Compared to the grandeur of the Grand Temple, Monk Hushu's courtyard was humble—a place that felt more like a ho than a monunt.
Lin Mu didn't mind at all and quickly settled in. ng Bai, who was used to living with little, found the place peaceful and familiar. Daoist Chu, however, looked around with slight discomfort.
"Are you fine with adding so things to my room?" he asked, eyeing the plain interior with mild dismay.
"Nothing inappropriate, though," Monk Hushu warned without even looking up from his seat.
"Of course. I'll just add so furniture," Daoist Chu assured. "It looks a bit too empty with just a prayer mat and not even a bed."
Monk Hushu gave a small nod of approval, and the group began to unpack and settle in. The mountain breeze carried the faint scent of incense from the peak above, and for a mont, ti seed to stand still.
Here, in this quiet sanctuary, Lin Mu could finally breathe.
The first thing he did after claiming a room was to walk out into the courtyard and sit down on the ground. He didn't care about the dirt beneath him at all—in fact, it just felt more natural.
Every inch of this land was filled with a serene aura that soothed the soul. Even the mundane soil, sothing most cultivators would never dream of sitting on, felt like the soft comfort of a velvet pillow.
Of course, this comfort was reserved only for those of pure heart and a mind capable of adapting.
Lin Mu closed his eyes and ditated.
He didn't cultivate, nor did he control any Qi.
It was all just his breath—and the sounds of nature around him.
Birds chirping in the distance. Wind rustling gently through mountain pines. The distant toll of a wooden chi. Each sound layered gently upon his consciousness, lulling him into a state of peace. He took this opportunity to digest his recent gains. Having ascended the Grand Peak and t the Abbot, Lin Mu felt as though he had been subtly purified. Stray thoughts that had once haunted his mind had vanished, and long-held doubts had simply ceased to be.
Relaxing like this felt like a true vacation for Lin Mu, and he easily spent the rest of the day basking in that stillness.
By the ti he opened his eyes, it was already dusk.
ng Bai ca to call him.
"Co, they got food," the boy said with a half-smile.
"Alright." Lin Mu opened his eyes, a gentle smile resting on his face.
ng Bai, seeing him like that, couldn't help but feel sothing was different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but sothing about Lin Mu had changed.
'Is this due to him going up the mountain?' ng Bai wondered. 'Perhaps I should try it tomorrow too.'
The two walked into the main hall, where Daoist Chu and Monk Hushu were already seated.
A few junior monks had brought trays of food and were now bowing respectfully before departing.
"The food in our temple is humble and vegetarian," one of them said softly. "Please pardon us if it is not satisfying."
"It is enough," Lin Mu replied. He had no intentions of complaining, especially not when he was a guest.
"Amitabha," the monks intoned in unison before retreating with practiced grace.
Laid out before them were five simple dishes each. At the center was a bowl of freshly stead white rice, fluffy and fragrant. Beside it, a bowl of soft tofu soup floated with bits of seaweed and a hint of fernted bean paste, its aroma comforting and subtle.
A bowl of vegetable congee followed—rice porridge with finely diced root vegetables like lotus root, carrot, and daikon, cooked until everything had beco one warm, nourishing blend.
Then there was a plate of stir-fried leafy greens—likely mustard spinach—cooked lightly with sesa oil and garlic. The last was a platter of stead vegetables: vibrant orange carrots, soft white radish, tender eggplant, and glistening sweet potatoes, their skins just barely wrinkled from the steam.
There were no spices, no oil-laden sauces, and certainly no at or fish. Yet the ingredients were fresh, and there was a quiet dignity to the al—each bite simple and grounding.
It was possibly the most austere al they had eaten in a long ti.
ng Bai looked down at the spread with faint disappointnt.
After all, they were used to Little Shrubby's cooking—elaborate, flavorful als that often defied culinary logic. Compared to that, this felt almost like peasant food.
SIGH.
"This is going to be hard to get used to," Daoist Chu grumbled with a sigh, pushing a radish around his plate.
"If you wish, you can go down to the Lotus Prefecture and have normal als," Monk Hushu offered mildly. "The als here will be like this always."
"Hmmm… I'll do that tomorrow, I suppose," Daoist Chu muttered.
Lin Mu didn't complain. He quietly enjoyed the al, appreciating its calm rhythm. There was sothing healing in its plainness. While it didn't offer complex flavors or excitent, a change in diet and pace was always good for the mind.
Having finished his simple al, Lin Mu got up and released his spirit beasts.
One by one, Little Shrubby, Ashy, Xiao Yin, and Xiao Yang erged from his sleepscape, blinking as they adjusted to the mountain air.
He imdiately gave them a strict rundown of how to behave while on temple grounds. He did not want any mishaps—or worse, any insults toward the temple or its mbers.
He nagged them for a full thirty minutes. By the end of it, Ashy looked more tired from the lecture than from an actual battle.
"We understand, Master. We won't do anything while we're here," Little Shrubby, ever the obedient one, promised.
"Yes, we'll just go outside for that," Xiao Yin added cheekily.
"There's a lot of places to see!" Xiao Yang chirped.
"And tons of bugs to eat!" Ashy said with a buzz of excitent.
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