"I won't see you off. The road ahead is yours to grasp." Those were Zuo Xiao's final words.
The study that had been lively all spring grew very quiet with the arrival of summer.
The grandfather and grandson who had sat facing each other at the desk every day, studying and researching sealing arts, had both departed.
After people left, even a roomful of books could not fill that sense of emptiness.
A beam of sunlight fell across the desk. Beyond its circle of light lay a closed book, flat and still. It had not been opened for a very long time, and now it remained silent where the harsh light could not reach.
It was the last book Jiang Wang had read.
Its cover read: My Views on the Evolution of Ancient Sealing Arts.
Its author was Zuo Qiu Wu.
Before leaving Chu Kingdom's borders, Jiang Wang did meet Duke of Yu.
Dressed in ordinary clothes, Qu Jinkui came to intercept him in the skies. Without saying anything else, he directly handed over a food box. "Under threats from a certain elderly person who wishes to remain anonymous, I specially made you a box of 'Mind-Purifying Spirit-Calming Cake.' Whenever it feels like you can no longer withstand the Heavenly Dao, eat one. It should ease things somewhat. There are nine in all, so ration them."
Jiang Wang accepted the food box, gave it a light sniff, and smiled brilliantly. "Smells wonderful!"
Qu Jinkui said, "There isn't any more."
Then added, "More wouldn't help anyway."
So they exchanged salutes, and so they parted.
Jiang Wang traveled alone with a sword at his waist, stepping upon the wind.
People said that the process of a celestial being advancing toward the Heavenly Dao was a process of "seeing the Dao" and