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ArabicHonkai Star Rail: My Death Feeds Their Madness — Chapter 11
Chapter 11: He is a Short-Life Species, Unlike You
In a remote, silent corner of the universe, bitter winds swept across a planet entirely devoid of civilization.
The heavy metal hatch of a landed spaceship hissed open, venting a cloud of pressurized air into the desolate atmosphere. Yu Qingtu stepped out at a leisurely pace. Her lazy gaze swept across the barren, rocky landscape before coming to a halt on a slender figure standing at the entrance of an isolated manor just ahead.
“I finally see you coming out of that sterile laboratory of yours,” Yu Qingtu called out, a teasing lilt in her voice. “Did you sense my arrival and come out specifically to welcome me?”
“I merely came out for some fresh air,” Ruan Mei replied. Her expression remained entirely indifferent, her tone flat and devoid of any welcoming warmth.
“I am Genius Society Member Number Fifty-Five, after all. Treating a guest like this is making me lose quite a bit of face.”
“The micro-expressions in your facial muscles indicate you care little for this concept of face,” Ruan Mei noted, her clinical gaze analyzing the other woman. “Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say you care nothing for appearances at all.”
Yu Qingtu sighed, a helpless sound carried away by the cold wind, and decided to shift straight to business.
“Any results from your current research project?”
She was referring to that taboo research. The kind of pursuit that fundamentally desecrated the natural order of life. Humans, in Yu Qingtu’s view, needed to hold reverence for certain boundaries. She had her own deep disagreements with the project, and while she could not claim to hold life in the highest, most sacred regard herself, she drew a line.
At the very least, she would never attempt something so dangerous.
Of course, she was not the type to interfere with the obsessions of others.
“Not yet,” Ruan Mei answered calmly, her eyes fixed on the distant, empty horizon. “I have currently hit a bottleneck.”
“I say, do you plan on standing out here in the freezing wind and talking to me forever?”
“Follow me.”
Ruan Mei turned on her heel and walked back into the manor, leading Yu Qingtu through the winding, quiet halls until they reached the expansive backyard.
Before Yu Qingtu could utter another word, Ruan Mei unbuttoned her lab coat, letting it slip from her shoulders. With practiced, unhurried movements, she shed the rest of her garments until she stood entirely bare in the cool air.
“You have arrived at an opportune time. Fresh pastries will be out of the oven in ten minutes. Bathe first to wash away the dust of your long journey.”
Yu Qingtu’s gaze drifted from the unfamiliar, steaming stone bath to the perfectly curved, pale expanse of Ruan Mei’s naked back.
“I distinctly remember there being no bath out here the last time I visited.”
“I altered the geological structure and the hydrological cycle of this entire continental plate,” Ruan Mei explained, her voice as casual as if she were discussing the weather. “Creating a natural hot spring bath was not a difficult task.”
Testing the water’s surface with the delicate tip of her foot, Ruan Mei stepped slowly into the steaming depths. She sat down gracefully, allowing the warm, mineral-rich water to swallow the alluring curves of her body.
With a casual, sweeping wave of her hand, a hidden mechanism at the edge of the hot spring activated. A vast flurry of delicate plum blossoms drifted out from the opening, scattering like pink snow across the water’s surface.
The rich, refreshing fragrance of plum blossoms gradually filled the enclosed space, masking the sterile scent of the nearby laboratory.
“Like teacher, like student,” Yu Qingtu murmured, a fond smile touching her lips. “That Little Fellow you raised is exactly the same. He is always talking about properly ‘welcoming’ people.”
“He also took you to bathe?” Ruan Mei asked. She immediately looked up, a sudden, dark glint piercing through the usual placidity of her eyes.
“What exactly are you thinking?” Yu Qingtu laughed, waving off the intense stare. “That Little Fellow of yours is so polite and well-behaved it borders on unbearable. He could never do something so forward.”
Still chuckling, Yu Qingtu stepped straight toward the edge of the bath without a shred of hesitation.
The instant her toes breached the surface of the hot spring, her clothes vanished. The fabric decomposed as if the very matter had been dissolved on a molecular level, melting away into nothingness without leaving a single trace behind.
“His personality is as stubborn as a rock,” Yu Qingtu complained lightly, settling into the soothing heat. “Because of our relationship, he has not called me ‘Sister Qingtu’ even once in all these years.”
“Every other word out of his mouth is ‘Senior, Senior.’ It sounds so terribly distant. Why did he not learn from you in this regard?”
“You certainly do not treat me like some revered senior, so there is no issue of a massive generational gap between us. Would it kill him to just call me ‘Sister’?”
The dark depth in Ruan Mei’s eyes slowly faded back into cool indifference.
“People are living creatures, but certain rules must be set in stone. Otherwise, things will inevitably become chaotic,” Ruan Mei stated. “I have taught him those rules, and I have punished him when necessary, so he will not act out of line.”
“…So you really are the culprit behind his rigid manners.”
