other end, and then hung up.
Xu Zhengyang pursed his lips, then narrowed his eyes and sent his divine sense into the City God's Mansion.
Inside the main hall of the government office, fourteen ghost messengers stood on both sides, all dressed in black with black hats and a soul-beating ruler hanging from their belts, along with ghost messenger orders. Near the innermost side, in front of the City God's desk, the ghost messenger captain, Su Peng, stood with a cold expression, carrying a soul-beating whip on his back and a ghost messenger order hanging from his waist.
In recent days, the City God's Palace has added four more ghost messengers.
The City God appeared out of thin air on the chair behind the desk, his body radiating a faint golden light. The ghost messengers could not see his true face, but they could clearly see the seriousness and majesty of the City God's expression.
"grown ups!"