104. The art of weiqi (go/baduk) war (碁#11) 艮 (☳/☷)

I have decided to continue "The Art of Weiqi War" sub-series because I like the topic and because last night in my dreams I got a visit from Ip Man 葉問. Ip Man was a master of Wing Chun Kung Fu 詠春功夫 and I've spoken about him in my very first podcast: Ip Man drinks tea. In my dream, I found myself entering a warmly lit Hong Kong street cafe. The kind that served Chinese fried Cheung Fun alongside more western spam and scrambled eggs. Real scrambled in a wok eggs - not the microwaved egg stuff most cafes in Sydney like to serve. I couldn't see outside of the cafe but I guessed it was dark. Inside the cafe, it was busy and most people were enjoying Hofun rice noodles in soup. And the lady at the cash register next to the front door motioned me to sit at the only available free space opposite Ip Man. Now, because I have already had my choices experience dealing with the dreamworld in my teenage years (with dreams being just another path along spiritual transcendence), I could sense that I was in a dream and that Ip Man was now a part of the afterlife. But still, to be sitting with Ip Man was a martial arts blessing I wish to share with my fellow wayfarers along the martial arts journey. He was sitting with his Gaiwan and had in front of him a Weiqi board that stood empty except for a single black stone placed upon it. In the dreamworld, you don't really "see" with your eyes, so I didn't know where the black stone was. I just "knew" of its existence and that the next move upon the Weiqi board was mine. Seated opposite him, we saluted in the Kungfu style: Closed fist inside a clenched palm. Sun and moon combined. "So, are you alive or are you dead?" Ip Man asked me. What an unusual question. I am dreaming and because I know I am dreaming, I'm trying my darnedest to not wake up. I placed a white stone on the board. I "think" I know where I placed it upon the Weiqi board but if I were to tell you now, it would be a fabrication. So which was it? Dead or alive? Do I even remember walking into the cafe or did I just move through the door? I couldn't think straight. The background sound of a Wing Chun practitioner training on a wooden dummy was distracting me. Ip Man just smiled and I felt that pulling sensation one gets just before they wake ⚔️圍棋戰聖