DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS Book 1 of 5 (Adventures of The Youth) by Jin Yong

Hiss Of The Tiger, Moan Of The Dragon Part 5

The man in green said emotionlessly, "The onlooker who does not speak is of noble character; the player who makes his own move is a true man." Duan Yu yelled back, "You imprisoned me in this room. You aren't a gentleman of noble character to begin with!" The Yellow Browed Monk laughed. "I'm a true monk, not a true man." The man in green said, "Shameless. Shameless." After thinking for a moment, he pressed his cane down and created an indentation within the 'Qu' quadrant.

After their armies had exchanged countless attacks, the Yellow Browed Monk's forces were once more in danger. His disciple, Pochen, was worried while watching. Duan Yu, however, didn't make a sound. Thus Pochen walked next to the stone house. In a low voice, he whispered, "Mr. Duan, how should this next move be played?" Duan Yu replied, "I already thought of a solution. The problem is, the solution must be implemented across seven moves. If I say it and the opponent hears me, he'll counter it. That is why I hesitated to speak." Pochen extended his right palm. With his left hand, he wrote on his right palm, "Please write it out." Following that, he immediately extended his hand into the hole in the boulder. But as he did so, he said, "Since this is the case, there's nothing that can be done." He knew that the internal strength of the man in green was astonishing. No matter in how low a voice Duan Yu whispered, he would overhear.

Duan Yu thought to himself that this strategy was brilliant. He immediately stretched out his finger and wrote out the seven moves. He said, "The venerable master is an expert at chess. He certainly has a wonderful move in mind. There's no need for me to give any more advice." Pochen thought for a while, then realized that these seven moves truly were extremely clever. He returned to his master's side. Extending his finger, he began to write out those moves on his master's back. The billowing folds of the sleeves of his cassock hid his hands, rendering the man in green unable to see his chicanery. The Yellow Browed Monk thought for another moment, then made his move as instructed.

The man in green let out a 'heng' sound. "Another instructed you to make this move. Based upon your own accomplishments in chess, master, you could never have formulated such a move." The Yellow Browed Monk laughed. "The game of chess originated as a battle of the wits. A person must be modest and not reveal their real skill to the opponent. If the depths of my chess abilities could be see easily and totally seen through by you, benefactor, would we even need to play this match?" The man in green replied, "Crafty, cunning schemer, playing tricks with your sleeves." He had seen Pochen walk back and forth, then cover the Yellow Browed Monk's back with his sleeves. He knew that there must be something odd about that action. But he was too busy concentrating on the changes and variations within the chess game, and so could not spare any more attention to other things.

The Yellow Browed Monk's next six moves were all acccording to Duan Yu's instructions. He did not need to use his energy to think of them, and only needed to exert his energy to draw the actual pieces on the board. Correspondingly, the six circles which he drew with his steel hammer were extremely round and deep, giving him the appearance of being full of vigor and an unending source of energy. The man in green, seeing that each of these six moves were more powerful than the previous, was forced to ponder deeply in order to defend against each one of them. He was totally forced to the defensive, and the indentations which his steel canes made began to show some differences in depth. After the Yellow Browed Monk played his sixth piece, the man in green simply sat there for a long moment. Then, suddenly, he played a piece in the 'Ru' quadrant.

This move was strange to the extreme. It was completely different from what Duan Yu had anticipated. The Yellow Browed Monk was stunned. He thought to himself, "This seven-step strategy of Mr. Duan was carefully devised and perfect in the details. By the time I laid down the seventh piece, I would have advanced from being one move ahead to being two moves ahead. But now, I'll no longer be able to make the seventh move. All my previous efforts were wasted."

As it happened, the man in green saw that the battleground was becoming more and more disadvantageous to him. No matter what defense he might use, he would still be in trouble. So instead, he decided to ignore the threat to his own pieces, and attack the opponent's pieces in a different area instead. This was known as "defending without defending". Truly, it was a formidable move. Furrowing his forehead, the Yellow Browed Monk tried to devise a good reply.