“No, no. He told me not to go to his place again. He said my concern for him would make him uneasy six feet under. ‘You must never come back.’ That’s what he said.”

“We, I mean you, did just as he said.”

Mrs. Yi was silent. Thinking of her old mentor who had suffered so much, she began to cry.

Her husband stroked her back and whispered, “Don’t cry, woman, you’re a hero far and wide. I always think that you are unbreakable. You have been tried and tested over and over, but you’ve never given up. Everyone dies. The wonderful old man nurtured such a remarkable student as you. He can rest in peace now.”

Mrs. Yi stopped crying and turned to pack the medicine box.

“Are you going out at this late hour?”

“I‘m worried about Grandma Mao. Her mood was swinging between joy and misery.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Taking a flashlight, the couple walked out into the night. They noticed someone following them. It seemed to be a man.

“It must be Gray,” Mr. Yi said with a smile. “He’s observing us, trying to learn how to care about his neighbors. This boy will soon be ready.”

“He has a great father,” Mrs. Yi said.

The dog barked softly twice, and the couple entered the house.

Gray stood outside in the moonlight. His chest heaved with excitement.

After a while, Spoon also appeared.

“Do you mean it when you say you’ll die if you leave the herb garden?” Spoon whispered to him.

“Yes.”

“I’ve changed my mind a little. I’ve lost interest in life since I left you.”

“Oh?”

“I’m thinking, perhaps we could live like the couple inside the house?”

“You? Could you do that?”

“I can try.”

Inside, Grandma Mao groaned in her bed.

“I feel so good! I really don’t want to die. Mrs. Yi, please tell me, how did this little silver needle loosen the knots in my body? I see it swimming inside me. Is that your magic power? The joy . . .”

As soon as the treatment ended, Grandma Mao turned over and got out of bed. Without using a crutch, she went straight to the table and sat down. Mrs. Yi looked at the old woman anxiously.

“When you stuck the needle in me a moment ago, I went back to my old home. So many acquaintances gathered around me, and they said to me in unison, ‘Grandmother, you’re home now. You’ll be all right.’ I lay in bed, crying. It was so comfortable . . .”

On the way home, the couple walked slowly, looking at the moon. They wanted to prolong their walk.

So many years had passed. Although Yun Village now looked different, its core remained the same as it had always been.

Mr. Yi sighed softly, “What a magical job!”

Mrs. Yi turned away to smile gently. She said to herself, “He was right, the old director would rest in peace.” She thought of earlier years when the old director had been young and vigorous.