I Want Freedom! I Don't Want to Be a Judge! (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Follow-ups)

In the first level of the Imprisonment Court, interrogation room number three, Dan Lei obediently waited for Hanya to finish her questioning setup. Then, without waiting for her to ask, he deliberately answered preemptively, tossing out the light cone "[Ghost King's Malice]" and saying, "This is the evidence. Light cones are crystallized memories."

Hanya picked up the light cone, carefully discerning its authenticity, and then said with a serious expression, "The technology for creating light cones is a top secret of the Flowing Light Memory Court. How did you learn it?"

To this question, Dan Lei answered with a mix of truth and falsehood, "I think everyone in the universe might have been fooled by the people of the Flowing Light Memory Court. I don't know any light cone creation techniques; this thing formed on its own.

My guess is that there's no such thing as light cone manufacturing technology. Light cones are just a byproduct of the Memory Holders salvaging memories."

Hanya knew through the formation array in the room that he was telling the truth. She felt something was off but couldn't find any grounds for doubt, as the Xianzhou had no idea how light cones were actually made.

And Dan Lei wasn't lying. The part about light cones being a byproduct of the Memory Holders salvaging memories was a guess, and he had stated it clearly.

The fact that he didn't know any light cone creation techniques and that the light cone "[Ghost King's Malice]" formed on its own were both true statements.

Thus, Hanya asked with a serious expression, "What is sealed within this light cone? Judging by its effect, did you obtain the memory of an Abundance fiend?"

To this question, Dan Lei shook his head and said, "I didn't obtain the memory of this monster, but rather learned a story..."

Afterward, Dan Lei recounted the story of the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons to Hanya.

Hanya spent her days using dream divination to judge the sins of those afflicted by Mara-struck, experiencing only pain. Furthermore, she had personally experienced the battle where the Cangcheng Xianzhou was devoured by the living planet [World-Devouring Rahu].

Therefore, Hanya felt nothing about the story Dan Lei told of a remote planet's (in her opinion) Abundance fiend battling the local inhabitants.

However, judging by the strength of the light cone "[Ghost King's Malice]," Hanya could discern that the fiend's combat power in life should not have been weak. It was indeed commendable that these natives, who hadn't even left their planet, could defeat it.

Moreover, Hanya could sense that Dan Lei's breathing had become unusual. It seemed he had learned the Breathing Technique invented by those natives in his story to fight the Abundance fiend, based on the records in the memory.

To be honest, the mere fact that Dan Lei salvaged a memory from the Sea of Memories from some unknown remote planet was not a major issue. Let alone the Ten Lords' Commission, even the Earthly Balance Department wouldn't interfere.

It was like someone scooping a ladle of water from the sea at the Alchemy Commission; it wasn't illegal.

On the Luofu, it was illegal to use this method to pry into the Luofu's secrets.

This was akin to sailing a ship to the surface of the Scaled Abyss and attempting to scoop up a Sustainer Egg from the seabed.

The Chizuru Clan would absolutely fight to the death with any salvager.

The Luofu wasn't entirely ignorant of memory salvaging techniques either. The dream divination technique Hanya used was remarkably similar to memory salvaging.

However, this technique subjected Hanya to a massive influx of Mara-struck karmic information, making her feel a sense of ennui towards all worldly matters.

But Dan Lei, as a Pathstrider who had been glimpsed by [Fuli], seemed to be able to withstand the wear and tear of memories in his current state.

However, the most crucial issue wasn't whether Dan Lei would prematurely wear down to the point of needing to shed scales and reincarnate, but rather that no one could guarantee that Dan Lei wouldn't randomly salvage a secret of the Luofu the next time he delved into the Sea of Memories.

The ability to salvage memories was considered a dangerous ability requiring reporting precisely because of this.

Just as Dan Lei had predicted, Hanya couldn't make a judgment on Dan Lei's memory salvaging ability at the moment.

To prohibit Dan Lei from salvaging memories would be to cut off his path forward on the Destiny of Memory, which was against regulations.

It was like a person who could create counterfeit money that passed through a bill detector with their exquisite artistic skill; until they actually counterfeited money, no one could arrest them.

But to simply complete Dan Lei's report and let him go, Hanya felt that if Dan Lei were to uncover some earth-shattering secret in the future, she couldn't bear the responsibility.

