The morning breeze wiped the leaves gently. Mentari light penetrates between branches of trees. Li Yuan stood at the village boundary, staring at the path that extends long towards the forest and mountains in the distance. Behind him, a peaceful small village slowly shrink in view - but not in memory.
He has lived in this village for three years. Three years innumerable by an ordinary human calendar. Because for Li Yuan, time is not measured from seconds, But from a growing understanding.
In simplicity, he found the breath of life. In the silence, he dive into the law of inadequacy. In togetherness, he found echoes from shared existence.
But today ... His steps moved again.
"I'm not going," he muttered softly. "I just follow the direction where understanding flows."
He stepped.
Every step flows with the wind, And every breath becomes part of the earth he stepped on.
But farther away from the village, Li Yuan began to feel something. Something different.
There is a gaze. But not from creatures. Not from humans, animals, or entities that he usually recognizes.
This look ... wider. Deeper. More ancient than that time itself.
"The world is looking at me ..." Li Yuan thought in silence.
His steps stopped in the middle of the forest filled with thin fog. All quiet, But not silent. All silent, But not mute.
The leaves fall, but the echo sounds deeper. Water drips from twigs, but like touching his soul. The air moves, and feels as if along the recesses of his mind.
"Is this part of my ganjang domain?" he asked himself.
No. This is not just a feeling in him.
This ... resonance from outside.
The world itself responds. The world is not just a mirror, but become an observer.
A few more steps, He arrived at a vast plain, where trees grow in a circle like protectors. In the middle, only the ground, and a large rock that seemed to be an ancient marker. Without carvings. Without a symbol. Only ... attendance.
Li Yuan sat in front of the stone. Not because he wants to meditate. But because his body knows, in silence, He will understand something that has never been touched by his thoughts.
He closed his eyes.
And there ... he felt that gaze.
Not an enemy look. Not a friend. World gaze.
The world has eyes. Eyes that don't see with lenses, But with countless experiences.
The eyes of the world do not belong to the entity, not a tall creature, But the collective awareness of all existence.
Everything is alive, all who have breathed, Everything that has ever flowed in a river or stands as a mountain, ever ... see.
And today, Everyone saw Li Yuan.
Not because he was strong. Not because he stands out. But because he was present.
In long silence, Li Yuan said to himself: "If the world has eyes, Then I will learn to stare back. Not to fight, But to blend. "
In an instant, his whole body felt light. The boundary between the skin and the wind disappears. He no longer knew where his body ended and the air began. His hair seemed to be part of the swaying leaves. His heart beats with the rhythm of the soil. And his mind ... empty but full.
He is not experiencing great enlightenment. No. But the world is testing it.
Test, not to filter out who is worthy, But to see who wants to listen.
And Li Yuan ... just heard. Not commenting. Not fighting. Not demanding.
He was present.
Long after, He opened his eyes slowly. The big stone in front of him now feels ... smaller. Or maybe ... he has become wider.
He looked at the horizon.
"I understand now," he said quietly. "Ganjing domain is not just a personal feeling. But the space where personal understanding meets a living world. "
He stood up.
Silent.
But this time was not silent because of silence. But silence ... because of secret recognition between creatures and the world.
His steps moved again. The journey is not over. He has left the village, But the world just opened his eyes.
And a world that has eyes, Now looking at Li Yuan ... as part of himself.
The sky hasn't changed. Awan is still the same as three years ago. But the world that Li Yuan met was no longer the same world.
His steps left a quiet small village, the village where he saw life walked slowly, such as the flow of water that never intended to rush. But when he stepped out of the calm, the world seemed to open itself in a different way - harder, more honest, and more aware of himself.
The forest he passed was now full of sound. Not the sound of animals, but the sound of intention. Li Yuan frowned. He felt, not from his hearing, but from the fabric of breath he breathed. The world is like waiting for something from him.
At the intersection of three dirt roads coated with moss, he met them - three rough -faced men and one young woman who looked tired. Their eyes pointed at him like a blade that measured the depth of the meat.
"You look alone, warriors," said one man, grinning. "Your clothes are clean. Unlike people who live outside."
Li Yuan looked at them one by one. He did not see the face, but the reflection. Their intentions arise like ripples in the pond - not deep, but dirty.
"What are you looking for?" Li Yuan asked, calm down.
"Items. Gold. What can be sold. Maybe also your soul, if it's expensive," answered a taller man, laughing.
They approached. But when the first step they set the ground, the air around Li Yuan changed.
One breath.
The world shivering. There was no visible storm. No light. But the pressure was present, invisible, as if the forest that surrounded them was holding their breathing.
Their steps stop without them knowing.
Li Yuan did not lift his voice. He just exhaled.
And the world responds.
The leaves sway in the opposite direction. The ground is slightly under the foot of the bandits. Their intentions were like a broken mirror - the world showed it again, was enlarged, returned to the owner.
One of them knelt down, his body trembled, unable to understand the fear that suddenly surrounded his heart.
"We ... we just ..." their voices became groaning.
Li Yuan did not move. He just walked past them, and when he stepped, the world also moved with him.
The sky opened the clouds. Light fell on his gray body.
The first test of the outside world is not a sword or strength battle.
But the intention test.
And Li Yuan ... has surpassed it.
He did not reply. He did not punish.
He only understands.
And the world also responded with understanding.