Chapter 114: Chess Match Solution!

    In this world, the only chess people knew of was Go. Chess, Five-in-a-Row, and other similar games simply didn’t exist. Who would have thought the first trial in the Wenchu Emperor’s secret realm would be so tricky!

    Lu Miaoyin quickly sought out a woman named Qin Hui, a renowned Go player. In matters of chess, no one present was her equal.

    “Miss Qin, can you figure out the intricacies of this chessboard?” Lu Miaoyin asked anxiously.

    “I... don’t know,” Qin Hui shook her head in frustration, clearly embarrassed.

    This only made Lu Miaoyin more anxious. She wanted to solve the trial more than anyone, but felt powerless to do so.No?v(el)B\\jnn

    “I know!” Ji Bai suddenly spoke up, his eyes filled with fervor, and a smug grin curled at the corners of his mouth.

    He recognized this chessboard from the Wenchu Emperor’s notes! He had studied it before and knew how to place the pieces.

    “You know? You don’t know sh*t!”

    “Get lost! Don’t mess this up!”

    The others clearly had no trust in him.

    “Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to pass this trial, follow my instructions!” Ji Bai shouted confidently. “Stand on the chessboard as I direct, taking the places of the chess pieces!”

    “Fine, let’s give him one last chance,” someone muttered.

    One by one, people stood on the positions Ji Bai indicated on the chessboard. Suddenly, their attire changed! They were now clad in armor, wielding swords like battle-hardened soldiers.

    “It actually worked?” The crowd was shocked.

    Ji Bai sneered, “Anyone who wants to pass the trial, listen to my instructions!”

    More people took their places on the chessboard, transforming into soldiers. Some became pawns, others knights, and a few even cannons. Soon, sixteen chess pieces were placed.

    Simultaneously, the black-armored soldiers on the opposite side also took up their corresponding positions on the battlefield. A massive clash seemed imminent.

    “What’s going on? Why can’t I move?”

    “Of course you can’t move. You’re a chess piece now; only the player can move the pieces!” The player, naturally, was Ji Bai. He hovered in the air, overlooking the entire board with an air of authority.

    “Forward!” Ji Bai commanded.

    Lin Qi’an almost couldn’t hold in his laughter. This idiot actually moved the general forward one step...

    Was he planning to send the general straight into battle? Maybe he thought the piece looked the most imposing.

    The problem was, while Ji Bai knew how to place the chess pieces, he had no idea how to play chess! He didn’t even know the movement rules for each piece.

    Under his ineffective command, while their side barely moved, the opposing army’s pieces—chariots, knights, and cannons—swiftly surrounded them in a triangular formation. The result was predictable. One by one, Ji Bai’s “soldiers” were swiftly defeated, leaving them in disarray.

    “This is cheating!” Ji Bai yelled furiously, “How can their pieces move like that? It’s absurd!”

    As the game board reset itself, the Wenchu Emperor’s dispassionate voice echoed through the air.

    “You have one last chance.”

    Ji Bai’s misplaced confidence had cost everyone a valuable opportunity, instantly igniting the crowd’s anger.

    “If you don’t know what you’re doing, stop pretending you do!”

    “Get out of here before we throw you out ourselves!”

    “How frustrating! We lost without any chance to fight back!”

    Even Lu Miaoyin was seething with anger. It was bad enough that Ji Bai had embarrassed Qinglian Immortal Island before, but now he had wasted everyone’s chance in the Wenchu Emperor’s secret realm. If she weren’t concerned about maintaining her image, she would have slapped him on the spot!

    “What do we do now? It’s our last chance...” someone muttered, despair creeping in.

    Lin Qi’an, on the other hand, didn’t rush to take action. His chess skills weren’t exactly top-notch either. Instead, he approached Qin Hui quietly.

    “I’ve never seen a painting of such a grand scale...”

    Within the painting, there were a thousand scenes of bustling life! People heading to the market, noble processions, people on horseback, and commoners walking with donkeys. There were busy boatmen, porters, and carts being pushed through crowded streets.

    The painting depicted farms, trees with new leaves, giant riverboats, and city walls—all within one frame, capturing every aspect of life.

    “This is breathtaking...” Mo Shuiqiu, who specialized in painting, couldn’t help but marvel in admiration. “What kind of painting could encompass all of this...? Such a painting could only exist in the heavens!”

    Despite their admiration, the group quickly realized they needed to solve the puzzle. How could they break through this trial?

    Lin Qi’an recognized the painting at once—it was the famous ’Along the River During the Qingming Festival’.

    He hadn’t expected the Wenchu Emperor to leave trials so well-suited to him. Was this the mutual benefit of being a transmigrator? If it had been anyone else, they might have been stuck here for a long time.

    “How do we clear this trial?” someone asked in confusion. “I thought I was well-read, but in the Wenchu Emperor’s secret realm, I feel like I know nothing!”

    Ji Bai confidently declared, “I know what to do!”

    The crowd responded in unison, “Get lost!”

    Eventually, all eyes turned to Mo Shuiqiu.

    “Saintess Yunmo, do you have any insight?” someone asked.

    Mo Shuiqiu examined the painting carefully before responding, “This painting depicts the grand scenes of a city in full bloom, with carriages, pavilions, and towers bustling with life. However... something seems to be missing.”

    She pointed to a woman in the painting. “Look at this woman. Her hand is stretched out, as if she should be holding a child, but there’s no child there...”

    Hearing this, everyone began to ponder. Lin Qi’an then spoke, his words cutting through the confusion like a blade, “We can immerse ourselves in the painting and fill in the missing parts to make the painting whole.”

    “The Crown Prince is right!”

    “If we take the place of these missing figures and complete the painting, we should be able to pass the trial!”

    “Let’s try it!”

    The results were astounding. It wasn’t just about standing in the correct positions—they had to fully immerse themselves into the roles depicted in the painting.

    For example, if one became a cart driver, they had to imagine themselves as that cart driver, fully embodying the character to fill in the gaps of the painting.

    “This is truly remarkable...”

    “Look, there’s a group of pigs over here, but one pig is missing!”

    “Who will play the missing pig?”

    “Ji Bai, who else but you?” someone taunted.

    “What! Why me?” Ji Bai protested angrily.

    “Because you’re the most useless!”

    In the end, under the pressure of the crowd, Ji Bai had no choice but to crawl on the ground and play the role of the pig, seething with humiliation.

    One by one, people filled the missing parts of the painting.

    “I found another missing piece!” someone called out. “Look here, it’s supposed to be a family, but there’s only a child—no parents.”

    “This will require two people... but all the men have already entered the painting, except for the Crown Prince.”

    “It seems only the Crown Prince can take this role.”

    “We’ll have to trouble you, Your Highness.”

    “Who will play the mother and child?” another asked.

    “I can do it!”

    Both Lu Miaoyin and Mo Shuiqiu spoke at the same time.