"Hee hee!"
"Hee hee hee hee!"
"Would you… like to play a game?"
A childish voice, emanating from the colossal blood-red Go board in the sky, sent a shiver down their spines.
It was an androgynous voice, playful yet filled with an unnerving malice. Fan Li, Bai Shijiu, and Huang Longshi exchanged terrifying glances.
The voice seemed to come from the distant heavens, yet it also whispered in their ears as if the speaker stood right beside them.
"Come on!"
"Come play with me!"
"Let's play a game!"
The blood-red Go board continued its invitation.
Gradually, the entire Nanchao valley echoed with the child's eerie voice.
Fan Li's expression darkened. "Damn it, what is this? A game? Anyone with half a brain could tell there's something wrong here. Who would agree to play?"
He suddenly thought of Bai Shijiu. This woman was anything but reliable.
He glanced at her worriedly. Thankfully, her face was pale. It seemed that when faced with the unknown, women were inherently more cautious than men.
"Be careful!" Fan Li said gravely. "We don't understand the situation. Do not accept this invitation. We need to observe our surroundings. Perhaps we'll find something useful."
"Duke Jin is right!" Huang Longshi immediately expressed his support.
Bai Shijiu's face hardened. She didn't like taking orders from Fan Li, but it seemed, once again, that he was correct.
"Come on~! Come play with me~! You can have anything you desire~! Just win the game~!"
The blood-red Go board renewed its invitation.
Fan Li felt a anxious. Such a tempting, even seductive offer… the more enticing it was, the more dangerous it must be!
He could not agree!
He couldn't even acknowledge the voice!
As he contemplated his options, a thought occurred to him – should he open King Jie's coffin?
The blood-red board was undoubtedly connected to the King. Perhaps… he had once played on this very board?
"Is… Is it true? Can you truly grant any wish?"
Suddenly, Bai Shijiu, as if possessed, spoke to the voice.
Fan Li was horrified! He lunged towards her, but it was too late.
He felt an immense force pulling them upward.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Let the game begin!"
"Let the game begin!"
"Celestial Go! I finally have worthy opponents!"
In the final moments before being absorbed by the blood-red board, Fan Li saw the look of regret and fear on Bai Shijiu's face. And in his ears, the child's voice sounded delightful.
He was doomed!
Fan Li's heart sank. This clone, it seemed, was about to be destroyed, thanks to Bai Shijiu's foolishness.
The Go board world.
Earth as the board.
Nineteen crisscrossing lines of flowing rivers.
Mountains and rivers as Go stones.
A giant, ethereal figure that has its face obscured sat upon the board, but a sinister smile was visible on its lips.
The figure was patiently awaiting its opponent's arrival.
"Hee hee hee hee!" It chuckled.
"After ten thousand years, another Emperor joins the game, wagering his kingdom as his stake. I am truly fortunate! If I defeat him, his kingdom will be mine! I won't miss this opportunity. I will have my own empire! Then, they will finally acknowledge my rightful place!"
The voice shifted. A child's eerie laughter, an old man's deep growl, a young man's cold arrogance. It was ever-changing, unpredictable. It was the master of this world.
"Do not celebrate too soon."
Suddenly, another figure appeared in the distance, equally massive and ethereal. This figure stood, observing but not entering the game.
"Humph! How dare you speak to me like this?! You… no, all of you… are nothing but my defeated opponents! A bunch of failures!"
The standing figure sighed.
"Although your victory was undeserved, I cannot deny my defeat. But during these ten thousand years of waiting, while you yearned for a true opportunity to succeed, we have been gathering our strength…"
"Gathering your strength?!" The master of the Go board laughed.
"You? I admit I was careless. I allowed the last remnant of your lineage to escape Nanchao, to be reborn into the mortal world. But that single act depleted all your remaining power! What are you now but a group of fading ghosts, unable to hinder my plans?"
