Chapter 17: The Fairy and the Game of Go

He Yimo felt like he was about to die from the heat.

It was as if he were a fish being roasted over a bonfire, his entire body drenched in sweat. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t escape the sweltering fate.

“Ha—!”

“Did Senior Sister turn me into grilled fish?!”

He Yimo bolted upright, gasping for air.

What greeted him was a heavy quilt and the sight of a simple, classically styled wooden room.

Thankfully, he was still alive and hadn’t been turned into grilled fish.

“It’s so hot… How many layers of blankets did they put on me?”

He Yimo threw off the quilt, feeling a headache coming on.

He hadn’t woken up naturally—he’d been suffocated awake by the oppressive heat of the blankets.

He vaguely remembered that last night, Mo Yuyan had danced for him. But before he could finish enjoying the performance, he had fainted halfway through, nose bleeding and consciousness fading.

It wasn’t excitement from the dance that caused him to faint; it was his inherently weak body.

As the young master of the Grand Tutor’s residence, He Yimo had never undergone high-intensity physical activity. Climbing a thousand meters in altitude in one go had been too much for his frail body, causing him to collapse.

“Is my Foundation Establishment cultivation just for show?”

“In the game, when you got tired climbing mountains, you just stopped on flat ground for a few seconds, and your stamina bar would refill.”

He Yimo stared at his hands, once again feeling the stark reality of his reincarnation.

Throwing off the three layers of blankets, he got out of bed. Thankfully, his clothes hadn’t been removed.

Pushing open the wooden door, he was greeted by the sight of a full moon hanging in the sky.

“It’s still night…”

He Yimo walked toward the courtyard.

There, he saw Mo Yuyan sitting alone at a stone table, playing Go. He stopped in his tracks, and she looked up at him.

His legs were still numb, but Mo Yuyan didn’t rush him. She simply watched his frail figure until he sat down across from her at the Go board.

“Sorry, I accidentally fainted earlier…”

He Yimo apologized awkwardly as he instinctively took control of the white pieces.

Mo Yuyan nodded, her worried expression softening into relief:

“It was my misjudgment. I wanted to test you a little but didn’t expect a mortal body to be so fragile.”

“……”

He Yimo’s smile was far from happy.

He wanted to retort that Mo Yuyan also looked like a delicate and frail woman. But then he remembered she was a cultivator who could wear high heels without hindering her sword-flying abilities. In this world of cultivation, strength wasn’t determined by physical appearance.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t entertain you properly, Senior Sister.”

He Yimo sighed, resting his face on his hand as he resumed playing Go.

At least his brain was still sharp, even if his body wasn’t as strong as Mo Yuyan’s.

“Was that dance last night the reward you mentioned?”

After a long silence during their game, He Yimo finally broke the ice.

Mo Yuyan focused on the board without answering but nodded slightly.

“Why?”

He pressed further.

This time, Mo Yuyan looked up at him:

“That night, you deliberately lost to me. If we were to compare true skill, you would’ve won… So according to our bet, I owed you a dance.”

“How did you know?” He blinked in surprise.

“I may not be skilled at Go, but I’m not stupid.”

Mo Yuyan’s voice turned cold as she spoke.

Her tone was sharper than usual, and He Yimo could sense her displeasure in her gaze.

“No wonder you insisted on bringing me up the mountain…”

He Yimo muttered to himself in resignation as he made a critical move with his white piece.

With this move, Mo Yuyan lost eight or nine black pieces in one fell swoop.

Observing her expression, He Yimo could see her surprise, frustration, and the humiliation of having her strategy completely dismantled.

But after a long silence, Mo Yuyan maintained her composure.

“That night, you really let me win.”

She closed her eyes but continued placing black pieces in resistance, even though victory was already out of reach for her in this game.

He Yimo didn’t gloat and patiently played through to the end with her.

This time, there was no need for him to hold back anymore.

“Why are you so obsessed with Go?”

After making the final decisive move, He Yimo asked again.

As before, he didn’t expect much of an answer. It felt like randomly clicking on an NPC in a game to see if it triggered any dialogue.

But this time, it seemed Mo Yuyan had met the conditions to open up.

Under the moonlight, after a moment of silence, the white-clad fairy smiled wistfully:

“When I was young, my father would always sit alone at the mountaintop playing Go.”

“My father was a boring and solitary man. He never played with me and always made me play Go with him. He even forced me to memorize those incomprehensible Go manuals…”

“But I never liked Go as a child. I loved swords and wanted to learn swordsmanship from the neighbor’s elder sister. So I often rebelled against my father during my childhood.”

“Later…”

“My master discovered my talent for swordsmanship. My father accepted reality and stopped teaching me Go.”

“When I was nine years old, my father passed away.”

