Chapter 256 - 256: Not Good, It's Coming For Me

"However, the issues I just mentioned are also conveying a certain, rather pointed message to General Jing Yuan."

Feixiao leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on the table. The playful glint in her eyes didn't quite mask the sharp, predatory edge beneath.

"First, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus continued to grow like weeds within the Luofu, yet the Six Charioteers failed to notice a thing, allowing them to flourish right under your nose. In the eyes of the Alliance... this is deemed a gross dereliction of duty."

She raised a second finger, her tone steady and measuring. "Second, placing implicit trust in the wild claims of the Stellaron Hunters. Entrusting the heavy responsibility of resolving a planetary crisis to complete outsiders, and allowing them to come into direct contact with the remnants of the Ambrosial Arbor... this is deemed a catastrophic failure of responsibility."

A third finger joined the others. "Third, in the immediate aftermath of the Ambrosial Arbor crisis, you chose to hold a massive, public event like the Aether Wars in conjunction with Belobog. You deliberately placed the Luofu back into the galactic spotlight when it should have been recovering quietly. This... is deemed a complete loss of resolve."

After delivering her verbal barrage, Feixiao let the silence stretch. She observed Jing Yuan with a bright, expectant smile, genuinely wanting to see how the famously unflappable general would react to being cornered.

As it turned out, Jing Yuan's expression didn't so much as ripple. He sat with the relaxed posture of a man watching leaves fall in a courtyard, perfectly serene. "General Feixiao," he asked, his voice smooth and unhurried. "Is this your personal assessment, or the official stance of the Ten-Lords Commission?"

"I believe I said from the very beginning..." Feixiao's smile deepened, revealing a hint of her martial ferocity. "What I ask is not necessarily what I believe."

Jing Yuan gave a slow, understanding nod. He picked up his teacup, taking a leisurely sip before responding.

"The influence of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus is deeply rooted in our history. They have been plotting in the shadows for a very long time. My failure to root them out before they bloomed was, indeed, a dereliction of duty. I will not deny that."

He set the cup down, the porcelain clinking softly against the saucer. "As for the prophecies spun by the Stellaron Hunters, I don't necessarily swallow them whole. However, through various maneuvers and calculated risks, the Luofu was preserved from the worst of the Ambrosial Arbor crisis. It seems Elio's script for the future does possess some tangible merit."

"And the Aether Wars?" Feixiao prompted, arching an eyebrow.

Jing Yuan chuckled, a low, breathy sound. "How could I not know the risk of inviting trouble to our doorstep? But risk and opportunity are two sides of the same coin. The waters of the Luofu have been stagnant for far too long. It was high time to stir the pond, let the dregs float to the surface, and skim away the accumulated impurities."

, the cooperation with Belobog wasn't merely a nostalgic favor for his old friend Igor. It was a calculated diplomatic bridge to build solid relations with the Astral Express. It was a net positive for the Xianzhou.

Jing Yuan knew full well that the old timers in the Alliance weren't blind to these benefits. The harsh questioning and the formal reports... it was all merely the necessary theater of political struggle.

"The Shen Ce General is indeed a man of culture!" Feixiao laughed heartily, the sound echoing off the walls of the quiet room. "You could fill an entire Xianzhou idiom dictionary with just a few of your sentences. I like it!"

Her laughter subsided, and she straightened her posture, her expression shifting into something far more serious.

"But unfortunately, since the day the official report was submitted, the Alliance has been drowning in rumors and wild speculation. Even here, within the Luofu itself, certain factions have submitted formal petitions accusing you of negligence, claiming you deliberately allowed the Ambrosial Arbor to be reborn."

"Then what does General Feixiao think?" Jing Yuan met her gaze directly.

"As fellow generals, we both naturally understand the sheer weight and the endless difficulties of sitting in these chairs." Feixiao snorted softly, waving a hand in dismissal. "In my view, these are all meaningless bureaucratic squabbles. Across the vast sea of stars, only the Shen Ce General truly understands the depth of the crisis that occurred on the Luofu, and the hidden currents beneath it."

She paused. The air in the room seemed to cool slightly as her gaze darkened.

"Just like the situation the Yaoqing Xianzhou has recently encountered."

Jing Yuan's eyes flickered, his relaxed demeanor sharpening instantly. "You mean the Yaoqing is also..."

"The scouts of Lord Qingqiu reported back," Feixiao said slowly, her voice dropping to a dangerous murmur. "The Borisin are starting to get restless again. Their hunting packs, which were originally a disorganized, infighting mess, have begun attacking and absorbing each other. They are forming massive, unified packs."

She tapped a finger against the table. "Behind them, something called 'Mangus' is guiding their fangs."

Feixiao looked up, her eyes piercing. "At the same time, the intelligence retrieved by our scouts confirms... that thing pulling the strings is not a Borisin."

"It is a woman who calls herself the 'Envoy of The Abundance'. Twelve faces, twelve pairs of fangs. Cruel as venom, shifting as quicksand. The Borisin genuinely believe she will bring them the divine chance to rise again."

