Chapter 107: Honkai: Star Rail — The Xianzhou General Wouldn't Dream of a Yandere Chapter 104: Ren: I Waited Bitterly Before the Budd

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Xuan Ge

Inside the Shen Wu Xian Zhou Gong Zao Si, the furnace fire blazed, casting a warm glow over the entire workshop; the clang of metal forging rose and fell incessantly.

Han Guang stood with his upper body naked, his bronze skin speckled with sparks and iron filings, a forging hammer gripped in his hand.

He was forging a sword blank with single-minded focus, following the method his senior brother Ying Xing had taught him; every swing of the hammer was steady and forceful, landing precisely on the critical points of the blank.

As the hammer rose and fell, the outline of the sword blank grew ever clearer, its luster ever more translucent and moist.

Han Guang stopped, looked at the half-finished piece in his hand, and a genuine admiration surfaced on his face; he turned to Ren beside him and said:

"Worthy of Senior Brother indeed; this forging skill — I am ashamed to compare."

Although the final forged product differed little from the style he had figured out on his own.

Ren's method was faster and could greatly reduce the number of failures; every step was precise and clean, displaying the foundation of a top-tier forging master.

Ren stood to one side, clad in dark tight-fitting attire, a faint chill emanating from him; his voice was hoarse and steady, revealing not the slightest pride, merely speaking calmly:

"No need to belittle yourself; Master... Master let you come, and even let that bastard Xuan Ge take a liking to you — you've already proven your talent."

His voice halted; when the four characters "Master Huai Yan" were mentioned, his tone visibly stumbled, a flash of guilt and melancholy darting through his eyes.

Han Guang had long since heard from the side that Master Huai Yan had been searching for him — from the end of the Yin Yue Rebellion until now, a full nearly six hundred years.

That guilt buried deep in his heart surged up quietly at this moment.

He felt guilty toward Master's painstaking nurturing; the outbreak of the Yin Yue Rebellion — he could not escape blame; the impact of that turmoil was too far-reaching:

It forced Jing Yuan to shoulder the heavy burden of the Luofu Xian Zhou alone, exhausting his mind and energy;

It caused Jing Liu to fall into demonic darkness, betraying her original intent;

It drove Xuan Ge onto the ultimate Path of the Hunt; he appears as steady as an ordinary person...

But that faintly emanating air of madness — he, as Xuan Ge's close friend, sees it clearly, yet ultimately cannot persuade him.

Even Ai Li Ou cannot see Xuan Ge's path ahead; he only once sighed that the Aeon of Destruction truly picked up a treasure.

Xuan Ge has been secretly scheming, expanding the Path of the Hunt; that decisiveness and obsession far exceed ordinary imagination.

In Ai Li Ou's script line, Xuan Ge will inevitably bear the Hunt; among them is one where Xuan Ge is indeed the Divine Might General under the Aeon of Destruction Nanuk.

If Xuan Ge carries the Dual Path of Destruction and the Hunt, with his disposition matched to Destruction's playstyle...

I'm afraid the current War of the Gods would be close to ending already...

Han Guang did not perceive the complex emotions in Ren's eyes; hearing him mention the Divine Might General, he immediately laughed, his tone full of admiration:

"Hehe~ I originally thought the Divine Might General would be like Yan Ting Jun described — a general who only knows martial force.

But unexpectedly, the General actually has such far-reaching strategy; the initial conception of all Shen Wu Corps equipment came entirely from the General's hand."

"Uh...." Ren's face flashed a trace of embarrassment at those words; he secretly cursed in his heart.

Yan Ting Jun was right; Xuan Ge is essentially a pure martial general; the flashes of inspiration he usually has are mostly pure trouble.

But for the sake of the good-brother image, he ultimately still told a lie, forcing out the words:

"Xuan Ge's ideas are unconstrained; they seem absurd, yet those ideas are often correct."

Ren's thoughts drifted to the four retired Master Craftsmen under Xuan Ge's command, and a few degrees of acknowledgment rose in his heart.

Although after Han Guang came those four resigned and retired, it cannot be denied that their forging skills were extremely exquisite;

Placed on the Zhu Ming Xian Zhou, or any Xian Zhou, they would be genuine Hundred Forging material.

Even sufficient to hold the post of Da Sui Zhuang — showing Xuan Ge's eye for recognizing and employing people is indeed unique.

