It took several days before Cao Xihe realized that the precious agarwood in Sheng Jingchu's study was gone.
He had coveted that piece of agarwood for a long time, waiting for the day Sheng Jingchu might make a foolish bet with him so that he could win it.
The reason was simple: he had recently acquired the fan he had always dreamed of, but it lacked a proper fan tassel.
He almost immediately exclaimed, "Senior Brother, your house has been robbed!"
Sheng Jingchu remained indifferent, "I already gave it away."
Cao Xihe almost burst into tears, "Who did you give it to? I'll go get it back!"
Sheng Jingchu ignored him.
After some thought, Cao Xihe figured it was most likely given to Cheng Liao.
So, he sent her a WeChat message:
"Did my senior brother give you anything? Something related to agarwood?"
Cheng Liao was puzzled:
"Agarwood? What agarwood?"
Cao Xihe, unwilling to give up, clarified:
"It's a very fragrant wood."
Only then did Cheng Liao understand:
"Oh, yes, he did. But it’s no longer just wood; it’s been carved into a cicada."
Cao Xihe was so angry he wanted to roll on the ground, "Senior Brother, you’re choosing love over friendship! Go and get it back for me, right now!"
His unreasonable behavior wasn't a new thing. Sheng Jingchu simply asked Xiao Qi to see the guest out.
In the end, it was the leader of the Go Academy who comforted Cao Xihe, repeatedly promising to get him a fan tassel made of mutton-fat jade. Only then did Cao Xihe stop making a fuss.
The younger players, witnessing this scene for the first time, looked at each other in amazement.
The full name of the Toyota Cup is the Toyota Cup World Go Championship. After 2009, it was temporarily suspended due to the economic crisis.
Xiu Era didn’t follow the event closely, sending Cheng Liao and her group over just in time for the round of 16.
Out of the sixteen players, China had only four spots: Sheng Jingchu, Cao Xihe, Ye Chen, and the recently prominent nine-dan player, Yao Ke.
The Korean team had eight spots, with the most attention-grabbing player being the genius Zhao Yanxun.
Overall, China's performance was relatively average.
There was some traffic on the way, so Cheng Liao arrived in the afternoon, just in time for the press conference organized by the hosts.
A Japanese reporter was interviewing Cao Xihe: "Mr. Kato Kiyomasa just said that he will definitely defeat you this time. What’s your response?"
Cao Xihe took the microphone, "But the player I most want to face is Zhao Yanxun."
Zhao Yanxun, who was only twenty-five years old, had become famous at a very young age, gaining recognition in Korea at the age of thirteen.
It was rumored that when his mother gave birth to him, she had a strange dream in which an immortal gave her a Go stone. Whether this is true or not is unclear, but people speculate it might be a story made up after Zhao Yanxun became famous.
However, Korean Go fans revered him to the extreme. The titles "Go King" and "Go Saint" were no longer sufficient to express their admiration; they directly called him "Go God."
When Cheng Liao first heard this, she couldn’t help but laugh, thinking the name was clever, as it reversed to spell "miracle."
Zhao Yanxun took the opportunity to respond. He had typical Korean features, with single eyelids and relatively plain facial features, but together, they created a somewhat delicate look. He spoke arrogantly, "I doubt I’ll have the chance to play against Mr. Cao Xihe."
Among the sixteen players, the Korean team had the best results.
"If you’re lucky enough to make it to the quarterfinals, I might play with you."
This was a blatant insult.
To Chinese players, Zhao Yanxun was like a nightmare—anyone who faced him was doomed to be eliminated.
Although everyone’s expressions weren’t good, they had to admit that Zhao Yanxun indeed had the skills to back up his arrogance.
Compared to Cao Xihe’s imaginative playing style, Zhao Yanxun’s style was unpredictable, often making a comeback in the mid-game.
Players who lost to him often found it baffling, but when they looked back, they realized that Zhao Yanxun had already set the stage with his first move.
Cao Xihe gave him the nickname "Zhao the Pit."
The atmosphere turned cold, but it was Sheng Jingchu, who had been silent until now, who spoke up: "I’d like to play a match against Mr. Zhao Yanxun before the official competition."
After hearing the translation, Zhao Yanxun smiled, revealing a set of perfect white teeth, "Sorry, I don’t accept." He had a habit of not playing any matches before an official competition.
"I’ll give you a handicap of one stone."
Handicaps are given when there is a significant difference in skill between two players. Sheng Jingchu’s statement was a direct slap in Zhao Yanxun’s face.
"Wow—"
The Chinese media understood first and began murmuring in low voices.
The Japanese media were momentarily surprised after hearing the translation, while the Korean media erupted in an uproar.
Zhao Yanxun sneered, glancing at Sheng Jingchu, and said something.
The Korean media burst into laughter, with some even making a thumbs-down gesture towards the Chinese reporters.
Cheng Liao only caught the phrase "Sheng Jingchu-xi," with "xi" being an honorific in Korean.
The Chinese translator quickly provided the translation: "Mr. Zhao said that it's still daylight, and Mr. Sheng Jingchu is already talking in his sleep?"
