Chapter 213: Nanook: Lan, You're a Good Seed for Destruction
While Stelle, Caelus, and Welt remained inside the grand halls of the Sky-Faring Commission to assist with the bureaucratic fallout, Leon slipped away. He strolled out into the open courtyard, enjoying the gentle breeze of the Xianzhou Luofu.
"Sir, please wait—"
A soft, hesitant voice called out from behind. Leon paused. A knowing smile tugged at the corners of his mouth before he turned around. Qingni stood a few paces away, her hands nervously clasped together.
"Thank you all for your help with the Xianzhou Luofu..." The young Foxian lowered her head, her fox ears drooping slightly. "I apologize for making a scene earlier. I am truly sorry."
Qingni's tone carried genuine sincerity, yet a subtle undercurrent of lingering grievance betrayed her true feelings. Her tail twitched restlessly behind her.
Even though frustration still simmered in her chest over her mother's overbearing interference, the cool air outside the commission had calmed her down. Doubt gnawed at her. Had her rebellious outburst just caused Yukong to lose face in front of these important off-world guests?
"Friction between parents and children is the most common thing in the universe. Don't sweat it. I understand." Leon chuckled, his posture relaxed and entirely unbothered.
"Have you... also experienced something similar?" Qingni lifted her gaze. Her amber eyes lit up with a sudden spark of hope, looking at him as if she had just stumbled upon a kindred spirit in a vast desert.
She had convinced herself that no one in the entire Luofu would ever understand her choice to fly. To find this composed, enigmatic visitor empathizing with her plight felt like a lifeline.
"That is great—ah, wait, I did not mean it like that!" She waved her hands frantically, her cheeks flushing. "I just mean... I have finally met someone who actually understands me."
Her initial hesitation melted away, replaced by a surge of youthful excitement. Her tone brightened considerably. "I have already passed my Coming-of-Age ceremony. I am an adult now. I should have the absolute freedom to pursue my own dreams, right?"
"But Mom still treats me like a fragile child. She always wants to keep me sheltered under her wings, as if I would instantly shatter the moment I step outside without her protection." She pursed her lips. Her expression shifted into a complex mix of stubborn defiance and deep-seated helplessness.
"If you do not mind a little unsolicited perspective," Leon said, his tone carrying a dry, amused edge. "I will show you a little video."
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. A holographic light screen materialized out of thin air, projecting a crisp, glowing image between them.
Qingni leaned in, her curiosity piqued. The footage flickered to life, instantly plunging them into a chaotic, raging battlefield. Smoke choked the skies, and amidst the devastation, a younger Yukong knelt on the scorched earth, desperately clutching a blood-soaked Foxian in her arms.
Qingni froze. Her breath hitched in her throat. That bloodied figure... there was something hauntingly familiar about her. Was this some sort of Matrix of Prescience divination? A glimpse into a terrible future?
Before she could process the gruesome scene, the sky above the battlefield tore open. A colossal, divine entity manifested in the starless void, radiating an overwhelming, blinding light.
"The Reignbow Arbiter!" Qingni gasped in a hushed, reverent whisper. Her eyes remained glued to the floating screen, completely captivated by the sheer scale of the projection.
She was so entirely absorbed by the holographic display that she failed to notice the subtle rustle of fabric behind her. Yukong had quietly stepped out of the Sky-Faring Commission's grand doors moments ago. The Helm Master now stood completely silent, her gaze locked onto the very same projection over her daughter's shoulder.
The projection continued its relentless playback. High above the carnage, the Reignbow Arbiter drew back a massive, ethereal bowstring, bending the weapon into the shape of a full moon.
"To the Reignbow Arbiter, crushing enemies is as simple as breathing."
The voice echoing from the light screen belonged to Yukong, though it sounded hollow, stripped of its usual commanding authority.
The camera perspective swept through the thick, suffocating smoke of the warzone, panning down until it settled intimately on the younger Yukong's ash-streaked face.
"Then... what does our sacrifice count for?" the recorded Yukong whispered, her voice trembling with despair.
The deep, steady voice of General Jing Yuan smoothly took over the narration. "Facing Abominations of Abundance several times our number... nearly a million starskiff pilots fought to the death. Fewer than a hundred thousand left the battlefield alive."