Yu Qingtu’s look toward Ruan Mei grew complicated, a mix of amusement and mild exasperation.
“A teacher needs to lead by example, ARuan. How about you try calling me ‘Senior’?”
“I am not a member of the Genius Society. Why should I?” Ruan Mei replied, treating the question as a matter of simple logic.
“Does that mean if you do become a member of the Genius Society in the future, you will finally say it?”
“Although I have absolutely no interest in becoming a member of the Genius Society, if that day ever comes, I will say it exactly once.”
“Just once?”
“Besides being seniors and juniors in the academic world, you are also my friend. In our relationship, I believe friendship takes a far higher priority than artificial seniority.”
“I give up on you.”
Yu Qingtu chuckled softly. Her slender fingers plucked a floating plum blossom petal from the water, brushing the soft pink silk along her wet, jade-like arm.
As if suddenly recalling a crucial detail, she looked over at her companion.
“If you truly reach a point where your wisdom can shake the very state of the universe, whether you actually want to be a member of the Society will no longer matter. It will not be up to you.”
“The moment Nous casts Its gaze upon you, there is no turning back.”
“The last seat in the Genius Society is currently Number Seventy-Seven. I have high hopes for you. Here—”
As she spoke, a bizarre, brightly colored drink suddenly materialized in Yu Qingtu’s hand.
“What is this?” Ruan Mei reached out, taking the glass by its slender stem.
The small vessel was filled to the brim with a vibrant pink liquid. It was decorated with strange, unknown grasses, and floating near the rim was something that looked suspiciously like an insect.
An indescribable, sharp scent wafted up to greet her nose.
“I named it Pink Collision. You can drink it, or you can treat it as a new research specimen. The choice is yours.”
“This insect is alive,” Ruan Mei observed, watching the tiny creature twitch against the glass.
“Good eyes. You are a brilliant scientist in the field of life sciences; you wouldn’t be afraid of a little bug, would you?”
Under Yu Qingtu’s highly amused gaze, Ruan Mei raised the glass to her lips and took a slow sip, her expression remaining entirely unchanged.
“Pink Collision… I remember that is the title of one of your favorite pieces of music from the Ancient Amber Era.”
“Exactly right, my friend. So, how does it taste?”
“It is acceptable. Its flavor is no worse than A’Mu’s Plum Blossom Wine,” Ruan Mei evaluated, setting the glass aside on the warm stone edge.
“I certainly will not deny that…”
Yu Qingtu leaned back, resting her arms comfortably along the edge of the bath, her voice filled with high praise.
“It is truly strange. The ingredients and the brewing method of that Little Fellow’s plum blossom dew can be deduced at a single glance, yet neither of us can perfectly replicate that exact flavor. Could his wine have somehow become a Curio?”
“Speaking of the Little Fellow, the two of you have not seen each other in over a hundred years, right? Do you plan to go see him during this break from your research?”
“Do not be fooled by his constant gentle smile and that nonchalant attitude he wears on the surface. He probably misses you quite a bit.”
“I do not,” Ruan Mei answered without a single moment of hesitation.
“He is your only student, and one of the very few people you have spent decades with, day and night. Do you really intend to never see each other again until the day he dies?” Yu Qingtu asked, genuinely struggling to understand the coldness of her friend.
“We will talk about it after my research project is finished,” Ruan Mei said, utterly unmoved by the sentiment.
“He is a Short-Life Species, unlike you. If you bury yourself in this laboratory for another several decades or a century, he will have died of old age long before you emerge.”
“He will not. I have taught him no fewer than ten distinct methods to extend one’s lifespan without suffering any biological side effects.”
“What if he refuses to use them… Tsk, both teacher and student have such impossibly stubborn tempers.”
Halfway through her complaint, Yu Qingtu paused. She suddenly remembered that Kagashi, despite being born a Short-Life Species, had already lived for well over a hundred years. His life must have already been artificially extended through those very methods.
Never mind then.
It was true enough. Aside from that eccentric old fellow Elias Salas, who among ordinary people would ever complain about living a bit longer?
Recalling the strict punishment Ruan Mei had mentioned earlier, and the probing question she had just asked regarding Kagashi… a spark of intense curiosity flashed across Yu Qingtu’s face. She suddenly leaned forward through the steam, causing heavy ripples to break across the water’s surface and scatter the plum blossoms.
“ARuan, the Little Fellow advised you not to continue that taboo research, didn’t he?”
Yu Qingtu thought to herself, Just as I suspected. An expression of genuine disbelief crossed her elegant features. “Just because of a simple disagreement, you drove him away?”
Meeting the older woman’s piercing gaze, Ruan Mei remained entirely silent for a long moment. The steam curled around her pale shoulders before she finally admitted the truth.
“In a way.”
“Was that really necessary?!”
“It was,” Ruan Mei answered, her voice dropping to a chilling, absolute calm. “A’Mu denied my love for my family.”