Why Aren't You Wearing a Helmet While Playing Go?

But that gloomy expression lasted less than a second. The next instant, Liu Jin'er changed faces as if flipping a page, returning to her usual bright smile.

"His Majesty is so fierce. Are you in a bad mood?" Liu Jin'er asked.

"My illness has not yet healed. I need rest and cannot be disturbed." Chu Lu did not want to keep tangling with this person. "If you have nothing else to do, return first."

"Don't." Liu Jin'er pouted. "We finally got to meet, and we've barely exchanged a few words, yet you're already rushing to send me away. Do you hate me that much?"

"More or less," Chu Lu said.

"Wuwuwu, I'm so heartbroken. So His Majesty hates me. But I don't want to leave. Your Majesty..." Liu Jin'er blinked her large eyes. "How about we do something fun?"

Chu Lu froze, then was greatly alarmed. Xu Liniang, you? Her? Holy shit? Sisters?!

"No! No, that's not it! I'd like to, but that's not it!" Xu Liniang screamed inside Chu Lu's mind. "Aaaah, it's still come to this. I never wanted you to know! I didn't want you to!"

Hearing this, Chu Lu was immediately filled with confusion.

At that moment, Liu Jin'er pushed the tall woman in front of her and said with a smile, "Let's have a betting game of Go, just like last time."

"Huh? A betting game of Go?"

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Just like last time. Last time, you came to ask me what my elder sister's weakness was. I said we should have a betting game of Go—if you won, I'd tell you. But if you lost, you had to kneel down, turn around three times, and imitate a dog barking." Liu Jin'er grinned. "You lost five games in a row last time. Don't tell me you've forgotten?"

Chu Lu was dumbstruck.

Xu Liniang, don't tell me you...

"Aaaaaah!" Xu Liniang cried out in collapse. "No! Don't say any more! I was doing it to save Consort Ping!"

Chu Lu fell silent.

Before transmigrating here, he had heard Xu Liniang talk about how desperately she had struggled, but he had not taken it seriously.

Now, it seemed she truly had fought desperately.

It was just that her intelligence was insufficient. The harder she struggled, the more miserable her ending became.

No wonder you're so afraid of her and refused to tell me why, Chu Lu thought.

"Chu Lu, don't tell anyone else in the Chat Group. I'm begging you, I'll do anything! I'm begging you!" Xu Liniang pleaded pitifully.

"Got it. I won't say anything."

After soothing Xu Liniang, Chu Lu looked at Liu Jin'er and shook his head. "I'm not interested. You should go back."

He was not Xu Liniang. There was no need for him to do such a thing.

Liu Jin'er raised a brow. "You won't bet? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Chu Lu shook his head. "Please leave."

"Fine, then I'll leave. Oh, right, I heard from my elder sister that His Majesty has two favorite consorts in the palace. One is Consort Ping, and the other is Consort Xian. They say that once you crawl into their blankets, you can't bear to come out." Liu Jin'er wore an adorable yet icy smile. "Consort Ping was a Winnowing Basket Demon, and my elder sister has already burned her. I don't think Consort Xian is anything good either. Why not burn her too?"

A trace of chill flashed through Chu Lu's eyes. "Are you threatening me?"

"So what if I am?" Liu Jin'er retorted without yielding an inch.

"Then you'd better be able to bear the price." Chu Lu spoke slowly. "A betting game of Go, right? Fine. Let's do it."

Liu Jin'er's smile immediately turned radiant. "His Majesty truly is straightforward."

She promptly ordered that person to bring out the Go board and prepare everything.

At that moment, Xu Liniang's voice sounded in Chu Lu's mind.

"Chu Lu, you don't actually have to force yourself," Xu Liniang said. "That woman is the Chess Saint's disciple, the foremost National Master of the current age. You can't beat her. Just forget it."

To speak from her heart, Xu Liniang certainly did not want Consort Xian to die. That fragrant, soft Consort Xian who felt especially comfortable to hug—how could she bear to let her go?

But there were priorities in all things. Xu Liniang could barely save herself now, so how could she worry about anyone else? Besides, once this precedent was set, Liu Jin'er would definitely use it to threaten him endlessly afterward.

What was more, Chu Lu had originally been an unrelated passerby. His willingness to risk himself by coming here to help her was already extraordinarily rare. How could she have the face to ask him to suffer humiliation willingly?

"It's fine," Chu Lu replied inwardly. "I can win."

"Really?" Xu Liniang was immediately shocked. Could Chu Lu be a Go expert? Truly... one must never judge a person by their appearance.

Then she grew excited. No matter what, avoiding humiliation while also saving Consort Xian would be better than anything.

Very soon, the Go board was set up.

After deciding who would move first, the two began playing.

At first, Xu Liniang watched eagerly, wanting to witness Chu Lu's superb Go skills.

Yet after watching only a short while, her face filled with confusion.

Why does Chu Lu seem... so bad?

At first, she thought her own level was not high enough to see through Chu Lu's game plan. She watched for a while longer, until the situation on the Go board had become completely one-sided, before she finally confirmed that Chu Lu was genuinely terrible.

"Chu Lu..." Xu Liniang was deeply moved. In her eyes, Chu Lu was clearly sacrificing himself on purpose to save her beloved consort.

Liu Jin'er leaned over to take a look. She understood some Go as well and immediately saw that Chu Lu's defeat was already certain. Smiling, she said, "All right, that's about enough, isn't it? There's no need to keep playing, right? Your Majesty, admit defeat."

Chu Lu shook his head. "No. I still have a chance of winning."

The National Master seated across from him revealed a trace of contempt upon hearing that. "May I ask what chance of winning you still have?"

There was not the slightest respect for Chu Lu in the National Master's tone.

After all, she already knew Chu Lu was an emperor who had lost his power. She had also seen Xu Liniang's embarrassing display of spinning in circles and pretending to be a dog. Naturally, she could not bring herself to respect him.

"That's right." Liu Jin'er chimed in. "What chance of winning do you still have, Your Majesty?"

Xu Liniang in his mind also said, "Chu Lu, forget it. Don't force yourself. As they say, die early and reincarnate early... Let's just grit our teeth and endure it. Anyway, it's my body being used, and my face being disgraced."

Chu Lu shook his head. "This master's skill is indeed exceptional. To possess such ability at such a young age, besides receiving guidance from a strict teacher, you must surely have poured in a great deal of painstaking effort, correct?"

"Of course." The National Master said proudly, "I began playing Go at three years old and never slackened for a single day. At ten, I entered the third rank. At fifteen, I defeated famous masters across the land and ascended to First Rank Human God. At twenty, even my master willingly conceded defeat to me."

The National Master's words were meant to strike back at Chu Lu's earlier claim that he still had a chance of winning.

With such a glorious record, her Go skill surpassed his by who knew how many times. How did he have the nerve to claim he still had a chance?

"Truly impressive. Unfortunately, you have made an enormous mistake," Chu Lu said with a sigh.

"Heh." The National Master could not help but laugh mockingly. "Oh? What mistake have I made?"

The National Master's eyes were full of ridicule. In her view, the outcome of this game was already as certain as nails driven into a board. Chu Lu simply did not want to imitate a dog barking, so he was spouting nonsense.

How embarrassing. No wonder he couldn't even hold on to imperial power.

"You..." Chu Lu looked at her and said with complete sincerity, "Why aren't you wearing a helmet while playing Go?"

"Huh?" The National Master froze.

A helmet? What helmet? Why would one wear a helmet while playing Go?

The next instant, Chu Lu grabbed the straight wooden stick beside him and violently swung it at the National Master's forehead.

Thud!

The National Master's vision went black.