Chapter 388: The Situation on Shen Mo’s Side
Along the roadside, a row of beautiful garden villas stood.
Shen Mo walked into one of them, opened the wrought iron gate and under a grape tree in the courtyard, a middle-aged man was sitting at a short square table, playing Chinese chess alone.
The chess set was an original item in the villa, made of wood. The lacquer had already faded and the edges were worn smooth and rounded.
Shen Mo sat down at the other end of the table, observing the situation on the chessboard.
It seemed like a game of life and death.
He glanced at his father across the table.
In his memories, his father had never played Chinese chess. His usual pastimes were quite fixed: reading, writing, mountain climbing and golf.
Of course, some of those pastimes are now impossible to enjoy.
Looking at the chessboard, the middle-aged man spoke calmly, “Don’t take Shen Fei’s words to heart. I’m not some old man in his sixties or seventies who can’t move. I can look after myself and certainly don’t need constant care from my children. You don’t need to come here to check on me all the time.”
Speaking, he looked up at Shen Mo, laughing lightly, “Even if I were in my sixties or seventies, I wouldn’t necessarily need care. I heard there’s an old man in your team, is that true?”
Sitting across the table, Shen Mo replied, “Yes, his name is Chang Weicai, a teacher in a middle school in Nanjing.”
“I see.” Shen’s father nodded, bowing his head again to focus on the chessboard.
Silence reigned, as if father and son had nothing to say to each other.
After a while, Shen Mo said, “I didn’t know you could play Chinese chess.”
“When I was young, I played with your grandfather.” Shen’s father picked up a chess piece, hesitated, and put it back down, sighing, “It’s been a long time since I touched this, I’ve become rusty.”
Shen Mo looked, picked up the rook, and moved it five squares straight ahead of the general, “Check.”
Shen’s father chuckled, “That won’t work, my horse is guarding here.”
He jumped the horse and captured Shen Mo’s rook.
Shen Mo moved his pawn forward, “Check.”
“This is a dead end, it won’t work.” Shen’s father shook his head, advancing a soldier and capturing the pawn.
Shen Mo moved his cannon, landing it on the general, “Check.”
Shen’s father was taken aback.
Shen Mo said calmly, “Move two steps if there’s dead end in one, three if there’s a dead end in two. My grandfather used to say, the way out is to keep moving.”
Shen’s father stared at the chessboard for a good half a minute, then moved the piece he had played back to its original position, “I made a mistake just now, I won’t use the horse.”
Shen Mo said, “Dad, you can’t take moves back.”
“It’s only a game, not a real battlefield. Just a game between father and son, it can’t be considered taking moves back.” Shen’s father reset the chessboard, moving the general behind the minister, “Now, I should be safe.”
Shen Mo looked helpless.
But seeing his father’s white hair at his temples, his mood was a bit harsh.
His father was a typical rich man’s son, raised in luxury and grandeur. Because of strict parenting, he had not picked up any bad habits and thanks to his grandfather’s fairness, there had been no scandals over inheritance among the brothers. One could say his life had been worry-free.
For him to remain so calm in this situation was quite impressive.
After a while in silence, Shen Mo turned to his father and said, “I plan to head north in a few days.”
“Head north?” Shen’s father looked up at him in mild surprise, “…Are you trying to help Weiwei find her mother?”
Wang Jingxian had also gone north.
Shen Mo shook his head, “The area is too big, it’s very difficult to find one person. We’re heading north to collect puzzle pieces.”
“Collecting puzzle pieces…” Shen’s father understood, “I heard from your second uncle that there are labyrinths in Wuhan and Zhengzhou, but I don’t know if they still exist after all this time…”
He said, sighing lightly, “Even though Shanghai doesn’t have a labyrinth, it has attracted the game instead. If we can’t conquer the 21st game, I fear the base will have to relocate elsewhere.”