Lin Feng chatted with the little Dendro god in the dream off and on. He'd always been fond of Nahida in the original story, so he wasn't about to waste the chance to learn more about this world from her.
"Could you make me a plate of date–coconut honey sweets?" Lin Feng blurted out.
"Eh? You want date–coconut honey sweets… here?" Nahida blinked, clearly surprised by the randomness of the request.
"Ah — it was just a whim. A bit curious. Never mind," Lin Feng shrugged; he wasn't insisting.
"No, you must try them! Please, you really must!" Nahida's tone shot up; her cute face took on an unusually serious look.
"Uh—well, thanks?" Lin Feng was startled by her sudden enthusiasm. One moment she'd been composed, and now just the sound of "date–coconut honey sweets" made her pale-green eyes light up.
"Dream sweets won't make your brain go faster, but they're still a rare delicacy," Nahida declared.
Delighted, she waved her hands in the dream and conjured a small table. In an instant a plate of date–coconut honey sweets and a pot of tea appeared.
Lin Feng watched the eager little god, picked up a chunk of the amber-colored sweet from the green-and-white plate, and popped the cake-like confection into his mouth.
Lucky it was only a dream—if he ate that much in real life, he'd probably get fat.
The block felt solid in his hand; Lin Feng admired Nahida's ability to devour a whole plate.
Crunch.
He bit off a piece. The high-quality honey melted on the tongue; Lin Feng meant to compliment it politely, but a wave of intense sweetness flooded his taste buds—like refined sugar concentrated many times over stirred into the finest honey.
The sweetness was refined, layered, and thoroughly impressive. But as someone who preferred savory flavors, Lin Feng found it a bit much.
"To be honest… it's a bit—too delicious!" He frowned at the sugar assault, ready to speak frankly, but when he glanced up at Nahida's small, anxious, expectant face, the sweets suddenly seemed endearing.
"Really?!" Nahida sighed with relief; her pretty eyes curved into crescent moons.
"The Lanarros don't like it, so if you like it, have more!" she said, pushing the plate forward, looking absolutely happy watching him eat.
Lin Feng: .
Pain and pleasure mixed, he nibbled the sweets while chatting with Nahida—someone he rarely found to talk to in real life. Occasionally he slipped in stories he knew from his previous life as a gamer. Nahida, obsessed with knowledge, listened avidly with her adorable green eyes, nodding curiously; her side ponytail bobbed, giving her a rare childlike look.
"Time's almost up. I should go." After talking all night, Lin Feng announced his leave.
"Mm—let me send you back." Nahida, reluctant though she was, nodded and prepared to return him to reality.
"Wait." Just before being pulled out, Lin Feng stopped and asked her to hold on.
"Okay, sure—what's up?" Nahida looked puzzled.
"There's one question I want you to answer honestly." Lin Feng stood and fixed his gaze on the little god, who was still shorter than his chest.
"What question?" Nahida asked, curious.
Lin Feng stepped closer and crouched down to be at her level, looking into the slightly puzzled girl's eyes. He asked earnestly, "Do you want to leave the Purity Palace—do you want to get out of that cage?"
.
Silence. The light mood shifted; Nahida's expression grew somber.
"May I ask why?" she asked, lifting her head. "Why would you want a god like me—who has little presence and no achievements—to come out?"
She looked up at the boy who had been a stranger before tonight.
"Maybe… I just want to," Lin Feng answered plainly. "Between the Sages and you, well—honestly, I like you better."
He added with quiet confidence: "And I'm sure that before long I'll have the power to make that happen."
Having cleared a Dead Zone on his own and already reached level forty-something, Lin Feng truly believed in his growing strength.
Nahida stared at him, thought for a moment, and then answered seriously: "If… one day in the future you truly have that confidence, then please—come to the Purity Palace and wake me from my cage."
"But not now. If Sumeru loses its Sages while the scandal remains hidden, chaos would follow. A god without deeds won't win the people's trust. For the stability of Sumeru, I should stay in that lonely cage for now."
She would remain, for the time being, bound—both for the people's sake and because the political stage wasn't safe for a quiet, inexperienced deity to suddenly take the helm.
"I understand." Lin Feng nodded, withholding judgment.
"One last thing." He looked at the little god again.
"What is it?" Nahida, having recovered from the earlier question, braced herself for something weighty.
Instead, Lin Feng reached out with both hands and—much to Nahida's surprise—pinched her two tiny, elf-like ears.
"Eh—!" she squeaked.
"This is still a kid, right?" Lin Feng thought to himself as the dream cut off. He'd wanted to do that since his game days—those ears were so obvious! Did no one else notice them? The feel was nice; he resolved to pinch them again.
Putting the small joke aside, Lin Feng agreed with Nahida's judgment: releasing her publicly now would do more harm than good—the Sages' reputation remained intact in the public eye, and he couldn't rely on the Traveler (whose mental resilience, he privately noted, seemed dubious) to fix things.
When he woke, Lin Feng found he'd gained two levels overnight—now level 45. Clearly Nahida had gifted him aid in the dream. He stored that gratitude quietly, and, half in jest, decided to make the Grand Sages "pay dearly" later.
He opened Nahida's profile:
[Entity Info: Divine Being — Wisdom Deity — Buyeil]
Level: 100 (Godhood stands above mortal scales; numbers can't fully reflect divine might.)
Element: Dendro
Traits: Lord of Flora, Lord of Wisdom, Lord of Dreams, Elemental Mastery·Dendro, Dream Phenomenon Control, World Branch, Divine Dream (max), Dendro Affinity (max), Plant Creation (max), Consciousness Possession 9, Cooking 5.
Mood: Embarrassed
Favorability: 50 (You are full of unknowns; as the Wisdom Deity, she's naturally curious about you.)
Seeing a favorability of fifty, Lin Feng resolved: don't let that drop—definitely pinch the ears next time.
The panel had been expected—gods max at 100—but Nahida's list of high-level abilities still made him salivate a little. The lowest listed trait was Cooking level 5; the rest were god-tier powers. Most were beyond copying, but Nahida's presence and behavior gave Lin Feng a mischievous idea.
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