Su Fan looked at the other party with some shock, then at Hu Xuelan.
Their team was practically here to stomp on weaker opponents. Could his own hastily assembled team really compete for the inheritance with such a team?
It wasn't that Su Fan lacked confidence. In a one-on-one fight, he was absolutely confident. The only one he found troublesome was this Young Master Long, but facing a team with such默契 (mòqì - tacit understanding/chemistry), it wasn't a matter of just having a few more people to close the gap.
However, Su Fan had a backup plan and wasn't without the strength to compete with them.
"There should only be one monster guarding this cave. Let's go," Young Master Long said calmly, sheathing his sword.
Wu Yun stepped forward and drew his long sword. Jiu Di beckoned, and her dagger returned to her hand.
The others looked at Young Master Long and his group with astonishment, their respect for him growing even further. It turned out his surname wasn't just Long; he also possessed the strength to match it.
Continuing onward, they soon reached the end of the cave, which opened into a stone chamber. The four walls of the chamber were carved very smoothly, covered with countless inscriptions. In the very center stood a chessboard.
"Is this the place of inheritance?"
They looked around the stone chamber with curiosity. The inscriptions on the walls seemed unremarkable, as if recording the life of someone. There was no name, only the deeds of their life.
This person was a master of military strategy and Taoist arts, knowledgeable in everything from astronomy to geography. They had many disciples, each a famous strategist in history. The inscriptions were very cryptic, mentioning no names and making historical verification impossible. It would be quite difficult to ascertain who was being recorded.
"This chessboard..."
Young Master Long was filled with interest by the chessboard in the center.
The chessboard was already set with pieces, a game half-played.
"It seems we need to finish this game to unlock the secret here. But who plays Go?" Su Fan asked, looking at the board.
Su Fan recognized the board and the pieces, but he didn't understand them when put together.
"I do."
"I do."
"I do too."
...
Everyone raised their hands saying they knew how to play, except for Su Fan.
Su Fan: ...
Please stop reminding me that I'm useless.
"I'll do it," Young Master Long said confidently, taking the white stone position, as it was white's turn to move.
"Xiao Lan, help me take a look," Hu Xuelan said to Xiao Lan.
Su Fan looked at Xiao Lan curiously. When Xiao Lan had warned everyone earlier, Su Fan had found it strange. This Xiao Lan seemed to possess some extraordinary ability.
"Hey, what's going on with Xiao Lan? Why could she see Qiongqi beforehand?" Su Fan asked Hu Xuelan in a low voice, full of curiosity.
Hu Xuelan glanced at Su Fan.
"Xiao Lan has a special ability. She can sense danger in advance."
Hu Xuelan didn't hide Xiao Lan's ability from Su Fan. As teammates, it was better to be sincere.
Xiao Lan, following Hu Xuelan's instructions, stood beside Young Master Long and looked at the chessboard before him.
Young Master Long raised his hand and placed a stone.
As the white stone landed, a ripple spread across the board.
The black stone on the opposite side automatically floated up and landed on the board.
Young Master Long frowned, clearly startled by the opponent's move.
Young Master Long began to hesitate.
Although Su Fan didn't understand Go, he could tell from Young Master Long's expression that they were at a disadvantage.
"Twelve to seven."
Xiao Lan suddenly spoke. Young Master Long frowned, then looked at the position of twelve to seven. His eyes lit up.
He looked at Xiao Lan beside him with surprise.
"Are you good at Go?"
Xiao Lan shook her head.
"Not really. I can't even beat my senior sister."
"Then how did you know to play here to break the opponent's trap?" Young Master Long asked, puzzled. He knew Hu Xuelan's Go skills, and they were somewhat inferior to his own.
"I don't know. I just knew that playing here was safe. Everywhere else felt like falling into an abyss," Xiao Lan explained.
Young Master Long immediately took Xiao Lan seriously.
"I'll play. Remind me if you sense danger," Young Master Long said solemnly to Xiao Lan, having discovered her unique ability.
Xiao Lan nodded.
Young Master Long placed his stone at twelve to seven. The black stones also responded without a moment's hesitation.
The game continued. Young Master Long mostly used his own abilities to play, only relying on Xiao Lan's reminders at critical moments.
Time passed slowly. More and more stones filled the board. Finally, with the placement of a white stone, the board was completely covered.
180 white stones, 181 black stones. White lost.
Young Master Long sighed. He had done his best.
The inscriptions on the wall suddenly moved, converging on the wall directly opposite the entrance, forming a waterfall-like door.
Young Master Long was stunned. Hadn't he lost?
He looked at Xiao Lan curiously.
"I didn't sense any danger."
Xiao Lan shook her head and said.
"Perhaps the requirement to pass wasn't to win. The owner of this place was too skilled at Go. Perhaps just drawing a tie would earn their approval," Su Fan guessed.
Young Master Long felt that this made a lot of sense. Without Xiao Lan's help, he wouldn't have been able to play this long. The opponent's skill was too profound. Even a draw would have been impossible. Perhaps, in the owner's eyes, reaching 180 stones was sufficient.
"Let's go. The true inheritance might be inside," Young Master Long said, looking at the waterfall door that had appeared on the wall.
Su Fan quietly walked to Xiao Lan's side.
"Is there any danger inside?"
Su Fan whispered to Xiao Lan to confirm.
With such a danger detector, he couldn't afford to waste it.
Xiao Lan sensed carefully and shook her head.
Su Fan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He was at ease as long as there was no danger.
It was the same formation: Young Master Long and his group went first, Su Fan's group brought up the rear, and the others entered one by one in the middle. Finally, it was Su Fan's turn.
Suddenly, Xiao Lan grabbed Su Fan's arm.
"Danger!"
Xiao Lan suddenly said to Su Fan.
Su Fan was taken aback. There was no danger just moments ago, and now there was?
But he chose to believe Xiao Lan.
"Are the people inside going to betray us? Or did something happen inside?" Hu Xuelan, who naturally trusted Xiao Lan implicitly, began to ponder the current situation inside.
"I think it's very likely that someone who went in first intends to deal with us," Su Fan thought, believing that the people inside wanted to kill them.
There was no danger before, but now that people had entered, danger had appeared. It was definitely related to those people.
"What do we do?" Su Bei asked Su Fan.
"What else can we do? Wait."
There was no other option now. They could only wait here. They believed that the people inside couldn't hold out forever, and they could leave at any time. At worst, they could give up on the inheritance. Life was the most important thing.
Hu Xuelan nodded in agreement with Su Fan's idea.
The four of them waited outside, occasionally asking Xiao Lan to sense if there was any danger within the door.
After half an hour passed like this.
"It's safe!"
Xiao Lan sensed again and felt no more danger from within.