It was 7pm, for any young man, that would be the time he would just start his real day. But for Lien, it was time to head to bed. He had lived a long and fulfilling life, and although wealth wasn't something that interested him too much, he still owned a villa, his only one to date.
It was grand yet also not – build in the style of ancient Greek halls, it was large yet not pompously decorated with all kinds of things. He didn't even have a car – as he was a walker type. His home was sitting on a large hill at the border district of the city, among other wealthy owners.
The insides were also fairly clean. Lien looked at the ground that was shining and thought to himself 'Those cleaners truly know how to keep the house tidy. A good decision I took some of them from the cargo and let them work for me, at least they show that they are worth their price.'
He went deeper into his villa and soon entered his bedroom, which was even tidier, if that was even possible, than the other rooms. He went to his bed, slow and steady without any problems, although the wrinkles on his skin and the cane in his hand clearly showing his advanced age.
The cane, a wooden one with a silver horse head and a wheel, also silver and looking like those old ones that pulled carriages in the far past, sitting at the far bottom of the cane. It didn't move and was only a more unique cane bud.
This was the single heirloom he got from his mother. She gave it to him as it was owned by his father in his late years – who had died mysteriously. Lien was always told that his father was a good businessman that would succeed in his later years, so he had looked up to him in his early childhood. Later on, he asked his connections and looked into the disappearance – which he found to be a simple murder because his father had meddled in troubled waters.
If it was any other person, he would say that they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, but his father was somewhat important to him, so he honoured him by ordering assassins to kill the murderer. He didn't bother setting his eyes on the family of that man afterwards to make the revenge spectacular, ending it fast and early.
This single cane was sturdier than he thought – for he promised himself that, although he wasn't one that liked canes too much, he would always adore this one and use it as long as he could, and then he would keep it as an antique in his home, till the day he died to be buried with him.
The mysterious cane was owned by generations of Lien's family, one of traders. Lien wasn't sure about the time the cane was kept in the family, but he was sure that it might have been a long time. How it survived is a question unanswered, but he never planned on selling it or doing anything with it that required an expert to look at it.
As it was the only possession that he truly kept for his whole life, it meant much more to him than anything else, especially after his mother died of old age when he was barely in his thirties and just started going deeper into the trade.
Like always, he put the cane to the left side of the bed and pulled the blanket over it. Some might think Lien was crazy, for treating the cane like a little child he cared for, but he didn't mind, as that was right. He was cruel and cold in nature and didn't feel anything when he traded with life itself, which was why he also accepted every karma he suffered from, but he didn't want the last bit of his family – the cane that made him feel at home – feel neglected, no matter how weird that was.
He laid down on the right side and put his hand to his heart, feeling his beat. A few minutes later, he sighed in resignation but not regret, it felt like a relieve to him, for he had done most that could be done in this world he lived in.
There wasn't a single item he hadn't traded with, even air was but a commodity to be sold. So, seeing the end in the form of a slow heartbeat and his own intuition, he was happy for dying after having lived the life he wanted and ended it before it became boring.
For a last time, he wanted to look at the cane. He looked at it when suddenly, its eyes started to glow in the silver colour it was. The mouth of the silvery horse head started moving, speaking in a calm and low voice, so low that one thought it was impossible to hear, but Lien heard it very clearly.
"Oh, descendant of the trader's family, I see that once again, the head is at its last breath. I am the spirit borne through the care given by your ancestors and awakened because of the care you have given me. For this, I will give you a chance, do you wish to take it?"
Lien was shocked, too shocked for his age and fairly unhealthy, but he was already prepared to die and wasn't too worried about that. He looked at the cane, and although he wanted to ask a few things, his bond to the cane stopped him.
He felt that the cane truly only wanted to give him a chance and wasn't thinking of scamming him, like many had previously tired. He looked at the small eyes and said after a short calming rest "Spirit of my family… well, tell me this chance you speak of."
The horse head replied "You have committed many sins, but also traded a lot in your life. In journey to the afterlife, you might have to suffer before you experience the everlasting peace. I can hasten this process and directly give you the chance to live out your retirement.
I have another option, which is to let you do what your family is known for – trade. I will give you the chance to continue your craft and enjoy it to the best of your ability. But hear me, there have been others of your family, and all of them asked for eternal peace. What do you wish?"
Lien didn't need to think too long "I understand the reason my ancestors wished to experience eternal peace, as they had reached their goals. Yet I do not possess those, I only act upon my will and for my joy, so naturally I will ask of you to let me continue my craft."
The spirit was happy to finally have received this request "Then, I shall give you this opportunity."
The horse head started to glow, and an illusionary body manifested below it. It started galloping. The wheel on the bud started spinning too, both in their own movement undisturbed yet connected. Lien looked shocked and he felt a pull from the cane, until he gripped the middle of it tightly in his hands, nearly forming a fist with it.
His wrinkled hands seemed to glow too, his body shortly following them. The thin layer of white hair on his head shook slightly, making it seem like a breeze went through the room. Lien didn't know what happened, but he got a feeling that he would be seeing something entirely different from what he had experienced in his long life.