"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.
