Roasted meats and simmering broths perfumed the spring air. Long tables draped in deep red silk were laden with platters of delicacies: whole fish, steaming bowls of rice, and delicate pastries.

The hall, with its high ceiling now set for a banquet, was supported by wooden beams, while its large, ornate doors and latticed windows were adorned in vermilion lacquer with carved cloud and auspicious motifs. The walls were hung with calligraphy scrolls and paintings. Truly, what illumined the main hall were the guests in their finest robes, seated according to strict hierarchy. At the head of the hall, upon a slightly raised dais, sat the honored elders and the master of the household.

The Great Guest, however, was seated at a distinguished side table, set apart yet still within clear view of the assembly. Honored, but not placed upon the dais.

But even with the dishes set before Shengsi, the question directed at her made the world seem to slow.

“Do you want to play a game?”

Her tongue cowered, and curled backward.

She knew this child couldn’t be one given to deceitful games, but perhaps one perceptive enough to have discovered something.

Especially her cover.

She hadn’t even figured out how to talk some sense into Xie Chuanhu and make him believe he was a wandering soul, and yet here she was, cornered in a lucid dream with no way to justify her impersonation.

She clenched her fists. “What… game?”

“Great Guest,” the child tilted his head slightly, “why not a game of the I Ching?”

Her composure stiffened at the mention. 

“Ziteng,” she said, her voice heavy, “may I ask why you’ve chosen the I Ching?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Great Guest?” Chuanhu didn’t even try to hide his amusement anymore. “If one tosses coins, one can divine like Han Jizhu, but it’s rare for someone to have the capacity to enter another’s dream.”

The game hadn’t even started, and yet he was already steps ahead.

Xie Chuanhu… what kind of person was he?

“So you do know something.” Shengsi lowered her gaze. All along, he’d known she was an intruder, and had chosen to act along so this entire setup wouldn’t fall apart. At least, he was someone who didn’t want to ruin something he had longed for, even if it wasn’t real. If this were Jiang Jiawei, she might’ve already been beheaded. “But what purpose would the I Ching serve?”

She wanted to tell him to drop the formality of calling her an officiant, since he already knew why she was here. But something also told her she was already failing to make him return.

“The I Ching alone isn’t enough to make it interesting,” he said. “That’s why I propose to twist it a bit.”

“Then how do you plan to twist it?”

The I Ching… Shengsi and Chengxu had tried it before, though “tried” might not even be the right word. With three coins, they sought answers through chance. Each toss formed a line, and six lines completed a hexagram, which was then used to interpret a question.

When it had been Shengsi’s turn, she once cast three copper coins six times and received the forty-fourth hexagram, the coming to meet (gou), and had nearly been mocked for a childish matter. She had asked whether she would marry her childhood sweetheart out of whim, but instead they were intended to be ‘heaven above, wind below’ that might be questionable in the end. The other had hoped for something long lasting instead, and when it didn’t appear, even Chengxu had seemed relieved.

Thinking about it now wasn’t something she should be doing.

Nor could it truly be called a game.

Divination through the I Ching was meant for solitary reflection and the seeking of wisdom, not for competition between two people.

So what twist was Chuanhu even talking about?

A servant brought three coins and laid them on the table before her, and another three before Chuanhu.

“Just like the I Ching, a head is valued at three, and a tail at two,” he said. He paused, resting both hands lightly on the table. “The resulting values range from six to nine.”

This kind of divination, if Shengsi recalled right, in the most widely used three-coin method for consulting the I Ching, each coin was assigned a value. Weren't heads, or the side with characters, equaled three, while tails, the blank side, equaled two? One would cast three coins six times and sum their values. Shengsi might not have been doing this anymore, but in her memory, she was still as mindful that a total determined the type of line in the hexagram with the given values. They were a changing yin line with three tails, a stable yang line with one head and two tails, a stable yin line with two heads and one tail, and a changing yang line with all heads.

It was the servant who then explained the twisted rules.

“This servant will explain the altered method,” he began. “You will still cast three coins at once, but each of you must first choose one of the four possible outcomes.”

How did the servant even know about this?

Chuanhu looked down at the copper coins on the table.

The servant continued, “For example, if the Great Guest chooses stable yang, and Lord Jiawei chooses stable yin, then the one whose cast matches their chosen outcome gains the right to ask a question.” He paused slightly before continuing, “However, you may only cast once per round, and a question may only be asked if the result matches your chosen outcome.” He lowered his head further. “If a player casts the outcome chosen by their opponent, then the opponent wins that round instead and gains the right to ask a question.”

“Do you understand the rules implied?” Chuanhu asked, his tone stern.

To which Shengsi replied, “This Great Guest understands exactly what Lord Jiawei means.”

“Then let us begin.” Chuanhu gestured lightly with his hand. “Great Guest, what value have you chosen?”

“I choose the changing yin line.”

“Then I choose the changing yang line.” Chuanhu gathered the three coins. “My servant will explain the method for deciding who goes first.”

The servant bowed his head. “Since Lord Jiawei has granted this servant the privilege of deciding, this servant proposes a fair method. Whoever obtains the higher value shall take the first turn.”