Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 2856: An Act Of Submission

Green Lotus Temple – The Abbotʼs Hall

A day had passed since the event with Mui Ran. Several discussions had been held and another had been held, for an emissary was about to arrive. Everyone of importance was gathered in the Abbotʼs Hall, which was located in one of the lower peaks where the temple entertained guests.

After all, they couldnʼt permit everyone to go the Grand Temple Hall at the Great Peak.

Incense drifted gently through the high-ceilinged chamber as the soft toll of a bell echoed across the temple grounds. Several senior monks stood in quiet rows along the chamber walls, their heads bowed in solemn meditation.

Lin Mu sat on a simple cushion beside the Abbot, his expression calm but watchful. Though he hadnʼt asked for any punishment, the events of the past day had shaken more than just the crowd at the gates—they had stirred the entire prefecture.

A young monk entered and bowed.

”Abbot, honored Bearer, the emissary from the Mui Clan has arrived.”

The Abbot opened his eyes slowly, voice steady as still water. ”Let them in.”

The wooden doors creaked open, and a man in ornate, yet subdued robes stepped inside. His hair was graying, his eyes sunken with sleeplessness. Behind him followed two servants, heads lowered and arms carrying a lacquered chest.

He knelt before the Abbot and Lin Mu, bowing thrice with forehead to the floor.

”This unworthy one is Hui Song, envoy of the Mui Clan. We come bearing an apology and offer reparations for the grave offense committed by our former heir.”

”Former?” Meng Bai raised a brow from the side, where he stood as an observer.

”Yes,” Hui Song said quickly. ”Mui Ran has been exiled from the clan. His name has been removed from our records and ancestral tablets. His status as heir is revoked. He is no longer a son of the Mui Clan.”

There was silence for a long moment.

The Abbot said nothing. He didnʼt have to. His mere presence bore down on Hui Song like a mountain. Only Monk Hushu spoke. He had been within his courtyard but had soon left once he learned all that had happened a day ago.

”You speak quickly of disownment,” he said quietly. ”But would the Mui Clan have acted the same way had the temple not responded?”

”No,” Hui Song admitted, still kneeling. ”We were arrogant. We assumed our noble standing gave us protection. But yesterday, we witnessed the will of Dharma made manifest.”

He opened the lacquered chest.

Inside were stacked spirit stones—brilliant, refined, and pure. Beside them sat a relic: a Glazed Jade Lotus, pulsing faintly with spiritual light. It was an artifact known to have belonged to a high monk of old, thought long hidden in the Mui vaults.

”This tribute includes five hundred peak-grade spirit stones, the Glazed Jade Lotus once belonging to Master Kongyu one of our members who joined the Green louts Temple long ago. We also offer a hundred-year pledge of service to the Green Lotus Templeʼs charitable and spiritual missions.”

He bowed again.

”This is not a bribe… but a prayer for mercy.”

The Abbot finally moved.

”Mui Ran spoke in ignorance and acted in pride. Yet ignorance is not innocence, and pride is the seed of downfall.”

”Understood,” Hui Song said, forehead still pressed to the mat.

”You have cast off this corrupted branch. Let us see whether your roots can still draw from the spring of Dharma.”

Then the Abbot turned to Lin Mu.

”What does the Bearer say?”

Lin Mu remained silent for a while. He looked at Hui Song—not with anger, but with clarity. The kind of clarity that unsettled more than rage.

”I do not seek vengeance. But if this brings peace, then let it be.”

He stood.

”But remember: some debts are paid with coin. Others, with time.”

Hui Song bowed even deeper, shaking.

”May our actions prove our sincerity, honored Bearer.”

The Abbot nodded.

”The Green Lotus Temple accepts the Mui Clanʼs submission and reparations. You may go.”

As Hui Song and his aides bowed out of the chamber, Monk Hushu exhaled softly.

”That family just avoided complete annihilation,” he muttered.

Lin Mu glanced toward the distant lotus pond outside.

”But how many more will test the boundary between pride and punishment?” and elder asked quietly.

The Abbot gave no answer. Only the toll of the temple bell responded—deep, resonant, and foreboding.

Lotus Prefecture – Three Days Later

The news spread like wildfire.

The Mui Clan has submitted to the Green Lotus Temple.

The heir was disowned. His tongue removed by the templeʼs own elders. The Abbot himself revealed the Heavenly Dhammakaya. Even a Glazed Jade Lotus was surrendered!

For most of the regionʼs cultivators, nobles, and sect leaders, the story carried one clear message: The templeʼs favor must not be taken lightly.

In the tea houses of the Cloud Pavilion City, travelers whispered of the event like a legend already aging into myth.

”Did you hear? The Mui Clanʼs merchant caravans were turned away by the Zhao family yesterday.”

”No one wants to be seen associating with them now, lest they offend the temple.”

”And the boy, Mui Ran? Heʼs been sent to the order of the Mute Monks.”

”That place!? Arenʼt they full of criminals whoʼve turned around to the righteous path?”

”Perhaps that might help change that man and be a warning for others as well.”

In the main hall of the Verdant Hill Sect, Sect Master Yao Lei frowned as he read a sealed letter delivered by spirit hawk.

”A public apology? Compensation? Even offering a Glazed Jade Lotus? For a single insult to someone called Lin Mu?”

He handed the letter to his advisor, whose expression grew grim.

”Things are shifting, Master. A new variable has appeared and their status is unclear, it is now undeniable the times will change.”

Yao Lei looked toward the templeʼs distant mountain peak.

”He is not just someone respected by the temple,” he muttered. ”He may soon become the pillar around which the regionʼs fate turns.”