Inside the house, three old people, two men and one woman all with grey hair and wrinkly skin stood near the bed with dark expressions. They were all of Ip Nan’s closest friends. Out of everyone in the modest Five-Step village, he had a particularly small, but close-knit circle of friends. They had built their friendships over the course of many years. Although they didn’t willy nilly share all of their close secrets, they knew each other considerably well.

The inevitable passing of Ip Nan had caused all three of them to become heartbroken. The people outside weren’t really his friends per se but these people had occasionally talked to him. When they heard the news of Ip Nan’s dire condition they came over. They were there to simply pay respects and to leave a good impression. As for Qin Xiao, they had a large argument a few years ago, causing an unfixable rift between them to form.

Despite leaving off on a bad foot, he still held great respect for him and the remaining feelings he had buried deep down inside himself caused him to find himself standing in front of Ip Nan’s house. When he arrived there he received many strange looks, as a majority of people had witnessed their argument. Still, they did not tell him to leave as they understood that he wanted to honour their friendship one final time before he left this world.

Yet, next to his bedside sat a teary-eyed boy that stared at Ip Nan with warm eyes. He was scruffy, tanned and had short black hair and every so often a whimper would come out of him. This was Ip Nan’s grandson, Ip An.

In both hands, he held the skeleton-like right hand of Ip Nan as if he wasn’t going to let him die just yet. Standing right behind him was an old lady with facial features that showed remnants of a once beautiful young woman. Her name was Mei Yawen. She combed through his hair with one hand, hoping to comfort the boy’s immense sadness.

The other men had grave expressions as they stood in thought-provoking postures, simply looking at the scene in deep thought. These two old-men were both named Uncle Huang and Uncle Jin. It had been only a few hours since his condition had crossed the tipping point and it was only getting worse and worse. These were all people that Ip An called auntie and uncle with deep respect. They had known his grandfather for many years and were the only people Ip Nan truly had left.

But suddenly, Ip An and Mei Yawen noticed Ip Nan’s lips quivering as he tried to form words.

He inhaled deeply with great strength and seemingly glanced at Ip An even though his eyes didn’t move, “Ip An…”

Everyone’s jaw dropped slightly as Ip Nan began speaking, amazed he was even able to speak a word. Ip An’s whimpering suddenly stopped as he looked on with unsteady eyes, cherishing every single one of his grandfather’s words, especially when he was addressing them to him.

Ip Nan wobbly lifted up the pointer finger of the hand Ip An was holding as he wheezed, “I can see...the longing for the… outside world… in…. you”.

Uncle Jin mumbled incredulously, “He spoke!”

Ip An blinked his eyes multiple times in disbelief. Just. How did he know?

Whenever someone asked him what he wanted to be he always said whatever his friends would say. He would always hide away his true feelings about what he wanted to be or do, scared of what others might think. Or the possibility people would try to discourage him or that he'd get reprimanded.

He made sure that no one knew about his dream to travel and explore the wonders of the outside world. He didn’t even tell his closest friends and would think about it only when he was alone, scared that people would figure out his thoughts just by looking at his expression or posture. He would find himself sitting in place, fantasizing about hitting it rich and becoming a merchant. And how he would spend loads of money to make sure his grandfather stayed healthy and lived a long time so he could spend as much time with him as possible.

Or as a scholar that passed the Imperial exams, who would then fight words with words against countless legends and have his name imprinted into history as someone remarkable. He could imagine him and his grandfather relaxing in bliss in an imperial palace courtyard all to themselves.

One time he even thought about becoming a martial artist that could split a boulder with just a single punch after seeing a similar demonstration from a travelling expert, though he only stayed very briefly. He dreamt about fighting against mythical masters in legendary battles that would be watched and retold by millions into tales of his peerless strength and legacy. And with that strength, he would get his grandfather anything he wanted and use his strength to help him.

All of these dreams involved his grandfather. But now that he was on the verge of death, he didn’t care about these dreams of his. All he was wishing for right now was that his grandfather would live for even just a bit longer so he could be with him. He was everything to him.

He didn’t know who his parents was, but he was told they died in an brutal accident when he was just a baby. Since the only living relative he knew was Ip Nan, he went under his wing. He never knew his parents, and couldn’t blame himself for not having any feelings for people he never even technically knew.

