The Withering had vanished—what was supposed to be a Dendro-only purge of the core was, under the purest force imaginable, obliterated by Little White along with the forbidden knowledge that powered it.
Staring down into the spherical pit hundreds of meters deep, Lin Feng forced himself to forget, for the moment, what this would mean.
He felt the Aranara in his arms no longer struggle, and, unable to help himself, groped her a couple times — he'd been meaning to test the texture. It really was nice, he told himself with weary humor.
He checked the girl thoroughly — pinching wrists and ankles to make sure nothing was missing.
Looking at the pack horse beside them with only one leg left, Lin Feng figured the girl would understand.
Once he confirmed she was alright, he let out a small breath of relief.
Then his eyes drifted back to Little White: its status had returned to Extremely Hungry, and the little biological apocalypse it had just caused still reeked in the air. Lin Feng felt exhausted. Let it be, he thought. Let it destroy what it will.
He had known deep down this was a possible outcome.
—Except for him, everything else around them had been wiped out.
Even though he had ordered the least destructive option he dared, the aftermath still exceeded his expectations. Little White's elemental composition was bewilderingly complex: seven elements, seven ultimates — some of them traced back to beings no less than godlike. The elements interfered and fused with one another; attempting to use any single element separately was extremely difficult for Little White.
Either use them all at once, or don't use them at all.
At first Lin Feng assumed Little White's lack of control was simply low IQ. That guess was only partly right — even Slimes could use their abilities. Once he realized the real reason, he decided Little White would be a mascot: eat, sleep, be cute. Better a harmless pet than a world-destroying accident.
Still, the strange bond between them meant Little White's power wouldn't harm him directly. That didn't mean he wanted to touch it unless necessary. Power is conserved — after usage, even Little White needed to refill, hence the ravenous hunger.
Pushing aside his worries, Lin Feng built a vine bridge with Dendro and crossed over from his column of rock to the lip of the pit. He took the trembling Aranara from his arms.
Her dark-green cap, blue bow, and that little green protective halo — he recognized her at once.
"Lanlana?" he tried the name tentatively.
"Waa!" the Aranara screamed and shivered some more.
"Hm — little cabbage?" Lin Feng, remembering some of their quirks, tried calling her a name he knew they disliked.
"No! Not cabbage. Lanlana. Lanlana is friend. Lanlana is Aranara," she protested, suddenly standing tall despite the terror a moment ago.
Lin Feng: "."
"You see," he said earnestly, "I came into the Withering to save this girl in my arms. I won't hurt you. So there's no need to be afraid of me."
He knew, from what he'd learned, that Lanlana — an elder Aranara — wasn't truly frightened of humans; she could have adapted to human ways of talking. The fear had been reasonable given the white light a while ago.
"Lin Feng is a good Nara. Beat big iron thing and the flying one. Is hero," Lanlana replied plainly.
"So why were you scared of me?" Lin Feng asked, curious.
"You Lin Feng very rough. Held Lanlana without asking — Lanlana was 'tiánwū'." The little one wobbled as she spoke.
Lin Feng: "."
He hadn't expected that. Mistake noted — maybe next time he'd ask first.
"That was to protect you. Even if you're an Aranara, if you'd been hit by that white light, you would've been erased — not even turning into a seed. Also, don't use that strange word; it's not for that. Forget it quickly or you'll corrupt the little ones!" Lin Feng changed the subject, explaining the necessity of his actions.
"Ah, Lanlana knows. Thanks Lin Feng. Protected Lanlana. 'Diānwū' no good — forget!" Lanlana nodded, clearly appeased.
"Can you keep this secret? Don't tell the other Aranara or humans what happened here," Lin Feng asked her.
"Lin Feng beat big iron thing and flying thing. Is hero. Agrees keep secret," the pure-hearted Lanlana readily agreed.
"Sigh — it's 'secret,' not 'hug-secret'… well, whatever. I get the idea," Lin Feng muttered, feeling a bit helpless.
"Why were you here? How do you know that girl?" he asked, returning to the matter at hand.
"Yunlu is kind good Nara. Sings for Lanlana. Is friend," Lanlana replied.
Like pieces falling into place, the story unfolded. The merchant had been heading to Liyue Port to visit a friend, and the black-haired girl — Yunlu — had begged him to bring her to Sumeru despite never leaving Liyue. She still had a childlike love of music, and when they passed Vimara Village she befriended this Aranara, Lanlana. The Aranara had accompanied her along the route and, when the Withering opened, helped Yunlu avoid monsters until they were cornered at the core.
The rest had already happened: the frantic merchant, the panicked horses, Lin Feng's timely arrival and they'd set off together.
Lin Feng asked Lanlana to conceal the traces of what had occurred as best she could, then carried Yunlu back to the merchant in the forest.
The rescue had been exhausting. Lin Feng hadn't noticed Yunlu's breathing had been a little irregular since they left the pit.
On the way back he tallied losses and gains. Losses were obvious: Little White's renewed hunger, the small stretch of rainforest destroyed, his ruined clothes, and — most importantly — the long-term consequences this event might cause.
But the gains surprised him. Besides saving the merchant's daughter and annihilating a high-level Withering, he had drawn a massive gift from the leyline itself — in game terms, enough energy to raise his level by seven. That bounty more than offset some immediate costs.
Walking with the sleeping girl cradled in his arms, Lin Feng watched her gentle features — a Liyue face, different from most Sumeru folk — and felt a warmth of familiarity he hadn't felt in a long time.
He breathed out and felt no regret. Even if he had the choice again, he'd act the same.
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