Bai Jin

When are you going to be finished, mister?

No rush, let me think a little longer.

But you've been thinking for half a day now. Last time I came by, you were thinking, and the time before that too. Were you tricked by someone?

I've been here lots of times now, and I've never actually seen anyone play weiqi with you.

You're not wrong. I'm just... thinking about how I should proceed.

You need to consider how your opponent will react after you place a stone, and all the changes that will arise after.

Sounds like a pain. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt... Can't you finish this game first, then ask the one you're playing with to teach you later?

It's just weiqi, nothing's going to happen if you lose.

But I cannot lose.

The one who arranged this game promised me that, if I win, he shall grant me a wish.

A wish? Really?

*sigh* Shame I don't get any of this strategic thinking. I think I'm more suited for physical stuff...

The sun's about to set, so I should get home. There's still a pile of junk I need to sort out.

Zaijian!

Oh, right, I just thought of something. We've seen each other lots of times now, but I still don't know your name, mister.

My surname is Lan, while my name is Ke. 'Lan' of the orchid flower, and 'Ke' of possibility.

You do remember my name, right, mister?

Luo Qin?

That's right!

I really gotta go now. Mother said we need to move out of the house for a bit. When I'm back, I'll definitely come to see you again.

Zaijian!

We have arrived, Mr. Yun.

Did you not say earlier that the one who awaited me was atop the mountain?

'Tis true, 'tis true. That person is atop the mountain, indeed, but my duty is merely to show you the path leading up to it.

There is only one path going up the mountain, but it is not hard to walk. The forest around it has been cleared, so you should not run into any wild beasts.

You need only head up. The rest has been arranged for you.

I suppose it would be rude if I inquire too deeply...

Then let us say our goodbyes here.

May we meet again, Mr. Yun.

You say that, but...

I don't think I actually see a path up the mountain here...

The ground is completely covered in leaves. I doubt anyone has come this way in a very long time.

Not even signs of any beast trails...

Perhaps I should find a local to ask for help.

Good day?

Good day, my lady. Is something the matter?

May I ask if you have seen my husband?

He is young, with hair of brown and a tail point of pure white. He is wearing a cloud-white tunic, trousers the color of earth, and leather boots.

I... don't think I've seen anyone who matches that description. My apologies.

Is that so? Pardon me for wasting your time.

Hold on, madam!

Do you happen to be from these parts? I wanted to ask if there was a path up the mountain nearby.

You wish to ascend? Then I fear you've gone the wrong way.

The regular path up the mountain is on the other side of town. This is the back of the mountain, which is rugged and steep. The townsfolk rarely ever come this way.

(The back of the mountain? I distinctly remember coming straight from the town's main road. How did I end up on the back?)

I see now. Duoxie, madam.

But I believe... since the gentleman guiding me told me specifically to come this way, he must have considered all this. I will continue trying.

Please, excuse me.

......

I shall accompany you up the mount, sir.

I'm sure there's no need—

The road up the mountain is dangerous. If we are together, we can look out for each other.

Besides, I have already made inquiries everywhere I could in town. The mountain is the last place I have yet to search. If my husband is still in the area, the only place he can be is here.

Then, I shall have to thank you again.

May I ask how I should call you?

...Bai Jin.

Still stuck on that board, Brother Lan?

I'm hardly in a hurry.

You've been at it for so long, I've learned how to play myself.

This situation on the board, isn't it a 'three jie cycle'? They call it a 'triple ko' in Higashi. Shouldn't it be a draw according to the rules?

A draw... A draw is unacceptable.

The rules were very clear. Only through a win will he grant my wish...

No, I need to find a way to victory...

What's this wish you want so bad that you need to win this game? Isn't there another way you can make it happen?

Another way... What other way...?

There is no other way for two as separate as yin and yang to meet again...

O miserable fate... From where do you flow?

Will this do, Jin'er?

It's beautiful! You really are skilled, my dear.

And here I was, thinking your ability to bake porcelain only applied to weiqi pieces.

Heheh, I can do a lot more than that. Next time, whatever you fancy, whatever you like, I'll be happy to bake it for you.

Once we are wed, I'll put this vase in the most conspicuous spot in the living room.

'Vase in the east, mirror in the west, enjoy lifelong tranquility and rest'... We're still missing a mirror, then. But if we place one, we won't have anywhere for the clock. Well, the bell in town rings in the morning and the night, it'll do.

In time, there shall be flowers in the vase, and you in the mirror's shine.

Oh, that's enough out of you. We don't have much fuel left, so head out to the back of the mountain to chop a few logs while it's still light out.

Alright, just sit tight, then. I'll be right back.

I will. Dinner should be about ready when you get back.

What the... What's going on...?

Where did these monsters come from?!

