Someone just removed two chess pieces

Yang Liu Shu Estate, in Captial of Yue State -

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Within a dimly lit room, was a large wooden table with maps and layout plans and other miscellaneous things, letters and notes candles melted down from long use and two plates with flood barely touched as if whatever was on the table was more important than the food.

A doorway was the only thing that brought a lot of light into the room, the door was cracked open.

On the other side of the door, were two men sitting on a balcony.

They were both longing over a small coffee table with a checkered board with White marble and red ivory pieces on opposite sides.

"I think I needed this badly, continuing to look at a problem from one angle too long is not healthy or helpful, and if I had to look at one more map or read one more letter I think I would have pulled out my beautiful hair!"

"Only you, could take the conversation about a stressful moment and turn it into a topic about yourself in one breath ... Haha!"

The two men that were sitting on the opposite sides of a small coffee table, staring at the board between them, as if the game happening in front of them could distract them from the feelings they were utterly experiencing right now.

One was trying harder and harder to concentrate on the task at hand, playing with force going for the quickest and easiest pieces up for grabs on the board.

While the other was trying to relax and focus by concentrating on his breathing, he was playing methodically while fidgeting with a piece from the game, the fruit of his labors the game was slower, and more thought out even though from a distance his game was plain and uneventful he was playing the game at a different level from what his opponent was doing.

This man was sweating, tiny drops of sweat on his forehead were forming while playing a high-intensity game against his opponent, he was making small sacrifices while making big plays every 3 or 4 moves giving up weak or useless pieces on the board for taking away of his opponent's good pieces.

"You're not concentrating Yu Hao! You lost another great piece, while you've only taken 4 of my soldiers"

"Yu Feng, it's hard to concrete on this game and watch the 4 men below us from this balcony, stand there to give the patriarch the bad news while we play a game and wait to see his reaction."

"It is like Master said, ( In the short term of becoming a good cultivator or even a great commander, you must focus on the small victory's so that when you do lose a big fight or battle, you can be prepared to come back stronger to win the completion or even war ) you need to remember cousin Hao, is that this thing that we are both in the middle of right now. Is a long haul, this is not a race, we need to pace ourselves."

"Just because we lost one battle, doesn't mean we lost the war, right now all of the fighting is taking place behind the scenes, and we're still on top right now."

"Yes, but cousin Feng we lost two people, how do you think the Patriarch will take the bad news?"

"It will all depend, on how he takes the news and what type of mood he'll be in when he receives the news."

"Check!"

... ... ...

Hmm...

"That's not bad, but your not pacing yourself, check!"

... ... ...

Knock, Knock!

Both men look of to the side a servant is at the entrance to the room there at.

"Master Feng?"

"We are on the balcony."

After a few seconds, a young female has appeared at the doorway to the balcony the two men are sitting on while playing a game between them.

"Master Feng, the Patriarch has been seen leaving the city on his way back towards the estate."

'How do you think it went?"

Yu Hao looks at the young woman, it causes her to become beat red from being stared at, catching her off guard.

"Your dismissed Xue Yue."

"Why do you always do that, cousin you know she doesn't do well with eye contact."

"I couldn't help it, she looks amazing today, I'm starting to think the story you told me about you saving her for more than her looks was a lie?"

"Can you stop teasing me cousin, focus on the game next time!"

"What! Why?"

...

"Really?"

Huh!

"Checkmate!"

"What!"

"Once again, you are distracted by the fairer sex Cousin Hao!"

"That's not fair, cousin Feng!"

"All is fair in love and war, the early bird gets the worm, let's go to the training field this game hasn't helped with my stress."

"What you barely broke a sweat cousin!"

"Just because I didn't show it I was too, under a great amount of pressure, I was just better at hiding while trying to stay focused, I contracted on the task at hand and not on the situation going on outside."

Both men stood up from their seats and paused to look over the balcony towards the very large courtyard beneath them, an almost endless garden and marble courtyard and a training field were within their train of view.

"Sign"

'What's still bothering you?"

"Are you upset you lost at your favorite game, we can go again, I don't mind I just thought you might like a change of pace?"

Yu Feng's cousin wasn't upset at the loss to his cousin, or even the situation that was about to take the Yu Clan's estate by storm soon, but at the fact that this helpless feeling was washing over him.

In an almost clairvoyance moment he had an almost perfect foresight moment hit him, he felt like danger was coming for him and somehow his body was telling him of the impending doom that was to befall him in the future.

"It's not like that, do you think what we're preparing to do is the right thing to do?"

"That's not up to us!"

"Yeah, but if you could have a say and speak to your great uncle and the Patriarch about what's going to happen, would you try to change it?"

"I think the way we're going about it could be tweaked a little, and the reason behind it is sound and all. But at the same time, I think we should slow things down a little, the pace at which we're going at is a little ... ... ... alarming, to say the least cousin."

Yu Hao bent down a little and leaned on the balcony railing, and with his head facing down, lost in thought but not distracted.

He was not in fear but a head that was weighed down by lingering questions and thoughts of doubt, shoulders drought with duty and loyalty.

Hmm ... Ha ... Ha ... ...

Yu Feng let out a small grin and a tiny chuckle -

Feng put his right hand on his cousin's shoulder and then wrapped his left hand on his cousin to give him a small hug then patted him on the back then ruffled his hair, and giggle out loud.

"Only you Hao, would worry about our enemies and think about going a second way!"

"You don't need to worry about that Cousin, you are still young you have a long life ahead of you, while I'm still older than you by a little I have more responsibilities than you, remember this moment you won't feel freer than you do right now, your young and you can do and go anywhere you want to."

"Well I on the other hand need to worry and be caught up in stress, our secret backers have disappeared. Young Master Zhao Yan has vanished and Elder Mei from the Elemental Star Sect is gone and is suspected of being killed or taken."

"Are the rumors really true? I thought they were baseless and without merit cousin?"

"It is a lot worse than we had thought, we have lost all traces of them, and no one has heard from them in several weeks, it's like Someone has just removed two chess pieces, off the board before we even started the game and there is no way to find out if it was deliberately or is by coincidence that we have not seen the two pieces on the board!"

"Have we checked everyone out, are there traitors in our mist or are we not seeing the whole picture and other players have placed their pieces on our game board, to take the title of victor from us?"

"Even if we're a cast of misfits and outcasts, we're still cousins and that's all that matters so whatever people say about me, were still family in my eyes, others only see the damage and pain we cause to others, while they don't see the lives and feelings we lost, I can only tell you one thing, one day we will get back what we lost and take our rightful place amongst the ancestors of the convergence!"

"Do you really think our Yu clan can rise back up and take back our place amongst the convergence?"

"Don't tell me you don't believe in what we're doing?"

"No, no I believe what we're doing will make a difference!"

"Do you think, you can show me Sky Burial today before the patriarch gets back?"

"Oh, you think my ( Sky Burial Technique ) is cool now!"

"Haha, let's go we still have time! I'll race you to the training grounds!"

"What! Wait for me Cousin Feng!"