Walker Of The Worlds

2732  Listening To The Ram Orchard Forest

What Lin Mu was doing was similar to tuning into multiple frequencies, each tree, plant, and blade of grass adding to the grand discord of the natural world. It was a vast, chaotic orchestra of life, and he was learning to become its conductor.

He patiently filtered through the noise, aligning himself with the closest trees first, then expanding outward, layer by layer, like the ripples in a pond after a single stone had been thrown in.

A week passed, and his senses stretched across five kilometers. The forest, once an untamed cacophony, now spoke to him in a language he was beginning to understand. It was not words or sentences but a resonance, an emotion, a flow of life that pulsed through the land.

Hummmm…

Lin Mu was deep in his trance when he heard a faint sound.

At first, he almost dismissed it as a hallucination, a trick of his overextended senses. But then it came again.

Hummmm…

The sound pulsed like the rhythm of a distant heartbeat, gentle yet insistent. Lin Mu latched onto it, allowing himself to be drawn towards the source, focusing his will and letting go of all other distractions. It was a delicate thread of consciousness, leading him deeper into the web of life that surrounded him.

And then he found it.

A small plant, no more than a sprout, its tender stem barely supporting a handful of vibrant green leaves. It was young, fresh, full of unspent energy—an infant in the vast family of the forest.

”You…” A tiny whisper, frail and hesitant, brushed against Lin Muʼs mind.

”Me?” Lin Mu responded, intrigued.

”You…” the voice repeated, not in warning, not in fear, but in recognition.

”What are you trying to say?” Lin Mu pressed gently, trying to coax more from the fledgling consciousness.

”You…” The whisper remained the same, like a child learning its first word, repeating it as if that was all it knew.

ʼIs that all it can say?ʼ Lin Mu pondered. Perhaps its youth limited its awareness. Deciding to test his theory, he reached out once more, stretching his consciousness to the other flora around him.

A while later, another sound reached him.

HUMMM…

It was different, slightly deeper, more pronounced.

Lin Mu extended his will towards it, touching its essence like a hand pressed against a treeʼs rough bark.

”You…” Another voice, similar yet distinct, spoke the same word.

This time, it was from a larger plant—still young but more developed, with a thicker stem and broader leaves that rustled lightly in the breeze.

”You…” it repeated again.

Lin Mu furrowed his brows.

ʼItʼs the same as before…ʼ

Realizing he needed an older, wiser presence, he expanded his search further. The pattern remained unchanged—the younger plants, the tender saplings, the fragile flowers—each spoke in singular, fragmented words, their voices like whispers carried on the wind. The grasses could not even form words, only offering a soft murmur, a vague hum that swayed with their rhythm.

Hours turned to days. The sun rose and set, the two moons bathed the forest in their cold luminescence, and still, Lin Mu reached outward. His patience never wavered.

Then, progress.

He found a tree, taller than the others he had spoken to, its bark rough and weathered.

”You…” it said, the same as before. But then—”Human.”

Lin Muʼs eyes widened.

”Yes, I am human.” He spoke back, his voice barely more than a thought in the vast network of life.

”You… Human.”

It wasnʼt much, but it was a step forward. Encouraged, Lin Mu sought even older trees, pushing his limits further into the depths of the forest.

More days passed, his presence stretching like unseen roots beneath the earth. Then, after three weeks, he found it—an ancient tree, its trunk thick and gnarled, its canopy a vast network of interwoven branches, whispering secrets to the sky. Decades of life pulsed within it, an unshakable testament to time itself.

”Human… Here.” Its voice was slow, measured, like the deep groaning of the earth before a storm.

”Yes. I am here,” Lin Mu responded, heart pounding.

”Nice… Human… Nice… Human here.”

Lin Mu blinked in surprise. ʼTheyʼre… complimenting me?ʼ

One tree after another joined in, their voices merging in a gentle wave.

”You…”

”You… Human.”

”You… Here.”

”Nice human here.”

Their voices blended into a harmonious chant, their acknowledgment flowing through Lin Muʼs very being. More and more trees reached out, and he listened to them all, their collective consciousness wrapping around him like a protective shroud.

Unbeknownst to him, the forest was responding in kind. Every blade of grass leaned toward him, every flower tilted its petals in his direction, every tree stretched its branches toward the source of this newfound connection. A mystical energy, unseen but tangible, swirled in the air.

Then, the first wisp appeared.

A faint green light flickered in the air before him, drifting lazily like a firefly on an unseen breeze.

Lin Muʼs breath caught.

More followed.

Hundreds, then thousands of wisps, their emerald glow painting the night in a surreal luminescence. They hovered, hesitant, dancing on the edges of Lin Muʼs presence. They pulsed in rhythm with the life of the forest, drawn to him yet wary, like newborn creatures learning to walk.

He remained still, allowing them to come to him on their own.

Then, finally, one touched him.

SHUA!

A soft tingle spread across Lin Muʼs skin where the wisp made contact. It was warm, familiar, welcoming.

The moment of hesitation shattered.

In an instant, the wisps surged forward, rushing into him like a flood, passing through his body, merging with his essence. His entire form glowed with an ethereal green light, outlining him like a being born of nature itself.

His consciousness dipped, his mind slipping into an even deeper trance, his awareness fusing with the boundless life surrounding him. He no longer felt separate from the forest—he was the forest, his spirit entwined with every leaf, every branch, every whisper of wind through the trees.

His transformation did not go unnoticed.