He changed Tiwat

As if to express his feelings through music, Talesin casually plucked the strings of his lyre and played a serenade that was popular in the Mondstadt region.

The composer of this "Serenade" is unknown, and there are no lyrics. The melody is beautiful and soothing, with a touch of melancholy that evokes endless imagination. Some say it was a tune personally played and sung by Barbatos, the god of the wind, on his "Sky Lyre." Of course, it is more likely that it was simply the product of some obscure bard playing it after a few drinks.

In Mondstadt, many obscure composers like to use the pseudonym Barbatos to make their compositions popular. There are even some drunken poets in Mondstadt who, when drunk in bars, claim to be the incarnation of the Anemo Archon, hoping to avoid paying for their drinks, but the bartenders never fall for it.

Talesin would occasionally play this piece and improvise lyrics for it—he never found suitable lyrics for this "Serenade," so most of the time he just hummed it casually.

But today, this song has lyrics.

Because Han Fulai suddenly started singing along to his tune.

Moreover, Han Fulai sang in Mongolian.

He raised his glass and began to sing: "Your figure arrives gracefully, carrying fragrance, filling me with endless longing. Who can raise a glass to tender love..."

The lyrics are gentle and elegant, as if a poet is reminiscing about a beautiful love in the hazy moonlight in the mountains.

"what?"

Talesin froze, his hands involuntarily stopping playing the piano.

"You wrote these lyrics?... They're absolutely wonderful!"

"Ah...ah, yes, I wrote the lyrics on the spot." Han Fulai smiled sheepishly.

For Han Fulai, Talesin had just played a piece he was very familiar with.

This song is widely circulated among college students, and it is most frequently heard at the foot of the girls' dormitory building—boys who can play the guitar occasionally use this song to express their feelings to the girls they admire.

In China, this song is called "Toseli's Serenade," a love song. It was very popular among students in the 1930s and 40s, but the lyrics were gradually lost due to the war. It wasn't until a famous elderly person in China rewrote the lyrics of this serenade based on his memories that the lyrics were rewritten.

In my university music appreciation class, the teacher taught us to sing this song.

“If Mr. Talesin is willing, you can play the piano and I will sing,” Han Fulai said with a smile.

The atmosphere of a bonfire party is quite suitable for this piece of music.

Talesin was overjoyed and excitedly shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Han is going to sing for us!"

"We want to hear it! We want to hear it!" Zhiqiong was the first to cheer.

The surrounding miners also started making noise, and even Jiang Xue, who was in the distance, quietly turned her attention to this side.

Talesin played "Serenade" again, its bright melody resounding all around.

Amidst the melodious piano music, Han Fulai softly sang along with the melody.

"Your figure arrives gracefully, carrying fragrance, filling me with endless longing. Who can raise a glass to tender love... Ah, this love has vanished without a trace."

Suddenly, a staccato note appears in the melody, as if reflecting the poet's bewildered and uneasy state of mind. This is an emotional turmoil.

My smile is hidden in your deep eyes, and I see heaven rising before me. Please let my passionate heart find peace once more. Oh, I bless you. I will love you forever! May every day be filled with happiness and joy forever.

As the emotions grew stronger and the song reached its climax, his voice finally lingered on a deep, resonant tone.

"Your heavy figure in my heart, your heavy figure... I will remember you in my dreams, remember you forever in my dreams, remember you until eternity..."

Most of the people in the exploration team couldn't understand Mongolian, but they could feel the deep emotions in the lyrics.

Not only because of the melody, but also because of that gust of wind.

On this windless night, a breeze suddenly arose in the rocky abyss camp surrounded by mountains—a gentle breeze caressed everyone's hair, like a blessing from the wind god Barbatos.

Amidst applause, the bonfire party came to a close.

Talesin couldn't sleep that night. He kept recalling the song and writing it down from memory along with the melody. His bard's intuition told him that the song would be a great success.

—Later, with lyrics written by Han Fulai and sung by Talesin, "Barbatos' Serenade" became a popular love song in Teyvat.