The standing figure didn't deny this, but its silhouette suggested an ancient Emperor, tall and imposing, dressed in imperial robes, radiating an undeniable aura of authority.
"You are the master of this world. You know everything. Our spiritual energy is fading, our souls are about to dissipate. We cannot hide this from you.
But with our remaining strength, we can at least issue a warning. To allow those who enter this game to be forewarned, to protect them from your deceit, is better than allowing you to gain the advantage, as you did… ten thousand years ago."
"How dare you!?"
The master's expression twisted in anger.
"I don't believe you!
An Emperor, nourished by the world, wielding absolute power… They are the most selfish creatures in existence! If you had remained silent, you could have existed for another century.
But to issue a warning? Your spiritual energy will be depleted, and within twelve hours, your souls will dissipate!
An Emperor cannot possess such selfless virtue! They cannot sacrifice themselves for others!"
The master's rebuttal silenced the ancient Emperor's figure.
After a long moment, it sighed.
"This is all my fault. I created this monster, the Emperor.
I ended the era of virtuous succession, the age of choosing leaders based on merit and wisdom, ushering in the age of hereditary rule, an age of selfishness and greed. Therefore, you, Master, are my retribution."
The master didn't respond.
Then, the Emperor's figure spoke again, "But do not forget, Master, in this world, all rulers, all citizens, even the lowliest commoners, they are all my descendants!
For the sake of my descendants, would we hesitate to sacrifice a mere hundred years of existence?"
The master's expression twisted in horror.
It was too late to intervene.
Behind the Emperor's figure, more figures appeared, tall and imposing, dressed in imperial robes.
Sixteen Emperor figures stood in a line. In unison, they spoke.
"For our descendants, what are a hundred years of life?"
As their voices faded, three shooting stars descended from the distant sky.
They were Fan Li, Huang Longshi, and Bai Shijiu, pulled into the Go board world against their will.
"They are mine!"
The master roared – an infant's scream, an old man's growl, a young man's rage.
The sixteen Emperor figures ignored its cries. They transformed into sixteen beams of soft light, gently catching the three falling figures.
Fan Li, Huang Longshi, and Bai Shijiu felt the world spinning around them.
But their bodies were weightless, as if they were feathers carried by a gentle breeze, slowly descending to safety.
The sixteen beams of light enveloped them, forming a giant, protective sphere.
Within the Go board world, a smaller world had been created.
"Release them! I am the master! How dare you defy my rules?!"
The master roared, but it couldn't touch the sphere.
The sixteen Emperor figures had pooled their remaining strength, using the very technique they had learned from the master, to create a barrier.
Ten thousand years of observing the master.
The Emperors, after all, were exceptional individuals.
No matter how profound the technique, no matter how cunning the scheme, they would eventually be understood.
Therefore, until their spiritual energy was depleted, until their souls dissipated, the sphere world would remain secure, impervious to the master's influence.
There was nothing the master could do. It could only wait for twelve hours.
"Die! All of you will die! You will be obliterated! Nothing will remain! And I… I will become the eternal Emperor!"
…
Fan Li opened his eyes. He was floating on a cloud, looking down at the earth.
His vision was incredibly clear. So clear that he could even see a single drop of sweat trickling down the forehead of a farmer working in a distant field. He could even follow the sweat's path as it fell to the ground.
From such a distance, he possessed microscopic vision?
What was happening?
Suddenly, a river burst its banks, flooding the fields, leaving countless people homeless.
Fan Li's face hardened. He could feel their suffering, their pain, and a powerful urge to save them welled up within him.
Then, a calm, yet dignified voice spoke directly into his mind.
"My name is Yu. My father, Gun, failed to control the floods and was executed by Shun.
I inherited his task and continued his work. I traveled across the land, scaling mountains, building dams, dredging rivers, guiding the floods towards the sea. Finally, after thirteen years, I succeeded."
