After Yu Shao left, the boy sitting opposite him slumped helplessly into his chair. He stared at the board before him, his face deathly pale.
On the board, the white stones' formation had been torn apart. It could be said that the black stones had crushed them completely through sheer brutality.
The Go instructor standing behind him fell silent for a moment before finally speaking softly. "Yang Shu."
The boy's whole body trembled. He turned toward the teacher behind him, his gaze lost and bewildered, his voice trembling slightly. "Teacher... I..."
"You played very well."
The teacher spoke gently. "Your attack was a little too hasty, but you played wonderfully afterward. That Jump after the black stone's shoulder hit was very clever."
"I'm sorry..."
Hearing his teacher's consolation only made the boy feel more ashamed. He began, "I..."
He lowered his head deeply. The words reached his lips, but he found them difficult to say.
"I..."
In the end, he still spoke weakly, his voice drained of strength. "I'm too weak."
His teacher was silent for a moment before saying, "No. You're not weak."
The boy was slightly stunned. He raised his head and looked at his teacher again.
"Perhaps you think everything I just said was only meant to comfort you."
The teacher gazed at the board and slowly said, "But I'm not saying this to comfort you at all. I'm merely stating a fact."
"But this game of mine—" the boy began awkwardly.
"Rather than saying you're weak..."
His teacher cut him off, raised his head, and looked toward the already distant Yu Shao. "It would be more accurate to say... your opponent was too strong."
The spectators around them watched the scene in silence.
Zheng Qin's expression was calm. He wasn't surprised in the slightest that this