Talesin wrote his thoughts in his travel log that night: "I swear, these lyrics must have been entrusted to Mr. Han by the Wind God."

Chapter 131 The Missing Miners and the Gift of the Abyss

The next morning, the exploration team gathered at the center of the strata rock abyss as planned, preparing to take the mine elevator into the abyss.

However, several unexpected events occurred during the assembly.

The first surprise came from Jinwu. Before everyone used the elevator, Jinwu, who was in charge of equipment safety and maintenance, checked the equipment's operation as usual, and found that the elevator had been used before—shortly before they arrived.

This elevator, which leads directly to the lower level of the sealed area, has not been used for a long time. Apart from Jinwu's regular maintenance, it has theoretically been out of service until yesterday.

The seal was opened by Han Fulai and Jiang Xue yesterday evening. If anyone operated this elevator, it must have been between last night and dawn today—because Jinwu came to inspect the equipment as soon as it was light.

In other words, just last night, someone secretly used the elevator to enter the Laminar Abyss.

As for who secretly entered the Abyss of Layered Rocks, the answer soon came out.

The answer to this question came from Lao Tu, a miner in the exploration team.

He brought a second surprise: when he and several miners went to the warehouse to move tools, they found that one set of tools was missing, and in addition, a large box of gunpowder used for blasting hard rock was also missing.

Clearly, someone took a set of tools and a box of gunpowder and secretly took the elevator down into the mine at night.

This person's identity would be clear if he were called out by name. Old Tu counted his miners, and there was only one person who was absent—

Has anyone seen Qi Ding?

Old Tu raised his voice, but all he got in response was a chorus of "I didn't see it."

Han Fulai pondered for a moment, then asked a crucial question: "Who slept in the same room with Qi Ding last night?"

There are a few workers' dormitories here in the camp, but they are just simple wooden houses.

Jinwu and Zhiqiong, two women, each occupied one room, while the other male workers slept in several other rooms, usually two or three people sharing a room.

Han Fulai and Jiang Xue were not part of the planned group, so after the welcome party last night, they went to sleep in Mu Ning's general manager's office.

At this moment, Ahao hesitated and raised his hand: "Qi Ding and I are roommates..."

"So where is he?!" Old Tu shouted loudly.

Ah Hao shrank back slightly: "I don't know..."

"You were in the same room as him and you didn't know?" Old Tu glared.

"I really don't know..." Ahao shook his head vigorously, "After the party last night, we went back to our room, and Qi Ding said he'd had too much to drink and needed some fresh air to sober up, so I just went to sleep. When I woke up, I didn't see Qi Ding, and I thought he'd gotten up first, but who knew he'd run downstairs by himself..."

"...Do you know why he went down early?" Han Fulai asked Ahao.

Ah Hao shook his head.

At this moment, Haidif tugged at his goatee and asked, "Could it be for the 'gift of the abyss'?"

"What is the 'gift of the abyss'?" Han Fulai asked rhetorically.

"That was before the mine was sealed off... At first, a strange rumor circulated among the miners that something beneath the Abyss could grant their wishes. But I clearly warned them that it wasn't something to be touched casually, yet some miners still took a chance and went to look for this 'gift from the Abyss,' and one after another they disappeared..."

"They were discovered some time later. When they were found, they were either mentally unstable or unconscious. It took them a long time to recover after being rescued... and then the Abyss of the Laminaria was sealed off."

Although Haidifu's words were somewhat vague, Han Fulai, who had read the investigation report, immediately understood what Haidifu was referring to—the "spirit stone" mentioned in the report. The workers spread rumors that the "spirit stone" had the power to grant wishes.

But weren't there already injured people who became delirious because of the "spirit stone" back then? Logically speaking, Qi Ding was an old miner, so he should have known the danger of that "spirit stone" and shouldn't have secretly gone to make a wish on it.

not to mention……

"Even if he were to make a wish, would it be necessary for him to bring tools and gunpowder?" Han Fulai continued to ask.

"This..." Haidif also looked bewildered.