Jin'er———!

So there was... a path here... all along.

Do you... need a hand... Madam Bai?

You do not need to concern yourself about me, Mr. Yun.

I grew up amongst the mounts and fields. This is but a leisurely stroll to me.

You, on the other hand, look rather pale. Would you like to rest a moment?

I shall... take you up... on your offer.

Hoo... Hah...

Your dedication is much like my husband's.

He sounds like a very conscientious man.

He is.

He approaches everything with absolute focus. It is rare for anyone's urgings to have any effect.

He will stay in one place without food, water or moving until he is done. *sigh* He really does inspire both pity and frustration.

At least he listens when I speak, so it's always me who has to pull him away by the ear. That's how it's always been since we were little.

But there was a gentleman who played weiqi in town who said this temperament was suited for the game.

With a few years of study, he could become a master, perhaps even a grandmaster. If he does, he can leave town and head off to distant lands to look around.

Your husband left to study weiqi?

Yes. He has been studying for a very long time now.

He throws his all into his studies and barely listens to what anyone has to say. It's simply too much, I tell you.

Haha... I have also heard about the endless marvels of black against white upon the gridded board, and how captivating they can be.

The land is vast, and there are many things that can trap a man in a mire. Even a memory can leave one pacing back and forth for quite some time.

Your husband must have his reasons for his dedication.

Why exactly are you trying to argue his case?

I was simply moved by his tale.

Well... You said your husband disappeared, but when exactly was this disappearance?

He...

It was nearly nightfall, and he went out to the mountain to chop some firewood. I never heard from him after that.

That truly is worrying.

Let us set off then, Madam Bai.

Do you not wish to sit a little longer? Pardon me for saying so, but your body does not seem the strongest, nor do you look accustomed to steep mountain paths.

While I might not be able to perform martial arts, I practice breathing techniques every day.

The path is yet long, so I must be diligent.

I see an ancient pavilion further up. We can rest again once we arrive there.

......

The game's still stuck in a stalemate, huh... He's been thinking about his next move for ages now...

Just how long have you been working on this one move, Brother Lan?

I don't know.

My grandson's now as tall as I was back then.

He didn't believe me at all when I told him about you. 'Who would spend their entire life on a single lousy game?', he said.

*sigh*...

Do you still remember when exactly you got separated from Sister Bai?

I don't.

After I left town, I got lost and was disheartened. I wandered the mountain for several months before arriving here. It can't have been that long.

And what day was that?

There are some things I don't remember all that clearly.

Then do you know today's date?

No...

But that's not important. Let us speak of other things once I solve this deadlock.

*sigh*...

Oh, everyone in town's been so in a tizzy over some treasure or the other that I never expected someone to come over here.

Here to see the game as well, youngster?

We're just here to take a rest—

'We'? But it's just you.

Just me? The lady I was climbing the mountain with...

Strange... She was here just a moment ago...

And this gentleman is...?

......

*sigh* He's trapped in that game. There's no getting him out of it.

If you know how to play, help him out a bit.

This game state...

A three jie cycle. A prolonged battle that can only end in a draw.

But he's dead set on victory, so in the end, he trapped himself here.

I can't think of a way to get him out...

(Observes the board)

(Contemplates)

H-Heaven above, it's trapped another.

One after another, *sigh*...

A refusal to draw, victory the only satisfactory option...

If one focuses only on the jie, can one truly demonstrate superiority on the battlefield?

This boy... He yet lives.

But with such grievous wounds, he will have to endure many hardships.

I can't practice kung fu with this body of mine, so what use is there in me recording all the many styles under Heaven?

I don't understand, Grandmaster...

Yun, have you ever questioned the Grandmaster's plans for you?

Of course I have. When I first took this job, my heart still harbored some resentment. I felt like making me watch everyone practice kung fu every day was like chaining me atop a stake while dangling meat before my eyes.

The scent hits you like a fist, your eyes go wide with greed, but you can never have even half a bite. I tormented myself with an endless barrage of complaints as I suffered in discontent.

You don't look like you're suffering now.

Even though my progress is only theoretical, it is enough to soothe me.

But more importantly, I believe I understand some of the reasoning behind it.

Have I told you about my recent dreams, Zuo?

No, might as well tell me now.

One night, I dreamed that I would return to the countryside someday, a nameless, obscure man. All those many martial moves and techniques, when used upon the fields, will let you save a considerable amount of strength in tilling and hoeing the land.

Another night, I was a passionate warrior, quick to kindness and vengeance, an imitator of the Grandmaster. Strike, and sunder the tides cleft. Retract, and leave no peace bereft. A legend born from a single punch, before dying after all my breath is spent.

They both sound really different from the Yun I know...

Obsession is a quagmire. It is natural for those trapped within to not understand.

