He changed Tiwat

Jinwu was a veteran at the mine, and Kritov, as the contact person for the treasure-hunting group, had been selling counterfeit medicine at the mine for quite some time; Jinwu was quite familiar with Kritov. In Jinwu's view, Kritov had knowledge of alchemy, wasn't inherently bad, and certainly wouldn't dare to do anything worse than petty theft. After considering everything, Jinwu was willing to give Kritov a chance.

Besides Zhiqiong, Haidifu also expressed his opposition on the spot.

As the nominal captain and financier of the exploration team, Haidif still had a certain say in the selection of team members.

Haidif's objection wasn't because he had any issues with Kritov, but because he had already arranged for someone else to replace Qi Ding.

Yesterday, he used his connections in the Order of the Nether to write to his old classmate in Mondstadt, asking for his help. If his old classmate couldn't come, he could at least send a reliable alchemist from Mondstadt to act as a demolition expert.

However, Han Fulai, in his capacity as a representative of Shenglu Hall, suggested that the anomalies in the Stratiform Abyss be investigated as soon as possible to prepare for its opening. To this end, he strongly recommended that Kritov join the exploration team to replace the blaster. Of course, since Kritov was "redeeming himself through meritorious service," Haidif did not need to pay him a salary.

Since the team members were free, it wouldn't affect Hydif's recruitment of new demolitionists from Mondstadt, so Hydif agreed to the proposal.

Of course, Haidif could only agree. After all, Han Fulai was now the de facto captain of the exploration team, and holding a meeting with Jinwu and Haidif was merely a formality of "democratic procedure." When he asked "who supports and who opposes," apart from Zhiqiong, the straightforward girl, no one would actually oppose it.

And so Kritov became the blaster for the exploration team.

Two days later, Haidif would come to praise Deputy Minister Han for his foresight and brilliant strategy, as his correct decision had greatly accelerated the exploration team's progress—because he had received an apology letter from Mond:

Klee, the "Spark Knight," was placed in solitary confinement by Captain Jean for blowing up the stove at the "Deer Hunter" restaurant. Captain Kaeya, who was scheduled to accompany her, was also placed in solitary confinement for failing to properly supervise her. We apologize, but they will be unable to visit the Layered Rock Abyss for at least two weeks. — Lisa Mintz

Kritov, upon hearing that he wouldn't be imprisoned for the time being, was naturally extremely grateful and immediately began preparing suitable explosives using Haidif's alchemy table. With Haidif, a legitimate scholar, overseeing him, he could rest assured about the safety of his operations. Once the explosives were complete, the path to the "Wishing Stone" would open.

For Han Fulai, everything was progressing quite smoothly. Although there were some minor setbacks, they were all within his control. He handled all the unexpected situations skillfully, ensuring that the exploration work of the Layered Rock Abyss proceeded in an orderly manner—at least on the surface.

But only Han Fulai himself knew that things were not that simple.

After discussing the camp relocation and exploration plans with Jinwu and the others, Han Fulai went to see Jiang Xue alone.

Although he had been with the exploration team for three days, Jiang Xue hadn't changed his "lone wolf" nature. He ate and slept in his own tent and didn't have much contact with others. In the miners' eyes, he was just an eccentric bodyguard.

When Han Fulai entered Jiang Xue's tent, Jiang Xue was lying on a simple cot, resting with her eyes closed. Although she had taken off her straw hat, she hadn't removed her mask. Hearing footsteps, she sat up, but was startled by Han Fulai's expression.

This was the first time he had seen this usually reliable young man with such a solemn expression since he met Han Fulai.

To paraphrase Jiang Xue, he had only ever seen that expression on Yan Xiao's face when he was constipated.

The next second, Han Fulai's words surprised Jiang Xue even more.

"Senior Jiang Xue, I think I've fallen into a trap."

Surprised, Jiang Xue quickly responded: "What trap?"

Han Fulai lowered his eyelids.

"From the treasure-hunting gang to the exploration team... it was all a trap she set for me, and I only discovered it today."

"Whose trap is this?"

Jiang Xue saw a bitter smile on Han Fulai's face.

"Your colleague. That Tianquan star, Ningguang."

Chapter 174 Ningguang's Trap

"What did you find?" Jiang Xue asked.

He was indeed curious about it. For the past few days, he had been acting as Han Fulai's "bodyguard," and he had basically seen what Han Fulai had seen, but he had not noticed the so-called "condensation trap."

