Parting

Even though he had prepared himself beforehand, parting with everyone on the Forest Ranger Team still left Lin Feng feeling a little sad.

After the farewell banquet, Lin Feng said goodbye to colleagues like Nasrin, once again turned down Farbod's invitation to eat mushrooms together, and accepted the graduation gift Tighnari had promised him when he first joined.

"Open it and take a look. I hope you like it." Tighnari handed Lin Feng a rectangular box.

Lin Feng took it and opened it. Inside was a Verdant Longbow.

"Although I said I would prepare a graduation gift for you, with so little time, the clan's bowyers could only make something like this. I hope you won't mind." Because of Lin Feng's lightning-fast graduation, Tighnari was clearly not very satisfied with his gift.

"No, it's already quite good. You know I don't rely much on weapons." Lin Feng took the longbow but did not casually draw it a few times to test it.

—For the current me, most equipment is nothing more than toys. The weapons that could genuinely improve Lin Feng's strength have basically been lost to history.

It could be useful for keeping me from killing my opponent. Looking at the exceptionally lightweight bow in his hands, Lin Feng thought.

"Also, if it's convenient, could you tell me exactly what level your current strength has reached?"

"What happened in the rainforest today was your doing, right? You had Nasrin and the others thinking King of Trees had manifested." Tighnari, who had not exchanged blows with Lin Feng in a long time, was extremely curious about his strength.

With no real point of comparison, Lin Feng was troubled by the sudden request.

He swept his gaze across Gandharva Ville and noticed the Suspended Wooden Bridges that had been damaged by wind and rain. Suddenly, he had a good idea.

Wanting to do as much as he could for this settlement before leaving, Lin Feng closed his eyes.

And then Tighnari noticed it.

—With a single thought from Lin Feng, countless Dendro Elements gathered from between heaven and earth, as though they were rushing to pay homage to their king.

Throughout Gandharva Ville, within the old facilities damaged for various reasons, countless rotten, dried-up planks suddenly seemed to come back to life.

—Broken bridges reconnected, fallen signposts stood upright once more, and decayed fences became neat and tall again, covered in blooming flowers.

Not only Tighnari, but passing merchants and residents were also Shocked by this wide-ranging "miracle." Some Forest Walkers even dropped to their knees on the spot and cried out for King of Trees's blessing.

"This is unimaginable."

"Before you, perhaps no one could be called a genius."

Seeing Lin Feng grow to such heights in less than half a year, Tighnari felt more gratification than shock.

After bidding Tighnari farewell once more, Lin Feng left the first place that had accepted him, taking Xiao Bai with him.

Having finally set out on the journey he had wished for, Lin Feng felt the freedom and ease settling over him. Listening to the insects and birds around him, he unexpectedly found that being a Traveler was not bad either—a chance his previous life had never given him.

When I grow old, I'll find a small village like Qingce Village to settle down in. Xiao Bai and I can spend our old age taking walks and visiting friends every day.

—Though half a year had passed and he still looked like a teenager, Lin Feng had begun imagining his retirement life along the road.

Setting aside his scattered thoughts for the moment, Lin Feng began considering the specific steps needed to deal with the Withering Manifestation.

To fulfill his agreement with Lesser Lord Kusanali, Lin Feng decided that his first stop would be Vimara Village, not far from Gandharva Ville.

It was worth mentioning that Lin Feng did not need to search everywhere for the scattered Aranara like in the game. As a reliable employer, Lesser Lord Kusanali would call the Aranara wandering outside back to Vanarana for him.

Lin Feng only intended to go to Vimara Village so he could follow the waterway from there and take a boat to Vanarana.

With Dream Blessing at level 7, entering Vanarana was merely a matter of thought for Lin Feng. Coupled with Lesser Lord Kusanali acting as the intermediary, he felt that this speedrun version of the Aranyaka would not take much time—at least, that was what Lin Feng thought.

Lin Feng did not deliberately pick up his pace along the way, but his stamina was exceptional to begin with. Even carrying his luggage, he still moved very quickly.

He occasionally saw merchants traveling by carriage, from all kinds of nations. Lin Feng even spotted two merchants dressed in Fontaine style.

There was nothing strange about that. As a major junction along Sumeru's waterways, Vimara Village was an unavoidable stop on the route to Port Ormos, so merchants often rested there. However, since traveling from Vimara Village to Port Ormos was also very convenient, merchants did not stay there permanently.

Though Lin Feng had gradually surpassed the realm of ordinary people and did not feel tired even after traveling continuously, when night fell, he still chose to pitch a tent and rest by the roadside for the night.

It was still a night spent camping in the rainforest, but Lin Feng, curled up in the tent with Xiao Bai in his arms, felt completely different from when he had first arrived.

Listening to the forest's gentle whispers, Lin Feng found the rainforest even more relaxing now.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, as Lin Feng prepared to set off, he saw a merchant caravan from Liyue. Its leader was a plump middle-aged man.

When the man saw that Lin Feng could walk briskly alone with luggage on his back, he became curious about this fellow Liyue native and took the initiative to speak.

"Young man, your stamina is something else. It's been two hours already, and you're carrying such a big bundle, yet you can still run ahead of the carriages. Want to come up and rest for a while?"

Lin Feng looked at the caravan loaded with goods, considered it for a moment, and replied, "No need. Thank you for the kind offer, but I'm not really tired. Vimara Village is almost here anyway, so I won't trouble you."

Seeing that Lin Feng's breathing was steady and he had not even broken a sweat, the man said enviously, "Judging by the ornament at your waist, you must be a Vision bearer too, right? I've long heard that Vision bearers are far beyond ordinary people. I've truly seen it for myself today."

"Not at all. My stamina is only a little better, nothing worth mentioning. But sir, judging by the size of this caravan, you must be a top-tier merchant in Liyue." Lin Feng praised, looking at the caravan of several dozen people.

"Hehe, I've just been a little luckier than most. You flatter me, young man."

After humbly dismissing the praise out of habit, the man saw that the young fellow before him spoke sincerely. With nothing else to do, he began chatting with Lin Feng. Only then did Lin Feng learn that the man was originally from Qiaoying Village. This trip was to deliver goods to Port Ormos, so he too was heading first to Vimara Village for a transfer.

Chatting as he traveled, Lin Feng arrived at Vimara Village around noon.

After bidding farewell to the man, who invited him to visit Qiaoying Village sometime, Lin Feng entered the small village by the river alone.

Watching the elderly take walks through the village while the children played and chased one another, and breathing in the slightly damp air, Lin Feng felt as though his road-weary body had come back to life.