"Give it to me..."
Fan Qinzhu panted, her eyes filled with pleading.
"Hurry, give it to me!"
Tao Bai, of course, couldn't give it to her.
How could the seed of a great cultivator at the late Foundation Establishment stage be cast about casually?
How could common soil possibly nurture a seed of such power?
It was simply wishful thinking!
"Ah!"
Fan Qinzhu let out a long, drawn-out moan, her voice filled with immense satisfaction.
A wave of warmth washed over;
It turned out the SOUP had spilled.
Seeing the time was right, Tao Bai immediately activated the Eclipsed Moon Withered Phoenix Art.
Deep within the cavity, the long and big WEAPON—
Not yet withdrawn—
Absorbed the seed he had just released, along with Fan Qinzhu's Yin Marrow.
It was just like recalling a sent message.
"BIG brother, you really are amazing."
Fan Qinzhu said, wrapping her arms around Tao Bai's neck.
Her red lips drew close to his ear, her warm voice filled with allure.
Tao Bai slowly withdrew the WEAPON.
Seeing this, Fan Qinzhu automatically crawled over.
After a gentle and soft cleaning, the WEAPON was as glossy as new.
Tao Bai pulled on his trousers, took a thick envelope from his chest pocket, and tossed it to Fan Qinzhu.
"Twenty thousand."
*Bang!*
"Don't move, police!"
The door was violently slammed open, and four officers rushed in.
The leader shouted:
"We received a tip from the public that there is prostitution involved here.
Please cooperate with the investigation!
Put your clothes on and get your IDs out!"
As a veteran grassroots officer, he was all too familiar with the process of catching "johns" during the New Year.
The moment he burst into the room, he shouted the routine in one breath.
His gaze was sharp as lightning, quickly scanning the room, but his expression instantly turned to confusion.
Where is he?
He saw only a woman in the room, pulling a quilt to wrap her startled self, but the man was nowhere to be seen.
He had clearly been listening outside the door for a long time, and only kicked the door in after hearing "Twenty thousand"...
He scratched his head and said to the three officers beside him, "Search!"
The three officers searched under the bed, in the wardrobe, the bathroom, and behind the windows, but found no trace of anyone.
Unwilling to give up, the lead officer asked Fan Qinzhu to show her ID.
Hiding under the quilt, Fan Qinzhu told him to look in her bag himself.
After the lead officer got the ID, he asked her several questions.
"Where is the man who was just here?"
"What man? It's been just me in this room the whole time."
"Why were you sleeping without clothes?"
"Is there a law against sleeping naked?" Fan Qinzhu retorted.
"Then how do you explain this twenty thousand yuan?"
"That's my money.
What do I need to explain?
As for you, Officer, are you planning on committing a home invasion?"
Fan Qinzhu tugged at the quilt, revealing a fragrant shoulder, and cast a flirtatious glance at the lead officer.
"..."
The lead officer, looking resentful, took his three men and left the room.
They returned to the first floor and explained the situation to the receptionist.
The receptionist confirmed that a man had indeed gone up with her.
Hearing this, the officer was overjoyed and immediately pulled the hotel's surveillance video.
But the video showed that from start to finish, it was only Fan Qinzhu.
Pulling out her ID, taking out the money, taking the room card, right up until opening the door—
It was always just her.
During that time, no male figure was seen entering her room.
Weird...
Could the receptionist have remembered incorrectly?
Did I hear it wrong, too?
That's impossible...
On the bed, Fan Qinzhu looked blank.
In the blink of an eye, her BIG brother had vanished right before her eyes.
What was going on?
Only the thick envelope of twenty thousand yuan silently testified that her good BIG brother had indeed been there.
The bottomless depth of her own body also confirmed that he had visited, and had engaged in a fierce battle within.
But...
How did he disappear in the time it took me to lower my head?
She couldn't wrap her head around it.
Tao Bai walked through the early morning streets of Nancheng, holding a photograph.
He had just obtained the information he wanted from Fan Qinzhu.
It turned out this photo was taken in Zhalan Alley, and Zhalan Alley was in Langcheng, a hundred kilometers away...
Starting in 1993, Langcheng was directly administered by the province but managed on behalf by Nancheng.
But as a former "big brother" city, how could Langcheng possibly accept being managed by its former "little brother"?
Various historical issues meant that many people were confused about the relationship between the two.
In the eyes of many locals, Nancheng did not include Langcheng.
This confusion had added quite a bit of trouble to Tao Bai's search for Shen Yuan.
Fortunately, heaven pays off the persistent; after many days, he had finally obtained a concrete lead today.
After returning home, days turned into fucks.
Gui Nianqiu did not blame Tao Bai for coming back late.
After all, a good MEAL is worth the wait!
The next day at noon, after lunch, Gui Nianqiu went to the silk shop as usual to look after the business with Liang Yue.
The weather had turned cold again these past few days, and wealthy people nearby showed an even stronger willingness to pay for high-quality silk clothing than before the New Year.
Tao Bai, meanwhile, took off directly from the roof.
Sword flight.
