You alight from the raft and see a dense bamboo grove before you.

We can only push forward.

Mr. Ardashir, we might need to rest here for a while.

Of course. I apologize for intruding, and I truly appreciate your assistance.

I pray that I have not inconvenienced anyone...

Yet this seems to be the only path. So my dear friends, perhaps we shall have the opportunity to meet again.

I've never seen a bamboo forest with such verdance and lushness.

Nothing... This is my first time listening to a rustling in such clarity. The sound of wind brushing itself against a grove.

He looks friendly, but I just feel there's something weird about him.

I queried the name "Ardashir" in the database...

The only hits are figures of Sargonian history, and other common employees registered at Seš'qa and the UWST. None of them matched his age, though.

...Well, I didn't sense any hostility from him.

Chen, how long would it take us to reach Wuling City?

Won't be long. Once we get through this place, I'll know the rest like the back of my hand.

But this really is the only path. We will run into that young man eventually.

Indeed... Our primary objective is to reach Wuling City ASAP. Time to move, team.