Chapter 148: The Red Kite's Guidance
Rovel ventured deeper into the cavern alone. A faint, ambient light emanated from somewhere within, and while it couldn't compare to the brightness outside, it was enough to keep the oppressive darkness at bay.
He discovered more stone tablets lining the path, but the ancient script carved into their surfaces was just as indecipherable to him as the first. He had no choice but to carefully record each one with his communicator, sending the video files to Fu Hua for them to analyze together later.
As the fragments of the story came together, a tragic picture began to form. The hero Ji Lin had journeyed to Jiuyou alone, wielding the Xuanyuan Sword to seal the great beast Chiyou. Her husband, Lianshan, guided by a Red Kite bird, had followed her here, desperate to retrieve her remains.
But his search was in vain. For long, agonizing years, Lianshan scoured the depths of Jiuyou and found nothing. Even the Xuanyuan Sword, Ji Lin's final relic, had vanished without a trace.
Ultimately, a broken Lianshan gave up his search. As a final act of devotion, he carved his wife's story into these stone tablets, hoping that future generations would remember her sacrifice. He etched a statue of a Red Kite—the bird Ji Lin had loved most in life—to stand as her eternal companion in the lonely dark. It was the last thing he could do for the woman he loved.
"So, all these tablets were left by that man, Lianshan," Himeko murmured, her voice thick with emotion. It was difficult to fathom the depth of the grief he must have endured.
"But there are no clues about opening the door," she continued, the fire in her voice dimming. "And her remains and the Xuanyuan Sword are both gone." The weight of their dead end settled heavily on her shoulders. Was all this effort going to be for nothing?
"There's still something," Rovel said, offering a comforting smile. "One of the tablets had a line: 'The Red Kite bird guides the path forward.' Let's keep looking ahead."
While they spoke, Fu Hua stood transfixed before the statue of the Red Kite, her expression lost in thought.
"Class Monitor Fu Hua..."
A voice suddenly popped up from below, and Rovel's head appeared directly in her line of sight. The abruptness of it made her jump. He was so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face.
With a sharp, precise movement, Fu Hua took two steps back, re-establishing a proper distance between them.
"Classmate Rovel, please refrain from such jokes," she stated, her tone perfectly even. "Even I am capable of anger."
Despite her words, her face remained a placid mask, without the slightest hint of irritation.
"Sorry, sorry," Rovel apologized, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I just wanted to let you know we should be moving on." He then extended a hand toward her.
Fu Hua glanced at his outstretched hand. Her own fingers twitched, a subconscious habit to push up glasses that were no longer there. Her fingers found only the bridge of her nose.
"I understand," she said, pointedly ignoring his hand. She turned and walked briskly in the direction the stone bird was facing.
A short while later, the trio found their path blocked by a solid wall of rock.
"A dead end?" Himeko asked, turning a confused gaze on Rovel.
Just as the words left her lips, the Xuanyuan Sword in Rovel's hand began to thrum with a powerful resonance. The vibration intensified, and with a sudden, irresistible pull, it yanked him directly toward the stone wall.
It looked for a moment as if he were about to be intimately acquainted with the rock face, but in the next second, his body passed through it as if it were nothing more than mist.
Himeko and Fu Hua rushed to follow, but the wall remained stubbornly solid, blocking their path.
"What's going on?!" Himeko's anxiety spiked. Without a second thought, she drew her greatsword and swung it directly at the stone barrier.
The heavy blade met not rock, but an invisible field of energy that repelled the attack, leaving Himeko staggering back.
"Himeko, calm down." Fu Hua placed a hand on her arm, stopping her from winding up for another strike. "I felt the Xuanyuan Sword drawing in the surrounding Honkai Energy just now. There must be a special array set up here."
Closing her eyes, Fu Hua gathered a small, controlled amount of Honkai Energy into her palm. She then extended her arm toward the wall. Just like with Rovel, her hand, and then her entire body, phased through the stone.
Himeko watched, then followed her example, and soon she too was on the other side.
They emerged into a space so vast it defied comprehension.
"Where was Rovel taken?" Himeko murmured, a headache already forming as she scanned the immense, empty chamber.
"Himeko, look at the ground," Fu Hua advised.
Himeko looked down. The floor was covered in a complex, glowing pattern of lines and symbols. "Are these... Shenzhou hexagrams?" She scratched her head. While she had a passing familiarity with Shenzhou culture, esoteric arts like Qimen Dunjia were far beyond her expertise.
"Yes," Fu Hua confirmed. "This is the Kan Trigram from the Eight Trigrams. I suspect this entire space is a giant maze constructed from them. If we want to find Classmate Rovel, we'll have to break this formation first."
Fu Hua's brow furrowed. She opened her mouth as if to add something more, but after a moment's hesitation, she fell silent.
"Phew... then I'll leave it to you, Fu Hua," Himeko said with a sigh of relief, not noticing her companion's subtle hesitation. She was completely out of her depth here.
"Okay," Fu Hua nodded, her gaze already fixed on the complex patterns at their feet.
Meanwhile, the Xuanyuan Sword had carried Rovel to the very deepest part of Jiuyou.
He steadied himself, brushing non-existent dust from his clothes, and found himself standing before an ancient mural. It depicted a young woman, and he recognized her instantly from the Schicksal database. This was Ji Lin—the legendary ancestor, who, he recalled with some amusement, stood at a mere 1.4 meters tall.
As he watched, a faint light began to shimmer and envelop the mural. In the next second, the figure of Ji Lin seemed to peel away from the wall, stepping out of the painting and into the chamber as a luminous phantom.
Her lips parted slightly, and a voice, clear as a bell, drifted into Rovel's ears.
"Bronya, don't you dare run!"
An exasperated shout echoed from behind. A girl with purple hair gripped the railing of a speeding yacht, looking as if she were about to leap across the water.
"Bronya, speed up! They're catching up!" Kiana yelled, glancing nervously at the enemies closing in on their wake.
"So noisy. This is already full speed..." A vein throbbed on Bronya's forehead. She was clearly displeased, not only having to pilot the yacht but also endure Kiana's constant sonic assault.
Suddenly, the boat's engine sputtered and the vessel began to slow. Bronya glanced at the control panel and calmly stated a heartbreaking fact.
"The Bronya is out of fuel."
"Hmph, watch how this great one tears you trash Valkyries to pieces!" the purple-haired girl shrieked from the pursuing boat. "Especially you, Bronya! Daring to call me a smelly brat, I think you're tired of living!"
"Then what do we do?! They've already caught up!" Kiana grabbed Bronya's shoulders, shaking her frantically.
Bronya had clearly reached her limit. She seized Kiana and, with surprising strength, unceremoniously threw her overboard into the sea.
"Let's go, Sister Mei," Bronya said, turning to the dark-haired girl beside her.
Mei nodded and calmly sat on the extended arm of Project Bunny 19C.
Without a moment's hesitation, Bronya abandoned the yacht and leaped into the water.
Kiana had just managed to poke her head above the surface, sputtering, but before she could utter a single word, Bronya's legs clamped around her neck, dragging her back under.
"Glug glug glug..."
That was the last sound Kiana contributed to the world. For now.
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