In the blink of an eye, only Jian Yuhai, Zhou Xuan, and Fu Ying remained in the hall. Fu Ying looked at Zhou Xuan with a grin. Zhou Xuan wasn't stupid; he guessed that Fu Yuhai's chess game wasn't going to be easy and had scared everyone else away.
Fu Yuhai snorted and said angrily, "They're all unfilial! I didn't even call them, yet they all ran off!"
"Grandma likes to play chess, do you know how?" Fu Ying asked Zhou Xuan.
It turned out that Fu Yuhai loved playing chess. As he got older, he couldn't do anything else, so he'd grab whoever he could and make them play. Fu Tianlai, Fu Sun, and Li Junjie had all suffered quite a bit because Fu Yuhai's chess skills weren't high, only average. Plus, with his advanced age, his memory and thinking had declined significantly, making his chess skills even weaker. Playing with him meant having to let him win, but not too obviously, otherwise Fu Yuhai would notice and get angry. And most importantly, Fu Yuhai was incredibly addicted; once he got someone, he wouldn't let them leave all day, which really scared them. So, as soon as they heard about playing chess, they all made an excuse to slip away.
Zhou Xuan used to play chess when he was young in his hometown, often playing with Zhao Lao Er and a few other friends. However, he stopped playing after he grew up, and his chess skills were only average, considered terrible by enthusiasts.
When Fu Ying asked, Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "If you can't play chess, can you even call yourself Chinese?"
Fu Yuhai slapped his thigh and chuckled, "That's right, that's well said. Can someone who can't play chess even be considered Chinese? Hehe, let's set up the chessboard!"
Fu Ying smiled and went to get the chessboard and chess pieces and set them up.
Good heavens! As soon as Zhou Xuan saw the chessboard and chess pieces, he couldn't help but use his ice energy to test them. The chessboard was made of red sandalwood, and the chess pieces were made of sandalwood. Both of these trees were over four hundred years old. These two items alone could be considered valuable antiques!
Fu Yuhai enthusiastically set up the chessboard, and Zhou Xuan, without any hesitation, sat down opposite him to set up the board as well. Fu Ying sat down next to Zhou Xuan, taking his hand and leaning against him.
Fu Yuhai didn't know how good Zhou Xuan was at chess. Unsure of the opponent's skill level in the first game, he didn't dare to give Zhou Xuan a handicap. In the past, when playing against Fu Tianlai and Li Junjie, although he won more often, he guessed they were just giving him easy wins and trying to escape unscathed.
After the chess pieces were set up, Zhou Xuan asked Fu Yuhai to make the first move, but Fu Yuhai waved his hand and said, "You are the junior, so of course you should go first!"
Zhou Xuan didn't stand on ceremony and jumped out with his horse first. Although his chess skills were not high, he still knew that it was impolite to move the central cannon first when playing chess with an elder.
After several dozen moves, Zhou Xuan was starting to struggle. His chess skills were clearly slightly inferior to Fu Yuhai's; after all, he hadn't played for many years and was constantly making careless moves. He kept making mistakes, only realizing they were wrong after making a move.
Fu Yuhai chuckled, quite pleased with himself. He could clearly see that Zhou Ding hadn't let him win; in fact, he had indeed made a mistake.
In chess, if you don't build a solid foundation from a young age, you won't be able to improve further once your intelligence is fully developed. This explains why many highly intelligent people who learn chess as adults—such as Chinese chess, Go, or international chess—can only learn the basics but never reach a truly advanced level of skill.
Su Dongpo should be considered a very intelligent person, but after he came of age, he learned to play chess, but he could never beat people whose chess skills he considered to be average. He could only make fun of himself by saying, "I am happy to win and happy to lose." But in reality, most of the time he was happy to win, but he was forced to be happy to lose!
When Zhou Xuan was in the middle of the game, he was unwilling to lose. He would often think for a long time before making a move, but he would make a bad move.
Fu Ranhai didn't rush him and was quite content, but after an hour, he suddenly felt dizzy.
As Zhou Xuan was pondering his chess moves, he suddenly felt Fu Ying tugging at his arm and clothes. Looking at her, he noticed that Fu Ying gestured towards Fu Yuhai with her lips, and Zhou Xuan then realized that Fu Yuhai was frowning and looked very uncomfortable.
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Volume One: The First Signs of Growth, Chapter 188: The Confrontation Between Traditional Martial Arts and Ice.
Seeing Wu Fuyuhai's expression, the two quickly probed the ice and the gluttony.
Fu Yuhai is simply too old and has slightly high blood pressure. Sitting like this for a long time restricts blood circulation, so naturally he feels dizzy.
Relieved that Fu Yuhai was alright, Zhou Xuan used his icy energy to stimulate Fu Yuhai's body, renewing the growth function of his blood cells. After circulating the icy energy several times, Fu Yuhai's physical functions had unknowingly recovered to the level they were twenty years ago!
