Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 424 The Out-of-Control Movement

The smell of disinfectant filled my nostrils, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the familiar ceiling and was covered by the standard infirmary blanket.

After a brief, intimate contact, Qiong's upper and lower eyelids slowly opened. Soon, he could see everything around him clearly: the St. Freya Academy infirmary, and his gray-haired younger sister, who was dozing off by the bedside.

A little further away, on a chair, Mei was sitting, but she was clearly not sitting comfortably—after all, Kiana was sleeping soundly with a drool next to her…

"what……"

Qiong tried to move, and immediately felt dizzy and lightheaded.

His yawn startled Xing awake.

"elder brother?"

Xing immediately opened her eyes and saw that Qiong had woken up. A look of surprise flashed in her eyes. She immediately got up and quickly walked to the bedside.

"Brother, you're awake?"

"Hmm... Dead Grey Hair is awake?"

Kiana rubbed her eyes and looked up. When she saw that Sora had opened her eyes, a relieved smile immediately appeared on her face.

"that……"

Qiong glanced out the window; it was already dark.

"How long have I slept?"

"About half a day."

Mei poured a glass of warm water, and together with Hoshi helped Sora sit up, then held the glass to his lips.

"Qiong, have some water first. How are you feeling? Is there anything else that's bothering you? The teachers have already checked you out, and the results suggest suspected extreme mental fatigue and mild... Divine Key backlash? Anyway, you're physically fine. But your sudden fainting really scared everyone!"

Qiong drank a few sips of water from Mei's hand, which soothed his parched throat. He leaned on Xing's shoulder, rubbing his still throbbing temples—he had originally intended to make contact with the pink-haired girl from Onpharos, but the whole thing had turned into a trap she had set. In the end, he felt like he had been kissed, and then bumped into by some random "Kevin"...

"partner……"

Qiong murmured unconsciously, her mind filled with bizarre images: Xi Lian in her arms, the endless starry sky, the yellow and purple cloak, and the white fur rushing towards her...

"partner?"

Kiana, with her sharp ears, immediately leaned closer.

"Which partner? You dead gray hair, your words are so incoherent, are you really out of your mind?"

Mei and Hoshi cast worried glances at them.

"elder brother……"

"Qiong, should we ask the teacher to check it again?"

Qiong snapped out of her daze, shook her head, and tried to dispel the unreal illusions—forget about Xi Lian and "Kevin," forget about them! He was devoted to Mei!

Thinking of this, he plunged headfirst into Mei's arms, who was completely unprepared.

"Mei!"

"Huh? Qiong, what are you doing... Oh dear, this is so embarrassing..."

After a brief moment of surprise, Mei relaxed and let Sora snuggle into her arms.

"Mei... I only love you... There can only be one sun in the sky, and there is only one Mei in my heart! I think the best girl in the world is Raiden Mei, and no one can compare to her..."

"Brother, what about me?"

Qiong's muffled voice came from her arms, making Mei's heart race and feel a little uneasy.

"Qiong, I'm very happy to hear you say that, but why so suddenly..."

Xing stared at her older brother in surprise. She vaguely sensed something was wrong with Qiong—something was wrong, something was definitely wrong!

Kiana's eyes widened. Wasn't this exactly the trick she always used to take advantage of Mei? Pretend to be unwell first, then take the opportunity to ask Mei for a kiss...

Hey, you dead gray hair, did you pay your copyright fees?!

"Hey! You gray-haired bastard, aren't you ashamed? A grown man like you're acting like a baby in Mei's arms—"

She made a move to grab Qiong, but was quickly stopped by Xing, who looked annoyed.

Kiana—

"Xing, you have to call me Sister Qi too!"

"Sister Qi, brother just woke up!"

Even though she looked unhappy, Hoshino still stood between Sora Mei and Kiana—though she couldn't help but feel a nameless anger inside.

It must be because of what Qiong said!

They say there can't be two suns in the sky, but in my heart there is only Mei; and I also told her, you are one of the countless stars, and to me you are my whole world...

That's so unfair!

dong dong dong.

"Which one?"

The door to the infirmary was pushed open, and Himeko and Fu Hua, dressed as teachers, appeared in the doorway. Himeko raised an eyebrow at the sight before her.

"Oh my, you seem to be in good spirits, even flirting with each other now..."

Only then did Sora reluctantly lift her head from Mei's embrace. Seeing this, Himeko stopped joking and quickly walked over to observe Sora's appearance—after a careful look, her complexion was indeed quite good.

"Yes, it seems like everything is really alright."

"Ahem, of course! I'm in great shape! Sister Himeko, I'm sorry for causing everyone trouble."

"Trouble is secondary, I'm just glad you're alright."

Himeko waved her hand, her expression immediately becoming as serious as Fu Hua's.

"However, we'll confiscate your quill pen... or rather, the Divine Key Feather Crossing the Dust."

"what?!"

Qiong immediately tried to take out the quill pen, but after several attempts, he could only sense that it was "on the way".

"Himeko-neechan, those things are mine!"

"It's yours, no one's going to take it from you!"

Himeko sat down on the hospital bed and took out a report.

"But what are you going to do with it now? Overdraw yourself again? To unleash the power to protect the academy, let the ghosts inside drain you dry, so you might suddenly faint again at any moment?"

