In early May, the funeral procession of the deceased national martial arts master and honorary chairman of the Ancestral Fist Association, Guan Yantao, was held, attended by over a thousand people. Six people acted as pallbearers.
The old man's ashes were buried in his hometown in Kaiping. The day of the funeral was marked with great prestige. Among those who sent respectful wreaths, there were quite a few important figures, which need not be mentioned again.
There was, however, an unsigned elegiac couplet sent from Hong Kong that caught Li Yan's gaze, rendering him lost in thought.
"A man of lowly birth is yet unbroken in spirit, a lone blade amidst the torrents, through ages immutable."
Li Yan looked for a long time, then quietly withdrew. The sounds of mourning and Buddhist sutras gradually became distant.
In his lifetime, Guan Yantao truly had a few friends who understood him, who loved him.
