Honkai Star Rail: I Played the Villain, Now the Heroines Want Revenge — Chapter 242

Chapter 242: Jingliu: I Will Remember You

The blood-red madness that had been in Jingliu’s eyes was gone.

Instead, they had regained some clarity, yet were as cold as ancient, unmelting profound ice.

When her gaze swept over the people in the room, March 7th and Stelle even felt like they were about to be frozen by her stare.

What terrifying pressure!

Even weakened and confused, she was on another level entirely.

Jingliu ignored the others nearby. Her entire focus was on the man in front of her.

She sat up slowly, her moon-white long hair sliding over her shoulders like a silk shroud.

Her hand instinctively reached for her waist, for the sword that was always there.

It was empty.

Her sword was not there.

Jingliu’s brow furrowed. Then she looked up at Orion.

“Who are you?”

Her voice was hoarse, cold, and carried an authority that demanded an answer.

Orion met her scrutinizing, icy gaze and smiled, his posture completely, infuriatingly relaxed.

“A passing Trailblazer,” he said. “I happened to cure your… episode… so you wouldn’t tear down this inn.”

“Cure my illness?”

Jingliu asked, puzzled. She then looked inward, assessing her own state.

She immediately noticed the changes in her body.

The chaotic, frantic, game-like power of the Stellaron that had driven her mad had indeed disappeared.

But the Mara-struck state, the cold, familiar curse that had plagued her for centuries, still clung to her like a maggot to bone.

Moreover, she could feel her body was extremely weak. The “treatment” had taken more than just the sickness; it had drained her.

She glanced at her clothes again, checking her own state.

Her eyes landed on the unfastened frog button at her collar, the one he had “treated.”

The pale skin of her collarbone was exposed.

A chilling, absolute Murder instantly flashed in her icy eyes!

“What did you do to me?!”

“Don’t misunderstand.” Orion spread his hands, looking perfectly innocent. “It was just necessary for the treatment.”

That explanation was, perhaps, worse than no explanation at all.

March 7th and Stelle, listening nearby, both blushed bright red.

They looked at Orion with expressions of utter condemnation.

You guy! You’re really not honest!

That’s such a terrible excuse!

Jingliu didn’t speak again, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees.

Frost began to creep from the soles of her boots onto the floor.

She just stared at Orion, as if judging the truthfulness of his words.

She was also, more practically, evaluating how confident she was, in her current weakened state, to kill this frivolous, disrespectful man on the spot.

The atmosphere was tense, like swords drawn and bows strung.

“Thump! Thump-thump!”

Just then, a hurried, violent knocking broke the standoff in the room.

“Open up! Cloud Knights routine search! Everyone inside, open the door immediately!”

Everyone was startled.

Welt immediately looked at Orion, asking with his eyes, What to do?

And Jingliu’s reaction was faster than anyone else’s.

“Cloud Knights?”

She whispered.

[Inorin’s Note: Jingliu, the former Sword Champion of the Luofu, is now a wanted criminal pursued by the Cloud Knights after she succumbed to the Mara and escaped.]

She couldn’t be caught. Not here, not now.

And in her current weakened state, she didn’t want to cause any more trouble.

Her figure flickered, and in an instant, she floated to the window.

The entire process was so fast, so fluid, that March 7th and Stelle couldn’t even see it clearly.

She was just there.

Orion didn’t stop her. He just watched silently.

Jingliu stood on the windowsill, the mountain wind blowing her moon-white long hair, like an exiled immortal ready to ride the wind away at any moment.

She turned back and gave Orion a deep, final look.

Her gaze was complex and hard to decipher.

It contained scrutiny. It contained murderous intent for his disrespect.

But it also, seemingly, was mixed with a subtle, strange confusion that even she hadn’t noticed.

He… saved me? He… assaulted me? He… is not afraid.

This man was an anomaly she could not, for the first time in centuries, instantly understand.

“I’ll remember you.”

Leaving that sentence, she leaped out, and her figure disappeared into the city below.

“Hey! She ran away!”

March 7th finally reacted. She ran to the window to look out, but Jingliu’s shadow was nowhere to be found.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The knocking outside the door became more violent.

