Two days after the night that changed everything, Li Yuan sat in his room facing the garden in contemplative silence. There was nothing he needed to prepare for the journey—a wanderer like him was not tied to material possessions. The gray hanfu he wore, the red cloth in his hair, even his wooden sandals—all were manifestations of his Understanding of Existence, created from an understanding of existence itself.
Through the window, he could see the activity of the third day of the festival with a very different atmosphere. There were no longer big performances or competitions for attention. Instead, there were small circles of discussion in various corners of the square, where people from all three communities sat together, talking in a serious but not hostile tone.
They are healing, Li Yuan thought, looking at the old mango tree in the garden that had been a silent witness to this transformation. The process will be slow, non-linear, and imperfect. But they have already started.
A knock on the door made him turn. "Come in," he said.
Zhang Wei opened the door with a mixed expression of resignation and sadness. "So it's true that you're leaving?"
Li Yuan nodded, continuing to pack. "My time in Sancheng has reached its natural conclusion."
"When?" Zhang Wei asked, sitting in a chair near the window.
"Tomorrow morning. Before sunrise."
Zhang Wei was silent for a moment, looking toward the garden where the old mango tree stood calmly. "You know, since that night, there have been rumors circulating about you."
Li Yuan stopped packing and looked at Zhang Wei with attention. "What kind of rumors?"
"That you are not an ordinary human. That you have a connection to... forces that are beyond human understanding. Some say you are a messenger from heaven, some say you are an ancient spirit who came to test Sancheng's moral character."
Exactly what I was afraid of, Li Yuan thought. When humans cannot explain something with normal logic, they tend to create supernatural or divine explanations.
"And what do you think?" Li Yuan asked.
Zhang Wei looked at Li Yuan with thoughtful eyes. "Honestly? I don't know what you really are. What I know is that you are someone who has experienced far more than a normal person could in a single lifetime. What I know is that your presence brought wisdom and peace to a situation that could have been destructive."
Li Yuan nodded with appreciation for Zhang Wei's balanced perspective.
"Is it important—what I really am?"
Zhang Wei contemplated the question. "For Sancheng? No. What's important is the impact you made. For me personally? I'm curious, but I respect your privacy."
Li Yuan smiled with genuine warmth. "That is a wise approach, Zhang Wei. Focus on what matters, and accept the mystery for what it is."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of voices from the garden. Li Yuan and Zhang Wei looked out the window and saw Liu Ming, Kesi, Henrik, and Elsa standing under the mango tree, seemingly discussing something seriously.
"They know you're leaving too," Zhang Wei said.
Li Yuan got up and walked to the window. "Perhaps it's time for a formal goodbye."
They went down to the garden, where a small gathering had already formed under the shade of the mango tree. Li Yuan could sense through the small radius of his Wenjing Realm that the mood of his friends was a mixture of sadness, gratitude, and acceptance.
"Li Yuan," Kesi said when he approached, "Zhang Wei told me you're leaving tomorrow."
"Yes," Li Yuan answered with simple honesty. "My time here is complete."
Henrik crossed his arms, his expression slightly challenging but not hostile. "Complete how? I mean, Sancheng still has unresolved issues. There are still people who are resentful, there are still underlying tensions."
"Exactly," Li Yuan replied. "And that is work that must be done by the people of Sancheng themselves. An outsider can help in a crisis, can provide perspective, can even offer protection in an emergency. But sustainable change—real, lasting change—must come from within the community itself."
Elsa nodded with understanding. "Like a parent who eventually has to let their children handle their own problems."
"A good analogy," Li Yuan agreed. "But in this case, Sancheng was never my child. Sancheng is a mature community that temporarily lost its way. Now they have found their footing again."
Liu Ming sat on the grass under the tree. "How can you be so sure? How do you know that we won't fall back into old patterns when you're gone?"
Li Yuan joined Liu Ming on the grass, the others following suit until a small circle was formed under the mango tree.
"Because what happened two nights ago wasn't about me," Li Yuan said. "What happened was about the choices made by individuals in this community. Zhao Kang chose hatred, but the majority chose differently. They chose not to participate in violence. They chose to walk away when faced with a clear moral choice."
Li Yuan paused, looking at the face of each of his friends.
"And a choice like that—a choice to prefer peace over violence, understanding over hatred—once made with full consciousness, is not easily reversed. It becomes a part of a person's character."
