"Sure enough, compared with our isolated and rigid Eastern Extremity style of play, Heavenly City's chess moves had far more variations and were wonderfully unrestrained. This old woman had lost this time with complete conviction." Eastern Extremity Kui calmly glanced at Lan Ran and me before continuing, "No wonder this child sat there anxiously dragging things out, hoping to live long enough to claim the final victory. You didn't disappoint her."
I didn't know what the wager was, but of course, it wouldn't have been appropriate to ask about it again on my own. Lan Ran said, "Mistress, he must have just guessed blindly. If you play another round, he might not be able to keep it up."
Eastern Extremity Kui shook her head and said, "You child, you played half the game and lost most of it, yet he managed to claw back a tenth. You should have realized that if you let him play the entire game, your master would certainly have lost even more miserably."
Lan Ran was rendered speechless. She couldn't say anything else, either. After all, her own mistress had seen through the situation long ago, and any consolation from her would only seem too deliberate.
"All right, let's talk about the serious matter." Eastern Extremity Kui looked at me and said, "I already understand the situation with Heavenly Mystery and Earthly Yellow. I also understand Ran'er's thoughts. In short, you want the three of you, all Immortals of the Boundless Realm, to rely on the Fruit of Chaos to enter the Endless Realm and reach the level where you can cross Heavenly Dao's threshold, correct?"
"Exactly," I replied.
"However, the Fruit of Chaos is the sacred fruit of our Eastern Extremity Immortal Sect. Bringing the fruit into existence and raising it to maturity requires