Chapter 644 The Might of the Chess Saint (Bonus Chapter)
Gu Jiao said with great ambition, "I've inquired and found that not many people know the Six Kingdoms Chess Saint. Among the places I'm going to and the people I might meet along the way, only the Grand Preceptor has seen him. After I enter the Grand Preceptor's Hall, you can come out immediately without having to meet the Grand Preceptor."
Mr. Meng said expressionlessly, "You've considered things quite thoroughly."
“That’s right!” Gu Jiao cleared her throat and changed her voice to a boyish tone. “I’ll write down a few lines for you.”
Mr. Meng's lips twitched, unsure whether he was speechless at her voice or at the fact that she even had her own storyline.
What if I disagree?
"I'll play a game of chess with you."
Mr. Meng: "..."
If I were to actually fight, would I only be worth one game of chess?
"Wait!" Gu Jiao suddenly remembered something, jumped off the carriage, and went inside to change into a set of youthful clothes that would be more suitable for travel.
The academy uniforms of Sky Dome Academy are too flashy; it would be bad if they caused a traffic jam at the inner city gate.
The horse king didn't need anyone to drive it. Gu Jiao just tugged on the reins to tell it to turn left or right. It would give way when necessary and overtake when appropriate, practically achieving semi-autonomous driving for the carriage.
Gu Jiao took out a charcoal pencil and a small notebook in the carriage and quickly wrote two large pages, listing all the possible unexpected situations she might encounter along the way.
Then, show it to Mr. Meng.
Looking at the page full of embarrassing lines, Mr. Meng almost couldn't help but tell her, "You don't need to act anymore, I am the actor."
Gu Jiao suddenly said, "I was in such a hurry to leave that I forgot about the coachman."
The main problem is that the horse is too powerful; it can walk on its own, making the coachman seem dispensable.
Unlike the horses at home in the past, which wouldn't move unless you cracked the whip twice.
Gu Jiao said seriously, "You are the chess master of six kingdoms, so you must have a coachman to match your status."
“I think you could be a coachman,” said Mr. Meng.
Gu Jiao sighed, "It's not that I'm not good at being a coachman, but I'm going into the Imperial Preceptor's Hall later, right? Once I'm inside, I won't come out. Won't it arouse suspicion if the carriage is empty outside?"
Mr. Meng's lips twitched again. You've managed to come up with such a logical explanation, but didn't you ever consider that it's impossible to just find someone to impersonate the Six Kingdoms Chess Saint?
Mu Qingchen was unaware that Gu Jiao had planned to impersonate someone else; otherwise, she would have done everything in her power to stop her.
Someone once impersonated the chess master of six countries, but was discovered and executed in public. Since then, no one has dared to have such a crooked idea.
Furthermore, Mu Qingchen's understanding of Master Meng was not entirely accurate. Master Meng disliked people watching him play chess face-to-face and always drew a screen or curtain, simply to concentrate on the game, not to maintain any eerie mystery.
He frequently went in and out of the city, and quite a few of the city gate guards knew him.
As for the claim that only the Imperial Advisor had seen him, that was merely Mu Qingchen's personal speculation and did not represent the actual situation.
Mu Qingchen was unaware that he had been to Zhao Kingdom, worked as a beggar, and spent money to hire someone to play chess, which shows how unreliable Mu Qingchen's understanding of Old Master Meng was.
"By the way, how did you find this token?" Gu Jiao asked.
Mr. Meng glanced at her and said, "You just found it like that."
Gu Jiao: "Oh, you're quite good at picking things up."
When passing through the inner city checkpoint, Gu Jiao sat outside and acted as the carriage driver. She had the old man hand the token of the Six Kingdoms Chess Saint to the guards guarding the city, and then turned her head and winked at Old Master Meng inside the carriage.
It's time to deliver our lines!
Old Master Meng pinched his thigh, suppressing the immense shame in his heart, and said to the guards guarding the city: "I am the great chess master of the six kingdoms, Old Master Meng."
The guards on the city wall were all taken aback.
What kind of nonsense is this girl writing! Who refers to themselves like that?!
Old Mr. Meng took a deep breath and said in the arrogant, patriarchal tone that Gu Jiao emphasized in bold, bold letters, "Why aren't you letting them through yet?"
The guards were completely bewildered. "We're supposed to let you through! When have we ever stopped you? Didn't you show us your token yourself?"
Mr. Meng abruptly pulled down the curtain!
Gu Jiao gave Mr. Meng a thumbs up.
The curtain-throwing scene was a great impromptu performance, a brilliant touch that highlighted the character's personality!
