Walker Of The Worlds

2779  Ashyʼs Reconnaissance

Lin Muʼs voice made everyone open their eyes, and for the first time in a week, they spoke.

”Finally!” Meng Bai exclaimed. ”This is so much better! I felt like I was suffocating!” The boy let out all the frustration that had been building up inside him.

”Amitabha, while I am not one to speak much, just the feeling of being watched was far worse,” Monk Hushu added, his voice laced with quiet relief.

”That was tiring,” Daoist Chu admitted with a sigh. ”If it werenʼt for the alarms, we could have finished the work within a day.” His tone carried a note of frustration.

”Yeah, but at least we can move around in the room for now and speak freely,” Lin Mu replied.

”Will they not know that weʼre doing all this, though? Even if you turned it off, wonʼt they come to check?” Meng Bai asked, his brow furrowed.

”No, we changed the array so that it simply loops three days of recordings. To them, it will just seem like weʼre sitting around cultivating,” Lin Mu explained.

”Oh! Thatʼs neat.” Meng Bai hadnʼt expected something like that to be possible.

”Though weʼre still not totally free,” Lin Mu said, glancing toward the door. ”Thereʼs still one more array on the door itself.”

”Canʼt you remove it like the others?” Meng Bai asked, hopeful.

”Itʼs not that simple,” Daoist Chu shook his head. ”That array isnʼt independent but is part of the entire buildingʼs formation. If we disable it, the system will detect it almost instantly.”

”Damn, so weʼre still trapped here,” Meng Bai muttered.

”We might be… but he might not,” Daoist Chu said, looking at Lin Mu.

”Daoist Chu, you said their restrictions seem harsher than usual, right?” Lin Mu asked.

”Yeah, they werenʼt this bad before,” Daoist Chu confirmed.

”Then thereʼs likely more to this. We need to figure it out. I have a bad feeling that if we just stay put, we might get caught in something big,” Lin Mu replied with a frown. ”We may need to prepare to escape.”

”Could it really be that bad?” Meng Bai asked, concern evident in his voice.

”Hopefully, Iʼm wrong. But if Iʼm not…” Lin Mu trailed off. The weight of his words was clear enough.

”How will you do it?” Daoist Chu asked.

”It might be risky for me to go out, but thereʼs someone who can,” Lin Mu said, then called softly, ”Ashy.”

Chirp!

The small black bird appeared on Lin Muʼs arm, tilting her head in curiosity.

”Where are we?” the bird asked, confused.

”Let me explain everything first,” Lin Mu said, giving her a detailed rundown of their situation and what she needed to do. ”Remember, stay hidden and do not speak. We donʼt know how the people here will react.”

”Okay, I can do that,” Ashy nodded with confidence. ”Iʼm the best at listening to gossip!” She even seemed a bit eager.

”How will she get out, though? There are no windows,” Meng Bai asked.

”Like this,” Lin Mu said.

Ashy flew off, and with a soft shua, she merged into the shadows, slipping under the door through the smallest of gaps. The dim lighting of the room helped her blend in perfectly.

”Oh wow… I didnʼt know she could slip through such a tiny gap,” Meng Bai whispered, impressed.

The small black bird easily made her way out of the building and emerged into the open air.

She looked around, taking in the vast city before her. The sheer scale of it was overwhelming.

The city stretched far and wide, a mesmerizing blend of white marble and golden sandstone. Tall, pristine buildings lined the streets, their facades adorned with intricate carvings of divine symbols. Towering cathedrals loomed over the cityscape, their spires piercing the sky like celestial fingers reaching toward the heavens.

Ashy noticed an odd uniformity—each cathedral was identical in structure, as though they had been copied and pasted across the city. Even the Dao Shells that the native people carried bore striking similarities to these buildings, an eerie reflection of the architecture.

Everywhere she looked, the symbol of the Supreme God was present. Statues of divinities stood on every street corner, their stony gazes seeming to follow passersby. Shops bore the crest on their signs, their wares marked with sacred insignias. The people, too, carried the symbol in various forms—amulets hung from their necks, bracelets adorned their wrists, and in some cases, the mark was even tattooed onto their skin. A few devotees had it carved directly onto their foreheads, an unsettling display of absolute faith.

The more Ashy observed, the stranger the city felt. It was as if everything had been designed to be in perfect harmony—too perfect. There was something unnatural about it, an underlying tension that she couldnʼt quite put her talon on.

ʼWhat is this place?ʼ she thought. ʼEven with what Master told me, this is just too strange.ʼ

She flapped her wings and soared higher, scanning the horizon. The city, despite its grandeur, wasnʼt as large as some of the capital cities Lin Mu had visited. It spanned roughly two hundred kilometers, its borders marked by contrasting landscapes.

To the west, an endless desert stretched beyond the horizon, its golden dunes shimmering under the sunʼs relentless heat. To the east, a mighty river cut through the land, its winding path nourishing the farmlands that sprawled along its banks. Verdant fields stretched far and wide, their lush crops standing in stark contrast to the barren wasteland beyond.

Ashy was momentarily tempted to dive down and hunt for some juicy insects in the fields, but she quickly remembered her mission and turned away.

With a flick of her tail, she banked toward the heart of the city, eager to uncover whatever secrets lay hidden in its immaculate streets.