The visual shifted, cutting to the present day. It lingered on the solemn, heavy expressions of Jing Yuan, Fu Xuan, and young Yanqing.
"Under the absolute power of an Aeon..." The recorded Yukong closed her eyes, shaking her head with deep sorrow. "...the sacrifices of mortals are like a cruel joke. As light and meaningless as dust."
Standing in the physical courtyard, the real Yukong felt a violent shudder rack her body. Goosebumps erupted along her arms. Those exact words, that exact crushing sentiment—those were the darkest, most closely guarded thoughts she had buried deep within her heart. She had never spoken them aloud to a single living soul. Yet here, projected by this mysterious outworlder, her innermost trauma was laid bare.
Suddenly, a translucent chat interface overlaid the corner of Leon's projection, scrolling with cosmic commentary.
[Aha: @Lan look at the spectacular job you have done! Look at how you have utterly shattered your own follower's faith! Ahahaha!]
[Yaoshi: Exactly... the methods employed are far too cruel. How can you treat your devoted children this way?]
[Lan: @Yaoshi... Send your coordinates.]
[Nanook: I did not expect this from you, Lan. You are a remarkably good seed for Destruction.]
[Lan: Scram.]
[Fuli: Light Cone recorded - "Nanook: Lan, You're a Good Seed for Destruction."]
The chat faded, and the main projection shifted once more. The real Yukong's pupils constricted into tiny slits. Her breath caught. The scene had violently yanked her back to that accursed war. Back to the exact moment she knelt in the dirt, cradling the broken body of her wingman. It was the one memory she had spent decades trying to lock away.
"Rescue is coming soon... just keep your eyes open!" The younger Yukong on the screen screamed, her voice cracking as tears carved tracks through the grime on her face. "Qingni is still waiting for you at home!"
She pressed her hands desperately against the fatal wounds. "Guangyuan is already gone! Qingni cannot lose you too! Wake up, Caiyi! Please! Caiyi...!"
Hearing her own agonizing sobs echoing through the quiet courtyard, the real Yukong finally broke. Hot tears spilled over her eyelashes, tracing silent paths down her cheeks. It was in the fires of that very battle that her closest confidant, her sky-bound partner, had left her behind forever. Caiyi was not just her inseparable best friend; she was Qingni's biological mother.
The audio shifted to an internal monologue, Yukong's older, weary voice narrating over the tragedy.
"That was the most beautiful sky I have ever seen..."
The camera panned up from the corpse to the blinding, divine light of the Reignbow Arbiter.
"But I only felt an unbearable, suffocating sadness."
The scene faded to black.
"I could only be like a damned ant... crawling helplessly on the earth... trapped in my own nightmares."
"The real me died on that day."
Tears continued to stream freely down Yukong's face, her usual stoic facade entirely shattered.
A few steps ahead of her, Qingni stood paralyzed. "So... this is Mother's past..."
The young Foxian stared blankly at the fading light and shadow. "Is this the real reason she refuses to let me become a starskiff pilot?" she whispered, her voice trembling. The heavy realization crashed over her. She was finally beginning to understand the suffocating weight behind her adoptive mother's strictness. However, understanding the trauma did not automatically equate to accepting the cage it built.
The holographic screen flickered again. This time, Qingni saw her own face appear in the footage, looking older, more resolute.
"But... Mom..." The projected Qingni spoke, her chin raised in defiance. "I am not afraid of walking the exact same path she did."
The camera zoomed in on her unwavering amber eyes. "If my sacrifice... can buy the safety and well-being of the Xianzhou people..."
"Then I am more than willing to die a heroic death."
The real Qingni's eyes widened in sheer shock. That was undeniably her own voice. And those heavy, fatalistic words... they were the exact sentiments she had rehearsed in her head a thousand times, the ultimate declaration she had always wanted to scream at Yukong but never found the courage to say.
Standing in the shadows behind her, Yukong gazed at the side of Qingni's face. Watching the raw astonishment and quiet agreement wash over her daughter's features, a painful realization struck the Helm Master. Those were not just lines from a fabricated future. They were Qingni's absolute, obvious true feelings.
