Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: I Spent the Night with the Murim Alliance Leader's Youngest Daughter
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Everyone has a plausible plan.
Until they face the reality that doesn't go as planned.
The scheme I'd laid out for Namgoong Hyu had backfired, leaving me utterly deflated.
'How did it come to this?'
I pondered deeply.
Why on earth had it failed?
After mulling it over blankly in my room, I reached a conclusion.
It was because I'd done something too positively beneficial for the other party.
'It was basically diet consulting.'
It's incredibly hard to earn resentment without breeding outright hatred.
In a way, it's like a mischievous prank.
Maybe I had a bit too much greed.
'I need to be more ruthless.'
The soft mindset of achieving my goals without taking any losses.
That was the problem.
Even if it meant clashing a bit with the Namgung Family, I needed to act boldly.
So this time, I resolved to firmly provoke negative emotions.
"This young lady greets the Retired Family Head."
"This lowly one greets the Retired Family Head."
"Oh, Yeonhui. Why so stiff? Is it because your lover is here?"
"Grandpa!"
And so, the target I chose was Retired Family Head Namgoong Hwan.
He'd stepped back from the front lines, but he still had enough influence to swiftly clean up the mess I'd made.
Hadn't he insisted I stay in the outer quarters?
I planned to provoke him.
Right now, he might look kindly avuncular, but I'd heard that in his prime, he had a temper rivaling his son's.
"This is only the second time I've met you, isn't it, Family Head?"
"Hoho, so it is."
"It's an honor to meet you, Retired Family Head."
After a brief greeting and some light chatter, when the moment felt right, I brought it up.
"I've heard you're quite the Go master, Retired Family Head."
"Ho? Who told you that?"
"Your reputation echoes throughout the Central Plains—how could I not know?"
Go.
It was the one hobby Namgoong Hwan enjoyed in his retirement.
"If I may be so bold, I fancy myself somewhat talented at Go as well. I'd be honored to receive your instruction."
"My, my lord. You play Go too?"
Yeonhui's eyes sparkled.
I gazed at her fondly and replied.
"Of course. I'll teach you later."
"Yay!"
"Hoho, how could I bully a young junior?"
Namgoong Hwan smiled faintly, as if watching his grandson's antics.
I wondered if he'd wear the same expression when the game ended.
"They say the pinnacle of Central Plains Go is Elder Huangbo Chong and you, Retired Family Head. Please grant this junior an eye-opening opportunity."
Crack.
A vein throbbed at Namgoong Hwan's temple as he heard my words.
'Knew it would work.'
Huangbo Chong and Namgoong Hwan.
They were the top two in Central Plains Go.
But people regarded Huangbo Chong as number one.
'200 straight losses.'
It was due to their lopsided record.
That one remark was enough.
"If you insist so strongly, I suppose I have no choice."
Even in my past life, weren't there petty rivalries over college matches or whatever?
Mentioning Huangbo Chong first was perfect provocation.
'Sorry, Elder.'
But what he didn't know was my past life.
I'd been cooped up in a hospital room, grinding mobile Go and shogi endlessly.
He might think I only played courtesy games and scoff, but I had no intention of entertaining him.
'I want to drive you mad.'
Namgoong Hwan was undoubtedly skilled.
But decades couldn't catch up to over a thousand years of modern Go accumulated.
"Wow, my lord won? No way! Grandpa's the best Go player in the Central Plains..."
Good girl, Yeonhui.
Her innocent question was plenty to prod Namgoong Hwan.
"I lost!"
"My thanks for the handicap, sir."
"Come back again. Again!"
From that day on, visiting Namgoong Hwan daily became routine.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ To Namgoong Hwan, Go was his entire life.
When battling over that tiny board, it felt like he'd returned to his vigorous youth.
Only Go could make his fading heart race.
"Oh dear~ Where'd that Go player go?"
A nerve-grating remark.
One uttered by Huangbo Chong mid-game.
'Damn bastard...'
The 201st match, started with high ambitions.
Namgoong Hwan had been on the defensive for ages.
He couldn't resign due to the scraps of pride left.
'Can I really never beat this guy?'
Their games always ended by narrow margins, but a loss was a loss.
Namgoong Hwan had hunted down and crushed every Go player who'd beaten Huangbo Chong, but he himself could never win.
A cursed matchup.
"I lost."
"Whew. You've improved a lot, old friend. You're practically at the immortals' seat now!"
Huangbo Chong's exaggerated laughter galled him, like the man was merely gilding his own face.
"Next time, I'll win."
"Sure, sure. I'll be waiting."
He was furious.
A sense of helplessness, as if no strategy would ever prevail.
'Why did heaven birth me and then him!'
His steps home were heavy.
"Did you win this time?"
"......"
"They say victory and defeat are mere soldiers' glory. Don't take it too hard."
Yi Se-woong's consoling-yet-irritating words.
Lately, this punk was gnawing at his nerves as much as Huangbo Chong.
