Chapter 129: As Expected of Leon the Pillow
"Caelus, Stelle, March, where are you? I'm coming to rendezvous with you."
Having just arrived on the Xianzhou Luofu, Dan Heng sent a message to the Astral Express family group chat.
However, a strange thing happened: the message failed to send.
It simply wouldn't go through. The network was restricted, yet some of his other functions were still working normally...
Dan Heng's brow furrowed in thought as he broke into a run, his long coat trailing behind him. The architecture, the scent of ancient wood and incense in the air... it was all just as he remembered. Almost nothing had changed since the day he'd left.
Seeing the familiar, winding paths, a silent thought surfaced in his mind.
'In my memories of the Luofu, aside from the darkness... there was only this place.'
A self-deprecating smile touched Dan Heng's lips for a fleeting moment.
As he rounded a corner, his steps faltered. He was surprised to see a familiar, silver-haired figure leaning against a wall.
"Yo, Dan Heng. You really did come down here." Leon greeted him with a lazy, confident smile.
The journey to the Divination Commission with Qingque and Fu Xuan had been a bit of a bore. Leon figured there'd be more fun to be had with Luocha and Sushang, so he'd decided to slip away and come over first. As for Aha... he'd simply left a phantom behind. It was highly unlikely that either Qingque or Fu Xuan would notice the difference.
"Wait..."
Dan Heng's gaze sharpened, and his spear, Cloud-Piercer, materialized silently in his hand, its tip humming with latent power. "Who are you? Leon just said he was accompanying the Grand Diviner to the Divination Commission. It's impossible for you to be here."
"Hey, can't a guy guess you might be over here and come specifically to check?" Leon raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in his eyes. "What, you don't believe me?" He deliberately elongated his tone, his voice dropping into a teasing drawl. "...my cold-faced little azure dragon?"
Dan Heng's expression remained unchanged, his grip on the spear shaft tightening. The silence that followed was heavy with suspicion.
"Still don't believe me? Then how about this..." Leon suddenly raised a hand, covering the lower half of his face. His voice shifted, dropping into a low, familiar, almost crazed tone that was chillingly recognizable. "Of five people, three must pay the price..."
"Enough!" Dan Heng cut him off instantly, a vein throbbing at his temple. "I believe you. You're Leon."
For a split second, he had truly caught a glimpse of Blade's terrifying shadow superimposed over Leon... The notion was absurd, yet it sent a genuine chill down his spine.
"You're giving in already? I could've acted out a few more lines," Leon said, lowering his hand with an air of theatrical regret.
Seeing that look of unfinished mischief on his face, Dan Heng was completely convinced. This was, without a doubt, the real Leon.
"You left your friends at the Divination Commission to come here alone... won't there be trouble?" Dan Heng asked, finally allowing Cloud-Piercer to dematerialize. His tone, however, was still laced with doubt.
"Don't worry~" Leon draped an arm over his shoulder with an easy smile. "They're very capable."
He paused, then added with a shrug, "Besides, it's not like they're going to tear down the Divination Commission."
Dan Heng fell silent.
'Wait, is that the point?' he thought, bewildered. Shouldn't the normal concern be, "The Divination Commission won't give them a hard time"? And why did "being invited" suddenly escalate to "destruction"? After all, under normal circumstances, arrests were the Cloud Knights' job. If they were to be detained, they'd be taken to the Shackling Prison, not the Divination Commission. A trip to the Divination Commission usually meant... divination. Or perhaps, interrogation?
Before Dan Heng could sort out the tangled logic, a clear, sharp rebuke echoed from the alley ahead.
"Stay put on the side! Leave the rescuing to the professionals!"
It was a young woman's voice, crisp and decisive, imbued with the unique vitality of youth.
Dan Heng's expression sharpened, and he immediately strode forward. Leon followed with an amused smile, his interest piqued.
Turning the corner, they saw a young woman with a high ponytail, dressed in moon-white silk martial arts attire. She held a greatsword at the ready, confronting several grotesque, Mara-Struck monstrosities. Standing behind her, seemingly under her protection, was a blond man carrying a rather conspicuous black coffin on his back.