Admittedly, different individuals have different levels of observation skills and access to different amounts of information, leading to different judgments. However, even as Jiang Xue recalled her experiences along the way, she could not connect the events that occurred at the bottom of the giant rock abyss with Ning Guang.

"Senior Jiang Xue, do you remember that before we found Kritov, we discovered the remains of a campfire that was still warm?" Han Fulai prompted.

Jiang Xue nodded. "I remember...you mean to say that the campfire wasn't left behind by the treasure-hunting group?"

“Not only that, I believe the person who left the campfire also collapsed the mine tunnel leading to the ‘Wishing Stone’ before us,” Han Fulai said in a deep voice. “Furthermore, I suspect that this person was the one who followed us while we were searching for Lao He.”

Jiang Xue was silent for a moment, then asked, "What is your reason?"

“The timing is wrong,” Han Fulai said. “Zhiqiong said that the campfire was left by the treasure-hunting group, and we did see them later. If we didn’t think about it carefully, we could easily have mistaken the campfire for traces of their activity… But we saw with our own eyes that the treasure-hunting group also lit a campfire. There’s no reason for them to move to a different location within an hour and then light another campfire to eat.”

"So the campfire from before was left by someone else. That person and the treasure-hunting group belong to different factions, which is why they lit campfires in different places... Hmm, that makes sense."

Jiang Xue gestured to Han Fulai to continue.

Han Fulai continued, "Then we drove off the treasure-hunting gang and rescued Kritov. Although I didn't let Kritov finish speaking, I believe you heard it..."

"The Treasure Thieves are making a deal with the Fools, right?" Jiang Xue interjected.

“Yes.” Han Fulai nodded. “And when Kritov fell into our hands, the man immediately took action—the collapse of the mine tunnel was no coincidence! Someone had collapsed the mine tunnel leading to the ‘Wishing Stone’ to hinder our investigation.”

Jiang Xue frowned. "You mean... someone is following us, keeping track of our movements, and intervening before us at the right time... From your description, this person is very powerful."

"This person is familiar with the terrain of the Layered Rock Abyss and capable of operating alone in complex and dangerous dark environments; at the same time, she is adept at concealing her presence, able to track us within our combined perception range without revealing her tracks; furthermore, she must have the ability to collapse the mine tunnels without using explosives or other loud-banging devices; finally, she must have connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, keeping both the exploration team's intelligence and the treasure-hunting group's movements under her control..."

Han Fulai's face was ashen.

"And I know this person."

On the Qunyu Pavilion.

Ningguang sat in her private dining room, enjoying her lunch.

Ningguang's time is very valuable. Merchants are willing to pay tens of millions of Mora for her lunch break, and even having money doesn't guarantee you'll get a table. If a wealthy tycoon isn't at Ningguang's lunch table, it means she's saving time to handle important matters worth more than ten million Mora.

The interests involved in the Abyss of Laminaria are clearly not something that can be measured by a mere tens of millions of Mora.

Ningguang's personal secretary, Baiwen, was standing respectfully to her side, reporting on the progress in the Layered Rock Abyss.

"Today we received a message from 'Youke' from two days ago, saying that 'Youke' has already entered the Layered Rock Abyss with Vice Minister Han."

Ningguang reached out with her chopsticks, picked up a piece of "honey sauce carrot and pork stir-fry," and savored it slowly.

The carrots cleverly remove the gamey smell of the venison, while the honey sauce coating the venison makes the tender and juicy meat burst with amazing flavor. It tastes sweet and leaves a burning aftertaste, as if you are basking in the warm orange sun.

The signature dishes at "The Deer Hunter" tavern truly live up to its renowned reputation.

The fact that Mondstadt's "Deer Hunter" chef would make a special trip to Liyue must mean that the richest man in Liyue has given him an enormous amount of money.

But Ningguang felt it was worth the price to enjoy the authentic atmosphere of a foreign land while sitting in the Qunyu Pavilion.

In fact, just seeing Ningguang's expression of enjoyment was enough to make any onlooker's throat tighten. If it were someone else, like Baishi, they would probably be drooling by now—whether they were craving venison or something else... that's another matter.

However, Baiwen has always been unconcerned about material possessions. In her eyes, nothing is more important than the "Guidance of Prosperity" that Ningguang descended from the Jade Pavilion.

