Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

"Does Ms. Kanbara like stories with regrets?" Su Qing'an asked.

"Huh?" The girl tilted her head, as if she was puzzled as to why Su Qing'an would say that.

Someone once said this.

Everyone knows Li Qingzhao, but no one remembers me, Yu Xuanji.

In terms of fame alone, Li Qingzhao was far more famous than Yu Xuanji.

Unlike Li Qingzhao, who came from a prestigious family, Yu Xuanji, being an ordinary person, had such faint traces and clues left by history that she felt a sense of ethereal emptiness.

It's hard to tell what's true and what's false, or what's real and what's fake.

All that is known is that the woman left behind an unpleasant and regretful story in this world.

People don't like regrets, and seeing such a life full of regrets will naturally evoke feelings of sympathy, so it's normal to develop a liking for her because of it.

"I guess so... Su Jun thinks there really is anything in the world that is perfect. There will always be some regrets, more or less."

"So regret is never an unacceptable ending, but regret should be beautiful. Even if that poet really died that way, I still think her life wasn't bad."

Kanbara Yu picked up a petal from the stone table and watched intently as the cherry blossoms swirled and fell, a smile appearing on her face.

This is what the girl, who was imprisoned for ten years and treated like food by living puppets, said.

Su Qing thought to herself, "So all my memorizing three hundred Tang poems was useless? You should have just told me to talk about life and ideals earlier, and I would have bragged to you."

Although I don't like to talk, if I really wanted to, I could easily fool a 15-year-old girl like you.

He complained like this, but when Su Qing'an actually tried to speak, he found himself speechless for a moment.

What can you say?

For the girl, Shenyuan Xi, even an ending like Yu Xuanji's was a happy ending.

Yu Xuanji gained nothing—nothing but love, nothing else; even her death was not a peaceful passing.

Her life was not recorded in official histories, because she was not an official or prominent figure, and official historical records could not leave behind a single word about her.

But Yu Xuanji's name will be remembered for all time.

As Yuu Kambara said, maybe it's not too bad.

And what about Kanbara Yu?

If Kanbara Yuu dies, and if Kanbara Shuichi also dies, how many people in this world will still remember her?

Such a blank life.

In this way, one gains nothing and experiences very little of the good things in life.

Su Qing'an thought that if Shen Yuanxi died like this, then this regret would certainly not be pleasant.

People are indeed like this: they like things, hate things, and feel regret.

Just as Su Qing'an was about to awkwardly offer her some comfort, the girl continued:

"Actually, I prefer Oda Nobunaga to Yu Xuanji."

Su Qing'an was stunned. He thought, "Your tastes are a bit off. From Chinese poets to Japanese warlords, the style is completely wrong, okay?"

"Why? Is it because Oda Nobunaga is a hero?" he asked.

"Because my dad likes him a lot, so I like him too."

The reason given by Yuu Kambara was so simple and clear that it was impossible to refute.

Yes, do children need a reason to like something? They only need to know that they want something.

Moreover, liking someone is sometimes an irrefutable reason, and the girl showed such an innocent and adorable side.

She continued:

“My father always said that even a hero like Oda Nobunaga would eventually meet his end, but that’s precisely why he is so unforgettable.”

"That's also because of the regret."

"Did Ms. Kanbara go to festivals when she was a child?"

Su Qing'an abruptly changed the subject, thinking that he was really bad at conversation if he could make a heavy conversation about historical figures with a young girl.

"I've been there. That mother is still there; our whole family went together."

"The goldfish were cute, and the fireworks were beautiful, but my mom said that children shouldn't eat too much candy or their teeth would rot, so she wouldn't let me eat konpeito, which made me a little unhappy at the time."

Oh no. Why do I always seem to make a mistake with the things I casually suggest?

Su Qing'an suddenly realized that it was a mistake for Shen Yuanshui to ask her to chat, as her own chatting skills were really too poor.

This kind of thing is better left to Mei or Himeko.

But Shenyuan Xi's memory is too good. That was at least five years ago. So why can she still easily recall the details of that day ten years later?

It's as if this girl is desperately clinging to the few remaining moments in her memory, whether it's her mother's smiling face or the fireworks that day; she is very unwilling to forget them.

And then she really didn't forget.

The way she said this was like a child counting their few toys, so happy and innocent.

Su Qing'an felt a pang of sadness. He thought that Shen Yuanxi was trapped in this cage, but wasn't he, brought to this world by the gods, also trapped in one? So he suddenly wanted to make this girl happier, and he said:

"What I mean is, soon Mr. Kambara will be able to take you to festivals again. You can go to Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree, the zoo, the aquarium, and visit the former residences of poets in China. The outside world is wonderful, with many things better than fireworks."

Kanbara Yu placed the petal she had picked up in her palm, letting it drift away on the wind. The girl smiled as she watched the petals dance in the air, and said to Su Qing'an:

"I know, the day after tomorrow is the memorial day."

"...Do you know why Yuno and I came here?"

Su Qing'an realized what Shen Yuanxi meant by those words.