Jing Yuan fell silent. The implications raced through his mind, clicking into place like the gears of a complex lock. He slowly uttered a single name.

"Phantylia."

"Correct." Feixiao nodded grimly. Then, the corner of her mouth twitched upward in a wry smirk. "Fortunately, it was I who was sent here. Had it been General Chenming or General Rongtao sitting across from you, this little interrogation might not have been nearly so friendly."

She leaned back in her chair, the heavy atmosphere dissipating as she regained her usual free-spirited aura. "I have always trusted my intuition on the battlefield. So naturally, I do not doubt the honor behind your actions here."

"But the doubts and the political pressure the Luofu currently faces are obvious." She leaned forward again, locking eyes with him. "Therefore, I intend to secure the most crucial piece of the puzzle... to give those old fools in the Alliance an explanation they can't refute."

"What exactly does General Feixiao intend to do?" Jing Yuan asked, a hint of caution in his voice.

"Oh, General Jing Yuan knows full well," Feixiao chuckled, her eyes crinkling. "It's just that you are unwilling to play the villain in this scenario. So, I shall gladly do it for you."

The corner of Jing Yuan's mouth twitched.

This Feixiao... he thought. She wouldn't be planning something reckless, like dragging the Astral Express crew into an interrogation room, would she?

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid. Why would I antagonize the Nameless?" Feixiao seemed to read his mind effortlessly, reaching across the table to pat his shoulder with a wide grin. "I'll just have them leave a highly detailed, official testimony. I'll staple it to the back of the report to wrap this whole mess up with a neat little bow."

Jing Yuan offered a polite smile but didn't voice his relief.

There was one massive variable he had deliberately omitted from his official report—his terrifying speculation regarding Leon and the direct involvement of the Aeons. He had mentioned it once, but only briefly, burying it in passing details. After all, it was entirely based on his own intuition, and he possessed zero concrete evidence to back up such an absurd claim. Naturally, the Alliance bureaucrats hadn't given it a second glance.

While he was lost in thought, his jade token suddenly chimed from his pocket.

The notification sound was distinct—a sharp, almost mocking little jingle.

Feixiao raised an eyebrow, her fox ears twitching at the noise. "What's wrong? That sound... is it an emergency?"

"Yes. Quite important, actually." Jing Yuan nodded, pulling the device free. His expression grew remarkably focused. "I set a special, high-priority notification for Aha the Elation. Whenever They post something new on the network, my jade token alerts me immediately."

Feixiao stared at him, stunned for a split second, before bursting into amused laughter. "Whoa, did you guys on the Luofu really stir up that much fun? You have the Aeon of Elation on speed dial?"

There was a heavy dose of teasing in her tone. She hadn't forgotten the chaotic preview at the end of Aha's last broadcast. When she had watched that video, Feixiao had nearly laughed herself out of her chair.

"That was, unfortunately, a joke that I did not find particularly funny." Jing Yuan's lips pressed into a thin line.

"Honkai: Star Rail?" Feixiao leaned over, looking curious as she read the notification title on his screen. She didn't play video games much; she had heard the name floating around the network but hadn't touched it. It made sense—she was constantly deployed on the front lines, winning one brutal war after another. Where would a Merlin's Claw find the time to grind levels?

"A game developed by the Trailblazer, Leon," Jing Yuan explained, his thumb hovering over the screen. "It essentially records everything they, as Trailblazers, have seen and experienced across the cosmos, framed from their own perspective."

He paused, his golden eyes darkening with a sudden realization. "If nothing unexpected happens... every single embarrassing, confidential, and chaotic event that occurred on the Xianzhou Luofu is about to be broadcasted to the universe through this game."

"Whoa... there's such a convenient thing?" Feixiao's eyes lit up with genuine interest. She immediately snatched her own jade token from the table and began rapidly searching for information related to Honkai: Star Rail. "Coincidentally, didn't I just say I wanted the Astral Express Crew to leave a detailed testimony? This saves me the paperwork!"

Jing Yuan didn't rush to boot up the game client itself. Instead, he tapped into the streaming platform and clicked directly into Guinaifen's live broadcast.

He and the street performer weren't exactly close acquaintances, but Leon had specifically invited her to the victory banquet the other night. Naturally, Jing Yuan wouldn't treat anyone Leon favored as an insignificant bystander.

After all, one only had to look at the guest list from that night. The Trailblazers, the Stellaron Hunters, the Master Diviner, himself, Yanqing... The people gathered in that room represented almost the entirety of the Xianzhou Luofu's present power and its future potential. Guinaifen had stuck out like a sore thumb among such heavyweights, so Jing Yuan had quietly run a background check on her afterward to understand her situation.

At this moment, as Guinaifen's livestream screen finished loading and the title screen of the new game update flashed across his jade token, Jing Yuan felt a sudden, sharp spike in his blood pressure.

His jaw locked. A vein pulsed faintly at his temple as he stared at the screen.

Not good! It's coming for me.

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