Han Guang picked up the sword blank in his hand, fingertips stroking its flawless form and structure, suddenly recalled something, turned to Ren and said:

"Right, Senior Brother; when I set out from the Zhu Ming Xian Zhou, I heard that on the Luofu side, someone seems to be coming over as well."

He frowned and pondered a while, then slowly continued: "Seems to be a very important prisoner.

Hmm~~~ At the time Yan Ting Jun was in the General's Mansion discussing matters with Teacher Huai Yan, I overheard it unintentionally.....

Seems to be a person of the Ming clan; don't know what great crime was committed, but it actually made the Dragon Venerables of all Xian Zhou jointly petition, demanding that prisoner be sent to the Shen Wu Xian Zhou....

Sigh~ Senior Brother, you're widely knowledgeable; do you know who it is?"

Ren had still been woolgathering, but upon hearing the keywords "Luofu," "Ming," "prisoner".....

His eyes instantly widened slightly, the corners of his mouth curling upward uncontrollably, the silence in his eyes replaced by a thread of fanaticism.

"Hehe~~ hehehehehe~!"

A low laugh spilled from Ren's throat, growing louder and louder; the madness in his eyes became ever more obvious, and the aura around him began to turn restless.

Han Guang was startled by this sudden reaction; he hurriedly stepped forward, reached out to steady Ren's shoulder, voice panicked:

"Senior Brother? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Ren took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the wild joy and madness in his heart, patted Han Guang's hand, his voice carrying a barely perceptible tremble.

"You've done me a great favor, hehehe~~ When your child is born, I will teach her forging skills with all my strength, absolutely holding nothing back."

Finished speaking, he said no more, turned and walked out of the Gong Zao Si, leaving Han Guang standing there alone with a baffled face.

A moment later, Han Guang reacted; an excited smile instantly surfaced on his face.

From what Master said, his Senior Brother was once a forging master who shook the Xian Zhou with his name.

Even if only the title of "Hundred Forging" was passed down, his skill far surpasses an ordinary Hundred Forging, even sufficient to hold the post of Da Sui Zhuang.

To have such a powerhouse teach his child with all his strength — for him, it is undoubtedly a heaven-sent boon.

Han Guang did not think deeply about why Senior Brother had such an abnormal reaction, nor did he investigate why he had vanished for so many years.

He simply took it that Senior Brother was in a great mood, turned back, picked up his forging hammer again, and continued forging with single-minded focus; the furnace fire still blazed, and the clang once more resounded through the workshop.

The moment Ren walked out of the Artisanship Commission, the restraint on his face vanished completely, the smile at the corner of his mouth could no longer be suppressed, and he burst into loud laughter:

"Hahaha!! Dan Heng!! I've waited for you so bitterly!!"

The laughter was filled with obsession and wild joy; in an instant, thick black-red qi surged around his body, and bone-chilling killing intent burst forth without reservation.

It swept across the entire area surrounding the Artisanship Commission, causing passing Shen Wu Corps soldiers to turn their heads one after another.

He had waited for this day for far too long, so long that even he himself could almost no longer remember the years.

Ai Li Ou had told him long ago that Dan Heng would come to the Shen Wu Xian Zhou, and now Han Guang's words further confirmed this point.

According to the voyage schedule, in no more than a few days, Dan Heng would arrive!

"Ying Xing Si Zhen, please restrain your qi; otherwise we will have to take you into custody!"

A Shen Wu Corps patrol captain swiftly led his team forward, his expression stern, his tone harsh as he warned.

The Shen Wu Corps has always been impartial and incorruptible; no matter who the other party is, as long as they recklessly release killing intent and disturb order on the Shen Wu Xian Zhou, they will be dealt with according to law, absolutely without leniency.

"Mm." Upon hearing this, Ren slowly reined in the black-red qi and killing intent around his body, the madness in his eyes gradually fading away, returning to his usual composure.

He knew clearly that he could not go berserk in the middle of the street.

If he were really beaten down on the ground by the Shen Wu Corps and then brought before Xuan Ge, he would inevitably be teased by that bastard, and it would delay his important matter of waiting for Dan Heng.

After composing his emotions, Ren turned and walked toward the Stellaron Hunters' residence, his steps hurried, yet the wild joy in his heart had not diminished in the slightest.

It doesn't matter; after returning, slowly venting this obsession pent up for a hundred years won't be too late either.

Dan Heng, this time, you can't run away anymore.