The stranger's face was almost obscured by tangled hair and beard, yet the twisted expression of agony was still visible.
"He didn't obtain the immortal fate?" Li Xiu pursued the question.
"He did, but it wasn't the immortality he desired. If he could do it all over again, he would rather face death than possess such a form of immortality," the stranger sighed, "If a person achieves eternal life yet must spend their days aboard a ship, isolated and alone, sailing in a world without end, without a beginning, without an endpoint, never able to disembark. Would you want such immortality?"
"I don't know." Li Xiu shook his head slightly.
"Of course you don't know, because you haven't experienced such loneliness." The stranger abruptly took a swig of alcohol, then tossed the flask to Li Xiu, saying, "The young man has attained immortality, but now he desires only death, such a simple wish, a capability any ordinary person possesses, yet he can no longer fulfill it."
