16 Black and White Stones

The next morning, Madam Lin felt refreshed after she woke up from the previous night.

As she gracefully sat down on a bamboo woven chair in the chambers of the lounge area. The light beaming through the ricepaper gave off a heavenly white light that gently doused the chamber with a weak yet bright glow.

Madam Lin was dressed in all white robes with dark purple embroidered thread that was woven into beautiful intricate flowers near the cuffs of her sleeves and her neckline. Her long cascading black hair fell gently over shoulders, with a small portion of it held up by a silver hairpin with plain design. It was the hairpin that felt slightly out of place with her outfit.

Her eyes were lazily looking down at the go board which was laid out before her. Her hand holding both the black and white go pieces in her hands.

Placing them down upon the board, they made the distinctive sound of stone meeting wood that echoed in the quiet room.

It seemed that this game was nothing more than a one-sided game. It was the placer of the black and white stones who decided the ultimate outcome of the battle.

Her eyes were blank as she placed the stones down one after the other.

Suddenly, there came a knock on the door.

It was the powerful sound of the knock, which helped madam Lin return to reality. She looked down at the go board to see that she had been playing a one-sided game.

"Come in." She said, a little flustered.

The door slowly opened without so much as the slightest creak, revealing a stout old man with silver white hair, dressed in smooth gray robes that did not have the slightest decoration stitched upon it. There was the slight fragrance of fermented berries and plum, as the man entered.

The man sat himself down in the bamboo woven chair across from Madam Lin without being given an invitation.

As he sat down, a smell of fermented plum wafted toward Madam Lin, as she smiled and took a deep breath in. The delightful smell filling up her lungs. She could remember the previous night when she was intoxicated after downing a few sips of wine.

"You've been at your crafting again?" She asked the old man, a tone with three parts teasing and seven parts mischief.

The old man chuckled and replied, "Of course, you know I do it all the time."

Yes, he did craft wine all the time, there was nothing else he did. It was said that he also drank most of the wines he crafted, only leaving a small percentage to be consumed by others. It was this that made Madam Lin Question how he was actually able to stay sober and not speak with slurred words.

After the previous night, she had tasted how strong the liquor he made was, and she did not wish to have the same experience with a drink once again.

Madam Lin merely smiled as she continued to place the stones on the vast wooden board, and the man's eyes were fixed upon the movements she made.

"Would you like tea?" Although her heart knew the answer, this question was merely one out of formality.

"No thanks, you know I would never drink that." The old man replied he had a slightly mocking smile upon his face as if questioning why she was even bothering with formalities when he knew that she was not one to follow strict rules.

"Oh? Please forgive this unknowledgeable one." Madam Lin seemed to be begging for forgiveness to her senior before she asked: "To what do I owe the pleasure of Mister Song coming to visit me in my chambers?"