After dealing with the two guardian stone lions, Lin Chen and Mu Yunzhou entered the black hall.
The front chamber had a soaring ceiling and stretched wide and empty before them. But after searching it, they found nothing.
Unlike the five side halls, this place seemed to hold nothing but the two stone lions.
"Let's check the rear courtyard."
Lin Chen spoke calmly to Mu Yunzhou.
They followed one narrow path after another and eventually came to a small courtyard.
It was roughly ten zhang across, paved with bluestone. A few unfamiliar green bamboo plants grew along its edge, and a stone table stood in one corner.
On the table sat a board marked with nineteen lines in each direction. Black and white stones rested in separate bowls, as though they had waited there through countless years.
They awaited only players to arrive and make the first move.
As if stirred by their arrival, the air beside the board rippled. A faint figure slowly took shape.
It was an elderly man with white hair, a kindly face, and a plain gray robe. His smiling gaze settled on Lin Chen and Mu Yunzhou.
"Five hundred years. At last, someone has come again."
His voice was aged but clear. "Young friends, please sit."
He gestured to the stone stools beside the table, and Lin Chen and Mu Yunzhou sat opposite him.
The old man sat as well and looked at them.
"Do you know how to play?"
Mu Yunzhou shook his head. Lin Chen considered for a moment. "A little. I studied it for a few days before I began practicing martial arts."
"Then you can play. Let's have a game first." The old man pushed a bowl of stones toward him. "Black goes first."
Lin Chen's eyes flickered as an idea