After much deliberation, there is but only one answer...

First give, then observe, and finally, take.

The stone should go here.

My word... To think there was a move like that!

Duoxie, my friend, duoxie! I couldn't come up with anything despite thinking for so long. I never expected you to break it open the moment you arrived. You have my admiration!

You flatter me. I don't actually know much about weiqi. I simply thought that, since all things on this land are connected, martial doctrines that espouse give and take could be applied to weiqi as well. I didn't think it would work out so well.

Your weiqi skills far exceed mine, but since you were so focused on winning the jie cycle, you overlooked the overall state of the board.

No matter how you put it, this game is won!

Is that you... Luo Qin?

I'm Luo Qin's grandson.

When he was still alive, he'd always talk about the strange man back home playing weiqi atop the mountain. I've visited you many times, thinking I'd have to pass this task on to my own grandson. Didn't think this man'd put a stop to it all, youngster.

That means I've spent...

Over a hundred years here. The town's changed too.

So I've been... separated from Jin'er... for all these years...

My dear.

Jin'er?!

Yes, it's me.

Long time no see... dear.

It's really you! That Xian wasn't lying to me! I really did meet you again!

Amazing... Truly incredible...

Let's go home right away! Mom and Dad are still waiting for us—

......

Jin'er...? Why won't you... say anything...?

......

I see... Hahaha.... So that's how it is...

I was already... long ago...

But it doesn't matter. I got to... see you again...

......

Madam Bai...

No, you are not the Madam Bai of this tale.

Yes. After seeing my love, what more have I to pine for?

I was but a stack of joss papers before her cenotaph, soaked in his tears and longing.

Her desires, my destiny, were bound together in this meeting with him.

With him gone, there is no reason for me to stay here.

I beg the two of you, fulfill my final request. Place my love's grave by her cenotaph, then burn 'me' as an offering.

We may not have been able to grow old together in this life, but I hope that in the next... we will meet again...

Joss paper... So this particular Bai Jin was a geist?

*sigh*...

A hundred and twenty years ago, for reasons unknown, a horde of geists fell upon the town one night, wantonly lashing out at anyone and everyone. Truly a calamity.

My granddad was saved by the young man named Lan Ke.

He helped many townspeople escape with their lives that night... but he himself had to be saved from the flood of geists by Bai Jin.

As for her... She died that night.

Mr. Lan and Madam Bai were kind people...

I heard those geists are born from thoughts. Once those obsessions are gone, they go back to being regular objects.

The secret passed down my family for three generations has finally borne fruit, so why do my tears refuse to stop...

I'm heading down the mountain, youngster. I need to make sure Sister Bai's request gets done, and also tell my granddad about what happened.

How about you?

......

There's someone I'm meeting on the mountain. I need to get going.

This mountain's so lively nowadays. No idea what kind of bigshot asked you to climb up the back side to meet up.

Well, I'll be off then.

If, by any chance, we meet again, you're welcome at mine for a cup of tea.

......

Was it you who broke the stalemate?

May I inquire as to who is speaking?

A half-life who deals with menial tasks, a hard-working geist is all.

You are Da—Chongyue's record-keeping man, the one by his side.

I presume you are one of the Sui proxies, then.

Forgive me for inviting you in such a matter. Let us ascend. There is a guest at the peak awaiting you.

So I was 'invited'...?

Indeed. At first, it was for other matters... but who could have expected you to chance upon that game and break the deadlock with a flick of your wrist?

(Loudly) You were right again! You happy, you weiqi failure?!

It was pure happenstance. Did someone really predict that would happen?

When the second brother left this board here, he proclaimed that only a man with true intelligence could resolve it.

Now that I think about it, him arranging this board here... The closest to 'human' of us siblings is the eldest brother, and calling one of his disciples over... Hardly an odd move.

Let us climb.

Remember to take the board with you. The game is over, so it's yours now.

Very well...

I do not know what to call you.

Just the one character, Liang, 'Liang' of the roof beam.

Mr. Liang, you said that only the Grandmaster's students could break this deadlock just now, but the game already had a player before I came here.

You mean that Lan Ke?

He really did make a promise at the time, which kept Lan Ke playing.

It was a game where the more obsessed you were with the jie, the less able you were to resolve it. He knew full well that a weiqi player would be mesmerized by them, yet still allowed him to join...

It could be said that the one who arranged this game simply wished to play, or perhaps...

The one who uses weiqi as a means to meet, has a heart as stubborn as this eternal deadlock?

Ah, a fine way of looking at it. Yes, very fine indeed.

(Barely-controlled vibrating)

Please, go ahead and tell it to his face next time.

We have arrived.

This is the one who wished to meet you.

I suppose it is fate that determined we should meet again.

It is a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Yun.