Liu Ye'er sat in front of the chessboard, where the intertwined black and white stones formed a chaotic picture that filled her with unease. The black dragon she held in her hand looked precarious on the board, while the opponent's white dragon was as steady as a mountain, as if coldly watching her struggle.
Liu Ye'er knitted her brows, her gaze shifting across the board as she tried to find a breakthrough. Yet no matter how she laid out her stones, the white dragon remained like an insurmountable peak standing before her. She sighed softly, knowing in her heart that her black side seemed to have fallen into a desperate plight in this duel.
She decided to set this problem aside for the moment and instead played a stone into the white side's vast framework. She knew this was white territory, but if she could successfully disrupt it, it would be a success; even if she couldn't turn the game around, she wouldn't lose out. The brilliance of this strategy lay in the fact that the dead black stones were already dead—it didn't matter if they were dead, and if she could manage to escape and live, it would be pure profit. White, on the other hand, had to tread carefully at every step, as a single mistake would cause the game to flip.
The middle-aged man sat opposite her, watching intently as Liu Ye'er placed her stone. Inwardly, he marveled at how brilliant this move was. However, Liu Ye'er's actual skill at Go was truly not high, and by the second move she already had no idea what to play. Anxiety gripped her, and her movements became hesitant.
This wasn't like playing Go with Li Geng in her past life, when she could casually take back her moves without any pressure. Here, taking back a move would make her look far too insignificant. Liu Ye'er understood this logic, so she could only bite the bullet and press on.
The instant Liu Ye'er placed her stone, it brought a sense of novelty to Han Yuling. Although sacrificing stones could not save the main dragon, with more variations came naturally more opportunities. Han Yuling quickly sorted out her thoughts, found the rhythm of play, and guided Liu Ye'er using the technique of voice transmission into the secret. Liu Ye'er was just fretting over the situation, so Han Yuling's guidance came like a pillow dropped to someone falling asleep; she simply followed Han Yuling's instructions to play.
The white pieces launched an encirclement and suppression of the invading black stones, while black responded fiercely, creating a ko fight in pursuit of survival. Meanwhile, the black dragon served as an exceptional ko threat; white could not afford to let the black dragon live, otherwise not only would their large territory be wiped out, but a solitary group of white stones would also be created. Therefore, neither side could yield in the ko fight, and it went back and forth continuously. In the end, the invading black stones successfully captured white's solitary group and achieved complete life.
Although the black dragon ultimately died, it was utilized to the absolute maximum before its demise, dying without any loss at all. The middle-aged man looked at Liu Ye'er with a smile, praising her strength to no end. "Young lady, I concede."
Liu Ye'er asked cheerfully, "What are you going to give me?"
The middle-aged man replied, "I'll give you a game record." With that, he handed over a piece of paper. Liu Ye'er took it rather disdainfully. "Is this thing worth much?" She was very pragmatic now and had no interest in intangible things.
The middle-aged man said, "This is a treasure map."
Liu Ye'er unfolded it to inspect it closely and saw it was a game record. A treasure map ought to be a map, yet this piece of paper was just a Go game record, completely unrelated to any map. Could it be that the paper was double-layered? Even with X-ray vision, she couldn't see any double layer.
A treasure map should be a map that guides people to the location of a treasure. Yet this paper was merely a game record, bearing no resemblance to the proper form of a treasure map. Liu Ye'er doubted whether the paper had a double layer, perhaps concealing some secret waiting to be uncovered. However, no matter how she peered through the paper with her vision, she could not detect the slightest trace of a double layer.
A flicker of doubt crossed Liu Ye'er's eyes. She asked, "Are you certain this is a treasure map?"
The middle-aged man nodded affirmatively and answered, "Without a doubt, it is indeed a treasure map."
Liu Ye'er pressed further, "Since it's a treasure map, why are you giving it to me?"
A mysterious smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face as he replied, "I believe you have the ability to unlock the secret of the treasure map. If you can unlock its secret, not only will you obtain the treasure, but you will also have the chance to become the leader of our Wealth and Honor Gang."
Liu Ye'er fell into contemplation upon hearing this. She was neither greedy for wealth nor did she want to become any sort of leader. She raised her head, looked straight into the middle-aged man's eyes, and said, "Since that's the case, I'll give trying to decipher this map a try. But I can't guarantee I'll be able to crack it."
The middle-aged man said, "No matter. This old man has also studied this map for many years yet has never been able to fathom its profound mystery." Liu Ye'er had never liked racking her brains and at the bottom of her heart was rather reluctant to take this on. Yet the temptation of treasure made her fingers itch with desire, so she agreed to it anyway. Even so, she still hadn't the slightest clue about unlocking the treasure's secret. She asked, "How did you interpret this map?"
The middle-aged man said, "This old man wanted to translate the game record into a map, interpreting it using Go terminology, such as 'golden corners, silver edges, grass stomachs.' Therefore, I believe the treasure should lie along the edges and corners. It's just that translating the game record into a map is something this old man has not yet managed to achieve."
Liu Ye'er thought to herself that this was all she could hope for; at least it gave her some clues so she wouldn't be completely in the dark like a blind man feeling an elephant. She said, "In that case, we'll take our leave."
The middle-aged man said, "Very well, I won't see you out." Watching the two of them leave, the middle-aged man fell into deep thought.
A few days prior, a monk had told him that a noble person would arrive at this place who could solve the mystery of the treasure map and lead the Wealth and Honor Gang to soaring prosperity. He turned it over in his mind: could this little girl be that noble person?
Holding five taels of silver, Liu Ye'er walked lightly over to Han Yuling. She presented the silver with both hands, a naive smile blooming on her face as she said, "Mother, this is a token of my filial piety for you. Please accept it."
