He changed Tiwat

Upon seeing Yanfei's bathtub, which resembled a small swimming pool, Han Fulai finally couldn't help but criticize the extravagant lifestyle of the Liyue immortals' bourgeoisie. He then fully enjoyed the immortal bathtub with its own water purification system—his only regret was that he couldn't secretly drink the bathwater Yanfei had used... No, Han Fulai swore to the heavens that he only wanted to study what the bathwater used by immortals looked like, and he would never actually drink it!

The change of clothes provided by Yan Fei were surprisingly suitable, and Han Fulai felt completely relaxed when he returned to the guest room. He unceremoniously sprawled out onto the large bed that was temporarily his.

Many people have difficulty falling asleep in unfamiliar environments, but Han Fulai doesn't have this problem.

During his previous 996 work schedule, Han Fulai lived in a windowless cubicle, less than ten square meters in size. He didn't have high requirements for his living environment; he just needed a place to sleep where he wouldn't be exposed to the wind and rain. When it comes to a mindset of taking things as they come, Han Fulai, a former corporate slave, has long since mastered it.

Perhaps because so much had happened in the past two days, Han Fulai fell into a deep sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning, Han Fulai was awakened by noise coming from downstairs.

He listened carefully for a while and realized that the voice downstairs came from a strange woman. The woman seemed to be pleading with Yan Fei to do something for her, and there was a faint sound of crying mixed in.

Han Fulai knew that Yan Fei's law firm had a new guest, and Yan Fei was receiving them in the downstairs meeting room.

Although theoretically he shouldn't disturb Yan Fei's work, but... a living person can't be held back by needing to pee.

Han Fulai changed his clothes and walked down the stairs as quietly as possible, preparing to go to the restroom.

As Han Fulai passed by the living room, he curiously turned his head to look at it and saw a beautiful young woman dressed in rich clothes sitting in the living room, covering her face with her hands, seemingly crying.

Han Fulai didn't pay much attention and took care of his daily morning needs. When he came out of the bathroom, he saw the young woman in the living room eagerly holding Yan Fei's hand, repeatedly saying thank you.

The woman had long, flowing hair, delicate features, and wore a string of expensive-looking pearls around her neck. She looked somewhat familiar.

Han Fulai scratched his head, trying to recall where he had seen this woman before, when he suddenly heard her say something:

"I am deeply grateful to Miss Yanfei for your help."

Han Fulai knew where his sense of déjà vu came from. He had seen this woman named Zhi Qiao in the game; she was a game quest NPC—of course, she was now a living, breathing human being.

That was a prerequisite quest for players to obtain the Dust Song Pot, requiring them to help Zhi Qiao retrieve her lost Jadeite Hairpin. In Han Fulai's memory, the whole thing was a scam. In the game, the player and Yan Fei worked together to help Zhi Qiao uncover the deception and recover her losses. What was particularly impressive was Zhi Qiao's kindness; she ultimately forgave the person who deceived her and was even willing to cooperate with them to develop new products.

Han Fulai carefully recalled the plot and noticed two oddities: In the game, the player triggered this quest not now, but at least after the Geo Archon faked his death and retired, while the Geo Archon is still in power in Liyue. Another point is that in the game, the player actively sought out Zhiqiao to inquire about the hairpin, but now Zhiqiao is proactively approaching him.

There are now discrepancies between the game's storyline and reality. He's unsure if his past memories of Teyvat are still reliable; for Han Fulai, these memories are currently his only cheat code from his time-travel experience.

We have to verify this!

Han Fulai stood quietly to the side, and only went into the living room after Zhiqiao got up to say goodbye to Yanfei.

When Yan Fei saw Han Fulai get up, she greeted him first: "Good morning. Um... I have a debt dispute case to handle in the field, so I'm getting ready to leave now."

Han Fulai nodded and said, "Miss Yanfei, may I go with you? I feel uneasy about eating and staying here for free by just paying IOUs. I hope there is something I can do to help you. If you don't mind, please take me with you, even if it's just to run errands for you."

After a moment's thought, Yan Fei gave Han Fulai a positive answer: "Then, Mr. Han, let's go on this field mission together."

Chapter Twenty-Three: Please Call Me Detective

The two left the Yanfei family's house and headed east along the Feiyun Slope towards the east dock of Liyue Harbor.

On the way, Yanfei introduced the case that Zhiqiao had entrusted to Han Fulai.

The content was no different from what Han Fulai had seen in the game before:

Miss Zhiqiao's family are mineral merchants in Liyue, having run the business for generations. However, due to the recent upheaval in the Laminaria, the Liyue Constellation ordered a halt to mining and temporarily closed the mines. Several orders for goods belonging to Miss Zhiqiao remain unsold, but with the mines closed, she has no source of supply and must seek out other merchants to purchase them.

