The fragrance of tea still drifted through the bamboo grove.
Bai He gave Si Chen a gentle smile.
"Would you prefer white or black, fellow Daoist?"
Si Chen looked at the board.
Two boxes of stones sat on either side, the black stones dark and deep, the white ones warm and lustrous.
He thought for a moment, then reached into the white box and picked up a stone.
Bai He's eyebrows rose slightly.
On the board, choosing black or white each carried its own significance.
Black moved first, attacking fiercely; white moved second, holding firm and counterattacking.
And at their level, even a game was no simple diversion, but a contest of the Great Dao and fortune.
Yielding the first move meant yielding a measure of initiative.
This man had chosen white. It seemed his confidence knew no bounds.
Bai He smiled without asking anything further and took a black stone from its box.
"Since you have graciously yielded the first move, fellow Daoist, I shall begin with black."
With that, he picked up a black stone.
"Then..."
"Please instruct me..."
As his words fell, he gently placed the black stone on the board between his index and middle fingers.
"Click."
The stone landed at the center point.
In that instant, everything around them changed.
The bamboo grove, stone table, bamboo hut, wind chimes... all vanished.
In their place stretched a boundless, dark starry sky.
Si Chen glanced down. He was still sitting on the meditation cushion, but beneath his feet lay the profound radiance of stars.
It was as though they were playing suspended in the void.
Across from him, Bai He still sat upright, but a familiar starfield appeared in the sky behind him.
An azure-jade main star, its orbiting satellites, and the phantoms of several subsidiary stars