"I know you have been ready for a very long time," the Yukong in the video replied, her voice laced with an exhausting amount of sorrow. "But... I have not been ready yet. I never will be."
The projected Yukong let out a soft, broken sigh. The scene abruptly cut to a chaotic skirmish—the exact moment a squad of Cloud Knights broke through enemy lines to rescue a cornered Qingni from a pack of snarling Abominations.
The audio snapped back to a fierce argument between mother and daughter.
"Talent?" the recorded Yukong snapped, her voice sharp with panic and anger. "If it were not for those two outsiders intervening, you would already be dead!"
The camera focused on Yukong's furious, terrified face. "When you stole that starskiff and flew into the sky, you felt so incredibly happy, right? So free?"
She stepped closer, her voice dropping into a desperate hiss. "What about when you were surrounded by those monsters? As they closed in, did you ever stop to think... if you were gone, how I would feel?"
"So many people in the Luofu would kill for a stable, safe desk job within the Sky-Faring Commission. You promised me. You promised me you would do it well." The Yukong in the projection grew increasingly agitated, her hands trembling as the pent-up terror of almost losing her daughter spilled out.
The intense argument faded, replaced once again by the calm, authoritative narration of General Jing Yuan.
"The Yukong of back then was absolutely nothing like the woman she is today."
The visual split into two. On one side, the current Yukong sat buried behind a massive desk, looking withered and fatigued by endless mountains of paperwork. On the other side, a younger Yukong soared through the clouds, her expression wild and utterly free.
"Her true nature was like a raging wildfire. Like a gale that simply refused to stop blowing," Jing Yuan's voice echoed through the light and shadow. "If you were to ask who in the entire universe could ever make her quiet down... it was only that specific comrade-in-arms."
The stark contrast between the two eras played out in a rapid montage. The present-day Helm Master, grounded and chained to her bureaucratic duties, juxtaposed against the high-spirited ace pilot of the past. Leon even allowed a small, stylistic Easter egg to slip into the projection—the younger Yukong sprinting forward, using her unique movement technique to leave a trail of brilliant, light-blue afterimages in her wake.
The rapid flashes slowed, finally settling on a deeply gentle, quiet memory. The younger Yukong sat on a sunlit terrace, her fingers affectionately stroking the frame of a beautifully crafted kite.
"The rain has just cleared up today. It is the absolute perfect weather for flying!" a cheerful voice called out from off-screen.
"Did you miss me terribly?"
Yukong looked up, a radiant, unburdened smile breaking across her face. "Hehe, yeah. I missed you to death."
She leaned back, looking up at the endless blue sky. "Without you flying as my wingman, I swear it feels like the entire galaxy has shrunk by a whole circle..."
The memory played out in full color. Yukong was practically glowing with boundless energy, acting playfully spoiled and entirely relaxed in Caiyi's presence.
Qingni's jaw slightly parted. She had never, in her entire life, imagined that her eternally strict, dignified, and emotionally distant adoptive mother possessed such a vivid, carefree, and openly affectionate side.
Standing in the real world, Yukong listened to the bright, musical cadence of her younger self. Watching the phantom projection of her laughing freely alongside her best friend, the heavy tear stains on her cheeks were still fresh, yet the corners of her mouth inadvertently curled upward into a fragile, nostalgic smile.
The past... it had been so incredibly beautiful.
But the warmth was brutally short-lived. The projection violently shifted back to the scorching, blood-soaked sea of fire.
"...Thank you." Caiyi's voice was nothing more than a wet, ragged gasp as she lay dying in Yukong's arms.
"My life... it has been very good..."
Blood bubbled past her lips as she reached up, her trembling fingers gripping Yukong's uniform.
"But please... do not let Qingni... walk this path..."
Her grip tightened, fueled by the desperate, final adrenaline of a dying mother.
"Do not let her..."
Her eyes began to glaze over, staring up at the smoke-choked sky.
"Become..."
"A starskiff pilot..."
With that final, agonizing plea, Caiyi expended the very last ounce of her strength, leaving her ultimate wish as a heavy, unbreakable chain around Yukong's soul.
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