In the next few days, she will attend a business banquet to discuss the acquisition of minerals with other businessmen. In order not to be looked down upon during the negotiations, Zhiqiao found Kroso, a mineral merchant from Zhidong Kingdom, and rented a gorgeous "Jadeite Double Phoenix Cloud Hairpin" from him at a very affordable price to show off her wealth.

Unfortunately, Zhiqiao accidentally lost this jewelry made of precious jadeite yesterday. According to the rental agreement, she needs to compensate Klosso for the hairpin at market value.

Jadeite is a very precious mineral, and jewelry made from it is naturally expensive. Zhi Qiao's business had already stalled due to the cessation of production at the Layered Rock Abyss, forcing her to rent jewelry to maintain appearances and expand her supply channels. The loss of this jewelry resulted in a huge compensation payment, further exacerbating her business woes.

Although Zhiqiao had also contacted the Adventurers' Guild to search for the hairpin, how easy was it to find a small hairpin in the vast Liyue Harbor? Zhiqiao was actually prepared to pay a high compensation fee.

Zhiqiao sought out Yanfei because Yanfei is a renowned legal consultant in Liyue and also skilled in valuation. She hoped Yanfei could help her inquire with Crosso about whether there was any room for negotiation regarding the compensation. Even if compensation was unavoidable, having Yanfei assess and determine the amount would be fairer.

Yan Fei's current field mission is to inquire about matters related to the Crosso hairpin on behalf of Zhi Qiao.

After learning the whole story, Han Fulai compared it with the plot he knew, and frowned slightly—the plot had really changed!

In the original storyline, Kroso, a merchant from the Kingdom of Winter, acquired a small piece of Emerald Jade Rock and made it into a hairpin. The player and Yanfei, searching for the Emerald Jade Rock, went to Kroso to inquire. Kroso revealed that the hairpin had been rented to Zhiqiao. The player and Yanfei then went to find Zhiqiao. In the original storyline, Zhiqiao had no intention of seeking out Yanfei; it was Yanfei who noticed the flaw and offered to help Zhiqiao.

Although the changes weren't drastic, and the story's trajectory seemed unlikely to alter significantly, there were still noticeable shifts. This meant his memories of the game's plot might not be reliable in the Teyvat world. A small error could lead to a huge mistake; Han Fulai reminded himself to be cautious.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the East Wharf of Liyue Harbor and soon found Krosso, a merchant from Winterfell, in a mineral shop by the wharf.

Dressed in a wintery outfit, Crosso was loudly hawking the ore on his stall.

Upon seeing Yan Fei arrive, Crosso's face lit up with delight: "Miss Yan Fei, what brings you here? Thank you for your help last time!"

Yan Fei replied with a smile, "Mr. Croso mentioned last time that he wanted to acquire a piece of Emerald Jade Rock to make jewelry. I wonder if that piece of jewelry has been completed yet? I would like to take a look."

"Haha, although it took a lot of effort and I even had to spend a lot of money to have it custom-made by Mingxingzhai, the hairpin is finally finished! But..." Crosso said with some difficulty, "Miss Yanfei can certainly see it, but unfortunately, I have already rented it out to someone else. If you want to see it, you will probably have to go to the lady who rented the hairpin."

"Oh dear, aren't you afraid of damaging a hairpin made of such precious jadeite if you lend it to someone else?" Yan Fei feigned surprise as she tried to get information out of Klosso.

“Well… hehe, I’ve already considered all the possibilities and signed a lease agreement. Miss Yanfei, please take a look.” Krosso pulled a contract from his pocket and handed it to Yanfei. “It states here that any damage will be compensated at market price. In return, I guarantee that my hairpin is absolutely genuine; if it’s fake, I’ll compensate tenfold! A fair contract, in black and white!”

"Miss Yanfei, please look. This contract also specifies the address of the lessee, Miss Zhiqiao. Even if any problems arise, I can find her using this address. After all, Liyue is a country of contracts, and I'm just doing as the Romans do. Miss Yanfei, you see, the benefits of signing a contract were taught to me by you when you helped me last time!"

Yan Fei smiled and nodded, saying she would go to find Zhi Qiao based on this address. She thanked Croso and took her leave.

Up to this point, it's pretty much the same storyline as in the game, Han Fulai thought to himself, and then followed Yan Fei away.

The two turned a corner and Yan Fei spoke.

“Mr. Han, I’m going to see Miss Zhiqiao next, and I’ll probably have to go to many places this afternoon. This matter is a bit troublesome, so you can go back first.”

