Honkai Star Rail: Destiny Card System of the Multiverse — Chapter 55

Chapter 55: The Wrong Yingxing

As the hours slipped by, the bustling port of Cloudford remained entirely oblivious to the danger walking through its midst.

Kafka and Blade had finally parted ways. However, under the lingering influence of Kafka’s Spirit Whisper, the dockworkers and passing merchants turned a blind eye to the wanted fugitive. Their gazes slid right off his dark coat as if he were nothing more than a shadow cast by the cargo containers.

Blade adjusted his breathing. He emptied his mind, forcing his turbulent thoughts into a fragile stillness, and turned his gaze toward the distant silhouette of Scalegorge Waterscape.

His Mara-Struck affliction had not yet deteriorated to the point where he needed to bind his eyes with black gauze like Jingliu. Still, it was safer to look at as little as possible. The Luofu was a minefield of ancient architecture and familiar scents; a single stray detail could trigger a cascade of agonizing memories, inducing a violent onset of Mara that would inevitably drag innocent bystanders into a bloodbath.

Just as he steadied his fractured focus, a sweet, cloying voice drifted through the air.

“Brother Yingxing~ Why are you pretending not to see me when you clearly did?”

Phantylia, wearing the stolen skin of Tingyun, swayed her folding fan with practiced elegance. Her fluffy fox tail wagged lazily behind her as she closed the distance, her steps light and teasing.

“Oh my, Brother Yingxing, how long has it been since we last saw each other? You’ve already dyed your hair and put on colored contact lenses? Why the cold shoulder?”

She narrowed her eyes, raking her gaze up and down Blade’s imposing figure, and flicked her tail again to draw his attention. “Look at my tail. Isn’t it just as smooth and silky as before?”

As an entity who prided herself on a flawless performance, she was genuinely invested in her audience’s reaction to her costumes, makeup, and props.

A flicker of irritation pierced through Blade’s enforced calm. Several doubts surfaced in his mind.

Kafka’s Spirit Whisper has no effect on this woman? And why does she know that name?

“Who are you? Are we close?”

His chest rose and fell in a slow, measured breath. He cast a sidelong glance at the Foxian woman, his voice dropping to a freezing, absolute zero. “And don’t act so familiar, you vixen.”

Phantylia froze.

The sickeningly sweet smile plastered across her face shattered. Her hand, mid-sway with the folding fan, locked in mid-air. She stood there, completely and utterly dumbfounded.

V-Vixen?!

Just a short while ago, this exact same man had been sweetly calling her ‘Sister Tingyun’. How could he suddenly turn around and call her a vixen with such venom?

“Go away, vixen.”

Blade’s crimson eyes darkened. He repeated the insult without a shred of hesitation, brushing past her shoulder and continuing down the path.

He couldn’t be bothered to untangle the mystery of this strange Foxian. Elio’s script had made no mention of her, which meant she was irrelevant. He would simply ignore her.

A rush of boiling fury shot straight to Phantylia’s head. Her carefully maintained composure disintegrated on the spot.

Even a Lord Ravager of the Antimatter Legion could not stomach being brushed off like a common street rat! Bastard!

How could she possibly swallow an insult like this?

Fine, you’re finished! This lady will dominate your mind and whip you into the most wretched, groveling servant!

Her eyes flashed with malice. She separated a vicious wisp of Heliobus energy from her ‘Tingyun’ vessel, baring her invisible fangs and claws as she lunged straight into Blade’s mind.

But the very next second…

That wisp of Heliobus energy let out a bloodcurdling, shrill scream inside her own head. It recoiled violently, retreating back into her body like a beaten dog, causing Phantylia’s physical form to violently shudder.

Only then did the horrifying realization hit her—damn it, she had the wrong person!

The emotional flavor of the man she had just tried to possess was completely wrong. It was a suffocating, bottomless abyss of bitter sorrow, regret, and apocalyptic despair. It tasted like blood and ash, having absolutely nothing in common with the vibrant, mischievous flavor of the ‘Yingxing’ she had encountered earlier.

How unlucky! I must have been blind. If my true body were here, I would slaughter both of these bastards!

Phantylia cursed viciously in her heart. She could only chalk the humiliating encounter up to terrible luck. Terrified that her grand scheme for the Luofu might be exposed by this anomaly, she didn’t dare linger. She snapped her fan shut, turned on her heel, and slunk away into the shadows.

