Chapter 107: A Dream of Chess Extending Over Three Years

Yin Mother first approached the courtyard to check on her husband. She found his cheeks flushed, deeply asleep on his stomach. Looking around the courtyard, she saw no one else.

"Qing'er, didn't you say a rather scary old man got your father drunk? Has he left?"

Yin Qing looked left and right, then ran to check outside the courtyard gate, but saw no one.

"Perhaps he's gone..."

Yin Mother touched her husband's face; it was warm, but she couldn't smell much alcohol.

"Qing'er, come quickly and help me. Let's get your father home to sleep. How much did he drink?"

"Not much, I think. He collapsed after just one cup."

Yin Qing dashed back from the gate. Just as he was about to help his father up with his mother, he suddenly remembered what the old man had said and quickly stopped her.

"No, no, we can't! The old man said Dad should sleep here tonight. We shouldn't move him; let him sleep!"

As Yin Qing spoke, he had already covered his father with a blanket, carefully tucking the hanging part around his father's chest and tying a knot.

Yin Mother found it strange.

"How can this be? What if your father catches a cold sleeping here? He's about to take the imperial examination; don't let illness delay his journey!"

"Mom! That old man..."

At this, Yin Qing glanced around nervously before walking over to his mother and whispering into her ear:

"That old man is Mr. Ji's good friend. Perhaps... he's not an ordinary person. It's better to listen to him!"

Upon hearing this, Yin Mother's movements stopped.

Ji Yuan was an extraordinary person. Two or three years ago in Ning'an County, this topic was a subject of exaggerated gossip and speculation among other villagers and neighbors, but for the Yin family, it was a certainty.

Now, three years later, few in Ning'an County still mention Mr. Ji. Perhaps only old man Sun from Sun's Noodle Stall occasionally brings him up when he sees Yin Zhaoxian.

But the Yin family would never forget Ji Yuan. So, hearing her son's words, Yin Mother pondered deeply and abandoned her plan to help her husband home to sleep.

"So, we'll just let your father sleep here for the night?"

"Yes, Mom, don't worry. I'll get up several times tonight to check on Dad!"

Hearing her son's words, Yin Mother gave him a tap on the head, then put her hands on her hips.

"What do you mean 'get up several times'? Your father is drunk and will likely feel unwell tonight. You stay here with tea and watch over him for the first half of the night, and I'll take over for the second half. Understand?"

Yin Qing rubbed his forehead and meekly replied, "Understood."

He couldn't shake the feeling that his mother now doted on his father even more.

By the latter half of the night, this feeling grew stronger for Yin Qing. He had slept for a while and had heard the night watchman's third drum long ago, but his mother still hadn't arrived.

Although autumn hadn't fully set in and the weather wasn't particularly cold, sleeping prone in the courtyard was uncomfortable. Yin Qing poured himself a cup of tea, took a few sips, and waited for his mother. It wasn't until the fourth watch drum sounded that his mother finally arrived, looking apologetic.

The next morning, at dawn.

"Ooh~~~oooh-oooh-ooh~~~~~~"

The moment the first rooster crowed in Tianniu Lane, Yin Zhaoxian naturally opened his eyes.

He felt a blanket covering him. Turning his head, he saw his wife also covered with a blanket, sleeping beside him. He looked around, somewhat confused, realizing he was still in the courtyard of Ju'an Pavilion, with a teapot and teacups on the stone table.

"How odd... How did I end up sleeping here?"

Reflecting carefully, Yin Zhaoxian then remembered yesterday's events: an unusual old man who claimed to be Mr. Ji's friend had swallowed half the fruit from the jujube tree in one gulp and then offered him a cup of wine. After that, he had no memory of what happened in between.

Yin Zhaoxian looked up at the jujube tree; indeed, half its fruit was gone, confirming it wasn't a dream.

'Could I have been so drunk after just one cup that I passed out completely?'

As he pondered this, Yin Zhaoxian suddenly noticed something unusual about the jujube tree.

"Huh? Why are a small portion of these dates red?"

He saw scattered dates on the branches that had already turned entirely red, standing out vividly against the green foliage. He just looked for a moment without dwelling on it.

Yin Zhaoxian rubbed his forehead, feeling no signs of a hangover headache. Looking at his wife, who had apparently stayed with him all night, he felt both touched and warm inside.

He wanted to wake her, but although the roosters were crowing, it was still very early dawn, so he couldn't bear to disturb her.

Removing the blanket from himself and placing it on the stone table, Yin Zhaoxian stood up to stretch his legs. He had sat there all night but felt no aches or pains; instead, he felt remarkably refreshed!

'I set off tomorrow!'

***

Another autumn breeze arrived. The rice fields across the land were golden with ripe grains, and in the deep mountain wilds, fruits hung from branches amidst red maple leaves.