As for his grandfather, he holds very deep feelings for him as he takes care of him everyday despite his old age and had the kindness in his heart to take him in despite only being able to eke out a meagre living. If he hadn’t he would be just another orphan, starving and in poverty. He had even taught him how to read and write! The only other people who could read or write was his grandfather and the village's wise man. And for that he was incredibly grateful. He told him countless stories and lessons and guided him to become a person with good morals. He was also favourite talking partner, even better than his funniest and most interesting friends.

He was a friend, a teacher, and the missing father that had died when he was a baby.

His grandfather spoke again to the continued surprise of everyone in that same strained voice, “The painting… On the wall”

Mei Yawen stopped stroking Ip An’s hair and looked to her right where a serene painting of a landscape of mystical mountains, rivers and a bright blue sky hung. She looked back to Ip Nan with uncertainty in her eyes. It was Ip Nan's most prized possession. Many travelling merchants had tried to buy it off of him but he would always give a stern 'no'. His stubbornness causing all of them to retreat in defeat.

“Take it down and… Take off the back cover”, Ip Nan asked right before falling into a minor coughing fit.

Mei Yawen nodded before walking over and taking it down with great care. It was surprisingly much heavier than she thought it would be! Strangely, she could feel that the bottom right corner of the painting was significantly heavier than the rest for some odd reason.

She raised an eyebrow at this and looked at the painting from the side and noticed that there was potentially a gap in between the canvas and the back cover for something to be inside. Noticing Mei Yawen strange reaction Uncle Huang and Jin came over and eyed the painting with curious gazes, wondering what was contained inside for Ip Nan to ask about it right before his death.

Ip An hadn’t left his place, still desperately holding onto his grandfather’s hand. Yet he too looked over with scrying eyes. With pursed lips, Mei Yawen nudged the back cover repeatedly until it eventually eased off. Placing the cover on a nearby table, she now saw that the source of the extra weight in the painting’s right bottom corner came from a strange, fist-sized medallion of an unknown dark colour.

Reaching down she grabbed it in her hand and held up in the air. Light from the room’s window reflected off of the medallion causing it’s features to become obvious. It was painted a dark-crimson colour as if it had been soaked in someone’s blood. Fortunately, it didn’t smell or seem like actual human blood. It was quite heavy in her hand and seemed to be made out of some sort of unknown metal.

However, the depiction on the medallion gave Mei Yawen an ominous feeling that ran through her very body. A man in exquisite robes sat in a lotus position atop a mountain of bloody, mutilated bodies. There were decapitated heads, arrows in flesh and all sorts of weapons strewn around. The most chilling thing on the medallion wasn’t the gruesome nature of it, but the chilling smile the man gave as he seemingly stared into Mei Yawen's soul. It was as if he was a human demon that revelled in people’s deaths.

Unwilling to hold onto it any longer she passed it over to Uncle Jin with slightly shaking hands, “Here.”

Uncle Jin nodded and after a short rudimentary inspection from him, he too had a similar feeling and delightly handed it over to Uncle Huang. However, as Uncle Huang looked at the medallion, he eyed it with a mysterious look in his eyes. He took a much longer time to examine it. Every so often he would stroke the depictions with his pointing finger and flip it over to the otherside that was exactly the same. Once he was finally finished with it he placed it down the same table that the painting was on.

“What is it supposed to be?” Uncle Jin said with a confused yet slightly fearful face as he looked at the medallion.

“The… The letter”, Ip Nan mentioned with an extremely strained voice.

“A letter?” Mei Yawen raised an eyebrow and reinspected the inside of the painting with extra scrutiny and soon discovered a thin piece of yellow paper right under where the medallion was. She was surprised she didn’t notice it before.

She grabbed it and opened it out on the table. On the parchment of paper were many lines of profound, majestic characters in heavy black ink. Each stroke flowed into the next. Every character was like a piece of art.

Mei Yawen and the two old men looked on in amazement before she admitted with a wry smile and a tinge of embarrassment, “None of us can read.”

Hearing this, Ip An blurted out loud without a second thought, “I can! My grandfather taught me how to!”

Mei Yawen chortled, “Oh, I almost forgot!”

