I was now hiding with Lina in a bare, square mud hut, taking shelter from the rain.
A few hours earlier, Lina and I had been riding our bicycles on the way to the capital, passing through several villages along the route. Around noon, the rain started.
We had entered a forest along the road when suddenly I felt raindrops fall on my head.
I immediately stopped and built a small shelter out of mud walls to keep dry. Lina and I huddled inside, waiting for the rain to stop.
By then, we were hungry. I took out the sandwiches I had made in the morning from the storage space and shared them with Lina. I had prepared various combinations: cabbage, radish, ham, fried chicken, and fried eggs.
After filling our stomachs, Lina and I sat on the floor for a long while, listening to the rain. The sound began to soften.
"Lina, it seems like the rain is about to stop."
"Mm."
Just as we hoped the rain would cease, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a loud thunderclap. The raindrops on the ground intensified again.
"Ah… it's getting heavier again…"
I had left small openings in each wall of the hut so we could see outside. The rain was pouring hard—it must be a heavy storm. I had no idea how long it would last, and the thunder had been unusually loud, probably very close.
"Looks like we'll be staying here for the night."
"Mm…"
Lina's expression fell. Leaving the warmth of home always made her uneasy, and without a proper bed, we would have to sleep leaning against the walls.
I didn't want to sleep outside either. Monsters might be nearby, and while we could fight them off, I still wanted to rest without worry.
Time passed slowly, as it always does in waiting. I wanted to do something to pass the time… and then I had an idea.
"Lina, let's play a game."
"What game?"
"Chinese Chess. I'll teach you."
I laid out 32 chess pieces and carved the characters onto them. Then I drew a chessboard on the ground and began explaining the rules to Lina.
Each side had sixteen pieces: five pawns, two cannons, two rooks, two knights, two elephants, two guards, and one general.
The board was formed by nine vertical lines and ten horizontal lines, and the pieces were placed on the intersections. There was a river in the middle of the board, a horizontal space with no vertical lines, dividing the two sides. Each side also had a special nine-square palace, marked with two diagonal lines.
I explained how each piece moved:
Pawn were the weakest, moving one step at a time. Inside their own camp, they could only move forward; after crossing the river, they could also move left or right but never backward.
Cannon had a special rule: to capture an enemy piece, there had to be a piece in between. They could move freely forward, backward, left, or right, with no limit on distance.
Rook moved like cannons but didn't need the intermediary piece to capture; they could attack directly.
Knight moved in an L-shape: two steps forward, backward, left, or right, then one step perpendicular. If there was a piece directly in front, the knight couldn't move in that direction.
Elephant moved diagonally two spaces but couldn't cross the river. They stayed within their own camp.
Guard moved only inside the palace, one diagonal step at a time.
The General, the most important piece, also stayed within the palace but moved straight lines. If there were no pieces blocking, the General could capture the enemy General outside the palace.
To win, the opposing General had to be threatened and unable to move. When threatening the enemy General, one had to announce "Check."
I placed the pieces on the board: the General in the center of the back row, flanked by guards, elephants, knights, and rooks on the outside. Pawns were placed on the second row, one space apart. Cannons went on the third row, positioned between pawns. To distinguish the two sides, the characters on each player's pieces faced them.
"I think I understand… but also kind of don't."
I could tell my explanation wasn't enough. She needed to experience it herself.
"You'll understand once we play. I'll go first."
I won the first game, and Lina quickly picked up the rules.
"I get it now! Let's play another round."
It seemed like I would soon lose to her, so I needed to take the next game seriously.
"Alright. I won't lose."
We played several more rounds. Outside, the rain hadn't stopped, and the room gradually darkened. It must be evening. I lit an oil lamp to brighten the hut.
After dinner, we continued playing Chinese chess. Lina was getting stronger and stronger. I was completely focused on the game, not noticing anything else, and before we knew it, the rain had stopped. But it was already evening, and it wasn't safe to continue traveling—we couldn't see the path clearly in the dark.
Later, we leaned against the walls to sleep. Before fully closing my eyes, I used a non-elemental magic, "Detection" to sense any living beings or hostility within a 145 m radius, which expands by 5 m each year.
(No living beings nearby. Safe to sleep.)
Just as I was about to close my eyes, I felt something rest against my shoulder. I didn't open my eyes, but I knew it was Lina's head leaning on me.
She must have been exhausted today. Playing chess can be mentally draining, especially against someone of equal skill.
I was tired too. My consciousness began to drift away, and I hoped for a good dream.