"The reason for doing this might be to prevent internal spies and avoid information leaks."
"It seems the infiltration by internal spies is deep—even the Seat of Divine Foresight might not be safe. Of course, this is just my guess."
"Leon hasn't met up with the Trailblazer trio, which means he's doing his own thing."
[What the heck, I'm here for the livestream to hear this?]
[Hurry and generate power! If you don't, we're all not used to it.]
"I can generate a little less power today."
Ah Xian picks up the Leon figure placed beside her—this is one she custom-made with her wallet power.
She slowly rubs it against her face.
"Know why?"
[Spill it.]
"Last night I made a home-cooked dish that Sichuan-Chongqing people love, and I ate until I was full~~"
"What dish? Stir-fried houttuynia cordata with sweet potato vermicelli."
"Leon is my houttuynia cordata—absolutely delicious..."
[I don't get it...]
Super moderator going crazy: ???
I can damn well understand!
But this is like driving recklessly in Cantonese—can't regulate it.
Because he's also from Sichuan-Chongqing and knows this dish really exists.
Ah Xian glances at the bullet comments and suddenly lets out a mocking laugh.
"Your driving skills are weak, huh? You can't even see me generating power for Leon, yet you're yapping here. Now you know who's the boss, huh?"
[???]
[Oh no, she's born in '98—we can't outplay her!]
"Stop spamming question marks. Continue the plot."
Jing Yuan: "Yanqing, do you recognize this endgame?"
"This... Yanqing is dull and has never seen it." Yanqing honestly shakes his head.
"This endgame is called perpetual checkmate. Such draws usually feature infinite loops."
"Both sides' pieces lock and check each other. If either side tries to break the balance, they will fall into a disadvantage."
Yanqing still doesn't understand, so Jing Yuan doesn't continue questioning or explaining.
He changes the topic to ask about Yanqing's experiences during this time.
After finishing, Yanqing seeks Jing Yuan's opinion on whether to continue pursuing Blade.
He thought Jing Yuan would order him to stop, but unexpectedly, he fully supports it...
Full of joy and preparing to set off, he is called back to take that book with him.
Seeing this, many people's faces flash with smiles again.
Especially when seeing Yanqing's bean-eyed emoji-like expression, the auntie smile evolves into outright laughter.
[Social death.]
[Misunderstood by General Jing Yuan as liking this kind of work—life ends here, right? Sad...]
"General... I can explain..."
"No need to explain. I'm very happy that you have an interest in pursuing new things."
"...My training in a few days won't increase several times, right...?"
"How could it? Remember one thing, Yanqing."
"Please speak, General."
"Rules are made to be broken."
"Huh? Yes, Yanqing will remember it in his heart."
"Mm-hmm, go ahead."
[Trailblazer: Hey, that's my line?]
[I thought the chess segment between Leon and Jing Yuan would be very serious—didn't expect so much fun.]
[Don't care, just love the fun.]
[Don't rush—forgot Leon is injured? The enemy behind the scenes is an Emanator. Guess if there are knives?]
[No no no no no, even if there are, it won't knife Leon.]
[Then... knife March 7th?]
[Get lost! Doesn't exist.]
[Why can't it be sharpening the knife toward Dan Heng? Don't forget the man walking with him—what face is he wearing.]
[Bishop fan enraged: He was rotten enough in Honkai—can't he be a good person in Star Rail?]
"Alright, stop arguing. Pointless. I guarantee no knives."
[What gave you the courage to assert that? Liang Jingru?]
"Jing Yuan gave me the courage."
"Old Yang said the Hunt Aeon's Path is fully open to the Xianzhou Alliance. Even if Hunt isn't strong, an Emanator can maximize power—combat strength isn't weak, right?"
"If the enemy surfaces, Jing Yuan definitely won't stay in the rear."
"Emanator vs. Emanator, plus our Express crew helping—tell me, where do the knives come from?"
"Yarilo already stabbed Leon a few times. The Xianzhou Alliance is strong—definitely a happy big reunion ending."
"If not, punish me by licking Leon's abs and pecs for three days and three nights."
[Snap, abacus beads bouncing on face.]
Yanqing leaves; the cutscene isn't over yet.
Jing Yuan props his cheek, smiling at the chessboard, muttering to himself.
"Starting with the advisor corresponds to the traitor shaping internal chaos—should refer to the suddenly sealed Alchemy Commission grotto-heaven, Disciples of Sanctus Medicus..."
"The horse is the Stellaron Hunters appearing on the Luofu..."
"The cannon, then—the person who brought the Stellaron into the Luofu?"
Players are stunned at first, then listen intently.
With his self-mumbling, many seemingly inexplicable moves in the game reveal their true hidden meanings almost entirely.
Leon had already guessed the current state of the Luofu and accurately predicted the purpose of the Stellaron Hunters' appearance.
Jing Yuan's current guesses align mostly with Leon's thoughts.
This means the meanings Leon wanted to convey were perfectly understood by Jing Yuan.
Further on, Leon commanding the red side, the red chariot piece representing the Rainbow Chariot—causing people to slap the table in amazement.
Rainbow Chariot is the Astral Express—perfect match.
Moreover, Rainbow Chariot can also correspond to Leon and Dan Heng, with double meanings—the second broadly referring to the hidden backup plan.
And the black chariot is the surface chariot—that is, Stelle/March 7th/Welt.
"Leon could even predict this layer..."
"Currently, the only piece I have available is the horse—that is, absolutely loyal people like Yanqing, Fu Xuan, etc."
"But they can't break the stalemate and will ultimately be outside the game."
"This person's scheming is the deepest I've seen in my life. Fortunately, friend not foe—otherwise, it would truly keep one from eating or sleeping in peace..."
"If Fu Xuan had even 40% of his mindset, it would be enough."
"How could I not want to retire and let the worthy take over to enjoy leisure? Sigh... sigh..."
Jing Yuan's sighs of worry make people puzzled yet unable to help feeling sour.
Many don't understand why Jing Yuan sighs.
A minority of lore researchers, like Old Toby, can understand.
"Everyone think: Yanqing, who is young and reckless with actions not yet steady and mature, is already the Luofu's high-end combat power."
"The other leaders of the Six Commissions like Yukong, Fu Xuan, etc., don't seem to have particularly special combat strength."
"Bailu too—facing a few mara-struck, her face shows difficulty, meaning combat power isn't high."
"Combat power like Jingliu's can't be found—severe generation gap."
"Looking at it this way, doesn't Jing Yuan seem like the lone general on the chessboard?"
"Also, Xianzhou Emanators seem inheritance-based—anyone can master the power, but having power without brains obviously won't do."
"Even if the general can be a brute with only power, there at least needs to be a strategist to assist, right?"
"The previous plot already hints that Fu Xuan isn't enough yet."
"So he's sighing in distress that the Luofu lacks an excellent strategist successor like Leon."
"Oh, gotta add armor: the above are conclusions I drew based on characters that have appeared so far—not necessarily accurate, don't spread and cause rhythm."