Therefore, even though Hanya was the Judge responsible for the "Interrogation" aspect among the Ten Lords' Commission's "Detention, Imprisonment, Punishment, and Interrogation," she still needed to report it.

Consequently, Dan Lei could only wait for the outcome in the Ten Lords' Commission.

Fortunately, Dan Lei was not a criminal. He was not under guard and was even allowed to roam freely on the first level.

So, Dan Lei went to the Imprisonment Court's head clerk, Dan Bi, to read books.

Actually, with Dan Lei's current status, he wasn't qualified to wander around Dan Bi's area.

The Imprisonment Court's archives were a sensitive area, containing the information of all prisoners.

But Dan Lei had good connections within the Imprisonment Court. Dan Bi, as the head clerk and a fellow member of the Chizuru Clan, knew too many secrets and could never leave the Imprisonment Court.

So, when Dan Lei first entered the Imprisonment Court for official duties, she had specifically come to remind the then-young Dan Lei to curb his curiosity.

For low-ranking prison guards, the less they knew about the Imprisonment Court's secrets, the easier it would be for them to leave in the future.

And with nothing to do, Dan Bi, as a senior, gave Dan Lei many non-confidential books to broaden his knowledge. She also gave him the publicly available cultivation method for the Cloud Chant Technique within the Chizuru Clan.

As a result, Dan Lei became a regular visitor to the archives.

He also reciprocated the favor to this fellow clan member, his senior, by visiting her from time to time and bringing her small, non-infringing toys.

Like this time, when Dan Lei voluntarily "confessed" to having a dangerous ability, Dan Bi directly advised Dan Lei that if the Ten Lords and the General were to arrange for him to be a candidate Judge in the Ten Lords' Commission later, he could directly seek help from the Dragon Master Council.

The ability to excavate memories was something the Dragon Master Council had always craved, and they would definitely protect Dan Lei.

Although doing so would make it difficult for Dan Lei to escape the Dragon Master Council's influence, it was still better than spending his life in this Imprisonment Court.

Dan Lei took Dan Bi's words to heart.

Honestly, it wasn't impossible for the Ten Lords and the General to assign Dan Lei as a candidate Judge in the Ten Lords' Commission. Because Dan Lei could salvage memories and was very familiar with the people in the Imprisonment Court, he was practically the perfect successor to Hanya, the Judge of "Interrogation."

And Hanya would definitely recommend me, because she's already very tired. If Xueyi, her only connection, weren't still around, she would have wanted to leave this world long ago.

If Dan Lei, someone she knows inside and out, could inherit her position, she would absolutely support it with both hands.

It's just that Dan Lei wants freedom and doesn't want to be a Judge.

Don't look at how high the treatment for Ten Lords' Commission Judges is; being a Judge is a last resort for Dan Lei. Unless Dan Lei one day feels he's reached his limit and truly can't handle the Star Rail Universe, he'd rather sneak away than be stuck here.

However, just as Dan Lei was contemplating how to break it off with Hanya and make her give up the idea of him inheriting her position, a knock came from the door of the archives, followed by a weak voice.

"Excuse... excuse me, is Mr. Dan Lei here? Miss Hanya asked me to relay a message. The General has arrived and requests Mr. Dan Lei return to the third interrogation room as soon as possible."

Based on the copy for Xueyi's Character Story 3 and Hanya's Character Story 3, the battle that led to Xueyi's true body's death was the one where the Xianzhou "Cangcheng" was devoured by the living planet "World-Devouring Rahu."

Xueyi's story mentions Teng Xiao summoning a divine monarch to kill Shu Tu once.

But the copy here has a slight conflict with other sources.

"Cangcheng" was devoured by the living planet "World-Devouring Rahu" in Star Year 6300.

However, in Jingliu's Companion Mission, it's clear that Teng Xiao was still alive during the Luofu's Shu Tu rebellion, and it was he who sent Dan Feng to the front lines.

This was already Star Year 7379.

This means that even if Teng Xiao had just become a General on "Cangcheng," he would have been a General for over a thousand years.

This contradicts Jing Yuan's Character Story 2, which states, "Few Cloud Cavalry Generals can last more than a hundred years after taking office."