Fan Li's heart skipped a beat. Yu the Great? He couldn't believe his ears. This was the voice of the legendary Emperor Yu?!
"For my success, the vassal lords hailed me as their leader. And Emperor Shun decided to relinquish his position and appoint me as his successor. Yao and Shun were great leaders. I too wished to be like them. But a single matter troubled me.
Yao and Shun were related by marriage. Shun had married Yao's daughters, Ehuang and Nüying. Therefore, when Yao relinquished his position to Shun, he had no reservations.
But my situation was different.
Shun had no daughters to give me in marriage. And he had executed my father, Gun.
My father's efforts weren't completely useless. His method of damming the rivers had indeed alleviated the floods. The people had benefited from his work.
But he hadn't solved the problem. That's why Shun executed him. I couldn't understand!
And Shun never truly treated me with warmth or respect. He only chose me as his successor because my achievements in controlling the floods were unmatched, earning me unparalleled prestige.
I was his only viable candidate.
Days turned into months. My father's death, and Shun's true motives for executing him… they tormented me. I couldn't escape these thoughts.
Yao's son, Danzhu, possessed great virtue and was highly respected by his people. They hailed him as Emperor Danzhu.
Shun's son, Shangjun, was also popular among the people. He was a skilled singer and dancer, often joining the commoners in their celebrations. He had many supporters.
Gradually, I began to fear for my safety.
After much deliberation, I finally found a solution.
I would eliminate the threat.
I sent Danzhu to Tang and Shangjun to Yu, granting them small territories and limiting their influence.
With these two contained, I could finally relax.
Then, one night, I had a dream. I dreamed of my death, and my son, Qi, being attacked by Danzhu and Shangjun.
Qi wasn't the leader of the vassal lords. He could only inherit my position as leader of the Xia clan.
Our clan alone couldn't withstand the combined forces of Danzhu and Shangjun.
If I died, would the Xia clan be wiped out?
I awoke from the nightmare and made a bold decision.
I would abolish the system of virtuous succession.
The position of leader, I would only pass it down to my son, Qi. And he would pass it down to his son, ensuring our lineage's continued rule.
I declared myself Emperor.
In Yangcheng, I founded the Xia Dynasty.
And from that day forward, I became known as Emperor Yu."
Fan Li was drenched in cold sweat. He couldn't believe what he had just heard!
But he couldn't dwell on these revelations. He remembered the blood-red Go board, the force that had pulled him into this world. Surely this was no ordinary event.
He desperately wished for Emperor Yu's voice to disappear, allowing him to prepare for whatever awaited him.
But his wish wasn't granted.
Emperor Yu's story continued.
"In the early days of my reign, I still worried whether the vassal lords would accept my decision to abolish the system of virtuous succession and replace it with hereditary rule.
Some lords had supported me, hoping that one day, I would grow old and relinquish my position to them.
For example, Bai Yi. He had contributed greatly during the thirteen years I spent controlling the floods. I knew he desired to be my successor.
But I wasn't worried about Bai Yi.
Dealing with him wouldn't even require my personal intervention. Qi could easily handle him.
The two individuals I truly feared were still Danzhu and Shangjun.
Then, one day, good news arrived.
Danzhu sent a messenger from Tang, informing me that he had killed Shangjun, unable to tolerate his immoral behavior any longer.
Danzhu also said that he had created a new game, called "Go."
He had used Shangjun's blood as dye, hence the reason the Go board was red.
He had ground Shangjun's bones into black and white stones.
I asked Danzhu why Shangjun's bones had been both black and white.
He said that because Shangjun had been immoral, his bones had begun to turn black. If he had waited any longer to kill him, all of Shangjun's bones would have been black.
I wasn't truly interested in the color of Shangjun's bones. But his death… that was good news indeed.
I granted Danzhu's request and allowed him to visit me in Yangcheng, bringing his new game.
After all, with Shangjun dead, Danzhu alone wouldn't pose a threat… would he?"