Xing Yi was excited to venture into the outside world. But also had a feeling of dread.

He was simply uncertain.

Would he fail? Or would he succeed?

These mixed emotions churned through his mind and body as he walked up the dirt path to Old Man Jin’s path. With the medallion still in his possession, snuggly tucked away inside his brown robes, he finally arrived.

However, what he saw wasn’t what he expected. Standing outside his were many several middle-aged men and women with pained expressions. Walking up the steps, he was noticed by a particular burly man with large muscles and a large beard.

“Xiao Wu, what are you doing here?” He inquired.

“What happened?” Xing Yi asked confusedly, trying to peer past the man and into the house.

“Jin Yong died.”

Those words caused Xing Yi’s heart to skip a beat.

“Really?” Xing Yi asked, his face filled with terror.

“Yes,” the burly man sighed.

Xing Yi immediately turned around and walked back with wide eyes. He walked off path and through the rice paddies and into the forest. Walking in, he soon found a spot underneath a random oak tree and sat with his back to it.

“This can’t be happening,” Xing Yi muttered underneath his breath.

Xing Yi had only truly known the man for what- a month?

Yet his death had hit him so hard.

He remembered when Hou Li first introduced him to the man and how fun the game of go was. That he should play too. Initially, he gave it a try too, but he didn’t have much success and was content watching Hou Li and Old Man Jin play.

For several dozen long minutes he sat underneath the tree. He just stared into air as he thought. He didn’t sob dramatically, merely a single tear dropped down his left eye.

And he didn’t even leave on a good note with Old Man Jin. The last time he saw him, he had a disappointed expression on his face.

If he could talk to him one more time, he would say how sorry he was for not listening to him.

That playstyle.

That damn playstyle.

Just what was he thinking? Playing safe.

Xing Yi began to laugh manically as he brought his hand to his face, laughing at how stupid he was.

“I was playing safe the whole time. Not one time did I listen to him,” Xing Yi said.

He had been playing safe the whole time when he played go. He didn’t take risks. Old Man Jin was saying this all. It was all right in front of his face and he didn’t listen.

Xing Yi stood up and began to walk forward with resolution. Walking back to Old Man Jin’s place, he saw that the group of people were now walking somewhere on the dirt road. Running forward, he caught up to the burly men.

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“Mister, where are you guys going?” Xing Yi asked.

Raising an eyebrow, the burly man replied with a question of his own, “Where did you go?”

“Nowhere,” Xing Yi replied, acting as mysteriously as he could.

After a few seconds of failing to see past his façade, he answered honestly, “To the plains west of here so we can bury him. It will only be a short funeral.”

It was currently late into the afternoon and the sun was ready to set. Obviously, Old Man Jin had been dead for some time already now. The reason for Xing Yi being so late on this particular day is because he was talking to his grandfather about the medallion and thinking about it.

In just a few days, he was going to hitch a ride with a travelling merchant that regularly passed through here so he can go to Rising Dragon City. Before then, he wanted to talk to Old Man Jin about some things and really get some things off his shoulders. But now that he was dead that would never happen.

Walking in tandem with Liu Ming, the burly men, they walked through the village and then down an untrodden and unkempt path to the village’s tiny cemetery. There were only about a couple dozen graves or so. The group found a clear space and two men who had previously been carrying onto a brown bag, placed it onto the ground. Four men who had also been carrying shovels, started digging and shovelling the dirt into a pile nearby.

There were about thirty or so people present, and each looked on with saddened expressions. Old Man Jin wasn’t someone incredibly popular. He was just a lone old man who found joy in playing go and usually chatted with his neighbours while in return giving food from his vegetable garden.

He lived a quiet life. But it also deeply impacted many. A few elderly men were also present who were obviously good friends of his. In fact Xing Yi had met many of them while he played against Jin Yong.

Soon, a hole had been dug and his body was placed inside. Xing Yi watched on with sadness and saw how pale his body had turned. After asking Liu Ming, he had learnt that he had died from what they thought to be a heart attack.

None of them could’ve seen it coming.

They shovelled all the dirt back in, evened the ground out and then placed a large stone at the head of his burial.

After they were done, the men who had done all the work digging his hole and reburying the dirt, stood back.

Without saying any words, many long moments of silence descended upon the crowd.

Xing Yi could only hear his breath as he gazed at Jin Yong’s grave.

He knew the man for very little. Yet the latter had seen through him and offered advice when it mattered to him the most. He didn’t cry. He didn’t even shed a single tear.

As the group began dispersing one by one, a resolute expression returned to his face. Discreetly returning to Jin Yong’s house, he found a still in play go board with pieces on it. He smiled at this and walked inside.

Looking through a small cupboard in the house, he found a large scroll. Tucking it inside his robes, he cleaned up the go game, placed the pieces back inside their holders and proceeded to walk to the cemetery with all this in hand.

He received a few weird looks from people, but no one went over and stopped him. When he arrived at the cemetery, he walked over to Jin Yong’s grave and placed down the go board in front of his gravestone.

He knelt down and unrolled the scroll.

“Let’s play a game of go, one final time,” Xing Yi sighed and began placing pieces onto the board according to the record in the scroll. This scroll was in fact a record of one of their games a week ago. Jin Yong had suggested it. He was glad he accepted as of this moment.

As Jin Yong made his first move, he bursted out into excitement, “Excellent move! As expected from someone of your skill!”

Although he hadn’t acknowledged it, Jin Yong was a master to him. So, he called him as such.

With each of his master’s move, Xing Yi would clap and cheer. But towards the latter end of the match, his tone turned sad.

And with his master’s final move, he turned silent and kowtowed towards his headstone.

He whispered, “Excuse me but allow me to call you master as you are one to me. I am forever regretful that I didn’t listen to your wisdom earlier. I had simply been a stubborn fool he didn’t listen to the older generation. Forgive me.”

Many moments passed as he delegated his next words, his head still against the ground.

“I am leaving this small village to become an immortal. I know, it sounds crazy. I think so too. But it’s true. I was going to tell you about some of my fears and uncertainties. But I know the answer now. You may have not told me directly but thankfully I am not a complete fool. I was afraid of taking risks and venturing out into the world. I knew I wanted to yet I denied it and buried underneath the dread I felt. But I’m not like that anymore. I’ve changed,” Xing Yi said confidently, strength rejuvenating his voice and making him louder.

With this, he packed everything and brought it back to Jin Yong’s house and put it back as it had been earlier. He left the house and looked towards the sunset that laid upon the horizon, it’s orange rays soaking his face with a warmth.

The world awaited him.