He changed Tiwat

His mysterious and masterful demeanor, where he never removed his mask even while eating or drinking, made the exploration team keep their distance from him.

As the guest of honor at the welcoming party, Han Fulai was surrounded by the exploration team. The miners, having heard that the resumption of work at the Stratiform Abyss was promising and that the hope for resumption rested on Han Fulai, all came over to toast him.

Just as Han Fulai finished toasting with several miners, a burly man nearly two meters tall walked up to him carrying a wine jug.

The giant man picked up the wine jug and then took two large bowls, filling them to the brim.

He picked up one of the bowls, held it out to him, and said in a gruff voice, "Mr. Han, I, Lao Tu, on behalf of the brothers, would like to offer you a bowl!"

Before Han Fulai could react, Lao Tu tilted his head back and gulped down the wine in his bowl. He then showed the empty bowl to the surrounding miners, who cheered in unison.

"Brother Tu has a huge amount of data!"

"Brother Tu is strong and can drink a lot!"

"No wonder he's a mining superstar!"

Old Tu proudly pushed another bowl of wine in front of Han Fulai. The surrounding miners also cheered and urged Han Fulai to drink a bowl as well.

Han Fulai felt as if he had returned to his early days in the workplace in China, when his supervisor and colleagues used a welcome party as an excuse to invite him for drinks and then take the opportunity to get him, a newbie, drunk for their amusement.

These miners certainly didn't want to see him make a fool of himself, but for them, drinking together was like a kind of initiation ceremony; refusing a toast was seen as disrespecting their fellow miners.

Before Han Fu came, he had heard from Haidifu that this guy in the team, Brother Tu, was the most senior miner in the Layered Rock Abyss Mine.

Miners sell their strength, and Old Tu is the strongest. He is loved by everyone among the miners and can be commanded by anyone.

This giant, known as the "Mining Superstar," is a true "workaholic." He earned this title because he once mined ten tons of ore in a single day. Liyue currently lacks mechanized mining operations; the average person can only mine two or three tons a day by hand, while Old Tu was equivalent to five people, naturally earning him the title of leader among the miners.

Having already decided to base his political base on the workers and farmers of Liyue, Han Fulai naturally couldn't let go of this opportunity to build closer ties with them. Becoming one with these miners would make his future work much easier.

In fact, Han Fulai himself is not a very good drinker. When he first came to Liyue, he got so drunk that he passed out when drinking with Zhongli. But that was in the past.

Now that he possesses both immortal power and the remnants of a demon god, he is not someone who can be knocked out by a mere bowl of wine.

Han Fulai secretly channeled his immortal power to protect his spleen and stomach, and without saying much, he raised the large bowl in his hand high and toasted the miners around him. Then he tilted the bowl slightly, and the wine poured out of the large bowl like a waterfall and fell into Han Fulai's mouth—this move is called "Whale Drinking from the Stream" at the drinking table, like a giant whale sucking water, which is the most heroic.

He once saw the most dashing guy at the company's annual party, and he won applause from everyone with this one special skill.

"Great! Mr. Han is so generous!"

Old Tu gave a thumbs up, and the surrounding miners cheered in agreement.

Old Tu turned his back, patted his chest, and boasted to the surrounding miners, "Look at Mr. Han... I told you the Rock King Emperor was actually still alive!"

Upon hearing this, Han Fulai almost spat out the mouthful of wine he hadn't swallowed. "Emperor Yan is still alive... Who, who said that?" he hurriedly asked.

"I told you!" Old Tu proudly stuck out his neck. "How could the Emperor leave the Layered Rock Abyss sealed off and do nothing? Look, the Emperor wants to clean up this mess of the Layered Rock Abyss! Otherwise, how could the Layered Rock Abyss be reopened?"

“Brother Tu is indeed knowledgeable and wise; what he said makes sense,” a miner nodded in agreement.

Old Tu laughed heartily.

"Hey, let me tell you, I'm not bragging, but I'm not only big, I'm also incredibly wise! No matter what the news is, I can hear things that others can't!"

...So that just means you like to overthink things. Han Fulai silently complained.

In a sense, Lao Tu's guess might be very close to the truth. Han Fulai also felt that Zhongli's indifference to the Layered Rock Abyss must have some considerations behind it; perhaps he was waiting for some opportunity—who knows, one day, a guest elder of the Hall of Rebirth might sneak into the Layered Rock Abyss to perform rituals for the demons at the bottom of the abyss…

Of course, Han Fulai couldn't say that.