"Moreover, gunpowder is a dangerous substance. Doesn't your exploration team have anyone responsible for guarding the gunpowder depot?" Han Fulai continued to ask.

"Qi Ding is in charge of the gunpowder depot. He is a member of the blasting team. He used to do this job in the mine and knows how to use gunpowder."

Jinwu, who had been inspecting the elevator, now shared her opinion.

"There was indeed a smell of gunpowder on the elevator. Judging from the fact that the gunpowder and tools were missing, it can be inferred that Qi Ding took the tools and gunpowder and went down into the mine at night while everyone was sleeping."

"So that means he wanted to go down into the mine ahead of time and blow something up?" Han Fulai frowned.

Jinwu shook his head, "I don't know what he was thinking. He's usually a very steady and honest person... How could he suddenly do something like this? Besides, the gunpowder in the mine is a new product from Black Rock Factory, much more powerful than when the mine was shut down a few years ago. This whole box of gunpowder could blow our camp to smithereens..."

Han Fulai frowned even more deeply; the situation of this exploration team was becoming increasingly suspicious.

First, there was this strange personnel composition, with not a single combatant, and then there were the miners stealing gunpowder and going down into the mine on their own... This made him wonder what kind of conspiracy was hidden in this exploration team.

"Ah! He's trying to blow up the 'spirit stone'!" Ah Hao suddenly slammed his fist into his hand.

"Could it be... Hey, it's for his daughter again? That idiot..." Old Tu sighed heavily when he heard Ahao say that.

"For his daughter? He'd blow up the 'spirit stone'?"

Han Fulai recalled the round-faced fat man he had met the previous night. Qi Ding had indeed mentioned that his daughter, Qi Nan, had passed the civil service exam for the General Affairs Department. He spoke of his daughter with a proud air—the kind of typical doting father who spoils his daughter rotten.

In fact, Qi Ding even wanted to use his connections to help Qi Nan get promoted... but what does that have to do with blowing up "spirit stones"?

Old Tu shook his big head and said, "Sigh, Qi Ding's wife died after giving birth to Qi Nan, so he devoted himself to taking care of his daughter. He said he wanted his daughter to have a good life in Liyue Harbor, and while he was still healthy, he wanted to earn as much money as possible. Back when he was working in the mines, Qi Ding was also very hardworking..."

“He once said when he was drinking with us that it would be great if the ‘spirit stone’ were gone,” Ahao interjected. “It’s because the ‘spirit stone’ was mined that Seven Stars closed the Layered Rock Abyss, and we miners have no work to do, so of course we earn less than before… Qi Ding also said before that even if the Layered Rock Abyss reopens, if the ‘spirit stone’ is still there, the mine will be closed sooner or later…”

So that's what happened—Han Fulai instantly understood Qi Ding's idea. The "spirit stone" would cause the mine to be shut down and would ruin his daughter's life, so the "spirit stone" had to be blown up!

"Oh my god! We can't blow up the 'spirit stone'! My thesis... I have to stop it right away!" Haidif cried.

"Is this the time to worry about your lousy thesis? Saving lives is the priority!" Jinwu gave Haidifu a sharp rap on the head without any hesitation. Even when facing the exploration team's benefactor, Sister Jinwu is always the eldest sister.

“This blockhead gets affected and becomes confused before he can even get close to the ‘spirit stone.’ The danger isn’t the ‘spirit stone,’ but Qi Ding. He hasn’t been down there for years, and who knows what the depths of the Layered Rock Abyss have become. There might even be demons lurking near the ‘spirit stone.’ We need to find him quickly,” Jin Wu said seriously.

“I propose that I, Hero Han, and Hero Jiang Xue form a search and rescue team!” Zhiqiong raised her hand. “I am familiar with the terrain below, and I remember the route to the vicinity of the ‘Spirit Stone’.”

Han Fu glanced at Jiang Xue, who nodded silently.

"Alright, let's go down together." After Han Fu finished speaking, he, Jiang Xue, and Zhiqiong stepped onto the elevator.

