In the bamboo-fenced courtyard, various small flowers and grasses were planted, clustered and grouped in pale yellow, light pink, and sapphire blue hues, colorful and accompanied by a faint fragrance permeating the courtyard.
Inside the courtyard was a stone table flanked by two stone stools.
On the stone table sat a set of tea utensils and a chessboard.
Sitting on the stone stool was a young man dressed in a simple robe, with a delicate face, holding a black chess piece in his slender, white right hand, as if his ten fingers had never been sullied by the mundane.
"If I place this black piece here, I win. But I'm playing the white stones too, so wouldn't that mean I lose?"
The young man held the black piece between his index and middle fingers, hesitating to make a move.
"My lord, you seem to be in a leisurely mood."