He and Sato Yuno had always subconsciously assumed that such an innocent girl should know nothing, but the truth was quite the opposite.

“Yes, apart from the reason for the live doll, Dad won’t bring anyone else to the house.” Shinbara Yu glanced at him and nodded as if it were a matter of course.

“When I was five years old and trapped at home, my father told me that the fate of the Kanbara family had always been like this. But he would stroke my hair to reassure me and say that fate was something that was meant to be trampled underfoot.”

This is really quite chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur), like a hot-blooded protagonist in an anime, but Su Qing'an can clearly imagine the look on Kanbaru Shuichi's face when he says this, and it will definitely not be a funny expression.

“Even a living doll can’t hurt me before it steps over its own corpse,” he said sadly. “Grandpa’s death will be the last. If the Kanbara family has to lose someone else, it will only be him.”

"So from that day on, I thought I would try my best to cherish every day I spent with him. But ten years really went by so fast, and now that day is not far away."

Su Qing'an listened to the girl's slow narration in silence.

He realized he had underestimated the man's determination. From the very beginning, Shuichi Kanbara understood how difficult it was to defeat the living doll. He knew he was likely to die that day, so he told Yu Kanbara the truth directly.

While loving his daughter, Shuichi Kanbara also respected her. If his death was unavoidable, rather than letting the fairy tale be torn apart by the reality of that day, he would rather tell her the truth from the beginning.

And Yuu Kambara did not disappoint Shuichi Kambara's expectations.

For the past ten years, she has been silently counting down the days of her own and her father's lives almost every day. No one can imagine how deeply the fear she felt under the pressure of life and death must have penetrated her bones.

But she spoke of these things with such nonchalance, as if nothing of it mattered.

But in Su Qing'an's eyes, this was more like a stubborn and proud statement that as a father, Shinbara Shuichi was such a resilient man, so how could she, as his daughter, show any fear?

“We will kill the living dolls for you and Mr. Kanbara; it’s an agreement,” Su Qing’an said.

"Yes, thank you. Su-kun." Kanbara Yu smiled as she looked at the boy who spoke so lightly amidst the swirling cherry blossoms.

Only those who truly know the boy will understand the weight of this promise.

This means that when necessary, Su Qing'an would not mind accelerating the burning of his life to control the Holy Mark and elevate his combat power to a level he had never set foot in before.

The way the father and daughter, Kanbara Yu and Kanbara Shuichi, suppressed their fear and struggled with all their might while calmly accepting the outcome of their fate made Su Qing'an want to help them break free from that so-called destiny.

Fate?

Perhaps, as Shuichi Kanbara said, these kinds of things are born to be trampled underfoot.

This time, Su Qing'an finally saw the cherry blossoms in April, and it was indeed a very beautiful sight.

He should thank Shuichi Kanbara.

Therefore, before he has accumulated enough power to break free from the shackles binding him, it is not bad that he can also help the Kanbara family sever the fate that binds them.

25. Sato Yuno and the Living Doll

Outside the ancient shrine.

The girl stepped over the red torii gate; the morning mist in the mountains and the quiet, cool atmosphere gave the buildings a strange and unusual feel.

Sato Yuno was naturally aware of the saying that stepping into the torii gate meant entering the realm of the gods, but her concept of faith had always been rather vague. Her studies of Honkai history and knowledge during her time at St. Freya Academy further fueled her disbelief in the existence of so-called gods.

Sato Yuno is certain that the root of the Kanbara family's tragedy lies in its collapse.

Even so, when she entered the shrine grounds alone, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine as she touched the morning mist.

That is the fear that humans experience when faced with the unknown and cannot control themselves.

Even with the help of Principal Theresa, the live doll was unable to find any similar cases when the database was searched.

If it weren't for the fact that Sato Yuno and Su Qing'an were the ones on the mission, Theresa wouldn't have easily allowed the Valkyries of St. Freya Academy to continue with such an overly unknown mission.

Perhaps this is the headmaster's doting affection.

With Theresa's permission, her powers are no longer restricted during this mission, and the bomb planted in her heart is now safe, provided that no attempt is made to remove it.

The pseudo-Herrscher core has been revived once again.

The long-awaited, unleashed chaos allowed strange thorns to grow and spread. These plants, like snakes, slithered around the girl, forming a vast domain that became her vision and her sword.

The high concentration of Honkai energy condensed and shaped an energy field, which became Sato Yuno's last line of defense.

This is some application of Honkai energy. Unlike when she first became a pseudo-Herrscher and knew almost nothing, Sato Yuno is undoubtedly more powerful now than she was back then.

After doing all this, the girl carefully stepped into the interior of the shrine.

In fact, the arrangements she was to make were already complete. The seeds buried in the soil in advance would sprout and bloom into tiny yellow flowers on the day of the sacrifice, forming a toxin that was harmless to life but could completely paralyze the human body and make people fall into a drowsy state.

Having dealt with the troublesome villagers in advance, all that will be left to deal with later are the living puppets.

In theory, all Yoshino Sato needs to do is this simple thing.

But now she has chosen to step inside the shrine where the living dolls reside.