"With me in tow, I'll be responsible for providing you with equipment and resources and setting up a temporary camp. The 'Lumenite' catalyst still needs to be tested."

Jinwu adopted her boss-like demeanor, "You all, stay put in the camp and don't move around! Don't cause any trouble! Understand?"

"Yes, Big Sister!" Everyone, including Haidif, answered in unison.

Chapter 132 Rescuing the Missing Miners (Part 1) [4k]

The elevator was quite fast. Thanks to Jinwu's maintenance, the machine operated smoothly without any sluggishness, and in no time they arrived at the lower level of the Layered Rock Abyss.

If there's any drawback to this elevator, it's that it's too shaky—after all, it's a modified mine crane, and its primary function is transporting goods, not sitting on people, so there's really no comfort to be found standing on it.

The lower you go, the dimmer the light becomes. By the time the elevator reaches its destination, the light at the entrance above is only a faint glimmer, barely enough to make out the outlines of the people around you.

Logically, the Abyss of Laminaria is not the seabed, so the propagation of light should not be obstructed in this way—clearly, there are other forces at the bottom of the Abyss of Laminaria that are blocking the sunlight from shining in from above.

Without Jinwu's prompting, Han Fulai had already activated the "Luminous Stone" catalyst that Jinwu had given him as the elevator descended.

Although this catalyst is theoretically driven by absorbing the elemental power of its holder, the immortal power that Zhongli gave to Han Fulai can also make the "Lumen Stone" catalyst work. In principle, this "Lumen Stone" catalyst only "absorbs energy and converts it into light energy for illumination," but there doesn't seem to be a very strict requirement as to what kind of "energy" is absorbed.

Jin Wu, the creator of the "lumenstone" catalyst, said that there are still many unknowns about "lumenstone". Perhaps as research progresses and deepens, more applications of "lumenstone" will be discovered in the future.

Under the illumination of the "Lumenite" catalyst, the group of four descended the elevator and arrived at the site that was once the Black Rock Factory mining area.

"Phew, it's been so long since I've been down here... It's that familiar air from the mine." Zhiqiong's tone was a little excited.

Jinwu tapped Zhiqiong on the forehead.

"Don't let your guard down, Xiaoqiong. Why do I smell something unfamiliar?"

"Oh, really..." Zhiqiong wrinkled her little nose, looking aggrieved, "It's because the swaying elevator was too distracting... If I could just jump down directly, I definitely wouldn't have missed it..."

“You’ve been on the ground for too long,” Jinwu shook his head.

Han Fulai also tried to smell the air carefully—aside from feeling stuffy, he couldn't detect anything unusual.

"As expected, everyone has their own expertise. Your sense of smell is much sharper than mine," Han Fulai said sincerely.

"Haha, if you don't have a good nose in the mine, it can be fatal," Zhiqiong laughed, lifting the cage of little round birds in her hand. The little birds chirped a few times.

"It's alright now. Look, the sparrows are still very energetic."

Tools and mine carts left behind by the workers during their emergency evacuation remain in the mining area, including tents used for workers' rest, but most of them have decayed or collapsed.

Ironically, the longest-lasting structures are the construction scaffolding erected by the workers, which still stands strong even after years of disuse. The plants in the abyss are equally resilient; many scaffolding sections are covered in moss or fungi, resembling a rainforest landscape from afar.

This may be good news for Haidif, whose research topic is "a survey of fungi in the stratiform abyss".

"Watch that." Jiang Xue, who had been very silent, raised his hand and pointed in a direction. At the spot he was pointing to, a dark blue crystal was emitting the same luster as the "Lumenite" catalyst in their hands.

“It’s Lumenite!” Zhiqiong exclaimed.

“The lumens have actually grown all the way here… Before the mine was closed, it hadn’t even extended this far…” Jinwu’s voice clearly carried a hint of unease.

As the group approached to investigate, the closer they got, the brighter the "lumenstone" catalyst in Han Fulai's hand became. When they got close, the catalyst even trembled slightly.