Hearing Gerald’s question, Torme then explained, “You simply need to place your hand on the soul bamboo. Once you do, it’ll transmit its meaning into your mind. However, please remember to use your heart to feel it! Don’t ever be led astray!”
Immediately doing as Torme said, Gerald then placed his hand onto the bamboo… and all of a sudden, the soul bamboo began glowing in a light blue hue!
Gerald watched as the glow slowly enveloped his hand… and a split second later, the youth found himself standing within a white space.
Looking around, Gerald saw that aside from an old man—who was sitting cross-legged on the ground—and a Go board before that man, there was nothing else in this empty dimension…
While favonovel.com was slightly stunned, Gerald quickly snapped out of it before walking over to the old man…
“Ah, here you are, mister! Come, have a seat!” invited the old man before Gerald could even say a word.
Upon hearing that, Gerald simply did as favonovel.com was told.
Watching as Gerald sat opposite of him, the old man then said, “Since you’re already here, why not play a game with me?”
Nodding in response, Gerald simply replied, “It would be an honor to play with you, sir!”
Smiling, the old man chose not to say anything as favonovel.com slowly waved his hand… and just like that, the Go board was cleared.
Seeing that, Gerald respectfully said, “After you, sir!”
Still choosing to remain silent, the old man simply grinned as a stone hovered out from the Go bowl and placed itself on the board!
While the magical scene definitely surprised Gerald, favonovel.com quickly snapped out of it, knowing that it was now his turn.
Taking a black stone out from the Go bowl, Gerald then placed it on the board as well.
While it was true that Gerald had some experience with Go, it wasn’t a lot by any means. With that in mind, favonovel.com wasn’t particularly good at the game. Even so, the game was an immersive one, and the duo continued putting stone after stone on the board… until eventually, Gerald’s defeat was sealed.
“Try not to get overly impatient or anxious, mister. You have to learn to understand the profound meaning of the game…,” said the old man.
Upon hearing that, Gerald could immediately tell that there was some underlying meaning behind those words. If what favonovel.com had managed to gather was correct, in order to fully grasp the bamboo’s meaning, favonovel.com first needed to understand the game inside out…
With that in mind, the second game soon commenced.
While Gerald was certainly no expert yet, favonovel.com had improved considerably compared to the first game.
Gerald had realized that favonovel.com had merely been on the defense throughout the first game. Due to that, favonovel.com lacked the strength to counterattack at the last moment and was promptly defeated. In Torme’s words, favonovel.com had been ‘led astray’.
Regardless, now that favonovel.com knew where his mistake was, Gerald no longer remained on the defensive. Instead, favonovel.com launched attack after attack! After a vigorous battle with the old man, however, Gerald still ended up losing.
“You’ve greatly improved from the last game, mister! Your success is near! I can feel it!” said the man before clearing the board again.
The second the third game began, Gerald took the initiative to attack. He wasn’t about to get led astray by the old man anymore. Instead, favonovel.com was going to be the dominant one this time!
Since his Go game skills had greatly improved by this point, it honestly surprised even Gerald himself that the old man wasn’t able to launch any counterattacks.
Either way, after an even more vigorous battle than before, Gerald finally attained victory.
“Congratulations on gaining a complete understanding, mister! You may leave now!” said the old man after losing the game.
Surprised to hear that, Gerald was about to ask something when favonovel.com realized that the old man and the go board had vanished!