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Yanfei." Han Fulai shook his head. "I said before I came out that I wanted to help Miss Yanfei today, so how could I give up halfway? To be honest, Miss Yanfei, I think there is something strange about this matter. If nothing unexpected happens, the Cuijue Rock and that hairpin are probably still in Croso's hands."

“Yeah, that’s true…wait, how did you know?” Yan Fei nodded in agreement instinctively, but then realized something was wrong.

Han Fulai certainly couldn't say that he had seen the plot, but he had already thought of a reason.

“Three points.” Han Fulai held up three fingers. “First, when Miss Yanfei asked why he wasn’t afraid of damaging the valuable hairpin, he hesitated for a moment. I noticed that his gaze unconsciously drifted towards the stall next to him, so I judged that the hairpin was likely hidden right next to him. When asked about it, he panicked for a moment and unconsciously checked the location of the hairpin.”

In fact, Han Fulai was just making a casual remark. There could be many explanations for Kross's hesitation, but Yan Fei clearly agreed with Han Fulai's statement: "Indeed, actually, I used my elemental vision to observe Mr. Kross at that time... Ah, the so-called elemental vision is a skill unique to those who possess elemental power, such as those who hold the Eye of God and immortals. Mr. Han, you may not be familiar with it."

“It’s alright. Actually, elemental power is a topic tested in the Liyue civil service exam, so I know a little about it,” Han Fulai said.

“I see, that makes it easier to explain.” Yan Fei nodded. “I just observed Mr. Krosso with my elemental vision. Mr. Krosso himself doesn’t have elemental power, nor is he the holder of the Eye of God, but there are strong traces of rock element around him. This is a characteristic of Emerald Jade Rock. Emerald Jade Rock can only be mined from the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss. It has strong elemental power, and generally only immortals can effectively utilize the elemental power of Emerald Jade Rock. Therefore, as an immortal treasure, Emerald Jade Rock has always been very valuable.”

“Yes, that’s why we have this second point of doubt,” Han Fulai said with a smile. “Jadeite is a precious mineral, and jewelry made from it is also quite valuable. Judging from the conversation just now, it was not easy for Mr. Croso to obtain jadeite and make jewelry, and the cost was also very high. But even though it is a valuable piece of jewelry, Mr. Croso did not sell it, but rented it out.”

"Imagine a merchant who spends a great deal of money to create a precious piece of jewelry, but instead of finding a suitable buyer, he rents it out. Once rented out, it becomes a second-hand item, and even if he wanted to sell it later, the price would be significantly lower. Why would Mr. Crosso do something so unprofitable?"

Yan Fei nodded in agreement. Han Fulai smiled and continued, "I believe Miss Yan Fei is even more aware of this third point, as it is her area of ​​expertise."

"Mr. Han, are you referring to the contract?" Yan Fei asked.

Han Fulai asked, "Miss Yanfei, do you think that contract is fair?"

“Well, in terms of fairness, it is indeed fair, but only relatively speaking,” Yan Fei said.

“Yes, it’s just fairer to Miss Zhiqiao.” Han Fulai nodded and said, “If I were Croso and had a valuable piece of jewelry, even if I wanted to rent it out, I would set the rent higher considering depreciation, at least not at a price that Miss Zhiqiao would find reasonable.”

"More importantly, jewelry has collectible value and appreciation potential! I'm clearly taking on the risk of damage or loss of valuable items, so how can the contract stipulate compensation based solely on market value? It should be priced at least several times higher than the market value! Otherwise, they could simply compensate at market value under the guise of lost items, keeping the jewelry at a relatively low price. Then, when the jewelry appreciates in value later, they could resell it as a new item at a high price, and I would suffer a huge loss!"

"For me to enter into a contract that is entirely in the other party's favor, it would mean either I have no intention of making money at all, or..."

“Either this hairpin is a fake, not valuable at all, and you can make money just by renting it out. If you compensate it at the market price of a genuine one, you’ll make an even bigger profit,” Yan Fei echoed Han Fulai’s words, as if they were on the same wavelength.

“If Crosso wants to make a lot of money with a fake hairpin, the best way is…” Han Fulai smiled and guided Yan Fei’s train of thought.

“Steal the hairpin yourself, then force Miss Zhiqiao to pay compensation at the market price of the genuine article! There are all sorts of people in Liyue Harbor. Hire someone to steal the hairpin, and if anyone investigates, just throw the hairpin into the sea to destroy the evidence.” Yanfei understood immediately.

