Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 2891: The Silent Monastery

"Someone's maintaining this place," Meng Bai whispered.

"They're here," Lin Mu replied. "They just don't want to be seen yet."

They walked slowly to the monastery doors—tall and silent, carved with images of mountains and waves. Lin Mu raised a hand and knocked once.

Then again.

Still no answer.

He stared at the statues flanking the temple gate—worn by time, yet filled with an ancient pressure that made one's breath catch.

"Now we wait," Lin Mu said.

"For how long?" Meng Bai asked.

Lin Mu's gaze never left the doors.

"Until they choose to speak."

They waited.

Day turned to dusk.Dusk faded into night.And still, no answer came.

The lanterns lining the monastery remained unlit. The courtyard stayed silent, unmoved even by the occasional breeze that wandered in from the south. The stars overhead flickered faintly, half-obscured by the invisible heaviness that saturated the air.

Lin Mu remained seated outside the great doors, his eyes open, his breathing even. He had not moved for hours.

Meng Bai, on the other hand, sat off to the side beneath the stone awning of a side pavilion. His robes clung to his skin with sweat, and his breath came heavier with each passing hour.

"I can't… move around much here," Meng Bai admitted, wiping his brow. "Feels like I'm being pressed into the ground." His qi was draining as he resisted the weight.

He could barely maintain a balance in the consumption and absorption of qi to not be drained dry.

Lin Mu nodded slightly. "It's like this place was never meant to welcome visitors. The very Qi resists intrusion."

Another hour passed.

Then another.

When dawn finally crept over the horizon again, casting long amber shadows across the monastery grounds, Lin Mu finally stood.

"I'll take a look inside," he said.

Meng Bai grimaced and nodded. "Go. I'll stay here. Just walking ten steps feels like I'm dragging a boulder." He took out a pill and popped it in his mouth, helping him maintain his spirit qi supply.

With a silent stride, Lin Mu made his way around the main monastery building, moving past the sealed courtyards and quiet shrines. His steps made no sound on the stone pathways. Even the crunch of his footfalls was swallowed by the weight in the air.

He approached one of the smaller buildings—perhaps once a monk's quarters or a prayer hall—and extended his spiritual sense.

It was sealed. Perfectly.

Each structure he checked bore a similar fate. The formations on the doors and walls were old, but not deteriorated. They were pristine. Maintained. But entirely closed off.

Lin Mu could have broken through them. With a few hand seals and a bit of force, he could unravel the defensive formations in seconds. But something told him not to.

It wasn't just about respect.It was instinct.Breaking in here would be noticed.

And in a place like this, being noticed might not be a good thing.

Plus he didn't want to come off as rude or worse... an enemy.

He returned to the front of the main hall where Meng Bai still waited, now half-dozing with his head resting on his arm.

"No one's there?" Meng Bai asked as Lin Mu sat beside him again.

"Or if they are, they don't wish to be found," Lin Mu replied quietly. "All the buildings are sealed. The formations are intact. It's as if the entire monastery has turned inward."

"Feels like it's sleeping," Meng Bai murmured.

"Maybe it is."

Lin Mu stared at the great doors again. His gaze narrowed as a thought came to him.

There was one item he hadn't tried yet.One token of recognition that might mean something to those within.

He reached into his spatial ring and withdrew the White Jade Ruyi.

The moment it appeared, the weight in the air seemed to shift. Not lessen—but focus, as if the monastery itself had turned a silent eye toward him.

The White Jade Ruyi glowed faintly in his hand, its surface gleaming with serene brilliance. Lin Mu raised it slowly, channeling a strand of his Qi into it.

Hum…

A soft, invisible pulse radiated from the artifact.

It passed through the monastery silently—like a breeze that ruffled nothing, touched nothing… but could be felt.

Meng Bai shivered.

Then, finally—movement.

The great doors stirred. No loud creak or grand opening. Just the soft groan of old hinges and ancient wood shifting.

One side opened a sliver.

And through it stepped a man.

A monk.

He wore the traditional ochre robes of a humble monk, though the cloth looked worn and faded. His frame was thin, borderline skeletal, and his face bore deep lines of exhaustion. His eyes, though, were awake—dark and alert beneath the shadows of his sunken brow.

He said nothing at first.

He simply stood there, looking at Lin Mu.

And then, slowly, his eyes dropped to the White Jade Ruyi in Lin Mu's hand.

His expression did not change as if too tired to do even that, but the breath he exhaled seemed to carry years of silence with it.

"You hold the lost Ruyi," the monk finally said. His voice was hoarse, as though unused. "From the Green Lotus Temple."

Lin Mu rose to his feet and returned the bow with respectful calm. "I am Lin Mu. I was given this Ruyi by a monk of the Green Lotus Temple. I come seeking answers… and perhaps a path forward."

The monk was silent for a few seconds more, then gave a faint nod.

"You may enter." The monk said. "But not the boy." his words made Meng Bai raise a brow.

"He would not be able to bear the burden at his cultivation base." He explained, making Meng Bai understand.

He turned without another word and walked back into the dim interior of the monastery.

Lin Mu glanced back at Meng Bai.

"Wait here. I'll be back."

"Be careful," Meng Bai said, now fully awake, watching with wide eyes.

Lin Mu crossed the threshold of the Great Burden Monastery.

The door closed behind him with barely a sound.

And outside, the world remained silent once more