When the appointed time arrived, Lin Feng headed to the inn where Yunshan and his daughter were staying, ready to see his generous benefactor off.
Yunshan and Yunlu had already packed. Lin Feng escorted the pair to the Chasm's entrance, parted with them there, and—as always—Yunshan repeatedly urged him:
"If you ever reach Liyue, you must visit Feiyun Commerce. You must."
Having just brushed past death days ago, Yunlu bowed deeply again, thanking him once more. Before leaving, she quietly slipped a small bundle into his hands and told him he could only open it after she was gone.
There was no refusing it—Lin Feng could only accept.
As Yunlu looked back again and again, and Yunshan maintained his calm merchant's façade, the two followed the Millelith into the passage and slowly disappeared from view.
Lin Feng finally turned to leave.
But after a few steps, he stopped.
He raised his head and stared at the guarded tunnel leading into Liyue.
He wasn't sure why, but a sudden, powerful urge surged up—an urge to walk straight through it.
As if on the other side lay the homeland he had long been estranged from.
A feeling like… cultural instinct?
The strange pull of belonging?
He had never been to Liyue, yet somehow his heart held a quiet, inexplicable longing for that land.
He breathed out, tamped down the emotion, and turned back toward Gandharva Ville.
Not yet.
There were still things he needed to accomplish here in Sumeru.
Three days later, Tighnari finally returned.
After personally inspecting the former Withering zone, he was genuinely stunned by the scale of destruction.
Although the final report submitted to the Akademiya attributed it to a "localized ley line collapse," Tighnari only needed one glance at Lin Feng's "it's none of my business" expression to know exactly whose business it had been.
Once he finished dealing with the Akademiya scholars who came to investigate, Lin Feng resumed his usual routine:
Daytime patrols.
Asking Tighnari about new ways to use Dendro.
Reading through increasingly advanced papers on Teyvat's natural sciences.
And at night, chatting with the little Dendro Archon who occasionally visited his dreams.
Sometimes he simply shared stories from his daily patrols.
Sometimes he told her fairy tales from his past life.
Sometimes he learned to play with the clever little toys she crafted—though usually, Nahida ended up having more fun than he did.
Occasionally, he got kicked out of the dream because he tried touching her ears or the leaf on her head—but she always returned after a few days.
The friendship value never dropped.
And so, in this fulfilling daily cycle, Lin Feng deepened both his understanding of Teyvat and his growing repertoire of combat techniques.
Three months later.
Watching an entire Hilichurl camp collapse under the spread of his poisonous spores—without a single resistance—Tighnari finally agreed to Lin Feng's request.
"You know, I figured you'd leave sooner or later… but this was still quicker than I expected."
On the walk back, Tighnari looked at Lin Feng with a mixture of pride and reluctant admiration.
"Your learning speed—whether in theory or actual combat—is so fast it makes me feel like I'm the one who needs to study how to grow a new brain."
Lin Feng snorted. "Alas, such is the sorrow of being a genius."
"…And you have the nerve to say that?" Tighnari gave him a sideways look. "Weren't you the one who submitted a resignation letter that said, and I quote: 'The world is vast—I want to see it'?"
"But," he continued, "you have no real weaknesses left in either theory or field ability. I truly have no reason to hold you back."
He smiled. It was obvious he was pleased with this "accelerated-graduation" model student.
"Our send-off banquet is tomorrow. Don't forget to come."
"Shame, though. I only just started enjoying some free time. Who knows when another Vision-bearing recruit will show up?"
Lin Feng patted his shoulder. "Relax. That day won't be too far off. They might not be the sharpest, but I'm certain your next trainee will make a great ranger."
He waved goodbye and returned home.
"Alright… clothing, medicine, mora, food…"
Looking at the pile of luggage, Lin Feng couldn't help wishing he had a Serenitea Pot like the Traveler. Packing was suffering.
Among all the items, one stood out—an elegant jade hairpin.
Seeing it, Lin Feng couldn't help recalling its origin.
When Yunlu left, she had given him a bundle—inside was just a letter and this hairpin.
In her letter, she explained that she had nothing valuable enough to repay his rescue.
So she gave him the hairpin she always wore.
If he needed money, she said, he could sell it.
Lin Feng had nearly choked.
A hairpin worth tens of thousands of mora… and you say you have nothing valuable?
That's a real rich girl.
Even so, he didn't intend to sell it.
With Yunshan's 500,000 mora plus the rewards from clearing monster camps, he wasn't in urgent need of cash.
He would return it to her someday.
He hadn't known it was that valuable at the time.
He packed it away carefully.
Looking around the little treehouse he'd lived in for months, Lin Feng felt an unexpected twinge of reluctance.
It had only been a short time—
but this had still been his first home.
He lay down, preparing to meet the little Archon who was half the reason he'd chosen to leave.
The familiar green dream.
Though a dream, the place brimmed with life.
Nahida sat across from him, watching helplessly as Lin Feng, like he owned the place, snatched snacks from the table and began eating.
"Are you absolutely sure you want to accept my request?" she asked.
"Even though I don't understand the source of your power, with the strength you've currently shown… confronting the Withering's incarnations will be extremely dangerous."
Nahida looked at him with earnest concern, as if hoping he might reconsider.
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