It was the next day and Old Man Jin was pleasantly surprised to see a young boy with tanned skin wearing brown robes climbing up the steps towards his house.
“Came back again to play with this old man?” Old Man Jin smiled.
“Yeah,” Xing Yi replied. He walked over to the small table Old Man Jin sat at and took a seat opposite of him.
Without waiting, Old Man Jin took out the board and they began playing. Dozens upon dozens of pieces were placed onto the board by both opposing sides. It was a beautiful battle of entanglement, negotiation and sacrifice.
An hour later, Old Man Jin studied the board and commented, “You got better.”
At this, Xing Yi seemed to light up.
“Better at playing safe it seems like. Tsk, tsk. You really are dragging this game out on purpose, aren’t you? You should really look at the position you have put yourself in. Although at first it may look like you are thriving and managing to stand on equal footing with me, you are in actuality at my mercy,” Old Man Jin lectured him.
Over the next several moves, Old Man Jin’s words were proven to be true and Xing Yi realised how lost the game was for him and he resigned.
“I thought…”, Xing Yi muttered underneath his breath as he studied the board, trying to figure out how he could’ve possibly lost.
The game of go was so confusing that he didn’t even know how he lost!
“It is not unusual for you to lose to me, Xiao Wu. Do not feel too heartbroken. We all fail at first. I was once like you. I had the same eyes and thoughts as you. I would always wonder, ‘how did I just lose’? But in your case, what you need most is a simple change of perspective,” Old Man Jin said.
“What do you mean?” Xing Yi inquired, paying great attention to him.
“How about another game?” Old Man Jin suggested with a mischievous smile, completely ignoring his question.
Xing Yi blinked his eyes in surprise before accepting.
…
In the blink of an eye, an entire month had passed. During this time, Xing Yi had played several games of Go with Old Man Jin every day. He rapidly improved in this time span and with his “safe” playstyle, he managed to drag his games with Old Man Jin out longer and longer.
He hadn’t won a single time but just dragging out the game length was a victory in his eyes. However, he could see Old Man Jin was progressively becoming more and more displeased with him as time passed. And just today as he departed home, he could see that he had a particularly pained and disappointed expression on his face.
Xing Yi couldn’t understand. Every time he asked, he would instead receive a blank look in return.
He felt greatly saddened because of this.
But as he arrived home, a pleasant smell greeted his nose and he forgot all about this.
Sat at the dinner table were his entire family. His mother, father, grandfather and his three siblings were all there.
Sitting at the table next to his older brother, the latter commented, “Did you play go with Old Man Jin again?”
Xing Yi silently nodded as he began to dig into the food his mother had prepared. Just as he was about to dig in, his mother cried, “Wu Xing Yi! It’s your birthday today.”
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Xing Yi’s mother walked over with a large piece of duck meat and dipped it into Xing Yi’s bowl. This brought him much delight and he gave a big smile. He and his mother hugged before she sat back down again at the dinner table.
“How old are you turning today, Xing Yi?” Xing Yi’s grandfather asked with a raised eyebrow. He had saggy cheeks and a mysterious gaze in his eyes.
After thinking for a moment, Xing Yi answered, “Twelve.”
“Well, I am surprised. You’re already twelve! Time sure does fly by,” Xing Yi’s grandfather seemed to reminisce as he looked upwards.
“In addition, not only have you received an extra piece of meat from your mother, you will receive a gift from me,” Xing Yi’s grandfather then revealed.
Everyone was stunned.
“What do you mean? What kind of gift are you giving him?” Xing Yi’s mother asked with slight shock, a strand of her raven black hair falling down with her chopsticks still holding onto a piece of food.
“Not just any ordinary gift! A great gift that is so precious that even gold or silk is nothing compared to it,” Xing Yi’s grandfather revealed.
Xing Yi’s father grew suspicious and asked, “Really?”
“Yes! But unfortunately, I cannot show anyone here as the gift is so precious that it would be risky for anyone other than me or Xing Yi to know about it,” Xing Yi’s grandfather said with regret.
Xing Yi’s parents were sceptical, but his father quickly shrugged his shoulders.
So did his siblings, except for one little pest that was jealous of him.
“Lucky,” Xing Yue muttered underneath her breath, oblivious to the fact that Xing Yi heard her.
Xing Yi looked at Xing Yue for a moment but decided to not say anything.
After devouring his large portion of meat and the rest of his rice, his grandfather lead him into his room. Even as he shut the door, he swore he could still hear Xing Yue muttering underneath her breath.
As Xing Yi closed the door behind him, his grandfather was standing in front of a painting, admiring it.
“Come Xing Yi, what do you think of this painting?” Xing Yi’s grandfather headed.
Walking over, he got a look of the painting and saw it was a depiction of a beautiful landscape filled with verdant green forests, imposing and earthen mountains, and a rich blue sky. This was his grandfather’s most prized possession and didn’t even let his own son touch it. He had seen it before
His own father had also said, while his grandfather wasn’t around of course, that the painting while very well made, isn’t worth much at all since no one knows who painted it. Only paintings made by renowned painters can be sold at a high price.
Xing Yi answered, “I think it is well painted. Why? Who made it?”
Xing Yi’s grandfather nodded with satisfaction and said, “I know not of his name, but of his status. The man who painted this wasn’t well known. Nor was he rich. He didn’t even have a name. He was just a measly low-ranking scholar. He may be insignificant, but this piece of art here is simply breathtaking. It is called, ‘Mortal World’.”
A moment of silence passed.
“I was going to give this gift to your brothers, but they didn’t have that special gift. But you are different,” Xing Yi’s grandfather spoke as he brought the painting off of the wall and sat down with it on his lap.
He turned it over and opened the back cover as he continued, “Xing Yi, I can sense the yearning for the outside world in your eyes. You want to adventure and see what’s out there for you. This safe little village isn’t enough for you.”
Xing Yi’s jaw dropped.
“And that is why I’m giving this to you.” Xing Yi’s grandfather popped open the back of the painting and reached in. As he pulled out his hand, there was now a grey medallion in it.
Xing Yi walked forward and received the medallion. It was ice cold. Depicted on it was a beautiful woman with long black hair. Surrounding her was a formation of flying swords.
“What is this?” Xing Yi asked with curiosity.
Xing Yi’s grandfather answered, “It is called the ‘Heaven Chosen Medallion. If you present this medallion to the Bloody Path Sect, a sect of immortals that reside within the Long Tang Mountain Range north of here, you can join them and become an immortal. I received this from the very scholar that made the painting.”
Xing Yi couldn’t believe what he heard and reinspected the medallion, gazing very intently at the woman for no particular reason.
He delegated his words as his face turned into a pained expression.
“I can’t become an immortal,” Xing Yi replied, giving the medallion back to his grandfather.
He couldn’t possibly become an immortal. He was just the son of a farmer after all.
Xing Yi’s grandfather blocked the medallion with his hands and placed it back into his possession.
“No, I cannot take it back now that I have given it to you. This is your destiny. Do not deny it. No one else can do it except you. And despite what you may think, you are capable of anything beyond even your own imagination. Becoming an immortal is no small matter, but if its you, I think you can do it,” Xing Yi’s grandfather had a gentle but stern look in his eyes as he denied him.
Xing Yi was at a loss for words.
He still felt like he couldn’t fulfill his grandfather’s expectations, but the old man thought otherwise. Although he couldn’t deny that he greatly yearned for the outside world, he couldn’t have imagined he would’ve gained a chance to venture into it like this.