Reunion After Sixteen Years

After preparing everything, Lin Gui set off toward the depths of the Gloomlight Forest, carrying Clotina's glass bead.

Passing through the intertwined fluorescent vines at the outskirts, a true elven city gradually revealed itself before his eyes.

Treehouses clung to ancient, glowing giant trees, built in spiraling patterns.

Vine bridges connected the structures like spiderwebs, looming indistinctly in the hazy green light.

The streets were narrow and exquisite, paved with polished, smooth purple stone slabs.

Now, however, weeds sprouted from the gaps between the slabs, and many of the vine bridges were broken.

Total silence reigned.

Lin Gui walked slowly, his gaze sweeping across the empty treehouse windows on both sides.

“Many clans used to live here.”

Clotina's voice echoed softly in his mind, carrying the ripples of memory.

“The Moonshadow Clan excelled in astrology and lived in the highest watchtowers.”

“The Thorn Clan were warriors; the outer walls of their houses were always engraved with weapon crests.”

“I belonged to the Shadow Clan... Our treehouses were usually hidden behind the densest foliage.”

She paused, her soul light dimming slightly.

“My home used to be right here.”

“Later... because of what happened with Shadow Blade Lynn.”

“Most of the Shadow Clan members migrated to Deepwood Outpost and Shadowmoon City.”

“There are no longer any Shadow Clan members left here.”

Lin Gui walked in silence.

Occasionally, he could spot a faint glimmer or two of soul light in the corners.

Those were the remaining elven residents.

But the moment they sensed Lin Gui's approach, they would quickly hide.

Like startled fireflies.

The entire small city was so quiet that he could only hear his own footsteps, along with the faint whimpering of the wind as it swept through the empty houses.

Lin Gui's arrival did not trigger any obvious commotion.

However, the feeling of being watched grew increasingly clear, just as Lin Gui had suspected.

From unseen corners, gazes were quietly cast upon him.

They fell on Lin Gui, on the pair of fake pointed ears attached to his head.

And on Clotina's glass bead floating beside him.

A living “elf.”

An elven spirit.

Such a combination, in the Gloomlight Forest that had been dead silent for years, was far too eye-catching.

In the corners Lin Gui could not see, the staring eyes multiplied.

They watched from the shadows of the treehouses, from behind the corners of the broken bridges, and even from among the intertwined vines overhead.

Silent, yet dense.

Not a single sound was made.

The entire city-state maintained a bizarre, tense silence.

Right at that moment, Clotina's voice rang out in his mind.

It was a Mid Rank soul magic spell: soul transmission.

Though it was an incredibly obscure and difficult magic in the mage community, it was almost an instinct for spirits.

In Blackwater City and other city-states, spirits with too much time on their hands often used it to play tricks on unfortunate bounty hunters.

Her whispers painted an invisible picture for Lin Gui.

The positions, numbers, and even the clans of those hidden spirit figures were clearly presented.

Lin Gui did not activate his Eyes of the Netherworld.

He knew that the soul pressure exerted by those eyes would scare away these already fragile elven spirits.

He maintained a calm expression, his footsteps never pausing.

He carried Clotina deeper and deeper into this dead, silent elven city.

He didn't know how long he walked, but eventually, he arrived at a plaza near the center of the Gloomlight Forest.

An extremely light, whispery voice drifted from behind the ruins of a collapsed treehouse on the right:

“Clotina... Shadow?”

“Is that... you?”

Clotina's soul shadow trembled slightly.

She turned toward the source of the voice.

Through the broken wooden fence, she saw the spirit of an elven boy about her age.

He emitted a pale purple soul light, had pointed ears, and still carried a trace of lingering childishness on his face.

Immediately after, more small spirit shadows drifted out from various places.

From behind tree hollows, among vines, and even from inside a dried-up well.

They were all elven youths, boys and girls of similar age to Clotina.

They gathered cautiously, their soul lights flickering slightly.

Clotina stood dazed for a good while, seemingly unable to recognize them immediately.

Until a twin-braided girl's spirit whispered:

“I'm Lia... from the Moonshadow Clan.”

“We used to catch silver-scaled fish together by the Fluorescent River...”

Another tall, thin boy chimed in:

“I'm Kelan, from the Thorn Clan.”

“That time you snuck food from the World Tree's altar offerings... I was the one who kept watch for you.”

Memories rushed back like a tide.

Clotina's soul body trembled gently.

“Lia... Kelan...”

She called out the familiar yet distant names one by one.

With each name, the eyes of the gathered little spirits brightened a bit more.

Soon, waves of joy rippled through the air.

“You're still alive! No, I mean... you're still 'here'!”

“We thought everyone at Deepwood Outpost was gone...”

“Where have you been for the past sixteen years?”

They crowded around Clotina, all talking at once.

Their voices were very soft, yet they overflowed with the vibrant warmth of a long-awaited reunion.

The conversation quickly jumped to the past.

“Do you remember when we played 'Light-Chasing Hide-and-Seek'? You always hid in the brightest patches of moss, and we'd catch you every single time.”

“And 'Moonshadow Riddles'—you could never guess the ancient proverbs of the Night Elves.”

“During the World Tree Festival, we secretly swapped the high priest's ceremonial staff with a regular branch, making him the laughingstock of the Moonlight Royalty's envoys...”

Lin Gui stood silently to the side, listening to these elven youths reminisce about their past.

The names of those games, the rules, and even the cultural metaphors behind them all carried a distinct, elegant elven charm to his ears.

Yet, when mixed with the amusing, mischievous antics of children,

it felt a bit...

bizarre, like a grand piano being played by a snotty-nosed kid in split-crotch pants.

The children's emotional reunion was like a pebble tossed into stagnant water.

The ripples of joy spread outward, circle after circle.

Within this small elven city that had been silent for sixteen years, this vibrant reunion felt exceptionally precious.

And exceptionally... beautiful.

The faint glow of the fluorescent moss enveloped them gently.

The translucent soul shadows of the young boys and girls gathered together, their pale blue halos intertwining.

Soft laughter, suppressed cheers, and the light gleaming in their eyes as they reminisced...

It was like an old painting from faded years suddenly lighting up once more.

Gradually, more elven spirits were drawn by the commotion.

They quietly floated out from hidden tree hollows, behind vines, and through broken window frames.

They came in all shapes and sizes.

There were elderly elves with steady soul contours and eyes reflecting a weathered serenity.

There were middle-aged warriors with condensed soul light, their posture and movements still retaining their lifetime vigilance and uprightness.

There were also many younger spirit figures, peering curiously as they slowly gathered.

They surrounded the children in an outer ring.

They did not draw too close.

They simply watched the small, warm celebration in the center in silence.

They watched Clotina and her friends call out each other's names.

They watched them laugh together over some childish memory.

They watched the games and festivals that had long been buried by time become vibrant once more through the youths' words.

On the faces of the spirits, extremely faint, almost invisible smiles gradually emerged.

Those smiles were very light.

Yet they were like the first ray of dawn piercing through the mist.

They illuminated the corners of this dead city that had been dark for far too long.