This doesn't mean Zhou Xuan can activate a person's functions at will, and then do it again twenty years later—wouldn't that make them young again? Of course not. This is merely Zhou Xuan using the ice energy to modify the aging body, but the old are still old. When aging returns, modifying it with ice energy will be useless!
Neither Fu Yuhai nor Fu Ying knew that in that instant, Zhou Xuan had made Fu Yuhai twenty years younger.
Fu Yuhai felt a moment of dizziness, but quickly regained his senses, as if he had drunk an ice-cold beverage under the blazing sun. A chill ran through him, leaving him clear-headed and strong. He stretched his arms. Places he usually couldn't bend or reach, he could now reach effortlessly. Fu Yuhai paused, then scratched his back. He stretched his legs, doing so at will, and was momentarily stunned.
Fu Ying quickly said, "Grandma, is your back itchy? Let me scratch it for you!"
Fu Yuhai shook his head, then quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't try to fool Grandmother. If your little husband loses, you'll try to distract him or use tricks!"
Fu Ying blushed and spat. She scolded, "Grandma."
Zhou Xuan withdrew his icy aura and then racked his brains to recall the game he had just played. He had been checkmated by the old man. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like a hopeless situation. After thinking for a long time, he sighed and said, "Grandpa, I've lost. Let's play two more games."
Fu Yuhai assessed Zhou Xuan's chess skill level. After making a rough estimate, he said, "I'll give you a handicap of one knight this game!" As he spoke, he took one of his knights from the left side of his set-up pieces.
Zhou Xuan chuckled and said, "Grandpa, you've given me a horse advantage, I'm afraid we're going to lose."
"Nonsense!" Fu Yuhai scoffed. "I can still beat you even if I give you a handicap of one horse. How about we bet something?"
Zhou Xuan scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Playing chess is for entertainment. There's no need to gamble!"
Fu Yuhai smiled, growing increasingly fond of Zhou Xuan. As the saying goes, watching chess reflects one's character; chess etiquette reflects one's personality. Although Zhou Xuan's chess skills were poor, he never regretted his moves. He didn't play badly; if he lost, he lost. Even though he didn't want to lose and insisted on another game, he readily conceded defeat, demonstrating excellent sportsmanship. Furthermore, when Fu Yuhai offered to give him a handicap of one horse, Zhou Xuan didn't seem to mind, showing his calm and composed nature, and he didn't feel embarrassed about being given a handicap.
Zhou Xuan thought that after Fu Yuhai gave him a horse, he would definitely win, because he had just lost by a narrow margin. If he thought about it again, he might not lose.
But thoughts are one thing, facts are another. When they played the next game, Zhou Xuan realized that Fu Yuhai's chess skills seemed to have improved, and he was being completely suppressed with each move, without Zhou Xuan gaining any advantage.
Little did he know that he himself was the culprit, having just stimulated Fu Yuhai's physical functions. Fu Yuhai felt refreshed, and his memory and thinking became much sharper. If he had let Zhou Xuan win the game, he would be about the same level, but with both physical and mental strength, the balance shifted, and he was still slightly stronger than Zhou Xuan.
However, this slight difference was not very noticeable, as the two were engrossed in their fight, exchanging blows back and forth.
Fu Ying didn't know anything about chess, but after relying on Zhou Xuan for a long time, she casually gave him a couple of pointers. Zhou Xuan retorted, "Blindfold chess!"
After a while, Fu Ying lost interest and leaned against Zhou Xuan's shoulder, dozing off with her eyes half-closed.
Zhou Xuan lost this game again. He had made several risky moves that seemed like he was about to win, but he still made some blunders. Naturally, Zhou Xuan was unwilling to accept defeat. He said, "Grandpa, let's play again! I refuse to believe I can't win!"
Fu Yuhai laughed heartily. He said smugly, "Again, again, and you won't win." His movements were like those of a playful old man.
This was exactly what he wanted, and he saw that Zhou Xuan wasn't just going through the motions like Fu Tianlai and Li Junjie. Instead, Zhou Xuan was putting in his best effort to play chess with him, yet he still couldn't beat him. This joy came from the bottom of his heart. In addition, he felt much lighter, and despite thinking a lot and playing for so long, he didn't feel tired.
However, Zhou Xuanyue's thinking became more meticulous towards the end. He made fewer mistakes and omissions, and finally won the fourth game, albeit a hard-fought one.
Fu Yuhai was about to win this round, but he was careless and Zhou Xuan seized the opportunity to strike hard. Fu Yuhai lost this round and was furious, shouting, "Let's play again!"
After the two went head-to-head like this, they played four more games, with Fu Yuhai winning three and losing one.
Aunt Bao and Sister-in-law Yu came to call him for dinner, but Fu Yuhai waved his hand and said, "I'm not eating!"