Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

In fact, on the chessboard, when the level of both sides is as low as the eighteenth level of the cellar, they can often fight out a kind of evenly matched sense of humor.

In this fight, it is truly a case of chess players meeting their worthy opponents and generals meeting their best talents!

Madam Yin ordered the elf in charge of the kitchen to steam another whitebait she brought back from home, and to pair it with some fresh mountain delicacies as side dishes. The pot of wine brought by Xuan Dao Ren had long been drunk, but the home-brewed pine wine also had a special flavor, so she heated it up and kept it ready. When she came back from the kitchen, she saw Yin Kaishan in the pavilion with an indescribable expression, watching Wen Jiao and Xuan Dao Ren playing chess, one after another, faster than the rain hitting the lotus. Often, as soon as the sound of a chess piece falling on one side was heard, the chess piece on the other side had already fallen.

God knows they played so quickly, where did they find the time to think about how to play?

Mrs. Yin was deeply impressed.

It's not like she had never played chess with this Taoist Xuan before, but even though she was a bad chess player, she was still a bad chess player who needed to use her brain. Although her chess skills were almost as bad as this Taoist Xuan's, she still needed to think hard for a long time before she dared to make a move. After a few rounds, she was disliked by Taoist Xuan for not playing quickly, and turned all her firepower to Yin Kaishan.

Outside the pavilion, white cranes flew back and forth. Wen Jiao played chess with the mysterious Taoist for countless rounds at lightning speed. The other party finally got tired of it, threw the chess piece, and said with a straight face, "Boring."

Yin Kaishan laughed: "Old Xuan, this is where you are wrong. When your wife played chess with you, you complained that she played too slowly. When I played with you, you complained that I was not happy. Now my daughter plays with you, and it is fast enough, but you complain that it is boring. Why are you so difficult to please!"

Xuan Daoist frowned, "If you are absent-minded, it will be boring no matter how straightforward you are."

Wen Jiao smiled: "It is indeed my fault. When I have something on my mind, I can't help but be distracted. I will accompany you to enjoy it another day."

Taoist Xuan snorted and said, "You are useless. I will go find someone useful to play chess with me." Then he turned away.

"What a strange guest." Madam Yin watched him leave and sighed. Her daughter was a true immortal. Even though she was bad at playing chess, she didn't want to reveal her identity. Seeing her daughter being humiliated by a mortal Taoist priest, it was inevitable that the mother felt a little uncomfortable.

After she finished complaining, she immediately turned her attention to Wen Jiao, fanning herself and asked, "Mantang Jiao, you are always busy. Why are you here today when it's not a festival?"

Yin Kaishan muttered, "Mantangjiao came to play chess with Master Xuandao on my behalf. I finally had a chance to catch my breath, but you kept asking her questions and didn't even ask her to eat or drink."

Madam Yin rolled her eyes at him and said, "I see. You are the only one who knows how to love your daughter, okay? The wine and food have been prepared long ago, and we are just waiting for them to finish. Now that we have finished playing chess, it is time to eat. Mantangjiao, do you want to eat here or go inside?"

"It's nice to eat here, with the rustling of the bamboo wind, and it makes me feel clear-headed and bright-eyed." Wen Jiao said, thinking: It's still unclear who will play chess with whom. When did the old master play chess with my father?

It turned out that the Taoist Xuan was none other than the incarnation of the Heavenly Venerable Dangmo. Wen Jiao saw that he only met Yin Kaishan's parents as a mortal Taoist priest, and she didn't understand what he meant. So she didn't want to expose his identity, and only asked, "Who is the Taoist Xuan? It's rare to find someone who is as good at chess as my daughter. It's strange."

It is indeed rare to find someone who can play chess as badly as my good daughter. Yin Kaishan said in a bad mood, "He is a local. He became a Taoist priest when he was young. He was recommended to come here a few years ago and practiced in a nearby Taoist temple. Two months ago, your mother and I came back from fishing, and he happened to come back from collecting herbs. We ran into him. He praised the fish I caught for being fat and big, and I was very happy. I found out that he didn't mind meat and wine, so I invited him home to eat fish."

Wen Jiao asked, "How did he know that the fish you caught was big and plump? Did Dad carry the fish all the way back?"

Madam Yin laughed, "Your guess is right. I have complained so many times, asking him to be more cautious. But your father would say, 'If you don't show your big fish to others, it's like wearing fine clothes at night, who would know about it?' Every time he catches a big fish, he will show it off to his neighbors."

Yin Kaishan said proudly, "The fish I caught that day was more than three feet long. If I don't let anyone see it, wouldn't it be a waste of time?" He stroked his beard and showed a smug smile on his mighty face, "Father, I specially carried the fish and walked around the houses nearby for three times."

Wen Jiao: ...Showing off big fish is indeed a temptation that every fisherman cannot resist.

She lowered her head and smiled.

Yin Kaishan continued, "When I got home, I asked the kitchen to cook the fish and paired it with the medicinal wine that Taoist Xuan brought. It was extremely delicious. Everyone at the table toasted each other and became familiar with each other unknowingly. I knew he also loved playing chess, so I invited him to play a game..."

At this point, his expression was filled with deep regret. He shook his head and sighed, "Father, I regret it!"

"What a pity, it's too late to regret." Wen Jiao said. How could his master, who was such a bad chess player, let go of a chess friend so easily?

She patted her father's broad shoulders sympathetically and said in a very serious manner, "There is still a long way to go."

Yin Kaishan's eyelids jumped: "Mantangjiao, what do you mean?"

Wen Jiao smiled faintly and said no more.

It is hard to elaborate on this, so Yin Kaishan will just guess. If he guesses it right, it is also fate. Although, it is probably not fate at all.

When one reaches her level, even if one is not specialized in physiognomy, one can see clearly at a glance the many causes and consequences of the world. Because of her, the Yin family has been blessed by many immortals. As her biological parents, Yin Kaishan and his wife naturally received more blessings. But they cannot go any further, not only are they not destined to be together, but they are also not destined to be together.

At this point, if Yin Kaishan and Madam Yin were really destined to be together, they would naturally think deeply about it. But they were wrong. Yin Kaishan just shuddered: "Could it be that this Xuan Daoist was also favored by some immortal like Yao Jian, and wanted to take him as a disciple? It's incredible. When he practices the art of immortality in the future, won't he be a chess friend of mine forever?"

After hearing this, Mrs. Yin immediately felt extremely sympathetic towards her husband: "Well, at worst, next time he comes, I'll help you share the burden."

Sure enough.

Wen Jiao sighed in her heart. People often envy the immortals for their carefree lives, and when they try their best to seek them but get nothing, they secretly hate the immortals for not favoring them. Don't you know that even if the immortals are willing to give you a chance, if you are stupid and can't recognize the real immortals with your naked eyes, then even if the immortals really stand in front of you, you will just miss them without realizing it.

Whether it was intentional or not, the fact that the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable could transform into a Taoist priest and make friends with Yin Kaishan and his wife was a rare opportunity that could not be obtained in many lifetimes. However, the two of them had met him several times before, and after witnessing their own daughter, who had become an immortal, fighting with him, they simply could not appreciate the peculiarity of this gentleman, which was the key to their failure to become immortals.

When she thought of this, and recalled why she had suddenly decided to visit the two elders, her heart sank again.