Mr. Meng was grinding his teeth so hard they were clattering. I was angry, ashamed, and embarrassed!
After successfully entering the inner city, Gu Jiao found a nearby car dealership and hired a driver.
The coachman was very familiar with the terrain of the inner city and quickly drove the carriage to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall.
He didn't know who was inside the carriage, but he had heard that ordinary people could only enter through the side gate, so he stopped the carriage outside the side gate.
Mr. Meng said calmly, "Go forward and go through the main gate."
Gu Jiao had already sat back in the car. She nodded and said, "That's right. With Old Master Meng's status, he should use the main gate."
She gave the old man an approving look; he had a thorough understanding of the character and had already learned to add his own dramatic flair!
Mr. Meng's face darkened. "I don't want to talk to you."
Both the main gate and the side gate were guarded. Gu Jiao sat in the carriage and held up her notebook to write down the inscription for Mr. Meng.
Mr. Meng clenched his fist. "Can't you not say?"
Gu Jiao shook her head decisively.
Mr. Meng lifted the curtain: "Stop."
The carriage stopped.
Mr. Meng handed the token to the disciple of the Imperial Preceptor Hall on duty, glanced at the small notebook that Gu Jiao held up to him, and said with great shame, "I am your Imperial Preceptor Hall's honored guest, the Imperial Preceptor's most sincere friend, the great chess master of the six kingdoms, Mr. Meng."
Disciple of the Imperial Preceptor Hall: "..."
The carriage drove straight in.
"Alright, you can go now. I'll go in and have a look around by myself," Gu Jiao said to Mr. Meng.
She has a bottom line when it comes to swindling people; she usually does the really dangerous things herself.
Mr. Meng suddenly didn't know what to say. He didn't try to scam people when he should have, but he tried to scam them when he didn't need to.
He called out to her, "What exactly do you want to do at the Imperial Preceptor's Hall?"
Gu Jiao didn't hide anything from him: "Gu Yan needs surgery, and I'd like to see if the Imperial Preceptor's Palace has a suitable place for him to have the surgery."
The Imperial Preceptor's Hall is renowned for its medical expertise, a fact known to Elder Meng. However, he has never received treatment there. He paused for a moment, then said, "Wait a moment, I'll find someone to take you there."
After saying that, Old Master Meng lifted the carriage curtain and beckoned to a disciple of the Imperial Preceptor Hall who was not far away: "Come here."
The disciple walked over quickly.
Mr. Meng said, "I am Mr. Meng."
The disciple thought to himself, "I know."
Old Master Meng coughed lightly and asked, "Is your Imperial Advisor here?"
The disciple said, "The Grand Preceptor has gone on a trip."
Mr. Meng then asked, "Is your eldest brother here?"
The disciple hurriedly replied, "Yes, do you want to see our senior brother? I'll go and fetch him right away."
Old Master Meng glanced at Gu Jiao and said, "No need. My young friend has some things he wants to ask him. You can take him to find your senior brother."
After speaking slowly and deliberately, Mr. Meng said to Gu Jiao, "I'll wait for you outside."
Gu Jiao was practically ready to slap him; his acting was simply superb!
Old Master Meng waited for Gu Jiao outside the Imperial Preceptor Hall. With no more worries, Gu Jiao followed the disciple to find the senior brother he had mentioned.
Because someone was leading the way, Gu Jiao was unable to wander around the Imperial Preceptor's Hall and appreciate its full view. However, the scenery along the way was excellent, with magnificent buildings, pavilions, and waterside terraces, which were simple and elegant yet grand and luxurious.
The further in you go, the darker the colors of the buildings become, and Gu Jiao vaguely senses an ancient and mysterious atmosphere.
And there was a strange sense of familiarity about it.
"Are they assassins?" Gu Jiao asked.
The disciple looked around and then looked at Gu Jiao in surprise: "Young master, are you able to sense the nearby assassins?"
"Mm." Gu Jiao nodded.
She seems to have an innate sensitivity to the aura of assassins, perhaps because they share commonalities in their battles.
The assassins from the Imperial Preceptor's Hall are all very powerful. In less than a quarter of an hour, she had already sensed at least ten auras that were no weaker than those of Tianlang.
Gu Jiao suddenly felt a little fortunate that the old man had pulled this trick. If she had really been searching in secret, she probably wouldn't have been able to move freely under the noses of so many experts.
"arrive."
The disciple pointed to a library and said, "My senior brother is inside. Please allow me to inform him."
"Thank you for your trouble," Gu Jiao said.
