Unnoticed,seven days had passed since Li Yuan first set foot in the Dusk Sky Inn.This morning, the warm sun still touched the window of his room,and Li Yuan sat—as always—near the wooden table,counting the coins left in his small cloth pouch.
"If I count everything… this money is enough to survive one more month in Wuyin."
But the question was never whether it was enough.The real question was:
"Will I stay here… or continue the journey?"
Li Yuan rose slowly and opened the window.The city's distant bustle had begun to stir:voices of merchants,the shouts of children,the roll of cart wheels over stone.
The world moved.But within Li Yuan,there still echoed the soft knock of silence from the day before.
"This journey is not just about moving forward… but moving inward.The path I walk is not always one the eyes can see."
Yet he knew:to stay too long in this place would freeze his steps.
Wuyin had its own ripples—gentle comforts,quiet distractions,the illusion of safety.
"Seven days is enough. I came to this city to witness—not to remain."
He began to pack.A few notes.Ink and brush.A small pouch of simple clothes.Not much—but enough to accompany the steps ahead.
"The road is not finished.And understanding never comes to those who stop walking."
As he descended the stairs,the innkeeper—a gentle old woman with a soft smile—greeted him.
"Leaving already, dear?You didn't even get to try our famous dusk sky tea."
Li Yuan offered a faint smile, his gaze calm.
"I'll try it… if the road ever brings me back."
With steps that were light, yet full of direction,Li Yuan left the Dusk Sky Inn.Left comfort behind.Left the place that held many questions.
And entered the next path—not just a road through the city,but a road through his own understanding.
"Where will I go this time?"
Li Yuan stood at the edge of Wuyin City's road,gazing toward the outer gate cloaked in midday dust.His hand brushed against a small scroll tucked inside his coat pocket—an old map once given by Yushang,said to contain the paths of understanding beyond the known world.
But he had never opened it.Not once.Not because he didn't trust it—but because his steps… always came from within.
"If I must walk a path shown by someone else…then my understanding is not truly my own."
His steps turned to follow the eastern edge of the city—not toward the main roads,not into the places filled with merchants or travelers,but instead…toward a quiet path that slowly descended into the forest.
The sky was veiled by tall branches.Shadows of leaves danced across the ground.The city's hum gave wayto the distant call of forest birdsand the rustle of wind weaving through the trees.
No signs.No markers.Only his footsteps,and the rhythm of his breath.
Yet here—in the silence of things untouched—Li Yuan felt that each step he took was more than just movement.It was a quiet answerfrom within.
"These steps…they don't feel like I'm going somewhere.They feel like I'm returning to something long hidden."
Now and then, he stopped—to observe the wild grass along the narrow trail,to watch how the wind touched it,and how each movement carried its own rhythm.
And slowly…a new understanding began to take shape:
A step that comes from withindoes not seek direction,but reveals depth.
The deeper he walked into the forest,the deeper he felt he was moving into himself.Not just a forest of the world,but a forest within awareness.
Evening approached.Golden light slipped through gaps in the leaves.Li Yuan stopped—between two ancient trees,standing like silent sentinels.
He sat down,and for the first time since leaving the city,he closed his eyes.
Steps taken outward move the body.Steps taken inward carry the soul.