Xiao Che, the One Who Breaks the Deadlock

The nine provinces of the Great Yin Dynasty are roiling beneath the surface. Behind its outward prosperity lies a game of strategy spanning a thousand years. Xiao Che, demoted to commoner status, scrapes by among the common folk under the name of the "useless prince," while secretly commanding the Night Division and watching the world with a cool eye. Court intrigues and martial-world bloodshed make everyone a pawn, their fates tangled together like threads. At midnight every night, he enters the "Moment in the Game," where he can glimpse the fate choices hovering above others' heads. One wrong move, and the whole game is lost. After unexpectedly gaining a golden finger, he can rewind three seconds at a critical moment and turn death into life. He can also mark others, making them see one another's options to kill, and driving them to slaughter each other. This ability lets him move with ease through conspiracies. While others struggle desperately, he watches with a smile as the world turns upside down. While everyone else is trapped in the game, he rides the momentum to rise and break free, becoming king. In the end, he gathers all nine jade talismans and enters the heart of the Great River and Mountains Game, only to choose to melt away his obsession with the throne and transcend the board. He laughs as he breaks the game of the nine provinces, but who is the true player behind it all?