Fang Xu froze. He had received orthodox Go training since childhood and had always been taught the concept that "chess is like life," believing that playing chess should follow rigorous logic and established patterns. But Xuan Mo's style completely overturned his understanding.
"Y-You... are you fooling around?" Fang Xu could not help asking, his tone full of doubt.
Xuan Mo merely smiled and shook his head. "Uncle Fang, you're too bound by the rules. A game is like life—it's full of variables. Only by breaking conventions can you create miracles."
Xuan Mo's words left Fang Xu speechless for a moment. After falling silent, he asked, "Then tell me, how exactly do you play?"
Xuan Mo blinked mischievously. "That's a secret. If you want to know, challenge me. If you beat me, I'll tell you."
A fighting spirit rose in Fang Xu's heart. He decided to stop clinging to tradition and play another serious game against Xuan Mo.
In the game that followed, Fang Xu completely let go. He no longer stuck to established patterns, instead beginning to imitate Xuan Mo's style and respond with more flexible thinking.
However, Xuan Mo's style was like a maze. The more Fang Xu tried to approach it, the more thoroughly he became lost within it. Xuan Mo's moves were filled with ingenious ideas, as if he could foresee how the game would unfold. Every move struck precisely at Fang Xu's weaknesses.
"Hahaha, Uncle Fang, you seem to be having a hard time," Xuan Mo teased, his obsidian-like eyes flashing with cunning light.
Sweat had already appeared on Fang Xu's forehead. He had never been this miserable before. A five-year-old child had forced him into a desperate situation.
"Who... who are you, exactly?" Fang Xu could not help asking. He felt that some mysterious power