"Did you give the chess manual to the emperor?" That was the first thing Wang Dayan asked Ye Buxiu when he cam…
"Did you give the chess manual to the emperor?" That was the first thing Wang Dayan asked Ye Buxiu when he came to and found him sitting by his side."
You should worry about your health first. You were barely hanging on," Ye Buxiu replied, bringing him some congee and avoiding the question.
"Did you give it to him?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because if he's a worthy ruler, he doesn't need a chess manual. And if he's not, then it wouldn't matter even if I handed him ten. All these years... sometimes I wonder if it was ever worth it..."
"Ye—Bu—xiu!" Wang Dayan gritted his teeth, fury surging through him. "Where is it now?"
"I don't know. I threw it away. It's probably long gone. Torn by the wind, eaten by wolves. Who knows! But now, you're free. No need to follow me around anymore. Just rest. This place is safe. Heroes from the jianghu guard the town and the air smells of pears. They call it Heaven's Pier..."
"Get out!" Wang Dayan roared. "Get out of my sight! How could you do this?! Yes, it was your manual, but without me, you'd have drowned in that moat and so would the manual! I gave half my life chasing after your dream. Our dream! How could you do this to me? How could you toss everything we've worked for all these years?! Get lost, I don't want to see you anymore!"
He pushed Ye Buxiu toward the door and slammed it shut behind him. From outside came Ye Buxiu's shout, "You stubborn fool! When you were sick, should I have just left you to rot by the roadside?! I don't regret saving you. The only thing I do regret is not throwing that damn manual away sooner. We wasted years chasing a fantasy!" Inside, Wang Dayan slumped to the floor. His dreams, his youth, everything was gone. Could he blame Ye Buxiu? After all, he did it for the sake of him. Could he blame himself? He had given everything. Or was it just a cruel fate? Too vague to hold accountable. No! In the end, it was all Ye Buxiu's fault. For being gifted, but careless. For starting things that he never finished. For his erratic mix of passivity and reckless resolve. He had always been the problem. Infuriating, as always.
And so, they parted. Ye Buxiu moved to Blissful Retreat. Wang Dayan remained in Heaven's Pier. They picked up their chessboards once more. One was for a living; the other was to one day win a game. Wang Dayan knew he could never truly beat Ye Buxiu. But perhaps, one of his students would. And when that happened, it would be as good as if he had won. He swore to himself that one day he'd win a game and finally put Ye Buxiu in his place.