"Mr. Han, you are indeed very special. Even after working as a legal consultant for so long and encountering all sorts of cases, I couldn't have come up with so many ideas in a short time. Your observation skills are perhaps the strongest I have ever met!" Yan Fei exclaimed sincerely.

"Don't call me Mr. Han," Han Fulai smiled. "Please call me the famous detective!"

Chapter Twenty-Four: Cuijue Rock and Cuihan Rock

“Okay, Mr. Detective!” Yan Fei stuck out her tongue cutely. “I think I’ve only heard of the detective profession in Inazuma. Here, people usually ask the Adventurers’ Guild to handle similar work.”

Yan Fei's eyes darted around, and she asked provocatively, "What can the unknown detective possibly glean from me?"

Han Fulai chuckled inwardly. Yan Fei, don't underestimate the original scholars. You have no idea how bored players can get during the downtime!

However, Han Fulai still pretended to circle around Yan Fei, openly admiring her figure from various angles.

Then he deliberately asked Yan Fei, "Miss Yan Fei, may I take a look at your hat?"

After Yan Fei agreed, he took off Yan Fei's hat and, imitating Sherlock Holmes in "The Blue Diamond Case," touched the hat inside and out. Of course, he was just pretending.

“Just from this hat, you can tell that Miss Yanfei is very passionate about her job as a legal consultant, and is even willing to sacrifice a lot for it,” Han Fulai said. “The design of this hat is very unique in Liyue; it must have been made by Miss Yanfei herself, right?”

Yan Fei nodded, then asked in confusion, "What does making my own hats have to do with my passion for my profession?"

"Because the style of this hat, flat-topped and square, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, is modeled after a crown in ancient books called the Xie Zhi crown. The Xie Zhi is a legendary mythical beast, also known as the Dharma Beast, which is most effective in punishing evil and promoting good, and distinguishing right from wrong. Before the founding of the Yan King's kingdom, some officials in charge of punishment in certain regions wore this Xie Zhi crown, and I have also seen it in books."

Yan Fei retorted sharply, "That only proves that I work in a law-related profession. What does that have to do with loving my job?"

"Because of your modifications to this Xie Zhi crown." Han Fulai pointed to the side of Yan Fei's hat. "The Xie Zhi crown should have a hairpin running through it, not only for holding the hair up, but also to symbolize the single horn of the mythical beast Xie Zhi. But on the one hand, this design is too serious, making it difficult to feel approachable; on the other hand, it's not suitable for a cute girl like Miss Yan Fei to wear, and Miss Yan Fei looks much better with her hair down than when it's tied up in the crown!"

"And the ornaments on this hat, if I'm not mistaken, should be copper coins, the currency used by our ancestors in ancient times." Han Fulai pointed to the ornaments on Yanfei's hat again and said, "Before the Rock King Emperor used his own flesh and blood as the initial currency for Mora, our ancestors usually bartered, and some also used precious metals as currency. These copper coins were precious metals from that time. The shape of the copper coin is round on the outside and square on the inside, which also symbolizes the profession of a legal advisor. Outwardly, one should be tactful and good at communication, but inwardly, one should uphold justice."

"What girl in this world doesn't love beauty?" Han Fulai sighed. "Miss Yanfei knows that she is more beautiful and charming without the hat, but every time she goes out on a field mission, she wears this hat with great care, bearing the majesty of the law and the responsibility of a legal consultant on her head. That's why I say that Miss Yanfei loves this job and is even willing to sacrifice her beauty for it."

Han Fulai returned the hat to Yan Fei, who blushed as she took it, stamped her foot, and deliberately turned her head away. At this point, she could easily tell that Han Fulai was subtly praising her beauty.

However, Yanfei would never admit defeat verbally.

"Hmph, Mr. Han is so glib. Be careful that you don't get into trouble one day because of what you said."

"Hey, Miss Yanfei, that's not right. Praising a beautiful young woman for being beautiful and charming is just stating the truth. It won't violate any of Liyue's laws, so how could it cause trouble?"

After joking around for a while, the two arrived at the tea stall where they had arranged to meet Miss Zhiqiao, who was already waiting there. Before Yanfei went out to investigate, she had arranged a place with Zhiqiao to discuss the results.

Zhi Qiao hadn't noticed Han Fulai at Yan Fei's house before, so she was slightly surprised to see a stranger arrive. However, she still stood up gracefully and bowed to Han Fulai.

The three sat down and introduced themselves to each other. Yanfei then told Zhiqiao about the results of her investigation into Croso.

Even so, Zhiqiao remained hesitant. On the one hand, she didn't quite believe that Crosso was lying to her, and on the other hand, she was worried that she didn't have any evidence to prove that the rented hairpin was fake.