"Um... is it possible that I was sent to the Layered Rock Abyss by Lady Keqing of Yuheng Star...?"

"Hehe, I understand, I understand..." Old Tu waved his hand, and the miners all gathered around.

He lowered his voice and said, "You have to keep this a secret..."

Then his face suddenly changed to a mysterious expression: "Mr. Han...you are actually an immortal sent by the Emperor, aren't you? I just happened to see you deactivate the 'Seven Star Formation' this afternoon. When you touched it, a golden light was released, and the stone lantern next to the rock key shattered! That was definitely legendary immortal power! When I thought about it, hey, isn't it just that the Rock King saw how hard we miners were working and sent an immortal to help us?"

Han Fulai shook his head and denied it: "I'm really not an immortal, just a civil servant who knows a little about self-defense."

And what I used was actually the power of the Salt God... Han Fulai thought to himself, if you saw Jiang Xue wielding the Thousand Rock Ancient Sword and shattering the Panjian, you would probably say that Jiang Xue is the Rock King right now.

"Hahaha, that's just your wild guess, Lao Tu." Zhiqiong laughed, huddled among the miners. "Master Han used a unique technique from the Ancient Hua School..."

Zhiqiong flicked her wrist and struck a pose, then slapped Lao Tu's shoulder with a single palm—"Ancient Hua Divine Palm, Seventh Form: Palm Shakes Mountains and Rivers!"

"You little brat, you call yourself 'powerful enough to move mountains and rivers'? I can't even budge you." Old Tu scoffed.

"Hey, Old Tu, with your bragging skills, you should quit being a miner and consider joining me to save money and go to Liyue Harbor! You tell stories, I'll run the place, we can make a living!" A young miner wearing a safety helmet teased from the side.

"Pah, I'm not going! Ah Hao, you little brat, all you do is insult your older brother!" Lao Tu raised his hand as if to hit him, and Ah Hao raised his helmet as if to defend himself, clearly used to playing around with each other.

Just then, a round-faced fat man struggled to squeeze into the crowd.

"Deputy Minister Han, Deputy Minister Han, I'm so glad to finally meet you!"

This round-faced, chubby man was around forty years old. He had an honest and simple appearance and was wearing the same helmet as Ah Hao. The difference was that his helmet also had a pair of dark-colored safety glasses.

"Cough cough..." Zhiqiong pinched her nose and coughed. "Uncle Qi, you smell strongly of gunpowder. Did you just go to the warehouse to get gunpowder?"

"Is the smell strong? Oh dear, no wonder Nan Nan didn't want to hug me last time... Looks like I need to take a good shower before I go home, otherwise my daughter will complain again..." The fat man patted the helmet on his head.

"Hey, Qi Ding, you were afraid of your wife when you were young, and now you're afraid of your daughter. You've been controlled by women your whole life. What a disgrace!" Old Tu mocked.

"What do you mean by being afraid! I mean... I mean a good man doesn't fight with a woman, understand? Unlike you, who's over forty and still can't find a wife, you don't even have the luck to be managed by someone!" Qi Ding retorted sarcastically.

"What brings Mr. Qi Ding to see me?" Han Fulai asked.

Qi Ding patted his helmet a little embarrassedly. "I... I just wanted to ask you to look after my daughter, Qi Nan. You're the Deputy Director of Yuehai Pavilion, so all the civil servants in Liyue are under your jurisdiction, right? ... Well, not to brag, but she passed the General Affairs Department's exam on her first try. She's very smart! And she's very hardworking. She's been working non-stop in the General Affairs Department every day, always working overtime... She says that if she works hard, she'll have a chance to be promoted to Yuehai Pavilion in the future..."

"Well... the promotion of civil servants in Liyue all follow procedures, especially after the restructuring of Moonsea Pavilion..." Deputy Minister Han, who passed the civil service exam on his first try and ranked first, and was then parachuted into the second-in-command position by Gan Yu, is still very principled.

With a loud "smack," someone slammed Qi Ding's safety helmet down.

Qi Ding shrank his neck and looked back, seeing a face with upturned eyebrows.

"Ouch, Sister Jinwu, why did you hit me?" Qi Ding said aggrievedly.

