Around five in the afternoon,
Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, Xiao Lu, Alak, and He Shang arrived at a somewhat secluded small hillside on the outskirts of Blackwater Town.
The five of them each held a bouquet of white gardenias. This was because Yuan Ling had come to pay respects to her mother.
At this moment, Yuan Ling stood before a tombstone, her expression tinged with sadness. Ye Feng and the other four stood silently not far behind her.
"Mother, everything is over. The goblins you were most worried about are gone!"
Yuan Ling said softly, then placed the gardenias in her hand on the ground in front of the tombstone.
Ye Feng and the others also stepped forward, laid down their bouquets, and bowed.
"Ye Feng, you're awake!"
Yuan Ling turned around and greeted Ye Feng with a smile.
"Mmm!~"
Ye Feng nodded, a hint of surprise on his face.
After all, he had only seen Yuan Ling's purple eyes at night. Seeing her eyes, which seemed to hold countless stars, in the daytime still deeply impressed him...
"I... let's go back!"
Under Ye Feng's intense gaze, Yuan Ling's face flushed.
...
At night,
Blackwater Town was holding a grand bonfire feast. The villagers were singing and dancing, their faces filled with joy...
By a bonfire,
"I never expected Yuan Ling to be from Moonlit Village," Ye Feng said, lying on the grass, leisurely drinking an unknown fruit wine brewed in Moonlit Village, and looking at Yuan Ling in the distance with some surprise.
Beside Yuan Ling was a middle-aged woman named Jing Mei, who seemed to be the village chief of Moonlit Village. She was currently conversing happily with Yuan Ling.
Seemingly sensing Ye Feng's gaze, Jing Mei quickly walked over to him. "Esteemed Explorer Ye Feng, previously... previously we didn't bring the Holy Maiden to you... because the Holy Maiden was not present at the time, and we had to respect her wishes... Please rest assured, the other girls are all very willing. You can visit their rooms tonight, or you can call them all over..."
"I..."
Ye Feng was speechless. He thought Jing Mei had come over for something important...
"Big Brother, what room?"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao and Xiao Lu approached, both holding cups of fruit wine. Their faces were flushed, indicating they had had quite a bit.
"Uh... nothing!"
Ye Feng quickly waved his hand, looking a bit awkward.
Jing Mei, clearly skilled at reading people, pointed in a direction for Ye Feng and then quickly departed.
"Come, let's all toast Esteemed Explorer Ye Feng! Thank you and the Holy Maiden for eliminating the greatest scourge of Blackwater Town!"
At this moment, a group of burly men, carrying large bowls of wine, ran up to Ye Feng, looking at him excitedly.
"Here's to Esteemed Explorer Ye Feng!"
"To Esteemed Explorer Ye Feng!"
"To Esteemed Explorer Ye Feng!"
...
The man in the lead raised his large bowl of wine, and the others followed suit. Among them were several familiar faces to Ye Feng, including Liu Jiu and his subordinates.
Although most of them were injured and bandaged, their faces were full of smiles!
"Oh, alright!~"
Ye Feng picked up the wine bottle and clinked it with theirs, then drank it all in one go, drawing cheers from the crowd.
"Mr. Ye, shall we take a walk? This bonfire feast is specially held for you!"
At this moment, Liu Jiu stepped forward and suggested to Ye Feng.
"Okay!~"
Perhaps influenced by the lively atmosphere, Ye Feng, surrounded by a crowd, strolled around, eating and drinking. A large number of children followed behind, running and jumping from time to time, emitting joyful sounds, clearly very happy...
...
Midnight,
Even though it was late, Blackwater Town was still bustling with activity. After his stroll, Ye Feng returned to where Yuan Ling and the others were.
At this point, Xiao Xiao and Xiao Lu, either drunk or tired from playing, had already fallen asleep. Xiao Lu was still mumbling something in her sleep...
"What a beautiful night!"
Slightly tipsy, Ye Feng lay down on the grass and, with Yuan Ling, gazed at the twinkling stars and the bright crescent moon in the sky.
"Indeed!"
Yuan Ling, who had been sitting on the grass, stretched and then lay down as well, enjoying the moonlight side-by-side with Ye Feng.
In the distance, many people were also quietly appreciating the beauty of the night sky, just like Ye Feng and Yuan Ling...
"Speaking of which, these villagers seem a bit too excited. It's so late, and they're still dancing and celebrating... I would have been tired long ago if it were me..."
Ye Feng tilted his head to look at the singing and dancing scene not far away, a little puzzled.
"Because of the goblins, everyone used to have to hide indoors in fear every night. Even if there was fire, they wouldn't dare to come out! Now that the goblins are gone, the villagers are overjoyed. Perhaps... for them, celebrating in the dark has more meaning!"
Yuan Ling, however, understood this very well. After all, even explorers with some strength in the past dared not venture out easily at night.
"Oh, I see~"
Ye Feng suddenly understood.
"Whoosh~ Crinkle!~"
At this moment, the sound of ice forming echoed from a distance. Someone had activated an ice-attribute arcane rune, creating a small ice mountain.
This was followed by the laughter of a group of children playing with the ice, making popsicles, and adding ice to drinks...
"Ye Feng!"
"Holy Maiden!"
At this moment, voices came from Ye Feng's right and Yuan Ling's left. It was He Shang and Alak.
"Ah!~"
Immediately after, Yuan Ling cried out in surprise, and Ye Feng's face turned red.
Because when they heard the voices, both Ye Feng and Yuan Ling turned their heads at almost the same time. The direction from which they were called was opposite. The two, who were already lying quite close, almost kissed...
"Uh... I seem to have arrived at an inconvenient time~"
Seeing this, He Shang scratched his shiny bald head, looking dejected, while Alak remained silent.
"Is something the matter?"
Ye Feng, still embarrassed, sat up and asked He Shang.
"Uh... that... Ye Feng, do you have any more ice-attribute arcane runes?"
He Shang said, looking at the children playing on the ice mountain in the distance, a look of envy on his face. That ice mountain was made from the ice-attribute arcane runes that Ye Feng had given them.
"Ice-attribute arcane runes?"
Ye Feng followed He Shang's gaze and immediately understood. A light flashed in his hand, and a stack of ice-attribute arcane runes instantly appeared, which he handed to He Shang.
"Thank you, thank you! I'll go get some iced fruit wine!"
After taking the ice-attribute arcane runes, He Shang left with a smile, pulling Alak along with him.
"Hoo!~"
After He Shang and Alak left, Ye Feng let out a sigh of relief.
Then, feeling drowsy from the alcohol and the soreness from his exercises, Ye Feng lay down on the grass and, before long, drifted off to sleep...
Yuan Ling smiled sweetly as she looked at the sleeping Ye Feng and then got up and walked away.
"Holy Maiden... are you sure your eyes will remain in this state... will it be alright?"
Alak looked at Yuan Ling with some concern.
"Don't worry, Alak. My eyes feel perfectly fine. They won't go blind from overuse like the Flame Ranger master said!"
As she spoke, Yuan Ling looked at Ye Feng and blushed. "The fruit Ye Feng ate has a very special power!"
...