Han Yuling's eyes filled with emotion and joy. She took the silver and sighed with feeling, "Ye'er is truly amazing, able to earn money all on her own." Her thoughts drifted far away, to that tiny figure—Liu Ye'er, her genius daughter. While children her age were still groping their way through worldly matters, Liu Ye'er was already capable of solving those thorny, baffling problems. Huarong Dao and dividing oil were as easy as turning over her hand for her, and the Nine-Linked Rings were no challenge either, whereas she herself still found them somewhat difficult to untangle. Han Yuling firmly believed that with Liu Ye'er's intelligence and wit, she would surely achieve great things in the future.
Liu Ye'er chuckled and shook her head, saying, "It was just luck." She clutched forty taels of silver in her arms, feeling quite pleased with herself. This was money she had earned through hard work; every single tael was imbued with her sweat and wisdom. What could she do with all this money? She envisioned a wonderful future life, a light of anticipation flashing in her eyes. She seemed to already see her future self—an independent, confident, successful woman. She knew that all of this was earned through her own efforts and served as the foundation for her promising future.
On the wide ancient road, a carriage sped past, its rolling wheels kicking up a cloud of dust. Han Yuling sat at the front of the carriage, her expression solemn, her heart filled with anticipation.
Liu Ye'er sat quietly in a corner of the carriage compartment, cradling a game record in her hands while sunlight streamed through the dust-covered window onto her face. Her gaze was deep and focused, as if she were trying to ferret out some secret from the game record. Yet all she could see remained ordinary things on the surface, with nothing special revealing itself. A sense of doubt inevitably welled up in her heart: had no one else ever thought of looking between the layers of the game record? It seemed she would need to rack her brains a bit more over this game record.
Aside from Wang Danlu, everyone else in the carriage was illiterate. And Wang Danlu didn't know how to play Go either, rendering her unable to offer any help. Liu Ye'er had no choice but to study the game record all by herself, trying to find clues to the treasure within it. At that moment, Wang Xiaoying couldn't help asking, "Big Sister Ye'er, what is that you're looking at?"
Liu Ye'er replied, "This is a treasure map, and I'm searching for a batch of treasure."
A flicker of excitement flashed in Wang Xiaoying's eyes. "If we find the treasure, we won't have to worry about going hungry or cold anymore!"
Liu Ye'er laughed, "Of course! Once we find the treasure, each of us will have a large courtyard to live in and we'll eat delicacies from the mountains and sea every day."
Hearing this, Wang Danlu couldn't help chiming in, "Xiaoying, we can't take Ye'er's things. No matter how poor we are, we must never lose our integrity as human beings."
A warm feeling bloomed in Liu Ye'er's heart; she thought to herself that helping Wang Danlu hadn't been in vain after all. People like this were truly reliable.
The carriage continued forward, kicking up dust. The group pressed on toward an unknown distant horizon with unknown expectations and hope. Inside the carriage, the game record in Liu Ye'er's hands looked particularly striking in the sunlight.
Liu Ye'er immersed herself once more in the world of the game record. Between the game record and the treasure, she searched for a thousand and one threads of connection. Her thoughts fluttered across the chessboard, every placement of a stone sounding like the striking of a mysterious musical note, leading her deeper into an unknown labyrinth.
Liu Ye'er examined the ancient game record in her hands as if deciphering a long-lost code. What sort of secret was hidden within this treasure map? She stared at the intricate intertwining of black and white on the record, as if she could see the contours of a world. Yes, this game record was a map concealing treasure, and she needed to find that treasure.
"White mountains and black waters," she muttered to herself. Yes, those words were like a bolt of lightning that instantly illuminated her train of thought. She observed that in the center of the game record ran a continuous dragon of black stones, resembling a river, while the white stones stood tall like mountain peaks. And what were those scattered black stones? Let them be valleys and depressions, and the empty spaces without stones could be treated as level plains. Thus, a map gradually took shape before her eyes.
She began to ponder: where on earth did this map represent? Since the game record had drawn its inspiration from here, she should observe from right here. She scrutinized every single detail, trying to find the clues hidden within. Mountain ranges, rivers, valleys, plains... everything was laid out vividly and thoroughly on this chessboard.
Time quietly slipped away, yet Liu Ye'er's heart grew more and more excited. She finally understood the mystery of this map: the treasure did not come from afar; rather, it was hidden right beneath the very ground she stood upon.
As the carriage sped along, Liu Ye'er called out to Han Yuling, "Mother, stop the carriage." Her voice echoed in the air, conveying a sense of urgency. Han Yuling immediately stopped the carriage and turned around with a concerned look to ask, "Ye'er, what happened?" Liu Ye'er looked at her, a resolute gleam shining in her eyes.
"Mother, I want to go up the mountain to take a look," Liu Ye'er said candidly.
Han Yuling asked no further questions; she silently drove the carriage toward the foot of the mountain. Along the way, the wheels bounced and jolted over the rough gravel road.
When the carriage could go no further, Han Yuling and Liu Ye'er got down and began to climb the mountain trail. Although the summit was not particularly high, climbing it still required a certain amount of physical effort. Liu Ye'er followed closely behind Han Yuling, her heartbeat synchronizing with the rhythm of the mountain path as if playing an accompaniment to their journey.
Seeing that Liu Ye'er's stamina was running a bit low, Han Yuling scooped her up with a heart full of tenderness and dashed swiftly toward the summit. Liu Ye'er hugged Han Yuling's neck tightly, her heart beating even more fiercely.
Once they reached the peak, Liu Ye'er took out the game record, observing the surrounding mountain terrain with one eye while comparing it to the record in her hand. Her heart was filled with anticipation and excitement, hoping for a discovery atop this mountain, and eagerly looking forward to finding her own sense of belonging and peace.