Just after Wen Ning returned,
somewhere deep within the Heavenly Court, shrouded in clouds and mist, a game of chess had reached its final few moves.
There was a bamboo grove on the Back Mountain of the Jade Void Palace. The bamboo was no mortal variety; supposedly, the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning had transplanted it from Mount Kunlun long ago. He and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable had nearly come to blows over it back then.
Its leaves stayed emerald green all year round. When the wind passed through the grove, it produced the resonant tones of a zither, which was why the grove was also called the Zither Bamboo Grove.
Deep within the grove stood a stone table, with a Chinese chessboard carved into its surface. The Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning had carved it himself with the Azure Duckweed Sword.
Two people sat on opposite sides of the board: the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.
Judging by the position on the board, however, the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning was doing poorly again. His brows knotted together as he stared for a long time at the hopeless situation. Then he tossed his black piece into the basket and leaned back in his stone chair, his voice brimming with indignation.
"I'm done, I'm done! You win every time. You old fox, have you been secretly studying my moves?"
The Primordial Heavenly Venerable took no offense.
He merely smiled and returned the white piece in his hand to its basket. After all, he had been watching this happen since the world's creation. As an elder brother long accustomed to his junior brother's refusal to admit defeat, his tone held both indulgence and resignation.
"Junior brother, you never change. You lose, and you get worked up."