The weather in Lanqi Country was a stark contrast to that of Kashida.
While Kashida was still enduring a sweltering summer, Lanqi seemed to be in the midst of a pleasant spring day. The sunlight was gentle and bright, the breeze mild and soothing, and even the roadside flowers were growing abundantly, displaying their colorful splendor. After spending so long in the damp rainy season, standing in the warm sunshine now felt like it could dry out all the mold on one's body.
Alice was taking Yun Manman and Yan Ye on a tour of Linglan City. Rather than a city-state, Linglan City was more like a slightly larger village. Wooden cabins were scattered haphazardly among the trees, with babbling streams flowing merrily past the front and back of houses, creating a scene rich in natural ambiance.
Elf-sized fairies either stood or flew by overhead, while miniature fairies laughed as they chased butterflies in the sky. Most amazingly, Yun Manman saw wild elk carrying buckets on their heads following the elves, and monkeys picking fruits from deep in the forest to place in the elves' baskets. She looked several times to confirm that these were indeed wild animals without higher intelligence, not some kind of beastmen.
Alice, seeing the wonder in their eyes, explained with a smile, "When animals occasionally encounter trouble in the forest, like injuries and such, our people help treat them without hesitation, and we never encroach on their territory."
"So the animals are willing to interact with us."
Yun Manman felt admiration in her heart - so these were the true princesses from fairy tales.
"How you treat nature is how nature will treat you in return."
The residents of Linglan City cast curious glances at Yun Manman and her group as they passed by.
"Are they beastmen?"
"They must be feline beastmen invited as guests by the City Lord..."
"They don't look scary at all, should we update our textbooks?"
"They even have tails and ears, they look so fluffy!"
Yun Manman had never been the focus of so many stares at once. Though the gazes were curious and friendly, she felt like she was about to trip over her own feet.
At this moment, a round-faced little fairy with freckles flew over. "Miss Alice, may I invite you all to our shop for some rose nectar?"
Her brown round eyes secretly observed Yun Manman.
Alice, thinking that Yun Manman and the others hadn't eaten anything since arriving, nodded happily. She introduced, "This is Duoduo. The flower nectars and cakes made by her family are delicious."
Yun Manman naturally agreed.
It was a restaurant located under a big tree. Though not very spacious, it had a particularly atmospheric feel. Several windows were decorated with floral fabric, and sitting by the window, one could see the beautiful sight of fallen petals dropping into the stream, being fought over by fish.
Duoduo's father and mother were typical introverted elves. After serving the food, they left Duoduo and her younger sister Yan'er to attend to Yun Manman and the others, then returned to the busy kitchen.
Duoduo enthusiastically introduced: "This is rose nectar, made with flower petals and wild honey. This is jasmine cake, and this is mugwort tofu..."
Although all dishes were vegetarian, they were all delicious!
The rose nectar had a rich floral aroma with a hint of honey sweetness. After drinking it, Yun Manman felt as if her entire cat self had turned into a rose.
The jasmine cake was similar to the osmanthus cake she had eaten before, also using honey for sweetness. It was soft, fragrant, and quite nice.
Yun Manman, a sweet food lover, ate voraciously, but Yan Ye, a meat lover, was clearly less impressed.
He only picked at the plate of sweet and sour fried eggs, merely sampling the other dishes.
Alice apologized, "The food we elves eat is quite light, and we rarely eat meat. I'm really sorry."
"But don't worry, my father has specifically instructed the chef to prepare meat dishes for you. There should be some to eat when we return."
Yan Ye immediately sat up straight: "It's no problem at all. The food here is very delicious, I'm completely fine with it."
Alice tilted her head, smiling like a flower: "That's wonderful."
Yun Manman bit her fork and secretly glanced from one to the other.
Hmm, her brother seemed quite understanding.
After staying a night in the lodging arranged by the City Lord, Yun Manman finished packing her things and went out with Alice.
Their itinerary for the day was to visit and tour the Guidance Academy.
Yan Ye didn't accompany them, saying he was going to the capital city of Lanqi Country to look for Lu Qi and the others.
The Elven Guidance Academy was the most famous specialized school for guidance on the Lingyi Continent.
Located in the center of Linglan City next to the capital, most of its students were elves, and the student population was not large.
There were also some foreign students with high mental purity who entered the Guidance Academy as exchange students, but they were extremely rare.
With the City Lord's invitation letter, Yun Manman easily entered the Guidance Academy.
The Elven Guidance Academy was built around an enormous ancient tree.
It was a huge tree that looked like a flamboyant, but Yun Manman had never seen such a large flamboyant before.
The trunk was as thick as a building, strong and straight, reaching up to the clouds. More than half of its lush green canopy was submerged in the cloud layer.
The leaves were as dense as feathers, the flower petals curled back like wings, and a whole expanse of fiery red covered the entire Guidance Academy like a cloud.
Yun Manman was so awestruck she couldn't speak.
Alice bowed respectfully to the giant tree and introduced softly, "This is the Phoenix Tree, the spiritual symbol of the Guidance Academy and also the famous divine tree of Linglan City."
"No one knows how many years it has lived. It seems to have existed even before the ancestors of the elven race established Lanqi Country here."
Lanqi Country had been established for over 700 years.
"There is a very weak guiding force in the flowers of the divine tree. Legend has it that it blesses the elven race, protecting them from mental power disorders, and watches over the growth of every student at the Guidance Academy."
The dense canopy of the Phoenix Tree moved without wind, making a rustling sound. The gorgeous flowers, like fallen butterflies, gently landed on Yun Manman's head.
Alice delightedly pinned the fiery red flower in Yun Manman's light brown hair: "The divine tree really likes you."
Yun Manman was flattered, gently touching the flower in her hair, as if she could feel the ancient tree's mood at that moment.
Amazing! The things in your elven race are a bit too wonderful!
There was a mysterious feeling that all things had their own spirit.
Yun Manman suddenly understood why the elven race worshipped nature so much.
It was currently the weekend, and there weren't many students in the Guidance Academy. A few scattered elves flew by hurriedly carrying books, occasionally looking down curiously at Yun Manman walking on the path.
Some students also happily greeted Alice when they saw her: "Senior! Why are you back today?"
Alice nodded and replied, "Bringing a friend to visit."
Alice's junior then looked Yun Manman over several times, and upon seeing the flower on her head, said enviously, "That's nice, the tree god really likes you."
Halfway through the tour, Alice was called away by an elven junior, saying that a professor was looking for her.
The elven lady felt very guilty and kept apologizing to Yun Manman.
Yun Manman didn't mind: "It's okay, you go ahead. I'll wait for you in the garden up ahead."
The garden of the Guidance Academy was particularly large, mainly because it contained such a giant tree.
Yun Manman stood under the Phoenix Tree, craning her neck to try to see the blue sky through the gaps in the branches and leaves.
Standing beneath such an enormous entity made one feel particularly small.
She placed her hand on the rough-textured bark of the Phoenix Tree, and for a moment, the world fell silent. An indistinguishable voice, neither male nor female, sounded in her ear:
"For you, for you..."