Ip An gave a nod as she walked over and handed the letter to him. The two old men also shuffled over to stand behind him, trying to see if they could discern what the letter would be about from his expression. When Ip An’s eyes met the parchment, his eyes widened in amazement at the profound nature of the handwriting. He shared a similar impression to Mei Yawen but quickly began reading the letter.

It took him a few long minutes to finish reading it, but once he was done it took a moment to take it all in as he frantically looked from the letter and his dying grandfather repeatedly. His heart started beating faster and faster in ecstasy as he thought about what it said despite his father’s condition.

“Hand me the medallion please Uncle Huang ”, Ip An asked respectfully with a bright smile.

“Yes, Here”, without any hesitation, one of the old men handed it over to him.

Ip An accepted the medallion and began inspecting the medallion similar to how they did previously. However, he was also looking in between the letter and the medallion, constantly observing certain key features in the medallion. Eventually, he began eyeing the medallion as if it was a priceless treasure. Uncle Huang subtly noticed this with a glint in his eyes.

“Wha-What is it about?” Uncle Huang asked with a slight stutter.

Ip An suddenly got a weird feeling in his stomach as Uncle Huang asked that question. Just as he was about to say what it was about, he stopped himself. He swallowed a lump in his throat and thought about it deeply for a second, scanning the letter’s contents as he did. Although he didn't doubt the validity of his grandfather's and Uncle Huang's relationship, he had this strange feeling in his stomach that had just emerged out of nowhere. He was definitely betraying his Uncle, but he had to ensure that he wasn't attracting danger ignorantly.

He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply out of his nostrils before giving an innocent smile filled with excitement, “This precious letter details an opportunity as an apprentice crafter in the western Peerless Cliff City. As for the strange and gruesome appearance of the medallion.”

Ip An gave a pause to think before continuing, “This is because the establishment that the apprentice would be working for is under a contract from the military. The Peerless Cliff city is not a stranger to war and it is common for fighting to occur in its territory. This medallion is used as proof of the establishment’s ancestor’s will and will confirm the authenticity of the letter.”

Ip An looked back. and saw Uncle Jin and Mei Yawen looking on with jealous expressions. As for Uncle Huang, he noticed him giving a mysterious long stare with squinted eyes. Uncle Huang suddenly snapped out of his daze and gave a warm smile while patting Ip An on the shoulder.

“It seems you are truly destined for greatness. This small village isn’t going to be able to contain you for much longer. Though, I didn’t expect your grandfather to hold such deep, distance connections. None of us noticed that he was a giant living amongst mere men”, Uncle Huang praised in obvious jealousy.

“Though I can see it is well deserved. You are able to read and write at such a young age, possess such well-refined and controlled speech and are less swayed by emotions unlike other children your age. If only my nephew could be like more you”, Uncle Huang continued compliments and comparing him to his nephew caused Ip An to feel awkward. It also felt kinda strange for Uncle Huang to be saying this sort of stuff so suddenly. But Ip An knew why.

If in the future he ever became successful, which it was very likely. Ip An would remember Uncle Huang’s praise and support and would surely pay him back if he had even the slightest bit of back-bone. Alas, currying favour is one of the unwritten rules of surviving in a dog eat dog world. And it didn’t even cost anything, just a little bit of short-term shame and dignity.

Uncle Jin seeing this naturally didn’t miss his chance to gain favour with the potential future prospect and began hurling countless compliments at him. Worlds like “Genius” and “Tiger gaining wings” were used, causing Ip An to blush embarrassingly.

“Thank you, thank you”, Ip An wryly smiled once he was also done.

As for Mei Yawen she was surprisingly very genuine and gave him a warm smile as she congratulated him, “Congratulations, I wholeheartedly wish for your future success.”

In contrast to Uncle Jin's and Huang's compliments, this one he genuinely felt appreciative for. Then, he turned back to his grandfather with an unsteady heart.

As Ip An stared at Ip Nan’s slowly deteriorating condition he gave a bitter smile and whispered in his heart, “I can’t let anyone know what that letter and medallion is truly about grandfather. I will not let this opportunity you’ve given to me disappear. I will make the most of it and make you proud. No matter what difficulties i will face in the future, i will push through with all my strength and will.”

As Ip An thought this, he struggled to stop himself from crying again. But soon tears ran down his face yet again as he embraced his grandfather’s cold, tender hands until his final breath.