Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 701-Chapter 833)

Then Qian Liangmu bowed towards the bonsai. “Tree king!”


The bonsai happened to be a banyan tree, one of the countless clones of the Great Banyan Tree King. He waved one of his aerial roots that held a black chess piece as a reply.

Qian Liangmu was about to bow to the woman when she said urgingly, “Spare the formalities. Say what you have to say. I want to keep watching the game!”

Qian Liangmu obliged in a hurry. Just like in the Myriad Poison cult, he explained everything that had happened in Savage mountain, but this time, he included many of his own opinions. He included his various analyses and evaluations of Li Qingshan and Xiao An, ranging from the various incidents of the south to the situation between the Green province and the Mist province. He spoke for over ten times longer than last time.

The woman became annoyed, while the King of Southern Yue continued to stare at the board. Only when Qian Liangmu finished talking did he look over.

“He gave me a jar of alcohol?”





Chapter 785: A Large Tree's Good for Shade and Shelter | Legend of the Great Sage




“Huh? Yes!”

Qian Liangmu offered up the alcohol, but he was very confused. Why did all of them ask about the jar of alcohol? Sure, the alcohol might have been precious, but it was nothing special given the height at which they stood, whether it was the Myriad Poison Ancestor or the King of Southern Yue.

In reality, ever since the King of Southern Yue became the provincial lord, he rarely ever received such an ordinary gift. He fiddled around with the jar of alcohol in contemplation.

“What do you think, fellow?”

The Great Banyan Tree King in the pot swayed gently. He said with his ancient voice, “I also happen to be familiar with this child. We normally refer to one another as fellows.”

Qian Liangmu was dumbfounded. He referred to the Great Banyan Tree King as “fellow”?

The woman was surprised too. The Great Banyan Tree King was mellow in nature, but with his identity and cultivation, no one was arrogant enough to refer to him as “fellow”. He might not get angry, but just how many fellows were there in the world that he truly recognised?

“No wonder he’s bold enough to come to my Mist province. So he’s seeking shade and shelter from under the tree,” the King of Southern Yue said.

The Great Banyan Tree King regularly maintained his neutrality and never gave advice. He would only analyse the situation and let people make their own decisions. Rarely did he ever directly express that he favoured someone.

“I’m merely establishing a good tie of friendship. It’s not exactly sheltering just yet. If you’ve finished thinking, then make your move!”

The Great Banyan Tree King obviously would not divulge Li Qingshan’s secrets to the King of Southern Yue, but on the other hand, he would not tell Li Qingshan about what went on among them. This was his principle, which was why he did not analyse certain situations.

However, what he was implying was very clear. I’m not sheltering him. I just feel that if you move against him, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. As for how to handle this, that’s still up to you to decide.

The King of Southern Yue fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, he opened the seal on the jar and drank all the alcohol.

Clank!

He placed down his white chess piece, giving up on the opportunity to take. Instead, he reset the circumstances and began building up another plan.

In that moment, Qian Liangmu seemed to understand the symbolism behind the jar of alcohol. Disbelief filled his face.

The jar of alcohol was not a gift to please or amuse the King of Southern Yue, nor was it an active move to make peace. Instead, its meaning could be summed up with four words—due respect as equals!

It was not that Qian Liangmu was not clever enough, but this matter was simply inconceivable. He had placed Li Qingshan on a very high pedestal, but nowhere near that high. The most inconceivable part of it all was the King of Southern Yue actually accepted the jar of alcohol.

No wonder master lost his temper. Li Qingshan only gifted a single jar of alcohol in total. He clearly wasn’t taking him seriously. He didn’t even want to befriend him, let alone become a protector.

Qian Liangmu took his leave. He wondered how he was supposed to explain this to the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Though, just the fact that the Great Banyan Tree King refers to him as ‘fellow’ is enough for master to reconsider. Just who is this Li Qingshan? Isn’t he from the Green province? How does he have ties with the Great Banyan Tree King? This makes no sense at all.

The King of Southern Yue’s decision was not only because of what the Great Banyan Tree King had said—the Great Banyan Tree King possessed a great status, but it was still not enough to sway his thoughts—but also because of various other factors. The situation right now was not suited for declaring war against the Green province.

Li Qingshan also expressed the position he would be taking. He would not be getting involved in the war between the two provinces because of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga.

Of course, this guarantee meant nothing to the King of Southern Yue. When the two provinces actually went to war, he refused to believe that Li Qingshan could remain uninvolved.

As a third heavenly tribulation cultivator, was he really willing to become involved in conflict too? Did he really sympathise with the hatred passed down from his ancestors, even making him lose his rationality? Compared to that, he would much rather remain here, playing chess and admiring the flowers, focusing on cultivation.



However, as someone who lived in this world, could he really remain shut off from the world, all alone? He would definitely be bound by his various relationships, his friends, his lovers, his children, and his enemies, which would lead to endless conflict.

Those who only tried to avoid conflict and did not prepare for battle would definitely lose all of their peace.

If that’s the move he makes, there’ll still be quite a lot of trouble for him. There aren’t a lot of banyan trees in the south, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor is not a forgiving and tolerant person. I’ll wait and see how he makes his next move.

The King of Southern Yue thought and made a few more moves. The Great Banyan Tree King had always been better at chess than him, and he was distracted, so the situation for the white pieces on the board spiralled out of control. The great dragon was about to be slaughtered by the black pieces.

The woman clapped her hands and smiled. “Grandfather banyan tree is going to win.”

“This game doesn’t count. I was distracted.” The King of Southern Yue swung his hand and stirred up the pieces on the board.

“Lingzhi, you’re refusing to admit defeat again. You have no sense of shame,” said the woman.

“If you’re so hung up over the outcome of a game, a battle over the few inches of a chessboard, then what about the outcome of fate, a battle over several tens of thousand kilometers?” The King of Southern Yue tapped the chessboard and produced thunks.

“You can stop bickering. You’ve never been honest, and you’ve always been awful at chess. Grandfather banyan tree is far more distracted than you.” The woman refused to accept that and uncovered the King of Southern Yue’s distasteful past mercilessly.

“What can I do about the fact that I’m called Lingzhi? I’ll obviously never accept defeat!” The King of Southern Yue smiled.