Himeko crossed her arms, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Besides, if Fu Hua hadn't been called back by Theresa today for some business, and hadn't happened to have read the headquarters' research on this topic and recognized the pen as Feather Dust at a glance, we wouldn't have known you were holding a Divine Key! We've read the Feather Dust report; its use involves the realm of consciousness, which is extremely risky! One wrong move and you could lose all your memories or even become an idiot! This time you only fainted, but what about next time?"

Qiong looked at the immortal with a shocked expression. So it was you, the unlucky one, who caused me to lose my stuff?

Noticing Qiong's gaze, Fu Hua pushed up her glasses, still maintaining her serious expression.

"Sora-kun, Himeko-sensei isn't lying to you. This isn't an exaggeration! It's true that the power of the Divine Keys is extremely strong, but all Divine Keys, while powerful, also have strong side effects: for example, the Black Abyss White Flower will corrupt the user, and the Heavenly Fire Judgment will first turn the holder to ashes..."

"What? The Judgment of Heavenly Fire will turn its holder to ashes?"

With Kiana's exclamation, Fu Hua suddenly remembered that the person she was lecturing was the one who had used Heavenly Fire and was unharmed, and the other user, Mr. Siegfried, his left hand...

Thinking of this, Fu Hua didn't elaborate.

"In short, the Feather Crossing the Dust Key of Consciousness involves consciousness and memory. If you are not careful, it will cause irreversible damage! I remember you mentioned that you have unclear memories, which is very likely a side effect of the Feather Crossing the Dust Key! Until you have fully mastered the control method and your own strength is sufficient to bear its burden, it is the safest arrangement for the headmistress and the others to temporarily keep it in their custody."

Qiong was unconvinced. Putting aside the fact that it was a pen given to him by Kiana, he wasn't some immortal who could use the Feather of Dust to exert his power and wouldn't be able to damage his memory, okay? He was about to argue and ask for his quill pen back, but before he could even defend himself, a pink streak of light unexpectedly pierced through the wall of the infirmary.

"That is?!"

The pink light drew an arc in the air, precisely bypassing Fu Hua who reacted quickly and reached out to catch it, before plunging into Qiong's still slightly messy gray hair.

The light dimmed and focused on Qiong's ear, and there it was—the pink quill pen.

There was a moment of silence in the medical room.

"This……"

Fu Hua maintained her outstretched hand gesture, her expression somewhat dazed.

Is that correct?

Her eyes behind her glasses were fixed on Qiong's ears. She couldn't resonate with Qiong's Feather Dust to read and use it, and she had no recollection of which part of the Feather Dust it was. She couldn't even probe Qiong's mind. This was enough to make her doubt her life. How could it have a built-in master-finding function?

"This shouldn't be... This is completely contrary to the records!"

Fu Hua muttered to herself, her mind racing through all the fragments of memories about Yu Duchen.

Feather Dust was her most important weapon and companion, one of the few "anchors" in her long life. She was familiar with its power and understood its various uses, such as manipulating consciousness, weaving illusions, and even burning memories. Form change? Not impossible, but the core characteristics of "consciousness manipulation" and "memory association" remained constant.

Ke Qiong's "quill pen" does not conform to her "common sense".

When she tried to explore the world within the quill pen, it was like crashing into a bottomless pink abyss. She couldn't read its state, or even determine if it was "part" of her own Feather Dust. It felt like facing a being of the same origin but completely unfamiliar.

Automatically seeking its master, penetrating physical form? The Feather Dust is indeed powerful, and it can respond to calls after being deeply bound to its holder. However, such proactive and purposeful behavior is more like possessing an independent "personality" or "will"... This goes beyond the scope of most Divine Keys...

Mei and Kiana were also stunned, while Hoshi frowned—as expected, that pink-haired girl wasn't so easy to get rid of.

Qiong himself was also confused. He raised his hand and touched the quill pen clipped to his ear. The touch was exactly the same as before... The next moment, a voice that only he could "hear" entered his mind, carrying a hint of grievance and intimacy.

"Hey buddy, you can't leave me behind... I'm your best buddy! I have a surprise for you... Answer me a question: Who is Xilian's favorite person?"

Qiong: ...

Qiong's cheek twitched slightly as the image of Xi Lian's last kiss flashed through his mind. He instinctively looked at Mei. Mei felt Qiong's gaze and looked back at him, puzzled.

[Could it be me?]

"You got it right! Is this your reward?"

The instant Xi Lian's voice disappeared, Qiong felt the blankets sink, and a hardcover book abruptly appeared on his bed. The cover was a deep, starry blue, and the platinum foreskin gleamed slightly under the infirmary light…

Qiong's first reaction was, "They can actually bring it out?" Her second reaction...

Luckily, I didn't take the cloak.

"Ugh!"

Himeko was the first to come to her senses.

"Qiong boy, what's going on? I know it recognizes its master, but it can even walk through walls? And why is there a book here too?"

"Uh... Himeko-neechan, would you believe me if I said I didn't know what happened either?"

Qiong tried to open the book as before, but it seemed to be glued on and wouldn't budge.

"No, that's not right at all!"

Fu Hua muttered to herself, observing the quill pen and storybook, her heart churning with turmoil—how much had she forgotten!

"Although ancient records state that Yu Duchen can take on various forms, it shouldn't possess such a clear independent consciousness, let alone form a ghost that recognizes its master! Unless..."

"Unless what?"

Himeko pressed for an answer.