Today's journey was intended to be a greeting to this group of people.

The goal had been achieved by now, and Xu Fan had no interest in staying any longer.

Turning around, he said, "Zhou Zhanlong, Hu Busan, let's go."

"Yes, Master."

The two nodded in unison, flanking Xu Fan on both sides, ready to leave.

After stirring up trouble today, Xu Fan shouldn't be allowed to leave so easily by rights.

Yet, those surrounding, upon seeing Zhou Zhanlong by Xu Fan's side, could only watch helplessly.

After all, Zhou Zhanlong wasn't someone who would reason with you.

"Heh heh, what a fine young man."

"Why not come over and have a chat with me?"

The hall fell silent as everyone just watched Xu Fan and the other two leaving. At that moment, the laughter of an elder rose.

"This?"

"Elder Li?"

Instinctively, the crowd followed the voice and saw an elderly man, nearly sixty years of age, sitting in front of a chess board, causing quite a stir.

The identity of the elder was known to almost no one; he was the decision-maker for the marriage alliance with the Ke Family today, the old Clan Leader of the Li Family in Shanghai.

The crowd parted like a tide, and upon seeing Elder Li sitting at the chessboard, Zhou Zhanlong's face became cautious.

Years ago, he had heard of this old man's history from Xiao Tianfang. Now, drawing close to Xu Fan, he cautioned, "Master, this old man isn't simple. I might…"

"Enough, I know."

Xu Fan nodded and gestured for Zhou Zhanlong to step back as he approached the old man alone.

One could see a tall woman in evening attire standing beside the old man.

She looked familiar, seemingly the big star often seen on television, Li Qinghe.

Here, the old man was addressed as Elder Li, which meant that this woman was likely to be Ke Longxiang's fiancée for the engagement.

"Elder, what advice do you have for me?"

Approaching Elder Li, Xu Fan glanced at the chessboard before him and asked with neither servility nor arrogance.

The elder stroked his beard with a smile and said, "You do remind me of Xiao Tianfang in his younger days. I find you quite interesting. How about it? Will you play a game of chess with me?"

Xu Fan smiled and shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry, elder, but I'm really not good at Chinese chess. If it were Go, I might still be able to play a few rounds with you."

As for Chinese chess, Xu Fan was not proficient, so he shook his head, ready to decline the invitation.

"Today, I want to play Chinese chess, so you will play Chinese chess with me."

"If you can't, I'll teach you. Sit down."

Hearing Xu Fan's polite refusal, Elder Li's tone became more forceful, his gaze burning into Xu Fan with an implied threat.

"Alright, since you don't mind my poor chess skills, I will join you for a game."

Xu Fan smiled and, without getting angry, sat directly in front of Elder Li.

"Humph, this kid's in for it today!"

Elder Li's reputation was widely known, and now, seeing Elder Li threatening Xu Fan into playing chess, the look in their eyes was smug with anticipation.

They stood by, ready to watch the show unfold.

The chessboard was already set up, and Elder Li raised a pawn in his hand and slapped it forward, saying, "Chinese chess, like Go, is a fine legacy left by our ancestors, which includes much wisdom. Young man, have you ever heard about it?"

Advancing a pawn forward, Xu Fan smiled and responded, "Please enlighten me, elder."

Elder Li chuckled, and while playing against Xu Fan, he said, "Take this chessboard, for instance. The Chu River and Han border, with nine vertical and five horizontal lines on each side; in our Huaxia, this signifies the supreme reverence for nine-five, the utmost pinnacle, not to be transcended."

"No matter who it is, daring to cross the boundary will never end well."

As he spoke, he took a hidden knight and directly smashed Xu Fan's pawn, which had been aggressively crossing the Chu River and Han border, to pieces!

Seeing the pitiable state of his own chess piece, Xu Fan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

To shatter just one chess piece while leaving the other pieces unaffected and the chessboard intact, one must have very sophisticated control over their Inner Strength.

This old man is indeed a master...

The message he was conveying was quite obvious—he was warning Xu Fan not to covet Shanghai, including the Ke Family.

If he didn't want to end up like that pawn, he should behave and roll back to Jinling.

"Hehe, old sir, isn't the thrill of playing chess all about crossing boundaries? If you don't cross them, how can you win?"

Now, Xu Fan, smiling, moved his cannon on the board and placed it directly on top of old man Li's knight, which, just like his pawn before, was thoroughly smashed to pieces.

"This..."

It was clear that he hadn't expected someone of Xu Fan's age to possess such profound Inner Strength...

Old man Li stared blankly at his shattered knight, his heart skipped a beat, could it be that this young man's control of Inner Strength had already reached...?

"Hmph..."

Apparently unwilling to concede, Li's expression darkened rapidly as he faced off against Xu Fan, playing pieces quickly, and said, "Indeed, crossing boundaries is unavoidable, but sometimes, once you cross them, there is no turning back, just like the pawns on this chessboard."

"Sometimes, naively thinking that going straight forward will lead to a glorious path of nobility, but in reality, it might just be a dead end."

As he watched Xu Fan's pawn boldly advancing, threatening to check his king, old man Li said with a grimace, contemplating that once Xu Fan moved one step further, he would smash it to dust with a palm.

But before he could make his move, Xu Fan's lips curled up, he took a cannon and directly smashed old man Li's hidden elephant to pieces.

"My apologies for the checkmate."

Smiling at old man Li's dumbfounded expression, Xu Fan said.

"This..."

In just a few short minutes, Xu Fan had already checkmated him, and old man Li could hardly believe it.

Thinking back to how he had just mockingly said that Xu Fan was seeking his own demise made his face flush with embarrassment!

Now, looking down at the chessboard, he knit his brows and started contemplating a way out.

But despite racking his brain, he still came up empty.

"Boy, you've kept yourself well hidden, haven't you?"

Grinding his teeth, he glared at Xu Fan.

It was clear that when Xu Fan had modestly claimed he wasn't proficient, he had been merely understating!

Otherwise, how could he have defeated him so easily?

"Old sir, you flatter me."

Xu Fan responded neither humbly nor arrogantly, and having said that, he stood up and added, "All right, now that this game of chess is over, I should be going."

After speaking, Xu Fan turned around, ready to leave.

"Oh, by the way."

After walking less than three steps, Xu Fan suddenly turned back around.

Seeing old man Li looking at him in confusion, Xu Fan glanced at Li Qinghe by his side and said, "Old sir, although it's not my place to say, I'll say it anyway."

"Three-legged toads are hard to find, but men with two legs are plenty."

"Why insist on marrying your granddaughter to Ke Longxiang?"

"From what I see, your granddaughter doesn't seem too fond of this marriage proposal."

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