He flew over Mount Fengya, over the frozen fields, over the Northeast Chuan Plain, over Panlong Mountain, and then he could see Langcheng, guarded by the Seven-Color Mountain...
The streets and alleys here were laid out like a chessboard...
This should be the place...
Tao Bai turned off his phone navigation and found a secluded spot to land.
After revealing his form, he walked past a Zhang Fei Beef shop and slowly strolled into the ancient, fragrant alley.
The rare winter sunlight slanted onto the leaves of the Huangge Banyan trees.
Beneath the trees sat men and women, young and old.
In Sichuan, if the sun comes out, one must bask in it.
Some were eating under the trees, some were playing mahjong, and some were playing chess at old stone tables, with several people standing around watching quietly.
Without going over, Tao Bai knew they were playing Go (Weiqi).
If it were HuaXianese Chess (Xiangqi), there wouldn't be any "quiet watching"...
Those spectators would be unstoppable tacticians itching to jump in themselves, even defecting to advise the opponent if their side was losing.
He remembered that Shen Yuan loved playing Go, so he planned to go over and take a look.
The little old man might be sitting right there.
And sure enough!
The little old man was there.
"Grandpa, do we need to count the stones?"
A ten-year-old child asked Shen Yuan in a tender voice.
"Count... of course we have to count. I feel the position is quite close."
"But I feel like Black can give a reverse Komi of twenty points..."
"No way... I feel it's still very close. Let's count!"
Shen Yuan said unwillingly.
Although he felt he might lose this time, he dared not be certain without counting.
Hearing this, the spectators didn't make much noise;
They just silently counted the territory in their heads.
Although they thought Shen Yuan was going to lose, no one spoke up.
This kid improved too fast!
Fast enough to be unbelievable.
He had been learning Go for less than three years, yet he could already beat Shen Yuan in an even game.
"Black, 202 stones. Grandpa, pay up!"
The child skillfully cleared the dead stones and arranged the territory.
In no time, the result was clear.
Indeed, even with a 20-point reverse Komi, Black still won.
Shen Yuan reluctantly pulled out another hundred yuan, then issued an invitation for a rematch: "Little Chuan, again!"
Zhou Baochuan said with a look of disdain, "You've already lost three games in a row. How about I take White and give you the first move (handicap)?"
Hearing this, Shen Yuan's face turned red.
He really couldn't bring himself to accept a handicap from a child.
"How about I play a game with you? If I lose to you, I'll give you two hundred yuan. If I win, I don't want anything. How about it?"
Hearing someone stepping in to take his place, Shen Yuan's mood improved greatly.
He was in desperate need of a way out!
This kid had been on a fierce streak lately, beating many of the elderly players in the neighborhood and earning quite a bit of "pocket money."
"Then it's a deal, no take-backs."
Zhou Baochuan was overjoyed.
If he lost, he didn't have to pay; if he won, he got two hundred!
"Of course I won't take it back. You take Black, I'll take White, and I'll give you a reverse Komi. If you count to 177 stones playing Black, you win. How about that?"
"Then it's a deal, no take-backs." Zhou Baochuan repeated the same phrase.
The board was set.
The Black pieces landed swiftly during the opening phase;
The layout was indeed played fast and well.
Fortunately, there was no chess clock and no time limit.
Tao Bai had time to think a little more, so he didn't fall too far behind in the opening.
After the fighting in the four corners concluded, Tao Bai hadn't gained any advantage;
Instead, he was behind by about one Komi.
Are kids these days this ferocious?
It seems I underestimated him just now...
Watching his endgame earlier, it seemed average, but he hadn't expected his opening game to be this strong!
Entering the mid-game combat, Tao Bai still gained no ground.
After several exchanges, he seemed to have lost another Komi's worth of points.
Tao Bai chased wildly in the endgame, clawing back about ten points, but in the end, Black won with 187 stones.
"Little Chuan is amazing! Truly the number one in Zhalan Alley!"
The spectators praised him one after another.
Tao Bai didn't feel too depressed.
After all, he hadn't touched Go in seven or eight years, so his skills were naturally a bit rusty.
"Little friend, you play well!"
Tao Bai cheerfully took out the money. "You must be at an Amateur 4-dan level."
"Amateur 4? Little Chuan was Amateur 5-dan last year!"
A spectator said.
"He was Amateur 5 at ten years old.
Now he's eleven and preparing to charge for Amateur 6!"
Another spectator added, filling Tao Bai in on the kid's strength.
"Oh, no wonder, so formidable!"
Tao Bai praised sincerely.
In the Tao family, Tao Bai had shown extraordinary linguistic talent early on, and his talent for board games far exceeded his siblings as well.
He started playing Go at the age of twenty, relying purely on self-study and devouring Go(Weiqi) manuals.
Before his disappearance in the year 2000, the 24-year-old had reached 8D on IGS (Internet Go Server). The height of his talent was evident.
"You played pretty well too, young man!" Shen Yuan spoke up.
"Thank you for the compliment, Uncle Shen!"
Tao Bai turned around to look at Shen Yuan and replied.
"You... Little Tao!?"
After carefully scrutinizing Tao Bai's face, Shen Yuan cried out in shock.