"I’m very much awake," Sheng Jingchu looked at Zhao Yanxun with a serious and cold expression, "Of course, if Mr. Zhao Yanxun is afraid of losing, then let’s forget about it."
No one can withstand such a provocation, especially with so many media watching.
Zhao Yanxun immediately responded, "Fine, when?"
"Right now."
All interest in continuing the interview vanished among the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese media. The organizers quickly ended the press conference and set up a Go room.
Since this wasn’t an official match, there were no restrictions on the media. Cheng Liao followed the crowd into the Go room.
In the crowd, Sheng Jingchu glanced at her, and when he noticed the agarwood cicada on her neck, a slight smile appeared in his eyes.
Soon, the small Go room was packed to the brim.
Cao Xihe anxiously rubbed his hands, complaining about Sheng Jingchu, "Is my senior brother out of his mind? Zhao Yanxun is just foul-mouthed. Everyone’s used to it by now; losing a few words to him doesn’t really hurt. But if we lose this match, how can we face the Go community?"
Cheng Liao, unhappy with his words, retorted, "What do you mean by that? It sounds like you’re certain Mr. Sheng will lose."
Cao Xihe turned to glance at Cheng Liao, and seeing the cicada on her neck, he became even more displeased, glaring at her fiercely.
Cheng Liao was baffled by his glare but had no time to care as she squeezed forward.
In a handicap game, there is no komi, and Zhao Yanxun, playing black, had to give up half a point to white.
In Go, black has the advantage of going first, making it much more difficult for Sheng Jingchu to win as white in this situation.
Cheng Liao was so nervous that her palms were almost sweating.
The two players exchanged moves on the board, and the Chinese players were tense, holding their breath.
Meanwhile, the Korean players continued to shout insults, calling Sheng Jingchu an arrogant fool.
The Japanese players, however, were polite and stopped the Koreans from their verbal abuse.
As the game reached the middle phase, Zhao Yanxun became visibly tense. He unconsciously gripped the folding fan in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.
In contrast, Sheng Jingchu's expression remained calm, showing no signs of emotional fluctuation.
Yan Xiao whispered to Cheng Liao beside her, "Win or lose aside, I really like your boyfriend's demeanor!"
Cheng Liao didn't have the energy to correct her about the "boyfriend" remark, keeping her eyes fixed on the Go board she couldn't understand.
At first, the Korean players were loud and energetic, but gradually, they fell silent, gathering together with increasingly serious expressions.
Sheng Jingchu made another move.
Zhao Yanxun hesitated for a long time before standing up, bowing to Sheng Jingchu, and walking away.
The remaining spectators first exchanged bewildered glances, then erupted in cheers—
"We won! We won!"
Sheng Jingchu stood up, had a brief meeting with the other Chinese players, and then stopped in front of Cheng Liao on his way out.
"Do you want to take a break?"
Cheng Liao had flown in from Beijing, though Japan isn't far from Beijing, just over two hours by plane.
She shook her head, "I'm not tired."
He pondered for a moment, "Would you like to go grab a bite to eat?"
He then glanced at Yan Xiao standing behind Cheng Liao, "Join us?"
Yan Xiao quickly shook her head, not wanting to intrude, "I need to go back and organize the equipment."
Sheng Jingchu took Cheng Liao to a nearby izakaya. The place was small, with a narrow staircase that only allowed one person to pass at a time.
The upstairs was already full, but there were still a few seats available on the first floor.
The owner, who knew a few words of basic Chinese, greeted Sheng Jingchu and awkwardly complimented Cheng Liao in Chinese, "Such a cute young lady."
Sheng Jingchu ordered ramen for Cheng Liao.
"The ramen here is pretty good; the rest is—" He glanced at the owner, who was smiling warmly at him, and reluctantly altered his sentence, "—also not bad."
Cheng Liao gave him an understanding look.
Reflecting on the earlier match, Cheng Liao still felt a bit on edge, "I heard you’ve lost to Zhao Yanxun before. Why did you give him a handicap today?"
Sheng Jingchu, feeling a bit tired, rubbed his temples, "Zhao Yanxun exerts a lot of pressure on people."
After inventing Go, the Chinese developed many terms to describe the "state of mind" in the game, indicating that while winning is important, the experience itself is also a spiritual enjoyment.
But Korean players focus on technique, thoroughly studying various playing methods, which often puts Chinese players at a disadvantage in matches.
Especially against a master like Zhao Yanxun, whose overwhelming confidence and superior skills have become a shadow in the minds of Chinese players.
"This is a match to determine who enters the quarterfinals from the round of 16. With so few Chinese players to begin with, none of them wanted to face Zhao Yanxun. The closer it gets to the finals, the weaker their momentum becomes.
"What I did today might seem arrogant, but I had to do it. First, to boost the morale of the Chinese players; second, to give them a chance to observe the match firsthand, which would be beneficial for their skill development."
Cheng Liao rested her chin on her hand, nodding repeatedly, "But… what if you had lost?"
"The reason I dared to say what I did is that I was seventy percent sure I wouldn’t lose. Zhao Yanxun has many quirks; he needs to prepare thoroughly before a match. A sudden disruption in his routine can make him very anxious. Go is largely a psychological battle. If he can’t stay calm, he’s not far from losing."
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