All Hail Cousin Brother

257 Yin Huaixi Will Definitely Rebel

In the past, it wasn’t that he hadn’t used chess pieces before. He felt that it was rare and had its own merits. There was no difference between them, and it wouldn’t affect his interest in playing chess because of the difference in the quality of chess pieces.

It was obvious that the preferences of chess pieces also varied from person to person. It was also something that the little girl had given him. It was more to her liking and easier to use.

Yu Youyao was spoiled.

At the thought of Yu Youyao, Zhou Linghuai couldn’t help but think of the Flower Festival at the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence.

“Amitabha.” A clear and gentle voice sounded. “Your heart is in a mess.”

Zhou Linghuai sneered. “You’re a monk, yet you still care if others’ hearts are in chaos. I’m afraid you’re in the Buddhist Sect and your heart is in the mortal world. Why are you pretending in front of me? It’s as if everyone knows who you are.”

The gray-clothed monk clasped his fists together, his expression calm. “Please don’t speak nonsense. I’ve been a monk for many years, and my Dharma name is Hui Ji. The past is like three thousand threads of worry which will be cleansed by time.”

His eyes were distant as he sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion. He closed his eyes and twirled the prayer beads in his hand. He was as old as Zhou Linghuai. Although he was wearing a gray servant’s monk robe, it could not hide his magnificence!

Zhou Linghuai burst out laughing. “Keep pretending. I’ll just watch you pretend.”

Zen Master Hui Ji’s eyes did not move. They were clear.

Zhou Linghuai sneered. “You little bald donkey, you’re really smart. In order to cleanse these three thousand threads of trouble, you probably polish them every day. You’re really fooling me.”

Zen Master Hui Ji couldn’t be bothered with him. “It’s your turn.”

Zhou Linghuai simply lost interest in playing chess. With a flick of his finger, he flicked the white chess piece between his fingers onto the chessboard. “In any case, there’s no winner. It’s boring.”

Zen Master Hui Ji finally looked up. “It’s not as interesting as playing with your cousin.”

His tone was calm, and the word “your” exuded a faint strange aura.

“You’re just a little bald donkey. Why are you comparing yourself to my cousin? To see whose head is smoother?” Thinking of Yu Youyao’s long raven-colored hair that was soft and beautiful, Zhou Linghuai waved his hand. “No, no, you win!”

In the past, when he played chess with Yu Youyao, the little girl would scratch her ears, bite her lips, pinch her earlobes, frown, and roll her eyes while chattering non-stop…

Zhou Linghuai couldn’t help but laugh.

He was used to letting the little girl cause trouble. Now that he was playing chess with this little bald monk, he felt bored.

However, the little girl had led him astray.

No matter how well-mannered he was, Zen Master Hui Ji couldn’t help but twitch his temples. “Your cousin also knows that you’re a person that looks down on people?”

Back then, this person had dismantled a few night pearls on her mother’s phoenix crown and played with them. When his father discovered this, he was so angry that he took a whip and chased him away for three streets.

Zhou Linghuai smiled faintly. “You’re not pretending anymore?”

These words successfully made Zen Master Hui Ji shut up.

The two of them sat in the quiet meditation room and did not speak for a moment. Only the Qingtian Light Stone in Zhou Linghuai’s hand was elegant and colorful.

The beauty of stone depended on quality.

The quality of the stone depended on its appearance.

He examined its skin, then touched it. He analyzed the inside of the stone and observed its spirituality.

Zhou Linghuai frowned. With the Kunwu Knife in his hand, the knife and stone collided, and a clang entered his ears.

There were many types of tools used for carving, but the more skilled an inscriber was, the fewer tools they needed. A top-notch inscriber would only need one Kunwu Knife.

Zhou Linghuai did not even raise his head as he said calmly, “King Ping and his son arrived in Tongzhou this morning. They can enter the capital before midnight at the latest.”

Zen Master Hui Ji looked down at the wooden chessboard. He took out a white chess piece and placed it on the chessboard. The entire chessboard exuded a murderous aura.

He pressed his palms together, and his face revealed sorrow and compassion. “Life is like chess. All living beings in the world are nothing. In the universe, there are white knives and black blades.”

Zhou Linghuai said nothing.

Zen Master Hui Ji said, “Back then, after you and Mr. Xian Yun interacted, Mr. Xian Yun personally came to my house to meet me. He said that in the important place of the capital, under the emperor’s rule, there was only a talented Song Mingzhao. Since ancient times, there have been outstanding people and places in the south, but only Xie Jingliu was unique.”

Zhou Linghuai was a little surprised.

Zen Master Hui Ji continued, “There’s a prince in Youzhou who’s a genius, and there’s also someone like him. There’s no other in the world. People like you are rare in the world. Even if one comes out in sixty years, they can manage the prosperity of the country for half a century. Now, once four of them appear, it’ll be chaos and cause the collapse of the country.”

Zhou Linghuai was slightly stunned but said nothing.

Zen Master Hui Ji said, “There can’t be two tigers on one mountain. The four heroes of Youzhou will monopolize two. They will be divided into rulers and ministers. If Yin Huaixi doesn’t die, he will definitely rebel.”

Zhou Linghuai chuckled. “Yin Huaixi is already dead.”

Master Hui Ji looked at him. “Back then, the Di people mobilized a large number of troops and approached the north. The You King led his troops to fight. The heir, Yin Huaixi, had already seen through the first move, so he used Youzhou as a chessboard to set up the overall situation. Then, the twelve-year-old heir of the You King rushed to the battlefield and turned the tide to recover the lost land. However, when he fought the Di people, he asked one of the generals under the Marquis of Weining, the Marquis of Changxing, to shoot his horse and he was trampled to death.”

There was a smile on Zhou Linghuai’s lips, making it impossible to tell if he was happy or angry.

Master Hui Ji lowered his eyes. “As far as I know, when Yin Huaixi was on his way to the battlefield back then, he used his status as the heir to write a letter to the vassal lords of the three lands. No one knows the contents of the letter, but it’s not difficult to guess. Zuo Ji only sensed that the You King’s residence was doomed, so he hoped that the vassal lords of the three lands could help save King You’s life when his life was in danger.”

Zhou Linghuai lowered his head and carved.

Master Hui Ji said, “Yin Huaixi thinks highly of himself. All the ordinary people in the world are in front of him, and he doesn’t take them seriously. How can he not know that the vassal lords of various places are governing separately? How can he have feelings for them? How can he not know that the Imperial Court is afraid of the vassal lords? How can he take the risk to plead for King You? Others think that he’s just a child who’s desperate, but this letter is really heartbreaking.”

Zhou Linghuai gently carved the patterns on the stone.

“After killing all the benevolent and loyal hearts of the vassal kings, disputes arose when the vassal kings moved. King Ping brought the heir into the capital. It’s obvious that Young Master Yin knows everyone’s hearts.” At this point, Hui Ji looked up at him.

Zhou Linghuai blew on the stone chips on the Qingtian stone. “Ye Hanyuan is about to enter the capital.”

Zen Master Hui Ji suddenly closed his eyes and did not move. After a while, he said, “There is karma. He’s also seeking benevolence.”

Zhou Linghuai put away the Kunwu Knife, wrapped the light stone in a silk cloth, and placed it in his sleeve. Then, he took out a palm-sized round box. “Uncle Sun has refined a special pill called the Essence Protection Pill. It can nourish one’s vitality. Take it once a day and split it into two portions. It’s not beneficial to take too much.”