The girl's sword flashed, a blur of silver as she engaged the Mara-Struck in a fierce battle.
Seeing this, Dan Heng wasted no words. Cloud-Piercer lunged out like a striking dragon, its tip aimed precisely at an opening in the enemy's defense.
Leon, meanwhile, stood leisurely to the side, looking every bit the interested spectator.
"The two of you are fighting so hard to save me. How could I, Luocha, just stand by and 'stay put'?" the blond man spoke gently. A soft, green light bloomed from his fingertip, striking the girl with pinpoint accuracy just as she failed to dodge an attack, healing the wound before it could even fully form.
Although the trio's coordination was rusty at best, they managed to quickly dispatch the few Mara-Struck.
"Are you two... no, three, alright?" the girl asked, sheathing her greatsword. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and offered them a bright, relieved smile.
"Young lady, your skills are impressive," Leon said, applauding lightly.
"Hehe, you're too kind!" The girl scratched her head, a bit embarrassed. "I am Cloud Knight Sushang, just transferred from the Yaoqing." She then turned to the blond man, her tone a mixture of reproach and concern. "I told you not to intervene! Swords don't have eyes. What if you got hurt?"
Luocha's expression was one of perfect innocence. "If I hadn't acted just now, young lady, it would have been you who got hurt."
Sushang's cheeks flushed a faint pink. He was right. If not for his timely assistance, she would have indeed been wounded.
She coughed lightly and quickly changed the subject. "This area is under martial law, and I'm currently evacuating the public. Follow me, and I'll take you to a safe place." Her gaze fell on Dan Heng, and she asked with open curiosity, "Your Cloud-Piercer technique is quite good. Which unit are you from?"
Dan Heng silently shook his head.
"Alright, so you're civilians too." Sushang looked from him to Leon, then suddenly tilted her head. "Come to think of it, it's strange... I feel like you two look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?"
"I'm not particularly talented, but I do occasionally make videos. I also made a game," Leon offered with a friendly smile.
"Oh...!" Sushang's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands together in a flash of recognition. "I remember! Your name is... Leon, right? That 'Rail' game you made is so fun! Your videos are really interesting, too!"
She looked at Dan Heng, her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried hard to recall his name. "Then this must be Dan... Dan..."
"Dan Heng," he supplied calmly.
Leon and Dan Heng exchanged a glance, a moment of silent, shared understanding passing between them.
"My name is Leon," Leon smiled, gently correcting her. "And the game is called Honkai: Star Rail."
"Yes, yes, yes! Leon, Honkai: Star Rail!" Sushang wasn't embarrassed at all and laughed heartily. "Look at my memory!"
Leon's gaze then shifted to Luocha, who had been standing quietly to the side. His smile deepened slightly. "Mr. Luocha, that coffin... is truly striking. Isn't it heavy to carry around all the time?"
"Inside is a deceased person with whom I had a brief acquaintance," Luocha replied, gently stroking the polished wood of the coffin. His tone was soft, almost reverent. "Entrusted by them, I am here to return this coffin to the Xianzhou for burial."
"I see..." Leon nodded, his tone light and slow, yet each word was laden with unspoken meaning. "I thought... it might be filled with something special. Like a Stellaron, for instance. Or, perhaps, if one were to open it, there might be a person hidden inside."
'Kids, Luocha is actually Otto Apocalypse, a follower of Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance,'Leon thought to himself, his mind racing through the lore he knew.'Inside this coffin... initially, it contained a Stellaron. After he offloaded it, he used it to hide Jingliu. At this point in the timeline, Jingliu is sneaking into the Xianzhou inside Luocha's coffin. Later, it will be swapped with a branch from the Ambrosial Arbor, a remnant of Abundance... Oh, right, and when Luocha met Ruan Mei before this, it supposedly contained Tingyun.'
Of course, these were all just puzzle pieces guessed at by players in his past life.
But for the Leon of this moment...
He could clearly "see" it. Lying inside the coffin, with hair like frost and eyes closed in peaceful rest, was none other than the legendary swordmaster, Jingliu.
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