The disciple went to report and soon came out of the library, saying to Gu Jiao, "Young master, my senior brother invites you."
Gu Jiao nodded, walked up the steps, glanced at the shoes left at the door, and took off her own shoes, stepping onto the spotless floor with only her white pajamas.
Inside the library, rows of bookshelves were filled to the brim, and a rich aroma of books wafted through the air. The pavilion was quiet, and about a dozen disciples from the Imperial Preceptor's Hall were arranging the books on the shelves, but no one made a sound.
Beyond the bookshelves is a wooden platform about a foot high, resembling a small open-plan study.
A man dressed in a dark blue robe knelt behind a low wooden table, facing the bookshelf, engrossed in writing something.
Having apparently spotted Gu Jiao's silhouette on the ground, he looked up, revealing a handsome and refined young face, and smiled slightly: "Are you Mr. Meng's young friend?"
Gu Jiao nodded: "Yes, my surname is Xiao."
"Please sit down." He gestured to the cushion that had just been placed opposite him. "Young Master Xiao may call me Ye Qing."
Gu Jiao sat down opposite her eldest disciple, Ye Qing.
Ye Qing's robe was quite different from that of the disciples of the Imperial Preceptor Hall, which showed that he held a prominent position in the Imperial Preceptor Hall.
He has an otherworldly air about him; his smile makes people feel close to him, but you don't want to get too close.
It's a perfect sense of distance.
Ye Qing put down the paper and pen in his hand, and a disciple brought him a basin of water to wash his hands.
His hands were actually very clean, but it was a matter of etiquette to wash them before serving tea to guests.
The disciple withdrew.
He personally poured tea for Gu Jiao and also poured himself a cup, then asked with a smile, "May I ask what brings Young Master Xiao to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall?"
Gu Jiao looked at him and said, "My younger brother suffers from a heart condition and needs surgery."
"Heart surgery?" Ye Qing pondered for a moment. "Our Imperial Preceptor Hall is indeed proficient in medicine, but I'm afraid ordinary doctors can't perform such a major operation."
Gu Jiao's eyes flickered slightly; she felt she saw hope for Gu Yan's recovery: "So your Imperial Preceptor's Hall can perform such complex surgeries?"
Ye Qing smiled and said, "My master is capable. He has superb medical skills and once performed heart surgery on a patient."
Gu Jiao asked, "Was the surgery successful?"
Ye Qingyu said, "It was a success. It's just a pity that although the patient's heart disease was cured, he didn't survive the unexpected event. Life is truly unpredictable."
Gu Jiao said, "An accident is an accident, and surgery is surgery."
“What you say is absolutely right, young master.” Ye Qing nodded with a smile. “However, how did you know that your brother needed surgery?”
Most people wouldn't think of this.
Gu Jiao said, "I have some medical knowledge."
"I see," Ye Qing said regretfully. "It's a pity that Young Master Xiao has come at an inopportune time. My master is out. If Young Master Xiao had come a few days earlier, he might have run into my master."
That's alright, she can perform the surgery herself.
Gu Jiao said directly, "I can perform the surgery myself. Can I use your operating room?"
Perhaps because of Mr. Meng, Ye Qing treated Gu Jiao very generously and politely. He said in a gentle tone, "You can borrow a regular operating room, but I don't have the key to my master's operating room. I'll have to wait for him to come back."
Even the operating room can understand it; the Imperial Preceptor's Hall truly has a time-travel culture.
Gu Jiao pondered for a moment, then suddenly blurted out, "Odd changes, even doesn't?"
Ye Qing was taken aback.
"Never mind, it's nothing." This wasn't a time traveler, Gu Jiao waved her hand, changing the subject, "When will the Imperial Advisor return?"
"Ah." Ye Qing came back to his senses and said, "Before Master left, he instructed that it would take him at the fastest twenty days and at the slowest a month."
A month isn't too long; given Gu Yan's current situation, he can afford to wait.
This trip went much more smoothly than Gu Jiao had imagined. Not only did she enter the Imperial Preceptor's Hall and confirm the existence of the operating room, but she also obtained permission to use it.
Gu Jiao thanked Ye Qing and left the Imperial Preceptor's Hall under the escort of her disciples.
She sat in the carriage, weighed the token in her hand, and exclaimed, "I never imagined that the identity of the Six Kingdoms Chess Saint would be so useful."
Old Mr. Meng straightened his old back without making a sound: "Hmph!"
Old Meng: "Why aren't you trying to curry favor with me!"
Jiaojiao: "You should go walk the horses."
Old Meng: "..."
(End of this chapter)
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