In the Yizhou Juntian Prefecture, on a low peak deep within Junyuan Mountain, lay a stone cave over two zhang deep. Inside, a ragged, emaciated figure sat motionless, his eyes, seemingly half-closed, fixed on the chessboard before him.

"Clink~"

As a white porcelain chess piece landed, it crumbled into fragments between his fingers. The figure's body jolted, and he finally awakened.

"Buzz... buzz..."

Leaning against the outside of the stone cave, the Green Vine Sword hummed excitedly, its blade and sheath rattling incessantly.

"Hrrk..."

Ji Yuan opened his mouth, but no sound came out; his parched throat could only manage a hoarse exhale.

Through his blurred vision, he could see fallen leaves and dead branches beside him, animal droppings in the mountains, hear the autumn wind rustling through the forest, the flow of mountain springs, and smell the intermittent scent of ripe or unripe fruit.

The instant he awoke, Ji Yuan desperately emptied his mind, forcing himself not to think of anything superfluous. There was only one thing to do: eat and drink!

"Hrrk... hrrk..."

Leaning on the cave wall, Ji Yuan shakily rose from the stone cave and stumbled out. The Green Vine Sword, humming, floated up and followed closely behind him.

Following the scent of fruit, he reached a wild persimmon tree. Looking up, everything was blurry. He stretched out a hand to grab some but couldn't reach, and his body swayed, almost making him fall.

"Zing~~~"

The sword hummed a long, resonant note. For the first time in three years, the Green Vine Sword was unsheathed. A light seemed to emanate from the entire hilltop as a streak of light flashed, and the wild persimmons, still on their branches, rained down from the tree.

Ji Yuan knelt on the ground, trembling as he picked up the fruits. These wild persimmons were only slightly larger than dates, and their reddish-yellow hue was particularly inviting.

But Ji Yuan paid no attention to anything else. He picked them one by one and shoved them into his mouth, neither washing nor wiping them, and not spitting out the seeds. After a rough chew, he swallowed them, eating faster and faster until his hands and mouth were covered in juice.

In just over a quarter of an hour, all the fallen fruits were devoured. Ji Yuan didn't stop, continuing his frantic search through the mountains, eating every edible fruit he found. Finally, he reached a mountain stream and "plop" fell flat on his stomach beside it.

Ji Yuan buried his head in the stream.

"Gulp... gulp... gulp... gulp..."

He drank until his belly swelled and then contracted, then swelled and contracted again. He didn't know how much mountain spring water he drank in one go. He didn't spare the small fish, shrimp, mountain crabs, or loaches in the stream, swallowing them all whole.

"Splash..."

Ji Yuan, his hair disheveled, lifted his head and lay, soaking wet, on the mountain rocks, breathing heavily.

"Huu... huu... huu... huu..."

After lying there for another half an hour, Ji Yuan, having recovered somewhat, finally sat up.

He raised his hand and looked at his fingers and palm. Previously skeletal, they now looked a bit better. He didn't know how many wild fruits he had eaten or how much water he had drunk in that half-day, only that all his previous actions were purely instinctual, a desperate attempt at self-preservation.

The time spent on this divination chess far exceeded Ji Yuan's expectations. Although he didn't know the exact duration, it was certainly not short. However, at the time, his consciousness had been deeply shaken, and he was no longer in a fully clear and rational state.

Just as he had begun the divination chess in a state of muddled obsession, the moment Ji Yuan awoke, he emulated that feeling, using immense willpower to clear all other thoughts, leaving only the instinct to find food.

Ji Yuan also clearly understood the limits of his cultivation at the time. A few months without food or water was fine, but a longer period could pose a mortal danger.

In his previous life, immediately after stepping out of the chessboard, he would die if the rescue team revealed the elapsed time, which often made Ji Yuan think of the "Mandarin Duck Method" mentioned by old Xu from Shanghegou Village in Suiyuan County.

His newly awakened state might be similar to "Bi Gan's Heart Excavation."

Ji Yuan dared not take the risk; he dared not let himself guess or analyze how much time had passed, and even less dared to encounter others and have them reveal anything, at least not until his body was replenished.

Otherwise, the "Mandarin Duck Method" might break, effectively "waking" the fated person with a blow and causing him to lose all vitality!

But now, he was fine.

Ji Yuan regulated his breathing, then chuckled self-mockingly. At first, it was a slight sneer, then the smile widened, eventually becoming a mad, uncontrollable laugh.

"Hmph... hehehe... haha, hahaha... hahahahaha... Hahahahahahaha~~~~~~"

RUMBLE... RUMBLE... The laughter reverberated through the surroundings, startling birds and beasts in the forest, sending them fleeing...