"Finished watching 'A Flash' too. Is there anything else?" Chen Yue scrolled through the official Honkai: Star Rail account; pretty much everything that was supposed to be released had been released.

Just in Time, his takeout was finished as well. Time to keep grinding the main story!

...

【The scene shifted.】

【The Xianzhou Luofu, The Shackling Prison.】

【Escorted by two Cloud Knight Troopers, a man clad in a long black trench coat slowly walked toward the light.】

【Red Spider Lily patterns were etched onto his coat, and the dark blue hair draped behind him swayed gently with his steps. Bandages wrapped across multiple parts of his body stood out vividly in the shadows.】

【Right in front, Jing Yuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, while his disciple Yanqing sat aside alone, seemingly waiting for him as well.】

【"Yanqing."】

【"Yes, Shogun."】

【"In a moment, take a good look at this man."】

【Yanqing looked up in surprise at the prisoner before him, baffled as to why this man was important enough to warrant the Shogun's personal presence.】

【Once the man came to a stop, Jing Yuan asked in a low voice, "Do you remember me?"】

【"...I do." The man spoke with extreme coldness; even under these circumstances, his slightly raspy voice carried not the slightest tremor.】

【Only when he slowly raised his head did a trace of madness bleed from his blood-red eyes beneath a sculptured countenance: "Of five people, three must pay a price... Jing Yuan, you are not one of them."】

"Tsk, tsk, quite a dangerous man."

Kaku Kaioh remarked with a sigh, "To cultivate such ferocity... he must have killed hundreds, if not thousands of people, right?"

Unexpectedly, these words provoked a burst of loud laughter from Miyamoto Musashi. "Hundreds, thousands... Hahahaha! Have none of you ever truly killed a person?"

As if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, Miyamoto Musashi laughed until tears came out, rubbing his eyes incessantly. "Kaku Kaioh, even if you have practiced martial arts for centuries, how many people have you actually killed? Could it be that your so-called 'principles of fist' haven't even seen blood?"

Facing such mockery, Kaku Kaioh remained calm and composed, keeping an elder's gentle smile on his face. Behind him, however, Retsu Kaioh tensed every muscle and let out a roar like rolling thunder: "Silence! You insolent wretch!"

Miyamoto Musashi looked at him with a grin, only wiping away his smile after a long moment: "I can tell you've never experienced true slaughter, young man... Your gaze is still quite pure."

"Someone who has truly walked the battlefield and experienced countless slaughters would never have eyes like yours."

Though Retsu Kaioh was both furious and aggrieved, he truly had no grounds to refute Miyamoto Musashi's words.

In his youth, Miyamoto Musashi became a ronin and settled in Kyoto, once challenging the Yoshioka School, which was hailed as the 'Number One Dojo in Kyoto.'

After slaying the school master Yoshioka Seijuro in the Ichijoji duel, seventy-six disciples of the Yoshioka clan looking on launched an encirclement to kill Miyamoto Musashi. Yet Musashi killed them one by one, turning the siege into seventy-six consecutive one-on-one duels, ultimately slaying all seventy-six samurai.

This battle made his name renowned across the realm.

"In slaughter, men turn into beasts; they lose their reason and become crazed." Even with four hundred years of Time having passed, Miyamoto Musashi still seemed to reminisce about the thrill that slaughter had brought him.

"If you had cut down hundreds of people like I have, you would understand that the man in black on the light screen has killed far more than just hundreds or thousands."

Miyamoto Musashi closed his Tomoe-shaped eyes. "The people he has killed... are beyond count; even I find it hard to judge. The ferocity and madness in his eyes are somewhat similar to that woman named Jingliu."

"...Yet not quite the same, correct?" Kaku Kaioh suddenly interjected.

"Indeed. My simple guess is—perhaps due to the Mara-Struck condition, Jingliu is consciously suppressing this madness to avoid going on a killing spree... though it is exceedingly difficult to do so."

Miyamoto Musashi opened his eyes and sighed, "But this man is different. He seems to be intentionally indulging the frenzy in his heart, turning madness into a weapon for his slaughter."

——

【"..."】

【In the dream was That person's familiar figure.】

【Accompanied by the shattered Zhili sword in his hand, a nightmare-like voice slowly echoed by Dan Heng's ear.】

【"Of five people, three must pay a price..."】

【The man drew his sword and suddenly pointed with his hand. In a daze, Dan Heng saw a mocking smirk curl up at the corners of his lips: "You—are one of them!"】

【The next moment, the sword point thrust through the air toward him, bone-chilling murderous intent striking him right in the face, causing him to cry out in alarm.】

【"—Ah!"】

【Dan Heng sat up with a start, his chest heaving rapidly. Only after a good while did his tense muscles gradually relax.】

"It seems Dan Heng's psychological issues are quite severe, reaching the point of 'what occupies the mind by day enters dreams by night.'"

Inside the Akisa Bathhouse of Inazuma, Mizuki Yumemi was lying in the steaming hot tub, frowning as she watched the youth tormented by nightmares on the light screen.

"Alright now, he's someone from another world. Even if you wanted to help him, you couldn't, so why not just enjoy the present?" Clad in a bathrobe, Yae Miko teased from the side, "What? Is your Baku occupational hazard acting up again, making you want to fly in and devour the nightmare whenever you see one?"

"As a therapist, patients like him aren't uncommon." Mizuki Yumemi shook her head, tucking a strand of wet hair behind her ear. "Even if I devoured it once, new nightmares would quickly sprout in his heart. When dealing with such patients, rather than treating superficial symptoms, it is better to address the root cause."

"Oh?" Yae Miko's interest was piqued as well, shifting closer to her. "And how would you treat it?"

"Clearly, that black-haired man is Dan Heng's chronic hang-up," Mizuki Yumemi pondered seriously.

"In Times like this, avoidance is the worst option. The two of them must talk face-to-face. Lay everything out in the open—preferably in front of That person, Shogun Jing Yuan. Jing Yuan appears quite impartial; with his judgment, many conflicts might just resolve themselves smoothly."

"Uh..."

Perhaps from soaking too long, Yae Miko wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Mizuki, this therapy of yours... is pretty lethal."

【"Phew... hah..." Dan Heng panted heavily. He looked around; outside the Astral Express window was a vast sea of stars, casting faint glimmers onto the blue tatami of the Archives. All was silent around him, without a single sound.】

【He had that dream again.】

【Just as Dan Heng let out a sigh of relief, the voices of Stelle and March 7th suddenly came from outside the door, urging him to head to the parlor car for the Astral Express meeting.】

【"You go ahead, I'll be right there."】

【Hearing his reply, Stelle and March 7th returned to the car, where Welt and Himeko were already waiting.】

【"Come, the Astral Express route meeting is about to begin." Seeing the two, Welt beckoned them over to Pom-Pom.】

【Although Dan Heng was still running late, Himeko and the others were no longer surprised. Once the rest of the Astral Express crew had gathered, she cleared her throat and announced the start of the meeting.】