At this point, Mo Yuyan lowered her gaze. The smile on her lips faded into loneliness and sorrow.

She looked at He Yimo with a hint of self-deprecating guilt:

“My father left me nothing but a Go board and some old manuals.”

“I was my father’s most cherished child. But now, I can’t understand the manuals he left behind or figure out how to solve that old game on the board…”

“So I want to relearn Go.”

As she finished speaking, Mo Yuyan’s gaze revealed the truth behind her obsession.

He Yimo furrowed his brows in thought and nodded slowly.

Everything she said matched the backstory from Fallen Immortal.

He remembered that in the original story, Mo Yuyan was born into a prestigious family as a chosen one. But when she was nine years old, disaster struck her family, leaving her as its sole survivor…

Later in the game’s storyline, many of Mo Yuyan’s cryptic lines hinted at her family’s tragic demise, explaining her melancholic demeanor.

But if her obsession with Go stemmed from her father’s legacy…

“Then why did your master forbid you from touching Go manuals?”

He Yimo voiced his confusion aloud.

Mo Yuyan let out a bitter laugh. Her serene expression betrayed traces of helplessness: “Ever since becoming Sect Master, my master has been elusive. Unless I defeat him, he won’t tell me the truth.”

“So you brought me up the mountain not because you valued me but simply to have someone to practice Go with?” He Yimo raised an eyebrow.

“Aside from playing Go, you’re of no use to me.”

Her face remained emotionless as she spoke coldly. The nostalgic glint in her eyes faded once more.

The atmosphere grew chilly.

He Yimo didn’t feel disappointed. This straightforward relationship actually eased some of the pressure he felt around Mo Yuyan and gave him a sense of security.

“Does my bluntness disappoint you?”

The white-clad fairy’s tone softened as she smiled faintly at He Yimo.

He shrugged and continued playing:

“A little. But at least I’m getting something out of it too—it’s not a total loss.”

“Good. I don’t want you to misunderstand.”

Mo Yuyan nodded. Her cold gaze held only faint pity for weakness—nothing more.

Though she smiled more than her original counterpart in Fallen Immortal, her inherent aloofness remained unchanged.

Even a single indifferent glance from her was enough to make any man abandon any romantic notions about her.

Fortunately, He Yimo had long since outgrown his youthful fantasies and no longer saw himself as some destined protagonist in a novel.

Without unrealistic expectations about beautiful women, there was no sting in being relegated to mere acquaintanceship.

“Listen.”

“You should’ve placed your piece here.”

Toward the endgame, He Yimo suddenly spoke with uncharacteristic seriousness.

His unexpected guidance made Mo Yuyan look up at him curiously.

She bit her lip lightly and studied the board before asking hesitantly: “Why?”

“Just follow my lead. You’re already losing anyway.”

“……”

Mo Yuyan gripped her piece tightly in frustration.

Being instructed by a mortal felt humiliating for someone like her—a chosen one destined for greatness.

It reminded her of her father.

As a child, she had only loved swordsmanship and relished defeating opponents. She had looked down on bookish types who spent their days indoors with music and games like Go.

Back then, her father had taught her Go just like He Yimo was doing now.

She hadn’t wanted to learn and couldn’t understand it even when she tried.

Without her sword skills to rely on, she felt like an untalented fool on this complex board—a feeling she despised deeply.

“If you think being taught by this useless mortal is beneath you, feel free to play your own way.”

“After all, I’m just here because you dragged me up the mountain. My only value is playing Go with you.”

“As someone living under your roof now, I’ll do whatever you say.”

He Yimo rested his chin on one hand, watching Mo Yuyan’s expression with disinterest.

After a long silence…

Mo Yuyan didn’t argue further. She obediently followed He Yimo’s instructions for each move.

For several steps afterward, she played entirely according to his strategy—even though she couldn’t understand why he made those moves.

Bang!

With one final move completing He Yimo’s setup…

The entire game shifted dramatically in favor of black pieces under his direction—a revelation that left Mo Yuyan stunned as realization dawned upon her mid-game review.

“This is called setting up formations.”

“In Go there are many pieces; victory isn’t decided quickly. You need long-term vision—sacrificing precarious positions as bait can sometimes catch bigger fish and turn things around.”

“Do you understand now?”

He Yimo placed down his piece calmly while explaining patiently.

Mo Yuyan stared at the transformed board with wide eyes full of shock. She replayed every move in her mind carefully before finally grasping He Yimo’s strategy—though only partially comprehending its depth even after much thought…

Understanding didn’t mean mastery though…

If faced with similar situations again herself… chances are slim she’d replicate such foresight without guidance…

After prolonged contemplation… all Mo could muster sincerely were words brimming admiration…

“So that’s how… impressive.”