1. Mr. Qian died in Beijing, while Mr. Huang Yongyu was in Hongkong. Beijing's geographical position is above Hong Kong, so it looks at the north silently. Of course it's not due north ... it's in the northwest ... my explanation is a bit far-fetched ...
2. According to the traditional geomantic omen in China, the north is yin and the south is yang. The pain of going north means that Mr. Qian Zhongshu feels sad because of going north. To put it bluntly, Mr. Qian went to another world ...
Of course, this is my personal understanding. It is not clear whether Mr. Huang thinks so.
PS. An old man older than me. This book is very good. I've been fascinated since high school. It still looks good now.