She's Your Mom. Would She Really Hurt You?

Just as the group followed Diting to the port, it suddenly stopped and refused to move another inch.

"What's wrong with Diting... could the wind at the port be too strong for it to pick up the scent?"

At that, Diting raised its head toward March 7th. "Awoo~"

"Mm-hmm, it says the wind at the port is fierce, so tracking by scent isn't easy."

"It only made one noise. How did you get all that out of it?" Stelle cast her a puzzled look as she translated the dog's language.

"Using traces to cover up traces... this young lady from the Sky-Faring Commission really does love testing people. Let's look around and see whether she left any other traces nearby."

"Hey, if you ask me, why don't we just ask people whether they've seen her? Much easier, right?"

Hearing Zhang Xiu's suggestion, March 7th nodded in agreement. "Exactly! That's another way to gather information. It shouldn't count as cheating, right?"

"Then let's have a look around. Come on, honey." Zhang Xiu took Yaoshi's hand and walked toward the comedy duo beside the railing.

He had noticed the pair as soon as he entered the port. He remembered their crosstalk being quite funny, but after so long, Zhang Xiu had forgotten almost all of it.

Stelle and the other two scattered as well, asking the other passersby about Tingyun's whereabouts.

When Zhang Xiu and Yaoshi reached them, before he could ask anything, A-Wang spoke in his distinctive accent:

"Well now, you two look like Xianzhou folk, but not quite like us. Brought your daughter out to see the sights?"

A-Lai, the straight man, followed his lead. "Oh, come on. If they've come to us, they must have something to ask."

Their opening exchange already amused Zhang Xiu. "Ha, you two are pretty funny. We're looking for a Foxian. Have you seen her?"

"Well, well! You've asked the right people. Foxians come and go through Starskiff Haven all day long. If there aren't a thousand, there must be eight hundred. The Foxian you're asking about might not be the same Foxian we've seen."

"Certainly not. How about you describe her for us?"

"I took a picture. Have a look and see whether you've seen her." As he spoke, Zhang Xiu took out his phone, asked Stelle for Phantylia's picture, and held it out to the pair.

At the sight of Phantylia, A-Wang's face lit up. "Oh! This young lady, I've seen her before."

"There you go talking nonsense again. I've been standing here with you all this time. When did we ever see her?"

But A-Wang smiled and pointed at Phantylia's picture. "Look at this picture. Though I've never seen her, she's so lovely that I've already made her an old acquaintance in my heart. Today marks our reunion after a long separation."

"You understand now, sir? My partner here is daydreaming."

Zhang Xiu laughed despite his irritation, while Yaoshi shook with laughter like blossoms trembling on a branch.

"You two are deliberately making sport of me, aren't you?"

"Oh dear, we're terribly sorry. We usually perform crosstalk together at Nevernight, the teahouse on the street corner. You've seen how things are-with the Cloud Knights imposing a lockdown, the teahouse can't do any business these next few days. So we thought we'd find an open-air spot to warm up our voices and practice our craft."

A-Lai cupped his hands, his face wreathed in an apologetic smile. "Then you happened to come asking about someone, and I thought I'd show off a little."

"But I really have seen this young lady. Just now, I saw her turn onto Xuanye Avenue. Take a stroll that way. If you hurry, you might still catch her."

"All right, then. You brothers keep practicing here. When I have some time, I'll bring my wife to see your crosstalk."

"You got it! We'll thank you in advance~"

By the time Zhang Xiu and Yaoshi left the comedians, Stelle and the others had gathered their information too, and found Phantylia at the port opposite a snack stall.

"My benefactors have found me. Well? With Diting here, hasn't tracking become much easier? Without further delay, let's set off;

if you find any trace of Kafka at Returnstar Port, activate this little fellow. Whatever you do, don't let her escape." Phantylia gently waved her delicate fan, her alluring foxlike eyes roaming over the five of them.

They still had to take a starskiff to Returnstar Port. Once aboard, Zhang Xiu took the opportunity to lower his voice and suggest to Stelle, "Hey, why don't you just message Kafka directly and ask where she is?"

The starskiff's interior was actually a small pocket realm with plenty of room, so they didn't have to squeeze together, and no one heard their conversation.

"But I don't think I have her contact info... let me look. Huh, I actually do?"

Looking at Kafka's account in her phone's friend list, Stelle tentatively sent her a message:

"You there? Where are you?"

Almost instantly, "The other party is typing..." appeared on her phone, and Stelle's face brightened.

Then Kafka's reply arrived. "At Returnstar Port. Have you arrived?"

The invitation to walk straight into her trap made Stelle sense something was wrong. She immediately turned to Zhang Xiu and whispered, "Is she trying to ambush us?"

"Oh, come on. She's your mom. Would she really hurt you? Don't worry."

"Zhang Xiu, is she... really my mother?" Seeing his utter confidence, Stelle couldn't help wavering.

Could Zhang Xiu have actually been serious before?

The smile on Zhang Xiu's face stiffened a little. "Uh... yes and no. But didn't she say it herself? You can call her Mom, so just think of her as your mother."

Thoroughly hoodwinked, Stelle blinked her innocent eyes. "Well... all right..."

Returnstar Port, the area where starskiffs were developed and built, had now been forced to cease operations because of the Stellaron crisis.

"'The river of stars turns through the night, bearing stars home; clouds flow through silver waters, echoing their song...' Those were a poet's words describing Returnstar Port's bustling shipbuilding days." Phantylia sighed, then turned toward the group.

"All travel within and beyond the Luofu depends on starskiffs. With Returnstar Port's production lines cut off, navigation inside and outside the Xianzhou will likely have to stop for a while." She rested one hand on her hip, sounding half-complaining, half-content.

"Ah~ well, that's fine too~ It'll spare this little lady the work of accompanying diplomatic delegations."

Seeing her behave this way, March 7th looked puzzled. "Miss Tingyun, you don't seem worried about the Xianzhou at all?"

Of course she isn't worried. She's Phantylia, after all.

As Zhang Xiu thought this, a chill crept into his gaze as he looked at Phantylia, though his mask kept the others from noticing anything unusual.

The mere mention of the title Lord Ravager inevitably called to mind countless destroyed civilizations and lost lives.

That set Zhang Xiu's mind working. Although the Phantylia here was only an avatar, dragging her true body over would be no problem with Yaoshi's immense power.

Could he seize this opportunity to bring down this Lord Ravager in one stroke?

But that would inevitably affect the main storyline. After all, during the later Wardance, it was Phantylia who incited the Borisin to come to the Luofu to rescue their warhead, Hoolay.

That, in turn, led to Feixiao receiving Lan's gaze and being granted a weapon afterward.

Thinking of this gave Zhang Xiu a headache. Before he transmigrated, Honkai: Star Rail's story had only just reached the confrontation with Finality in Dual-Phase Paradise.

If he killed Phantylia now, how far would the repercussions reach? What changes would it bring? He had no idea.

But before long, Zhang Xiu had finished weighing it all:

...Heh. Whatever causes and consequences follow, I'll bear them all on my shoulders.