Three days later, early in the morning, a carriage arrived in front of Xing Yi’s house.

Sitting on the front of the carriage was a tall, beardless man with pointed black leather shoes. After stretching his neck and cracking his fingers with an outward motion, he stepped off of the carriage and made his way over to the house with strong and confident strides.

He knocked on the door and the first one to answer was a lanky young man with ruffled black hair and strong, veiny arms.

“What brings you here today Mr Wang?” The lanky young man asked casually.

“Is your grandfather home? He requested to have me bring his son to Rising Dragon City,” Mr Wang replied.

The lanky youth replied, “Yes. Let me get him.”

He walked inside and retrieved an old man who walked over with a hunched back. This was Xing Yi’s grandfather. Wu Xing Da.

“You’ve arrived,” Xing Da said.

“Yes, I have. Anyways, you seem in great health! Not even a trace of paleness on your complexion and you look like you’re bound to not be going anywhere, anytime soon,” Mr Wang praised with a flattering voice.

Xing Da laughed, “I am less than optimistic but thank you.”

“That is fine,” Mr Wang replied.

However, inside the house, Xing Yuwan was desperately hugging onto Xing Yi and won’t let go.

“Don’t go!” Xing Yuwan screamed with snot coming out her nose and tears running down her face.

“I won’t be gone forever. I will make sure to visit!” Xing Yi replied with a reassuring smile.

Just then, his mother arrived at his side and finally ripped him off his leg.

Xing Yuwan continued to cry and Xing Yi could only look on with sadness.

Did he really have to go? He didn’t want to see his little sister so sad.

But that was only a momentary thought. He knew what he had to do. He had a purpose and he had to fulfil it. He had already talked to his two older brothers last night and they had hugged it out for a while. They were both supportive of him and didn’t mind him leaving the farm at all. In fact they were both delighted, as if he was successful he was sure to elevate their family’s status.

He was sure that with them and his father at the helm of the farm, he would sure that they would produce a many fine numbers of crops that would sell for quite the coin. He would miss them dearly, but it was time to move on into the outside world. Only just a little earlier than he and his family had expected. Still, they didn’t know what it was he was doing and only after wrangling his grandfather about it for multiple days did, he finally give in and say that he would tell him what Xing Yi was doing in a year’s time.

After all, what is he to say if Xing Yi suddenly shows up wearing silk white robes and wielding a golden sword? There would be no way to continue acting clueless at that point.

Regardless, Xing Yi painfully left her side and walk out to the front of the house where the merchant and his grandfather were currently chatting away, the topic of conversation being Mr Wang’s travels and the many sights he has seen. They seemed to have a good relationship and had smiles on their faces the whole time.

The rest of his family trailed behind him, ready to wave him goodbye for the final time. With a backpack filled with everything he needed for his travels, from a considerable amount of the family’s savings, extra clothes, and even a knife just in case the need arises.

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Hugging each of his family members one by one.

As his mother embraced him, she emphasised with a shaky, “Make sure to take care of yourself and don’t get into too many fights. Eat healthy and get enough sleep. Lastly, if someone is ever in need, make sure to help them. Ok?”

Xing Yi firmly responded, “I will mother.”

Then, he walked over to his father.

His father had a serious face as he slapped his hand onto his shoulder, “Make sure to live honestly. Don’t ever, ever give up no matter how hard things may get and most importantly, be strong. Don’t ever show weakness.”

Suddenly he leaned in and whispered, “Especially in the world of immortals you are sure to make enemies. If and when that happens, don’t be afraid to fight back.”

Xing Yi was stunned. His father knew?

He thought about it for a brief moment and it quickly made sense. Why wouldn’t he?

Xing Yi took both of their advice to heart and hugged his remaining brothers. They both said they would miss him. They were serious and honest people. Much like his father. Not many too words were exchanged.

Finally, his little sister. She wouldn’t stop crying.

“Make sure to visit, ok?” Xing Yuwan sobbed.

Xing Yi smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead, “I will. Don’t you worry. I’ll even bring friends too if that’s what you want.”

Xing Yuwan replied, “Yeah.”

With a heavy heart and a bittersweet feeling, he turned away from his family and walked towards the pair of men talking in front of the carriage.

“The young man is finally here! Well then, I am going to have to get going. The life of a merchant is one that is always on the move, and I can’t afford to accommodate you guys for too long. Excuse me!” Mr Wang exclaimed.

Walking forward with Mr Wang, Xing Yi gave his grandfather a long hug and said to him as he left the embrace, “Thank you.”

Xing Da laughed, “There is no need to thank me. Thank yourself for taking on this opportunity to venture into the unknown!”

Xing Yi replied, “I will.”

He turned around and jumped inside the carriage. He noticed a young man was also sitting inside but he didn’t take him to mind as he was still thinking about his family. As the horses began trotting away, Xing Yi opened the curtains and sadly waved his family goodbye through the window. As their figures turned to silhouettes in the distance, he finally looked away.

How long until would it be until he saw them again? Would he still be the same?

Hopeful thoughts of his journey emerged.

He was going to become an immortal! When he thought of this, he tightly gripped a medallion underneath his robes.

That’s when he finally appraised the young man, directly opposite him in the other corner of the carriage. His eyes were sharp like a fox, his hair delicately combed and his facial features strong and masculine. He sat with his legs crossed and a thin book in hand, his eyes intensely studying its contents.

Xing Yi couldn’t read yet, so he didn’t know what the book’s title was. At that moment, the young man noticed his gaze and looked at him, causing his hairs to stand up.

“What is your name boy?” The young man asked with a trace of arrogance.

“Xing Yi,” Xing Yi replied as he gave a tiny bow in his seat.

The young man readjusted by crossing his legs the other way and put his hand on his chin.

“Xing Yi, thank you for telling me your name. Regretfully, I cannot tell you my name in my return. However, I do have one thing to say. As long as you do not cause any major disturbances during our trip, you and I will not have any problems. Do you understand?” The young man stared intently at him, waiting for a response.

Xing Yi hastily replied and nodded his head again, “Yes! There will be no problems. I will make sure to be quiet. But forgive me being rude but why can’t you tell me your name?”

“It’s simple. Because you don’t need to know,” The young man replied with a harsh tone.

Xing Yi silently nodded his head, slightly embarrassed.

Although his tone was slightly arrogant, he was still respectful and didn’t go looking down him for being just a mere ‘peasant’. From the look of him, he was someone of high status and was quite rich. He wondered what he would possibly be doing here of all places.

With introductions out of the way, he thought about what he was going to do for the rest of the trip.

Of which he had nothing that he could do.

He eyed the young man and window before he sighed and began rummaging through his backpack. He pulled out a medium-sized go board, the largest that would fit in his bag. It was thirteen by thirteen squares long and wide.

As Xing Yi pulled out the go board, the young master gave him a weird look and it seemed to pique his interest.

“You have a go board,” the young master asked with interest.

Surprised that the young master was initiating a conversation with him, he replied, “Yeah.”

“Do you have pieces?” He asked, eyeing his backpack.

“Yeah,” Xing Yi said as he reached inside his bag and pulled out two black pots that were the size of fists.

“Would you like to play a game with me? I haven’t played a game of go since say- I think when I was seven years old,” the young master said.

Xing Yi replied, “Sure.”

He didn’t mind at all. He needed really needed something to do. There was no way he was going to be awkwardly staring out the window the whole trip.