“Last warning! If you don’t open the door, we’ll force our way in!”

Stelle paced anxiously.

“What should we do, Orion? They’re coming in!”

Orion walked to the door, unhurried.

“It’s fine. Let them in.”

He turned his head, looking at the two anxious girls.

“After all, we are law-abiding citizens.”

“Bang!”

With a loud crash, the door was

violently forced open from the outside.

Amidst flying wood splinters, a team of soldiers holding Cloud Knight battle sabers streamed in, instantly filling the small room.

The leading captain, a gruff man with a square face and eyes like lightning, immediately scanned everyone in the room, finally settling on Orion.

“Why didn’t you open the door just now?”

Stelle and March 7th immediately tensed up, unconsciously leaning closer behind Orion.

Welt, meanwhile, subtly took a step forward, his expression diplomatic but firm.

Orion also took two steps forward, a smile on his face.

“This Cloud Knight officer, don’t be so angry. We are Astral Express members invited to the Luofu. We are guests.”

He pulled out the jade token Yukong had given him from his pocket and waved it in front of the other party.

“Look, a VIP pass issued by the Sky-Faring Commission.”

[Inorin’s Note: The Sky-Faring Commission (司辰宫/Sī Chén Gōng) is the Luofu’s port authority and traffic control, led by Yukong. The source text’s “Celestial Shuttle Department” is an incorrect translation.]

The captain glanced at it, but the vigilance on his face did not diminish in the slightest.

“Guests? My men reported that a woman suffering from severe Stellaron Sickness was in this room just now.”

He took a step closer, his hand on his sword, almost pressing against Orion’s face.

“And now, there’s only a messy empty bed and a wide-open window in the room. You’d better give me a reasonable explanation.”

March 7th’s face instantly changed, becoming a little flustered.

Orion’s heart, however, was completely calm.

This kind of situation was child’s play.

His smile instantly turned into one of helplessness and lingering fear.

“Ah, officer, you’ve finally arrived… You don’t know what we just went through.”

“When those people started having seizures just now, we had just hidden in here when we found a woman already hiding in the room. She was covered in blood, mentally unstable, rambling nonsense… she must be the person you’re talking about?”

“Where is she?” the captain demanded.

“She ran away.”

Orion spread his hand, pointing to the window Jingliu had exited through.

“We originally wanted to subdue her and wait for you to handle it. Who knew she was terrifyingly strong! Even with all of us together, we couldn’t stop her, and she just… jumped out the window.”

“Oh, right,” Orion added, as if just remembering. “She had long, moon-white hair, and she was… very beautiful. It’s just her eyes were too scary, all red and glowing.”

Moon-white long hair.

As soon as these words came out, the Cloud Knight captain’s expression visibly changed.

This characteristic was too obvious.

Throughout the entire Luofu, there was only one wanted criminal who fit this description.

Jingliu.

Could it be that they had stumbled upon the legendary Sword Champion of the Luofu by accident?

The captain’s expression instantly became solemn.

If it really was Jingliu, then the nature of the situation completely changed.

Let alone these few outsiders, even his entire team wouldn’t be enough for her to cut down with one sword.

In that case, their survival… truly was good luck.

He suddenly understood their “slowness” in opening the door. They were probably paralyzed with fear.

Finally, the captain withdrew his gaze, and the tense, accusatory atmosphere relaxed.

“We will verify the situation you described.”

He waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to retreat.

“The Luofu is not peaceful these days. You’d best stay in a safe place and not wander around.”

The captain left these words and then departed with his men, their footsteps heavy and fast.

It wasn’t until their footsteps completely disappeared down the hallway that March 7th finally let out a long breath and plopped down onto the floor.

“You scared me to death… Orion, you’re such a storyteller, aren’t you? I almost believed you!”

Stelle: “Orion, you’re amazing. You sent them away with just a few words.”

Welt pushed up his glasses, walked over to Orion, and praised:

“Orion, well done. That was quick thinking. We owe you a lot just now.”

“It was alright, no big deal.”

Just then, Orion’s phone suddenly vibrated.

He picked it up and saw a message from an unknown number.

The message content was simple, only one sentence.

[Divination Commission, Fu Xuan, wants to meet you.]