How to Complete Honkai Star Rail ‘A Teacher and a Friend’

Some Honkai: Star Rail sidequests can involve both multiple steps and picking an answer to complete it. Typically, the stakes aren’t too high. One of these questions comes up while going to complete the mission “A Teacher and a Friend” in Honkai: Star Rail, as you’ll need to help Qingque find a certain manuscript while aiding Chengjie on the Xianzhou Luofu. It isn’t difficult at all to pin it down, and most of the mission is fairly straightforward and involves fights against enemies and taking pictures at clearly marked spots.

Editor’s Note: There will be Honkai: Star Rail “A Teacher and a Friend” spoilers below.

The “important” decisions come up right after meeting with Qingque and Chengjie Artisanship Commission. You’ll be told where Master Ryan’s manuscript will be. Once you reach the spot, there will be an option to choose who goes in to search. I sent Qingque to do it, and went uneventfully. (It’s one of those famous HoYoVerse incidents of white text on a black screen explaining what happened.)

Once Qingque comes back out, she’ll place all of the manuscripts she found on a box. Investigate it, and you’ll be able to read blurbs summarizing each one. One begins with the line, “This is a manuscript about the design of a type of starskiff, showcasing its structural finesse.” This is Master Ryan’s work. Select “That’s the one!” You’ll also get an IPC Designer Invite automatically before heading back. However, first there’s a brief fight against standard enemies.

The manuscript will be “damaged” after the fight. I told Qingque to be honest about what happened when we report in to Chengjie. Checking in with him leaves him depressed over the outcome. You can then go to Central Starskiff Haven with him in an attempt to cheer him up with food or a comedy show. Here’s when the IPC Designer Invite comes up. You’ll learn Master Ryan was going to join the IPC as a designer, rather than keep doing research, but stayed because of Chengjie. This causes him to realize he should finish the now-damaged manuscript and submit it in honor of his mentor’s memory.

Here’s where the photography part comes up. To assist him in completing the manuscript, he wants to see where the starskiffs are grown. (Yes, they’re actually basically plants in a way, which shocked me.) You’ll head to Stargazer Navalia to head to designated spots on the map to take pictures of them in their germination, embryonic, nutritive, and forming phases, before finally taking a photo of Chengjie with a grown starskiff. Enemies tend to be around each one, which need to be beaten. Then, you need to press the camera button that appears on the screen, make sure the designated items are in the shot, and not move until it “takes.”

That said, the first part of the three-part Honkai: Star Rail “A Teacher and a Friend” is done. You get a Traveler’s Guide, 25 Strale, 40 Stellar Jades, 250 Trailblaze EXP, and 15,000 Credits.

Honkai: Star Rail is available for PCs and mobile devices, and PS4 and PS5 versions are in development.