"But what about the hardcore extremists?" Zhang Wei asked. "People like Zhao Kang who don't show remorse or a willingness to change?"
Li Yuan sighed with the weight of experience. "There will always be people like that in every community. What's important is that they are not allowed to dictate the behavior of the majority. And based on what I saw two nights ago, the majority in Sancheng has already clearly chosen their side."
Kesi leaned against Liu Ming, her expression thoughtful. "Li Yuan, can I ask a personal question?"
"Sure."
"How long have you been... traveling like this? Going from one place to another, helping communities, then moving on?"
Li Yuan was silent for a moment, considering how much truth was appropriate to share.
"A very long time," he finally answered. "Longer than you can imagine. And in all that time, I have learned that every community is unique, but human nature is universal. The capacity for good and evil, for love and hatred, for wisdom and foolishness—it exists in every culture, every society."
"And what makes the difference?" Henrik asked. "What determines whether a community chooses a good path or a bad path?"
"Leadership," Li Yuan answered without hesitation. "Not leadership in the political sense or formal authority. Leadership in the sense of individuals who are willing to stand up for what's right, even when it's not easy or popular."
Li Yuan looked around the circle once more.
"Sancheng is blessed with many such leaders. Zhang Wei who coordinates with fairness and transparency. Liu Ming and Kesi who demonstrate through their own relationship that differences can become a strength. Marcus who provides wisdom from experience. Astrid and Chen Wei who are willing to compromise for the greater good."
"And Henrik and Elsa who show that outsiders can genuinely care about a community that isn't their own," Liu Ming added with a smile.
Henrik looked slightly embarrassed. "We were just doing what felt right."
"Exactly," Li Yuan said with emphasis. "Doing what feels right—not what's expedient, not what's profitable, not what's popular—is the definition of moral leadership."
A comfortable silence descended on the circle. Around them, the sounds of the third festival day continued—conversations, occasional laughter, even some music, but all with a subdued tone that was appropriate for a community that was still processing a recent trauma.
"Where will you go?" Elsa asked eventually.
"Southeast," Li Yuan answered. "Toward a mountain kingdom known for... different challenges from the ones we faced here."
"Different how?" Zhang Wei asked.
Li Yuan smiled with a subtle anticipation. "Here, the challenge was to bring different communities together. There, the challenge is... something else entirely. Something that will test different aspects of wisdom and understanding."
"Will we ever see you again?" Kesi asked with a voice that was slightly wistful.
Li Yuan considered that question with the seriousness it deserved.
"In this lifetime? Probably not. My journey doesn't typically bring me back to the same places. But in a broader sense... who knows? The universe has a way of bringing people together when the timing is right."
"That sounds like a final goodbye," Henrik observed.
"All goodbyes are final in some sense," Li Yuan answered with a gentle philosophy. "But relationships built on genuine care and mutual respect don't truly end. They transform. The lessons we share with each other, the impact we have on each other's lives—that continues long after physical separation."
Liu Ming stood up and extended his hand for a handshake. "Then let me say: thank you, Li Yuan. For everything. For your wisdom, for your protection, for showing us what's possible when someone fully commits to doing what's right."
Li Yuan stood and clasped Liu Ming's hand with warmth. "Thank you for welcoming a stranger and making him feel a part of the community, even temporarily."
One by one, the others stood and offered their own farewells. Zhang Wei with respect and admiration. Kesi with tears in her eyes but a smile on her face. Henrik and Elsa with gratitude and promises to continue the work that had started.
"Tomorrow morning, before sunrise," Li Yuan said as a final statement. "I will leave quietly, without ceremony or fuss. I prefer goodbyes that are not dramatic."
"We understand," Zhang Wei said, speaking for the group. "But know that you will be remembered in Sancheng. Not as a mysterious stranger with unexplained powers, but as a friend who came when needed and helped a community find its way through a dark time."
Li Yuan nodded with deep satisfaction. That was exactly the legacy he hoped to leave.
As evening approached, the group slowly dispersed to return to their various responsibilities. Li Yuan remained under the mango tree for a few minutes longer, saying a silent farewell to the tree that had been a witness to so much wisdom and growth in recent weeks.
Tomorrow, a new chapter begins, he thought, looking toward the southeastern horizon where the mountains were barely visible in the distance. New challenges, new lessons, new opportunities for growth and service.
But tonight, he would enjoy a final evening in the community that had become, temporarily, a home.