Chapter 2

Impromptu Funeral Procession

In the North lays the Ten Thousand Frozen Immortal Tears Valley. It features cold strong enough to freeze time, Giant Frost Piranhas, Mountain Sturgeon, and the best Nine-Headed Poison Catfish Filet known to Man or Immortal.

The Blue Faeries (No relation I think?) Sect claims governorship over the area. They highly regulate who comes in and who leaves the territory. They have a penchant for turning intruders into frozen statues that are mentally aware of their surroundings and what has happened to them.

Every once in awhile by fates design or because one of the Faeries was bored they would thaw one of the statues and see what happens, it is not a pretty sight.

More importantly most of their Mountains might just be Sturgeon that are taking a nap. I wouldn't appreciate someone climbing on me while I slept so I would hate to be a bother. The few mountains that are for certain mountains are all tiny in comparison to the smallest thumb.

In the South are the Glass Desert's. A desert made of Glass Dunes, Glass Scorpion Constructs, Glass Rivers, Endless Illusions, Paper Cuts in areas that you should avoid and Scorching Heat that melts bone into stew.

It is Governed by the Holy Bright Palm Chapel because no one else wanted it and no one was going to argue with them for it. They worship the Sun and consider the area as a Holy Land.

No one has been dumb enough to dissuade them of this idea or at least has lived long enough for someone to voice a counter argument.

Their stir fry is legendary though.

It has no true Mountains that won't disappear in a few thousand years and I don't want to cremate Great Grandfather if I don't have to.

I want to be able to visit and tell him about all the things I have eaten and killed. I want to show him all my trophies and recipes.

If he is all dusty I would have to look for him all over the place and I might accidentally breathe him in and sneeze him out... It would get very frustrating.

Also entering and surviving there for any period of time longer than an hour means immediate discipleship to the Holy Bright Palm Chapel unless you are already attached to a sect.

I don't want to be a monk. They usually can't eat meat. I want to eat meat. I want pork and steak and cheeseburgers.

Not all monks I've met forbid the consumption of meat, but I won't take risks.

To the West is the Big Empty.

Don't Go There.

Not even to die. Especially if you wanted to die. Their is nothing their for anyone. Mortal or Immortal.

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All the Trees agreed with this fact. All the Clouds agreed with this fact. The West Wind of all things agreed that heading West was a bad idea.

The few Stars that were interested in talking with me agreed to this fact.

They also said I was very thin and should eat more...

I agreed with this assessment.

I asked if they could help me resolve that situation. They said I should probably not try and climb a mountain and probably continue on into civilization.

I politely disagreed.

They said I was being foolish.

I did not disagree.

I was still going to go.

I was also being stubborn.

They were polite enough to leave that unsaid.

All this in mind, East is my only real option. East towards the Finger Mountain Range, where I was born and was chased out of.

It's the only place with real... If I ignore the myths... Real Mountains for sure that I can probably dig into and bury Great Grandfather properly.

The only thing was that East meant I had to walk deeper into the village if I wanted to reach the foot of the mountain by nightfall at least.

It should have been no problem.

It was not.

The moment I set out I was beset by onlookers who realized who I was and who I was carrying beside me. They asked for me to stop, to let them pay their own respects.

I did.

It took some time.

My Great Grandfather was apparently popular with in the village before his age caught up with him.

I eventually find myself journeying around the village so that others may say their goodbyes. It might be that some might say I was wasting time but the Mountain isn't going anywhere and I am in no hurry.

The ability to say goodbye is a sacred thing... Or at least I imagine it should be.

I have very few regrets in this world.

All of them are related to my family.

I didn't get to say goodbye to them all to often... No I didn't get to say goodbye almost any of them except Great Grandfather.

My first father was barely cognizant enough to truly hear me, that he was cognizant at all was already a miracle.

Everyone else I didn't really have much of a chance to speak to them.

If Great Grandfather had such an effect on their lives that they wanted to say goodbye to him then who was I to prevent them from doing so?

Some take his passing harder than others. I find myself in the awkward position of comforting a few of them. I offer a shoulder here... A head pat here... Some I think are just comforted by having me sit next to them.

Others offer a simple nod of their head and move along with their day. The needs of survival being more important than any emotional connection.

It is only when I have nearly visited every home that anyone actually pays me any mind.

Mr. Chen.

"Where will you go now?"

"Up the Mountain."

"..."

Their are many mountains... I should be more specific.

"That one behind you."

More specific.

"The th-"

"I heard you just fine. Why are you going to climb a finger?"

"I want to bury Great Grandfather someplace high."

"You could not settle for a hill?"

"That is nowhere near respectful enough place to bury a loved one."

"Less likely to get you killed."

"Living with the shame could be worse."

I had seen it before a few times.

Every few hundred years someone I intended to kill would "escape" me.

Sometimes it was a simple matter of luck being on their side, as I would be preoccupied with destroying one thing or another that I would simply not have time to kill them.

Most of the time it was by pushing someone else in their place, or simply leaving someone behind, or a myriad of variations of simply sacrificing someone else to buy them time.

The quotation marks around "escape" is because no one escapes me for very long.

Often I'll find them eventually. I'll find them hiding in little holes or deep caves, massive fortresses, hidden bunkers an attic or something. Shame strips them of any dignity they might have held.

It makes them small.

Other times they would find me. Shame made death to me a lot less painful.

"No. Living with the shame is worse."

Death is the End (?)

But what we shout into the wind when we leave this life outlives us a while longer.

"You are to young to be thinking such things..."

"I am?"

"You are."

Mr. Chen gives me a scroll.

It is as long as my arm and almost as thick. The material tells me it was majestic once... But forgot when. Their are a myriad of complex symbols upon it but only two makes any sense to me.

A fist with the symbol of infinity in its grasp.

"I met an old man along my travels... Swore up and down that within his possession was one of the most powerful cultivation manuals ever conceived.

He would give it up if anyone would just give him something to eat.

It wasn't the most original scam in the world, but the man was just barely skin and bone. He was not long for the world. Against my better judgement I passed him a piece of bread. He gave me that."

I consider it for a moment.

"It's probably fa-"

"It's probably fake, but it's all I can offer you. It will otherwise just collect dust in my possession. It might make for some interesting reading though."

"You never opened it?"

"I don't know how to read."

"Oh."