After bidding farewell to Sima Xingkong, Diana and I left the hotel and drove back to the base. Since Nongyue and the others were focused on Zhongnan Mountain, they wouldn't be coming to arrest me in large numbers. I decided to inform Hu Yao and the rest to return to the Jinjiling stronghold. The living conditions in the castle there had become exceptionally luxurious thanks to the extravagant efforts of these demons, and after experiencing such opulence, they might find ordinary apartments difficult to accept.
Half an hour later, after we all regrouped at Jinjiling, I specifically climbed to the mountaintop. As Sima Xingkong had said, after midnight, precisely at Zi Shi (the rat hour), before 1 AM, my Xiang Qi Shu (Dispositional Qi Art) became extremely active. Standing at a high vantage point, I could even extend my perception about ten kilometers, covering a significant portion of the city.
Within my field of vision, I found no anomalies. At this hour, Sabia's Big Dipper wouldn't be overhead taking pictures. I sat on a stone stump, smoking a cigarette, and contemplated the recent events.
Yaoyao and the other two hadn't activated their devices yet. I suspected they had already entered the Qinling Mountains, a desolate region rumored to be inhabited only by cultivators, where there was no mobile signal, making communication impossible even if they turned on their phones. I speculated that if Sabia were to intervene in the chess match, they might set up one or more mobile information transmitters near the battlefield for drone usage and communication, allowing us to leverage Sabia's technological prowess to control the situation.
Everything felt rather rushed. The Shanhai demonic clan didn't seem to want to give us ample time to prepare. We still hadn't gathered the sixteen chess pieces capable of reaching the battlefield. Although the eight demons could fill in, I felt their strength was still insufficient. After all, they were demons of Blue Qi, and the Shanhai demonic clan would surely deploy Purple Qi Great Demons onto the battlefield.
I had visited the Underworld twice and only managed to recruit Zheng Baobao, who still hadn't reported to me. I also hadn't yet asked the Young King Yan to borrow their Purple Qi Commanders to help me play chess, and I wasn't sure if she would agree.
With a myriad of concerns, it all boiled down to one word: "xu," meaning hollow or weak. After so many years of discreet development by the Bai Ze demonic clan, why were we still so weak?
As I was lost in thought, Bingbing called me: "Brother, Sima Xingkong has started playing chess on her own. Hurry back and see."
"Why would I want to see that? She's a terrible chess player," I chuckled.
"That's not true. Maybe she was faking it when she played with you before," Bingbing replied.
Was that so?
I got up, descended the mountain, and returned to Bingbing's room in the castle. She had already projected the monitor onto the wall via her laptop.
On the screen, Sima Xingkong appeared to have just finished her bath. Her hair, still somewhat damp, was piled high on her head. She was wrapped in a bathrobe, revealing her arms and thighs. As a demon, she wouldn't fear the sub-zero outdoor temperatures like humans. She sat in the same spot I had occupied earlier, crossed her legs, a cigarette butt from mine presumably in her mouth, leisurely arranging the chess pieces and playing against herself.
I watched a couple of moves and felt she wasn't just playing randomly. Both the black and white sides were played with considerable skill.
After a few more moves, as she pondered her strategy, her pace slowed. I followed her thought process, trying to deduce her next moves, but each one surprised me. I often needed to think two moves ahead to understand the intention behind her previous placement. Being two moves ahead of me meant I couldn't keep up. Her chess skills were undoubtedly far superior to mine, a complete novice, especially considering she was simultaneously controlling both sides, playing against herself!
"Bingbing, record this game!" I said.
"It's already recording. She's playing very well," Bingbing replied.
We continued to watch. After about twenty minutes, the game concluded. Although many pieces remained on the board, the strengths of both sides were equal, and the important major pieces were in a state of mutual restraint, rendering them incapable of further attack or offense. Any further moves would only result in a draw.
"It's a draw," Zheng Bingbing declared. She had been playing chess with Wu Zhao remotely, and her skills had improved significantly of late.
I nodded. Sima Xingkong, on the monitor, also contemplated for a while before tacitly accepting the outcome. She then began rearranging the pieces, but this time, she switched to the opposite position. I didn't understand the purpose of this, as she was still playing against herself.