After a moment's thought, Yan Fei asked Zhi Qiao the crucial question: "Miss Zhi Qiao, what were your feelings when you first came into contact with that hairpin?"

"Feeling? Hmm... I remember that the mineral on that hairpin felt warm and smooth to the touch, just like a top-grade jade. My family has handled quite a few jade pieces before, so I shouldn't be wrong."

"So, Miss Zhiqiao, have you experienced any discomfort after wearing that hairpin for a few days?" Yanfei pressed.

"...No, I don't feel anything special," Zhiqiao replied after thinking for a moment.

"Yes, that's right." Yan Fei nodded and said to Zhi Qiao, "The Emerald Jade Rock grows deep underground and carries a strong elemental force. If ordinary people come into contact with it, they will feel unwell at best, and at worst, their personality will change drastically and they will become seriously ill. It is definitely not the warm and smooth feeling you get from touching it."

Zhiqiao suddenly realized that she had really been deceived by Croso. So she signed a formal contract with Yanfei, hiring Yanfei to seek justice from Croso, the swindler. Yanfei would receive 20% of the liquidated damages from Croso as her reward.

Up to this point, the plot was still developing according to the game storyline in Han Fulai's memory, but Han Fulai's brows gradually furrowed.

After signing the contract, the three first went to Jie Cui Hang. Besides gambling on jade, the owner, Stone, was also a renowned ore processor in Liyue; otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared in the Liyue civil service exam questions. Since Yan Fei Liao wanted ore processed, she would inevitably go to Stone's place.

As Yan Fei had predicted, when the three of them found Shi Tou at Jie Cui Xing to inquire about the situation, Shi Tou indeed admitted that Kross had once commissioned him to process "Cui Jue Rock". However, Cui Jue Rock was extremely rare, and Shi Tou had never seen it before. He didn't know if it was genuine Cui Jue Rock, so he kept some scraps for his own research.

The three of them found scraps left over from processing ore in the shop. Zhiqiao exclaimed in surprise, "This is Cuihan Rock! Legend has it that Cuihan Rock is the outer layer of Cuijue Rock, which is often used to make jewelry and is not expensive."

Clearly, Crosso disguised the Emerald Jade Rock as Emerald Jade Rock, made it into a hairpin, and then rented it to Miss Zhiqiao.

Yan Fei asked Shi Tou, the owner of the Cui Xing shop, for proof that he had processed the "Cui Jue Yan" ore for Kross. Then she went to Mingxingzhai in Feiyunpo and obtained the proof that Kross had ordered the "Cui Jue Shuang Feng Fu Yun Chai" there.

The final destination was the famous pharmacy "Bu Bu Lu" at the northernmost part of Liyue Harbor. Yan Fei was about to seize the last piece of evidence when Han Fulai stopped her.

“Miss Yanfei, it’s almost noon now. We’ll pass by the office on our way to ‘Bubu’, so why don’t we go back and have lunch first? We need to have energy to work.”

Chapter Twenty-Five: Professional Counterfeiters (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Recommendations)

When Yan Fei saw Han Fulai winking at her, she immediately understood and arranged to meet Miss Zhi Qiao at the tea stall again at 3 p.m.

The two returned to the office and had a simple lunch.

After the meal, Han Fulai brewed two cups of tea and brought them to the living room, where he sat opposite Yan Fei.

"Detective, what have you figured out this time?" Yan Fei picked up her tea, took a sip, and asked with a smile.

"What I'm about to say doesn't have much concrete evidence; it's all my reasoning. Whether you believe me or not is up to Miss Yanfei." Han Fulai said earnestly, sitting upright.

He had been pondering these words in his mind for nearly two hours, repeatedly going over the logic to confirm that there were no loopholes—at least Han Fulai couldn't think of any loopholes at the moment. The only question was whether Yan Fei would believe him.

Given Han Fulai's personality, he wouldn't engage in such intimate conversations unless he was drunk. Firstly, it would make him appear overly suspicious, and secondly, it would seem like he was meddling in other people's business, a thankless task. Besides, in reality, the whole matter had nothing to do with him; he was merely an observer.

But he didn't want Yanfei to get hurt, especially since he had the chance to stop her. He felt he should do it, both morally and emotionally, so he did.

“Miss Yanfei, you’ve been deceived,” Han Fulai said calmly, as if stating a fact.

"Oh?" Yan Fei held her teacup, neither confirming nor denying.

Han Fulai knew that a simple statement wouldn't convince Yan Fei, so he smiled slightly and continued, "Miss Yan Fei said that you are very confident in your valuation, right?"

Yan Fei nodded curiously. She didn't know why Han Fulai suddenly changed the subject and started talking about valuation.