Xie Lin's residence.
The wine had gone cold, the guests had dispersed.
Only a pot and two cups remained in the pavilion.
Xie Lin sat alone in the pavilion, drinking tea to sober himself, lost in thought.
Yesterday, he had sent He Yanming to seek out Li Jin, who in turn sought out Xiong Hui.
Everything that needed saying had been said; every piece that needed placing had been placed.
All that remained was to wait.
To wait for Xiong Hui's response, to wait for Li Jin's stance.
To wait for He Yanming's patience, to wait for Wei Zi's next move.
Since ancient times, those famed generals and master strategists-
Their schemes had amounted to nothing more than a single word: wait.
Wait for others to err first, and let one's own success come of itself.
Thus, waiting!
Was what Xie Lin did best.
Yet this time, none of those he awaited were waiting on him.
He Yanming was waiting for Shen Duan, Li Jin was waiting for Wang Cheng, and Shen Mingxuan was waiting for the situation to become clear.
Everyone waited for someone else to move first; no one would make the first move.
And he stood in the middle...
The puppeteer held the strings between his fingers, but the puppets were too heavy, and both his arms already ached.
In the game unfolding in Suzhou, only he, Xie Lin, could cross blades of wit with Wei Zi.
And yet...
Wei Zi stood alone, while he had three pieces.
He Yanming, Li Jin, and Shen Mingxuan.
Three men, three chess pieces, three different hearts.
He Yanming sought to preserve himself, Li Jin wished to sit back and watch, and Shen Mingxuan meant to wager on both sides.
Three men with three minds, not one of whom obeyed