The bamboo groves at Fan Clan Manor beside the Jing River had clearly been planted with care. Besides the tall, graceful green bamboo that remained verdant throughout the year, there were Purple Bamboo, Red Bamboo, Xiang Consort Bamboo, and Qinsi Bamboo, as well as rare Jade Bamboo and Dragon-Scale Bamboo to the left of the Sitting in Seclusion Pavilion. Seated in the pavilion and looking around, one saw a riot of colors in the groves, like flowers blooming everywhere in spring and summer.
Chen Caozhi played Go with Fan Wang in the Sitting in Seclusion Pavilion, while Zhu Yingtai and Fan Ning sat nearby watching. With the slanting sun and secluded bamboo, the people in the pavilion looked like figures in a painting.
As the junior, Chen Caozhi took white and played first. Though past fifty, Fan Wang remained quick-witted and placed his stones with flying speed, deliberately quickening the pace. An impatient, impetuous player would unwittingly have followed him into playing fast, but Chen Caozhi remained unmoved, maintaining his own rhythm, measured in both tension and relaxation. Fan Wang nodded inwardly.
Chen Caozhi applied pressure with a Double Flying Swallow joseki. Fan Wang found his novel moves fascinating, and after barely thirty moves, he keenly appreciated the strength of Chen Caozhi's play and immediately concentrated on his response.
The game lasted two hours. The sun sank in the west, and dusk settled over them, turning the colorful bamboo groves uniformly dark and cold with the somber hues of early winter.
The game entered the small endgame, and white's narrow loss could no longer be averted. Chen Caozhi returned the white stone between his fingers to its bowl and shook his head. "Lord Fan, your skill is superior. I am no match for you."
Fan Wang smiled. "Among the younger