Chapter 116: Blind eyes but clear mind, or clear eyes but blind mind?

A slightly worn bamboo banner with the words "Blind in eyes and blind in mind, yet seeking defeat" written on it!
Next to the bamboo banner was a blind man wearing a starched green robe with a black cloth covering his eyes.

In front of the blind man, there was a chessboard and two bowls of chess pieces on the ground.

Ying Yuan slowly walked up to the blind man, squatted down, and smiled at him.

"You changed locations several times and looked for opportunities to block me."

"Now that I'm here, can you tell me what you want from me?"

The blind man in blue was silent for a moment before speaking in a hoarse voice.

"Since you already know that I am a person with ulterior motives, why do you still want to take the risk yourself?"

After hearing this, Long Qie, who was originally three steps away from Ying Yuan, took off the bronze stick behind him and stood next to Ying Yuan.

Ying Yuan didn't care at all, and answered as a matter of course.

"Of course I want to see what you are capable of!"

"Anyway, I have Long Qie as my guard. If you make any offensive move, Long Qie will teach you a lesson with just one stick!"

When Ying Yuan said this, Long Qie's mouth curled up slightly, and then his chest straightened even higher.

At the same time, a pair of eyes widened and stared at the blind man in blue.

He looked as if he would really hit the other party with a stick if he did anything wrong.

The blind man in blue was not nervous about this matter. He just nodded thoughtfully.

"Young Master is indeed a confident person. I was not wrong!"

"Then I wonder if you can play a game with me?"

Ying Yuan looked at the other person carefully again.

The first impression of this blind man in blue is that he is thin.

The word "skinny and bony" is definitely not a joke when applied to the other person.

Secondly, there is a vague aura of transcendence.

Even though this person is right in front of us, we always feel as if he should not appear in this world at all.

Thinking of this, Ying Yuan nodded habitually without caring whether the other party could see it or not.

"You can play chess, but you didn't choose a good place."

"If I squat, it's too tiring!"

"Please sit down. I'm afraid my clothes will get dirty."

The blind man in blue was startled when he heard this, and then without hesitation he took out several rolls of thick silk from a bag beside him and threw them over.

"You may as well use this as a cushion!"

Looking at the silk cloth at his feet with words like "Mencius", "The Doctrine of the Mean" and "The Great Learning" marked on it, Ying Yuan raised his head again and looked at the other person deeply.

"You're willing to do that!"

"Do you think you are blind and therefore it doesn't matter?"

"Aren't you afraid of disgracing this sage classic?"

The blind man in green looked up at Ying Yuan as if his eyes were still there, then he spoke in a deep voice.

"If you study with a heart, every word of the sage's classics will be in your heart;"

"I have no intention to study. I keep silk and bamboo slips in my hands, but my heart is empty!"

"Why bother about some external things?"

This blind man is quite free and easy.

As for Ying Yuan, he is even more free and easy.

He smiled, picked up the silk cloth and stuffed it under his butt without hesitation, then sat down cross-legged.

He tapped the chessboard in front of him and said with a smile: "Let's start, let me see your chess skills!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the blind man in blue smiled for the first time.

"I really wish to ask for it!"

In fact, Ying Yuan was quite confident in his chess skills before.

After all, he had really studied it and was quite interested in it before.

Then, Ying Yuan was in trouble. Ying Yuan took the lead with the black pieces and laid a net on the chessboard in almost the blink of an eye.

The densely packed and crisscrossing black pieces are mainly aimed at forming alliances and relying on each other.

The white piece on the opposite side is like a swordsman who takes an unconventional approach. It seems that he has no plan, but in a flash he turns into a poisonous move that goes straight to the victim's vital point.

This lasted a full half day.

Ying Yuan's forehead was already covered with sweat, but he didn't even have the chance to wipe it off.

Because he has lost nine games in a row.

As a man who is good at planning, what he fears most is an opponent who takes an unconventional approach and does not follow the routine.

It seemed like a random move, but it could suddenly appear and give him a fatal blow soon after.

For nine games, after each loss, Ying Yuan suddenly realized that he was just one move away from winning.

In the last game, Ying Yuan was very ruthless. He first took a risk and killed the opponent's dragon, and then made a feint to the east and attacked in the west to break into the opponent's hinterland.

In the end, this game was almost not played according to Ying Yuan's usual habits and style of play, but Ying Yuan won it with great difficulty.

Seeing the blind man in blue finally resigning himself to defeat, Ying Yuan laughed as if he was both happy and unwilling.

"You are really the best!"

"Even though he couldn't see due to eye disease, he was able to defeat me badly."

"I won this last game by luck!"

"From this perspective, it seems that I am particularly useless!"

"By the way, are you willing to join the court?"

"I see that you are good at taking unconventional steps in your chess moves, and you are a good strategist. It's just right for you to come to the imperial court!"

Logically speaking, Ying Yuan, the Prince Regent, was already giving a huge honor by making this invitation on the spot.

Since the other party knows Ying Yuan’s identity, he will not refuse.

But I never thought that this blind man in blue would behave so unexpectedly today.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir!"

"However, I am blind but clear-minded, so I will not hang out with those people in the court who are clear-minded but blind."

"If you are interested, I can teach you a set of dragon-slaying techniques. What do you think?"

Ying Yuan slowly got up from the ground.

He gently brushed off the dust on his body, and then looked around.

Before I knew it, the game of chess had lasted for most of the day.

At the beginning, the sun was shining brightly, but now the sky was covered with sunset glow.

People in twos and threes, with a little fatigue, a little yearning and a little smile on their faces, walked hurriedly towards their homes.

Yes!

Now is the time to go home.

There is a home there, and I have thoughts about it in my heart.

Looking at this ordinary yet heartwarming scene in front of him, Ying Yuan silently praised it in his heart.

Then, he turned around and patted the blind man in blue on the shoulder.

"You know how to see me again!"

"see you later!"

After saying that, he smiled, turned around and got on the carriage without hesitation.

Long Qie took a deep look at the blind man who had played chess with his son for an entire afternoon, then climbed onto the shaft of the cart and threw the reins.

Da da da da…

With the sound of crisp horse hooves, this carriage, which was not luxurious but looked solemn and dignified everywhere, slowly drove away from this place.

The blind man in blue had been sitting there without moving, looking like a clay or wooden sculpture.

After a long while, he murmured, "Did you see through my moves?"

(End of this chapter)