Not long after, inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, Jing Yuan received a sudden, troubling report.

Blade, the sky-high bounty fugitive wanted by the Interastral Peace Corporation, had been spotted on Xuanye Avenue. His trajectory was a straight line toward Scalegorge Waterscape.

A trace of heavy confusion flashed through Jing Yuan’s golden eyes. He was already waiting for his master’s inevitable arrival, so why… why would he appear now?

Whenever it came to this particular man, the General’s heart became a tangled knot of conflicting loyalties.

Back then, Jing Yuan had been nothing more than a fresh recruit in the Cloud Knights. His form of address for the brilliant craftsman had always been a warm, intimate ‘Brother Yingxing’.

Back then, Jing Yuan was still a Cloud Knights recruit, and his form of address for him was the intimate ‘Brother Yingxing’.

But time was a cruel blade. Old friends had scattered like clouds in a storm, no longer existing in the waking world; old enemies had either died or been chained in the darkness of the Shackling Prison. Only the memories remained, heavy and suffocating.

Now, the first dilemma of the impending crisis had presented itself. As for Blade… should he order the Knights to capture him, or let him walk?

Jing Yuan closed his eyes, his brows furrowing deeply as a deep unease settled over his chest.

He hesitated for a long, silent moment before finally speaking. “Let him leave Xuanye Avenue first. Keep him away from the crowds. That is not a suitable place to initiate a conflict.”

The messenger bowed deeply and hurriedly withdrew to relay the orders.

Meanwhile, deep within the hidden alleys of Exalting Sanctum.

Kazuki was currently running through a masterclass in manipulation. He was trying every angle to fish for information, desperately needing the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus to reveal a secret smuggling route into Scalegorge Waterscape.

The local leader of this particular cult stronghold—a man operating under the codename Purple Peony—maintained a greasy, welcoming smile, treating Kazuki with exceptional, almost sickening politeness.

Kazuki leaned back in his wooden chair, propping his head up with one hand while crossing his legs. He looked every bit the experienced, wealthy underworld veteran. “Brother, it’s not that I want to criticize your operations, but if you want the horse to run fast, you have to feed it well. You can’t support a grand, galaxy-spanning cause with just a head full of lofty ideals. Having hard cash in hand is the only ultimate truth!”

To emphasize his point, he slapped the back of his right hand against his left palm, the sharp smack echoing in the quiet room. His tone dripped with condescending guidance.

Purple Peony sighed, his face twisting into a mask of practiced shame. “Brother Chi Ying, sigh… the cult’s funds are simply too tight right now! Believe me, I want to make life more comfortable for the brothers and sisters bleeding for the cause, but the Chief has far too many grand designs to worry about. I’m simply too embarrassed to beg for more operational funds!”

“Heh.” Kazuki sneered softly. He casually pulled out his jade abacus terminal and tapped the screen a few times. “In that case, I’ll transfer another hundred thousand credits to your personal account. Consider it my way of practicing the teachings of the Sanctus Medicus and supporting our struggling brothers and sisters.”

Purple Peony immediately looked down at his own terminal. The screen lit up—a fresh hundred thousand credits had just cleared. His face instantly bloomed with unadulterated joy, and the wariness in his eyes melted into a warm, greedy glow.

The corners of Kazuki’s mouth curled up. He took his time, letting the silence stretch before speaking unhurriedly. “As the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus operating right here on the Xianzhou Luofu, you are sitting on a massive, untapped treasure trove, yet you remain completely blind to it. It really is a tragic pity.”

Hearing the word ‘treasure’, Purple Peony’s interest spiked. He quickly leaned forward, raising his hand in a desperate gesture for Kazuki to continue.

Kazuki picked up his porcelain teacup, took a slow sip, cleared his throat, and lowered his voice conspiratorially. “I have long heard rumors in the dark web that our Luofu branch holds two core elixir recipes.

“The first is the ‘Dragon-Coiled Arbor’. I hear it allows ordinary mortals to cultivate the [Sanctus Medicus Form] and the [Abundant Branch Form], granting them immense physical strength and an eternal ascension to the immortal path.”

