Baleful Aura

When the pain finally subsided, Zheng Yingci lowered his hand. When he opened his eyes again, confusion first crossed his face before clarity returned. He looked around.

"What are these people doing, nursing hangovers?" Seeing the defeated players, each looking haggard and distressed, Zheng Yingci could not help looking down on them.

It was only the outcome of a game. It was not the Prefectural Examination. Who were they putting on this haggard, dejected display for?

Yet when he touched his own face, he found that even the corners of his mouth would not lift. He could not force out a smile.

This was not like him!

Though the victor had been a little girl, and it had indeed wounded Zheng Yingci's pride, she possessed genuine skill. In the Chess Path, the capable rose above the rest; neither age nor status mattered. Was he really supposed to brood simply because a little girl had won and entered the top sixteen?

"Where is Miss Ye?" As he tried to build himself up mentally, Zheng Yingci heard someone asking after Ye Buhui.

Come to think of it, the match had only just ended. Why was Miss Ye not in the cabin? Not only was she absent, but Su Ziji was nowhere to be seen either.

Zheng Yingci frowned. By rights, this was no great matter. Perhaps they had simply gone outside.

Yet a stifling anger suddenly welled up in him, as though Su Ziji had betrayed him. But his relationship with Su Ziji was merely ordinary acquaintanceship. There was no reason for him to hate Su Ziji just because his younger sister had won the match.

Zheng Yingci could not understand this strange emotion that had abruptly arisen within him. Zheng Yingci, Zheng Yingci, was your heart truly so narrow?

The others seemed to harbor hostility toward Su Ziji and Ye Buhui as well.

Someone sneered. "They just entered the top sixteen, and already they have vanished. Could they have gone up to the deck to enjoy the breeze? What elegant leisure!"

"Oh my, they are people bound for the Capital City. They will ride the wind upward, and perhaps win themselves a name there someday. Naturally, they are no longer what they once were. Why would they still regard the likes of us?" The speaker's words dripped with such sourness that even Zheng Yingci frowned upon hearing them.

"I do not think Miss Ye is that sort of person." Though Zheng Yingci felt displeased, he still offered an explanation.

Everyone knew Zheng Yingci and usually showed him some respect. But at this moment, the player gave a derisive snort and said without the slightest courtesy, "You think? You know her that well, speaking up for her like this? Could it be that you have taken a fancy to that little girl?"

"Do not spout nonsense!" Zheng Yingci's face immediately darkened.

"Was I wrong?" Thinking of Zheng Yingci's acquaintance with Su Ziji, the player felt resentment surge within him. He had been holding in a cloud of pent-up anger, and now he no longer cared that Zheng Yingci's family background was not easily offended. He vented it all at once. "We all came for the tournament in the Capital City. Did a little girl beat you, and you truly do not mind? If you truly do not mind, then I must praise you for your broad-mindedness!"

Though the Go Tournament did not forbid women from participating that year, few women could seize the top position.

There were already far fewer women studying Go, and with various other factors at play, only three women had received the Chess Sage's investiture over the past five hundred years.

It was not only this player who felt it shameful to be defeated by a woman. Many of the other players also wore resentful expressions. This ugliness ought to have been buried in their hearts, yet for some reason none of them could suppress it. Disregarding dignity and bearing, they vented it directly.

Zheng Yingci frowned. Naturally, he could tell that something seemed off about their condition.

Still, it was no great matter. They merely seemed excessively emotional, somewhat like his own mood at the moment. He was simply better able to restrain himself.

Though Zheng Yingci came from a respectable household, he could not say much more at this time, lest he provoke public anger. He could only say calmly, "The Go Tournament has always judged heroes by victory and defeat. If one does not become a national master by twenty, one will seek it for life in vain. Since when did age and gender matter?"

As he spoke, he headed outside, while arguments continued behind him.

Leaving the cabin and stepping onto the deck, Zheng Yingci found the sky thick with dark clouds and a fine rain falling without cease. Yet the waters were largely calm, the water and sky blending into one, while other boats followed at neither too close nor too far a distance. As the lake breeze, faintly tinged with dampness, brushed against him, his mood eased slightly.

"Strange. I keep feeling as if I have forgotten something important." Curling his fingers, Zheng Yingci lightly tapped his temple, finding the sensation utterly inexplicable.

He carefully sorted through everything that had happened that day and found that there truly were no omissions.

The Go Tournament had continued until deep into the night, when the victor was decided. Fourteen-year-old Ye Buhui had taken first place.

"Perhaps losing the match put me in low spirits, and their words affected me." Zheng Yingci found this reason for himself.

"Brother Zheng." At that moment, a voice came from behind him.

Turning around, Zheng Yingci saw the two people whom everyone had failed to find earlier—Su Ziji and Ye Buhui—standing behind him.

"So you were here." At the sight of them, the emotions Zheng Yingci had just suppressed showed signs of rising again. He hurriedly forced them down and spoke with a smile, though his expression remained slightly unnatural.

Su Ziji looked at Zheng Yingci and sighed inwardly.

Not long ago, he had only been an ordinary student. Though he possessed a Golden Finger, it had merely helped him study. The Imperial Examinations were the best path forward for ordinary people.

But after the Water Palace Chess Game, events had slipped from their normal course and galloped toward a direction he could not comprehend.

Su Ziji sighed softly, revealing nothing on his face as he said to Zheng Yingci, "Yes. The cabin was too stifling, so we came out for some air."

"Miss Ye, I did not have time earlier to congratulate you. You have entered the top sixteen this time and may proceed to the Capital City. Your future will surely be boundless." Zheng Yingci smiled and nodded, cupping his hands toward Ye Buhui as he spoke. Worthy of his good upbringing, his bearing alone surpassed that of many others.

Seeing him congratulate her, Ye Buhui quickly returned the courtesy. Understanding dawned upon her: even Zheng Yingci, who had taken second place, no longer remembered the truth.

"The gathering is about to end. Why not bid everyone farewell? Besides, you still need to collect the documents for traveling to the Capital City." Zheng Yingci glanced at the sky, knowing that this pleasure-boat journey was about to conclude. Thinking of the others' attitude toward Su Ziji and Ye Buhui, he could not help offering another word of advice.

Su Ziji's five senses had become much sharper by now, and he had heard some of the earlier discussion and quarrelling.

Zheng Yingci's suggestion came from good intentions. Though Su Ziji had matters on his mind, he looked at Ye Buhui and felt that if she wished to continue along the Chess Path, she could not be too solitary. At the very least, she needed to maintain proper bearing.

"That is only right." Su Ziji nodded repeatedly.

Ye Buhui did not particularly care either way. Her nature was more forthright, without twists and turns. As for this Go Tournament, she was truly interested only in playing Go. She did not understand social dealings and could not be bothered to handle them.

But she did possess one advantage: she could distinguish good intentions from bad. When others treated her well, she remembered it in her heart and, when appropriate, listened to them.

Su Ziji whispered a few words into her ear. Ye Buhui was somewhat unhappy. It was not her fault, so why should she be the one to greet them first? But after thinking it over, she still nodded and turned to enter the cabin.

This had been a minor matter, so Su Ziji did not follow her. Remembering something, he asked, "Brother Zheng, you know many people. Do you know whether there is a young lady surnamed Hu aboard this pleasure boat?"

"There are several female relatives aboard, but only your younger sister is a Go player. As for a young lady surnamed Hu, I have not heard of one." Zheng Yingci thought for a moment before answering.

There was no such person? That was highly suspicious. Su Ziji frowned.