"I'm hitting you, you idiot! Do you know you're harming your Nannan? Don't you even know who pushed for the layoffs at Yuehaiting last time? No matter how well your Nannan does, she should be promoted through the proper channels. Don't try any underhanded methods." Jinwu scolded Qi Ding irritably.

"I... Oh, I was just saying..." Qi Ding shrank into a ball like a fat cat in front of Jin Wu.

"And what are you all doing, surrounding him? Are you trying to get him drunk or something? How can he eat properly like this?" Jinwu glared at the group of miners surrounding Han Fulai.

"Hey, we're not, we didn't..." Old Tu, who was nearly two meters tall, looked short in front of Jinwu.

"Why aren't you spreading out?" Jinwu glared at him.

"Listen to Sister Jinwu!" Seeing that Sister Jinwu was angry, Zhiqiong ran away in a flash.

The miners, like elementary school students being scolded by their teacher, obediently broke free of their "encirclement" of Han Fulai.

At this moment, Jinwu handed over a blue crystal-like object: "Here, Vice Minister Han, you've really had a hard day today. You've been busy for so long, and now you're being bothered by these idiots tonight."

"Thank you for your kindness, Sister Jinwu." Han Fulai thanked Jinwu for her kindness and accepted the crystal.

The crystal was as blue as the sky, and its surface seemed to have a flickering light. Strangely enough, when Han Fulai touched the crystal, he felt a warmth.

“This is the ‘lumenite’ catalyst. I’m in charge of the equipment, and this is the part I’m responsible for processing and adjusting. I’ve worked in the mine for over twenty years, so I’m kind of like an older sister to these young men. I know almost everyone and everything about this mine. If you don’t understand anything, you can come to me. If the equipment malfunctions, you can also come to me,” Jinwu said.

Han Fulai nodded and put away the "Luminous Stone" catalyst.

The "Survey Report on the Spirit Stone of the Layered Rock Abyss" that he had seen in the Moon Sea Pavilion was written by Jinwu, the deputy chief researcher of the Layered Rock Abyss Exploration Team back then.

If there's anyone indispensable in this exploration team, it's definitely Sister Jinwu.

Based solely on the investigation report, Han Fulai assumed Jinwu was an academic researcher like Haidifu, but he never expected her to be a miner from the strata rock abyss.

"So Sister Jinwu is a veteran miner. No wonder those miners respect you so much," Han Fulai said casually to Jinwu.

“Hey, while other kids were in school, I was already tinkering with crystal mining lamps and water filters. It’s nothing special.” She said, glancing at Zhiqiong who was clinking glasses with the miners, and shook her head. “Girls shouldn’t do this kind of work. It’s not worth wasting your precious time in the mine like I did, running around all day covered in sweat.”

Just then, the sound of a piano suddenly reached my ears.

A person plucked the strings of a seven-stringed zither and began to sing along with the music.

"How can there be no music by the campfire? How can there be no music at the banquet? I will sing a song here, a song for this great abyss of rock, a song for the opening of the great abyss of rock!"

"What does this person do?" Han Fulai asked Jinwu.

“Oh, Talesin, the bard from Mondstadt,” Jinwu replied.

"...Why would there be a bard in the exploration team?" Han Fulai raised his eyebrows. Bards had nothing to do with exploration work.

Jinwu shrugged. "This is the sponsor... I mean, Heidif's idea. This bard apparently met Heidif on his travels, and Heidif said he needed a bard to spread his great fame, saying it would increase citations and impact factors... anyway, it would help him get some kind of Chaldea Prize..."

"As a result, the Abyss of Laminaria was sealed off, research could no longer be conducted, let alone spread a great reputation. So Talesin just stayed here to do nothing... Of course, he wasn't entirely useless; he could play the piano and sing songs for the young men to relieve their boredom."

...In short, they're cheerleaders, right? Han Fulai could probably understand just how rich Hydif was. If Hydif listened to Liyue opera, he might even be able to support an entire opera troupe in the Laminar Falls.

Now that he has met the entire exploration team, to be honest, this exploration team doesn't seem capable of exploring the Stratolith Abyss at all.

This exploration team has a financier and researcher, Haidifu; a logistics worker, Jinwu, who maintains the equipment; a group of experienced miners; an adventurer, Zhiqiong, who specializes in surveying and mapping; and a bard who is responsible for cheering them on...

So, who will protect these people?

