A long trip to a Buddhist sect... Thinking of being forced to meditate, Mei figured she could probably sneak off to somewhere to read...

This time, she didn't forget to take her books. With the help of Su Qing's handy storage jade, she packed the next 50 volumes of "The Asura's Purge". Hah, how absurdly long... Did cultivators just have too much time on their hands to write with their extended lives?

Mei fidgeted around. Just moments ago, she and the rest of the disciples had been teleported to the Buddhist sect. The sight before her was certainly... not what she expected.

What greeted her were not lofty, colourful pavilions and temples with roofs, nor giant statues of buddha decorating the sect. It was a forested area with neat stone paths, with simple wood and stone settlements all around. They stood on a large clearing, on a massive stone platform.

"Did we get teleported to the wrong place or something?" Liu Qiang said.

"Looks like some random village in the middle of nowhere to me." Yingyi said.

"Shh..." Xiuying said.

Over the crowd of people, she pointed.

Mei tiptoed a little and looked over the heads of the other disciples, only to see a monk in yellow sitting in lotus position, unmoving. He had a gentle smile on his wrinkled face as he looked at the crowd before him. Behind him, a large group of young monks sat.

...So this was the right place after all.

"Disciples of the Virtue sect, welcome." he said, his voice slow and unhurried. "As all of you are aware, your elders have arranged a trip to our humble sect, to learn from the path of Buddha. As one of the monks here, I couldn't be happier that outsiders have come to learn our dao."

With those words, the monk closed his eyes and went silent.

...?

Mei looked around. There were a few whispers here and there, but for the most part, the disciples remained silent.

What felt like a minute passed, before Xiuying and Wang Wei looked at each other. Seemingly having gotten the clue, they crossed their legs and sat, closing their eyes.

Gehhh... Ok, fine.

...

...

Mei tried to follow for a few minutes before she got bored. After peeking around a little, she grabbed a book from Su Qing gingerly. The little spirit seemingly wanted to ask something, but didn't want to disrupt the silence and reluctantly kept quiet.

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"The Buddha's dao is not we believe should be conveyed by words, but learnt." the monk suddenly said, smiling once more.

Eh? Mei sweated a little, wondering if he caught her.

"I believe some of you might be tired from your journey, so allow our junior monks to show you to your residences." the elderly monk said, beckoning to the monks behind him. "May you learn of the Buddha's dao as you live alongside our monks."

In neat rows, the monks walked up to the disciples, ushering them to stand up and herding them into a various groups. Mei followed along awkwardly.

The monk who gathered Mei's group was a lanky young man with rather sharp eyes. He tapped his feet impatiently, as if bored.

Hah, so he got tired from all that meditation too? Mei grinned to herself.

"Nice to meet you, everyone. I'll be your guide for today. And the rest of your stay, I suppose." he said. "Follow me, I'll show you where we'll be staying at."

While he seemed to be walking at a slow pace, just like the other junior monks, Mei got the impression he was feeling impatient and actually wanted to march along faster. A few times, he turned around, to make sure they were following him.

Following along with her were her friends as usual, save for two other disciples she didn't know. Xiuying was waving "hello" to them however and smiling to them. Exactly how many friends did she have anyway?

The walk along the stone paths was surprisingly relaxing.

The gentle chirps of birds in the distance, the faint hum of crickets in the long grass, the gentle wind blowing. A few monks sat at the occasional stone tables, sipping tea. Not a single human voice. Mei was reminded of some rural villages she had travelled to sell vegetables with her mother.

Shortly, they stopped before one of the many houses. Above the door, a board with "249" carved into it was hung.

"Here is where I stay. Make yourself at home."

He turned the knob and walked right in. Wow... no locks?

The room that greeted them was rather empty. At its corner beside the window, which had a clock mounted above it, a small table held a small stone statue of Buddha, with unlit incense before it. At the other end, a small bookshelf with numerous books was placed. Aside from neatly rolled meditation mats propped against the shelf and a few small yellow pillows, the room was empty.

The white tiled floor was spotless, with not a speck of grime.

"This is the living room."

He led them down a hall lined with sliding doors and opened one of them.

It was a simple room with two beds and a table, nothing more.

"And these are your rooms. They're basically all the same, take your pick."

Mei opened another door, and indeed, it was just as he said.

"This place is so empty and boring!" Liu Qiang complained.

He ignored Xiuying's annoyed look.

"A monk's life is one of abstinence. All we need in our rooms is the bare minimum." the monk said. "And it also makes cleaning much less of a hassle."

Heh.

"Can't you just use whatever qi magic to clean the dust up or something?" Yingyi asked.

"Good question. Unfortunately, I don't know how to." the monk said sarcastically. "How about you try?"

Liu Qiang grinned.

"What do you do around here anyway?" he asked.

"The usual. Meditating or sleeping. If I feel like doing anything else, I'm usually outside."

"Doesn't that get boring?"

"Oh, it very much does. You'll be surprised."

Liu Qiang laughed, putting an arm around the monk's shoulders.

"I thought you monks would be more more stiff and boring." he said. "What's your name?"

The monk shook his head.

"My name's Ding Zhe. Nice to meet you."