‘Dragon-Coiled Arbor’, triggers the Mara-Struck state.

“The second is the ‘Dust-Returning Shape-Stabilizing Elixir’. A miracle drug that stabilizes the body and mind, prolongs life, and halts the degradation of the flesh. With such miraculous products in your hands, why haven’t you thought of mass-producing them and selling them to the Outworlders who thirst for immortality? The IPC billionaires would empty their vaults for a single pill.”

The ‘Dust-Returning Shape-Stabilizing Elixir’ is not a beauty pill!

The temperature in the room seemed to drop. Purple Peony immediately cast a sharp, highly suspicious glare at Kazuki. These two recipes were the absolute core secrets of the Disciples. How did this wealthy stranger know about them in such exact detail? What on earth was his true background?

But the weight of the hundred thousand credits still warmed his pocket. Whatever his background is, Purple Peony rationalized, as long as he keeps funneling money into my hands, nothing else matters.

Having smoothed over his own paranoia, Purple Peony held nothing back. He leaned in and detailed the gruesome materials required for the two elixirs. He specifically lamented the agonizing difficulty of the harvesting process—how rare and dangerous it was to capture Vidyadhara, extract their bone marrow while they were still breathing, and grind their internal organs into alchemical paste.

“Hahaha…” Kazuki threw his head back and laughed out loud. But as the laughter faded, a cruel, bone-chilling smile stretched across his face. “What’s so difficult about that? We don’t need to hunt them one by one. We just go straight to Scalegorge Waterscape, steal a few dozen Vidyadhara eggs, and breed them in captivity! When they mature, we pull out their tendons, skin them alive, and drain their marrow. As long as we don’t destroy their pearl, they will continuously reincarnate. They are an inexhaustible, renewable resource!”

Kazuki leaned closer, his eyes burning with a feigned, manic greed. “This is a sky-high fortune, brother! Just give me the secret route into Scalegorge Waterscape. Once the farm is set up, we…”

He deliberately let his voice trail off to a whisper, leaning right up to Purple Peony’s ear as if terrified the walls were listening. He raised his hand, gesturing a fifty-fifty split.

Purple Peony’s breathing hitched. His eyes turned bloodshot with greed. But the terrifying image of the Chief’s brutal punishments flashed through his mind, and he gritted his teeth, preparing to refuse the suicidal risk.

Kazuki didn’t give him a single second to breathe. He instantly shifted his fingers—a forty-sixty split. Forty for Kazuki, sixty for Peony.

Purple Peony’s heart hammered against his ribs. The temptation was a physical ache in his chest, but he still hesitated, sweating profusely.

Then, Kazuki ruthlessly dropped his final offer. He gestured an eighty-twenty split. Purple Peony would take the absolute lion’s share of the galactic monopoly.

“Alright! I promise you!”

Purple Peony shouted, slamming his fist on the table in sheer excitement. Every ounce of hesitation evaporated. He eagerly poured out every single detail—the hidden currents, the patrol blind spots, and the exact secret paths leading directly into the restricted zone of Scalegorge Waterscape.

Just as the ancient Outworlder text Das Kapital once warned: With adequate profit, capital becomes very bold. A certain 10 percent will ensure its employment anywhere; 20 percent will produce eagerness; 50 percent, positive audacity; for 100 percent it will trample on all human laws; 300 percent, and there is not a crime at which it will scruple, nor a risk it will not run, even to the chance of its owner being hanged.

The human heart was no different. Faced with the promise of infinite wealth, the strict cult rules and the fear of the Chief were completely incinerated in Purple Peony’s mind.

A few minutes later, the heavy, wet sound of a sharp blade tearing through flesh and bone echoed softly in the secluded courtyard.

Kazuki had already switched. The wealthy benefactor was gone, replaced by the imposing figure of [Master Smith Yingxing].

His purple eyes glinted with a terrifying, absolute zero coldness. In his grip, the Shardsword dripped with fresh crimson. It had taken him exactly eight seconds. In those eight seconds, every single member of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus in the courtyard had been cleanly, surgically sliced in half.

The bodies hit the floor in a synchronized, wet thud. Kazuki closed his eyes, exhaled a slow breath, and leisurely adjusted his earring, looking as calm as if he had just finished sweeping the autumn leaves.

[Master Smith Yingxing]