Faced with monsters, this group of people basically had no choice but to run away—this was probably the biggest reason why Zhiqiong and Haidifu wanted to recruit him into the exploration team; he and Jiang Xue were definitely valuable combat assets.

The question is, how can they be so confident that they can explore the Layered Rock Abyss with such a personnel? If they really encounter the black mud and the unknown monsters deep within the Layered Rock Abyss, how do they plan to deal with them?

Haidif can afford to support even freeloaders, so why not prepare reliable fighting forces in advance?

—Or is there some secret hidden within this exploration team that gives them the confidence to confront the strata rock abyss with their current strength?

Chapter 130 Barbatos' Serenade

As Talesin finished singing, he seemed to notice Han Fulai and Jinwu's gazes and walked towards them.

"Oh, beautiful Miss Jinwu..."

"Stop, don't call me Miss. My daughter is the same age as you." Jinwu seemed to find Talesin's tone unbearable and walked away quickly with a look of disgust.

"Oh dear, beauty has nothing to do with age. In my opinion, mature charm is more captivating than that of a young girl..."

Talesin regretfully removed his white bowler hat, gave Jinwu's retreating figure a Mondstadt hat-tipping salute, and then turned to Han Fulai: "Oh, handsome Mr. Han Fulai, thank you for lifting the seal on the Abyss of Layered Rocks for us."

"Hello, Mr. Talesin," Han Fulai politely responded to Talesin's greeting.

“I’ve heard all about your deeds from Lord Haidif. To welcome you to the exploration team and to celebrate your contribution in breaking the seal on the Layered Rock Abyss, I’ve decided to compose an impromptu poem for you!”

Mondstadt's bards writing poems for themselves? That's quite a novel experience.

Han Fulai couldn't help but smile: "I'm really looking forward to it."

"Ahem..." Talesin cleared his throat and plucked a string. "He's here! He's here! His divine palm shattered the rock seal, and his spear is unmatched! He is—'The Blue Meteor of Liyue'!"

Oh, this seems to be about him breaking the seal on the key... So how is he going to make up a story next?

Han Fulai looked at Talesin, and Talesin looked at him.

Seeing that Talesin didn't speak again, Han Fulai couldn't help but ask, "Uh... that's it?"

“Yes, that’s settled. Are you satisfied?” Talesin nodded.

...How am I supposed to comment on this...? Han Fulai quickly changed the subject: "Um...why is it 'Blue Meteor'?"

“...Because you’re wearing blue today.” Talesin pointed to Han Fulai’s uniform.

"What if I wear white today?"

"Then... Liyue's White Meteor?"

An awkward silence followed.

"Hmm, you... played the seven-stringed zither very well." Han Fulai racked his brains to find an angle to praise the other person.

Talesin's head drooped.

"Sigh, I can tell you don't like my poetry either. But... that's how it is with the more 'old-fashioned' Mondstadt poets."

He knew that as a bard, his skills were really not up to par...

To ease the awkwardness, Han Fulai changed the question: "What do you mean by 'old-fashioned'?"

Talesin suddenly perked up: "Haha, of course not the old-fashioned folk ballad 'Dandelion Pastoral,' nor the old-fashioned love poem 'I Hate You, Marriage Liar'... I'm talking about an old-fashioned bard epic!"

"A bard's epic?"

"Simply put, it's about building upon the solid framework of history, using a genealogy of heroes as a foundation, and adding flesh and blood to it. It's about using long narrative poems to celebrate history and awaken people's awareness of it. You see, that's the value of epic poetry. And the very reason why the great nobles of Mondstadt banned poetry thousands of years ago is precisely because they were afraid that we would remember our past freedom and our past struggles."

"And that is why I despise today's popular poetry and intend to revive 'old-school epics'. I really love bard epics, but... old-school epics don't seem to be very popular now, and my poetry collections don't sell at all in Mondstadt."

Talesin looked somewhat troubled as he spoke.

Simply put, this Talesin was the kind of reader who had read a lot of bard epics and thought, "I can do that too," so he started creating bard epics, but in reality, he was a struggling poet who couldn't sell his poetry collections... Han Fulai thought of Master Chang and Xingqiu and nodded with some feeling.

"Of course, this may be because I didn't have enough epic experiences in Mondstadt, so I went out to travel. The Abyss of the Rocks—what an epic name! It will surely help me write an immortal legend."