'Last time, I was just careless!'
Time to school the grandson-in-law drunk on a fluke win.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In the meantime, I'd provoked Namgoong Hwan with various methods.
"Shall I give you white?"
It started with offering the first move.
"How can I take white against a junior!"
He'd staunchly refused at first, but as losses piled up, his momentum broke, and he took white.
"Shall we play handicap Go?"
"My lord, what's that?"
"Ah, white places a few stones first."
"Doesn't that make white too advantageous?"
"White's supposed to have the edge."
"Aha!"
Next was handicap Go.
Yeonhui's ignorant questions mercilessly churned Namgoong Hwan's guts.
Pretending reluctance, he placed three stones on star points.
'Won't save you, though.'
"One more game."
"Sorry, but I have plans after."
"I'll clear your schedule—sit!"
"Sir, isn't consecutive games the winner's right?"
Like running away after losing with a 'you lost to me.'
"Oh, can't I play here?"
"......"
Pretending to blunder then stopping (it was kinda funny seeing the old man hold his breath in anticipation).
"My lord, is it okay to stop like that?"
"Haha. Fine before playing it."
While repeating taboo Go behaviors, something stopped it.
'He's absorbing my skill!'
Despite repeated losses, his competitive fire burned endlessly.
Namgoong Hwan's Go prowess improved by leaps and bounds.
To the point where even I had to get serious.
'Still got that passion?'
Past-life Go concepts diverged wildly from this world.
Every era has joseki.
Shattering conventions to accept my style was near creating something from nothing!
'Is it right to tease someone this passionate about Go?'
That was when.
I stopped the petty provocations and began treating Namgoong Hwan seriously.
As one Go player to another, I could no longer toy with him!
That was the blunder.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'That insolent brat!'
Yi Se-woong.
Just hearing the name made Namgoong Hwan's head spin.
First impressions hadn't been bad.
'A real man needs that kind of spirit!'
The guy who'd boldly confessed his love for his granddaughter at the family head match.
He felt different from the sycophants circling her.
So he'd given him a little push.
Who knew bold was just arrogance!
'Seeking instruction?'
His intentions were obvious.
Impress him with Go, show off to Yeonhui.
'I don't even give Yeonhui handicaps!'
Yeonhui had followed him since childhood, learning Go.
For him to offer to teach her!
'You like him that much?'
His granddaughter pretending Go ignorance to boost her lover's spirits.
Watching her, Namgoong Hwan was exasperated.
'I'll go easy on him.'
But he lost.
To a youth not even in his twenties.
Decades of accumulation crumbled in an instant.
Even at full strength, defeat.
Provocations and more losses followed.
A realm beyond the heavens.
'Is this guy a Go god?!'
Yi Se-woong was a thorn in his side.
The insolent punk who'd crushed his pride.
'It should've been like that...'
Clack!
Huangbo Chong tsked as he placed a stone.
"Tsk."
The 205th match, prepared with gritted teeth.
"I lost."
Huangbo Chong tossed it out casually.
Namgoong Hwan's eyes widened like saucers, disbelieving.
'I beat Huangbo Chong?'
Huangbo Chong bit his lip in fury, trembling.
His hands frantically reviewed the game in disbelief.
For a moment, Namgoong Hwan felt like he was looking in a mirror.
It was exactly how Huangbo Chong always looked after their games.
"I won!"
"I know!"
"I won!"
Unable to contain his joy, Namgoong Hwan bounced like a child.
Central Plains Go players' gazes flashed in his mind.
'They must've mocked me as second-rate!'
Whether true or not, that thought was the heart demon that always shackled him.
"Pathetic, rejoicing over one fluke win."
"What?"
"Another game. Prove it wasn't luck."
Huangbo Chong's taunt felt like a loser's tantrum to Namgoong Hwan, tempered by Yi Se-woong.
"Consecutive games are the winner's right, no?"
"What?"
"I'll accept your challenge next time."
205 games: 1 win, 204 losses.
You lost to me.
Namgoong Hwan applied Yi Se-woong's lessons directly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'How did things end up like this?'
I'd had plenty of chances.
For instance, provoking him further after each loss to Huangbo Chong would've easily made him my enemy.
'But I couldn't.'
Sometimes you must defy your heart.
Was I swayed by Namgoong Hwan, who even past seventy sought to best Huangbo Chong?
"Come again tomorrow!"
"Sir, Yeonhui will be out on business tomorrow."
"Then come alone!"
By the time "sir" felt more natural than "Retired Family Head."
I should've noticed his gaze warming even without Yeonhui, during our private sessions.
'Just one more prod would've done it!'
I should've hardened my heart...
"Thanks to the moves you taught me, I finally crushed that old coot Huangbo Chong. His frustrated face... Ha!"
"Congratulations."
"Alright, let's play till sunset!"
From the day Namgoong Hwan finally beat Huangbo Chong.
I became the Retired Family Head's obsessed youngest son-in-law.
This wasn't what I wanted...