As the former specialist in intelligence gathering and organization among the three private secretaries, she preferred the role of "confidential secretary," so she learned the most from Ningguang, had the widest experience, and had the deepest understanding of the core of Liyue's wisdom and decision-making.

In her view, Ningguang's current expression was not because of the deliciousness of the food—but because Ningguang had already grasped the situation and was enjoying a sense of accomplishment, not the food.

She continued her report without showing any emotion.

"...The orders to Captain Yanbo of the Thousand Rock Army have been issued today, and the locations of the three camps of that group of mining thieves have also been included in the orders. If nothing unexpected happens, the group of mining thieves can be wiped out in three days."

“Very good.” Ningguang nodded.

"According to Miss Tie Niu's report, the 'jade workshop' she proposed to establish three months ago has already caused the treasure-hunting gang to run into financial difficulties. Most of the raw ore they stole has been completely destroyed due to technical reasons, and the treasure-hunting gang's accounts are currently showing continuous losses. ... Therefore, this business with the Fools is very tempting to Second Brother, and he is reluctant to give it up easily."

“Those foolish men are easy to control; money and beauty, either one can make them lose their minds. Of course, if they had clear self-control and knew what they should and shouldn’t do, they wouldn’t have ended up as a treasure-hunting gang.” Ningguang bluntly criticized her second brother.

"In addition, the General Affairs Department received a loss report from Mu Ning, the chief manager of the Layered Rock Abyss. In addition to requesting the replenishment of lost equipment, he also requested additional subsidies for the exploration team members... What do you think..." Bai Wen hesitated when mentioning this matter.

Bai Wen had heard about the joint pressure exerted on Ning Guang by Sheng Lu Hall and Hui Shan Hall a few days ago, and this Steward Mu Ning was the son of the Deputy Director of Sheng Lu Hall. According to convention, the General Affairs Department should of course give him face, but this matter involved Ning Guang's plans and that Deputy Minister Han, which was not something she, as the secretary, could decide.

Ningguang chuckled softly, "It was his doing."

She paused, then continued, “A smart man is not easily controlled. His ambition is firm, his goals are clear, and his behavior is consistent. So what I need to do is guide him. Even if he realizes he has stepped into a trap, he will not give up what he wants to do, and he will not be willing to sacrifice people who have nothing to do with him.”

“I’m curious how he will face this charge of colluding with the Fools.”

Chapter 175 When others accuse you of colluding with the Fools, you'd better really be true.

"...Judging from Miss Ye Lan's actions, her goal is to delay our exploration progress," Han Fulai said. "Ye Lan is aware that Qi Ding, the demolition expert, is currently unable to work, so she chose to block our only route by causing a mine tunnel collapse. And the significance of her doing this is..."

"Delay and wait for a change in circumstances," Jiang Xue uttered these four words.

Simply procrastinating is pointless unless it brings about change.

If the other side wants to slow them down, they naturally have to wait for the situation to change.

"What will be the consequences?" Jiang Xue asked solemnly.

He didn't ask Ningguang why she set a trap for Han Fulai, but instead asked directly what the consequences of this matter would be.

Clearly, Jiang Xue is a pragmatic person; he cares more about "how" than "why".

Han Fulai's attitude towards Jiang Xue wasn't surprising. Even though Jiang Xue was a "retired" Seven Star, her status was still there, and he would always have his own channels to obtain information that ordinary people couldn't access. Jiang Xue should also know that some things had happened between Ningguang and Han Fulai, and their relationship had recently changed.

In reality, since Jiang Xue was living in seclusion at Wangshu Inn, which was Ningguang's intelligence agency, Ningguang couldn't possibly be unaware that Jiang Xue had come to the Layered Rock Abyss from Wangshu Inn. Yet, Ningguang still allowed Jiang Xue to come to the Layered Rock Abyss and act alongside Han Fulai, which clearly indicates a deal and compromise unknown to Han Fulai.

Of course, this is Jiang Xue's own business, and if Jiang Xue doesn't say anything, Han Fulai has no right to interfere.

Han Fulai's answer to Jiang Xue was clear: "I think we need to speed up the process of resolving the anomaly in the Layered Rock Abyss—we need to resolve this matter before the Fools in the Layered Rock Abyss are captured by Ningguang."

“It’s not ‘we,’ it’s ‘you,’” Jiang Xue corrected Han Fulai’s choice of words.

Han Fulai sighed helplessly, "Sigh... I understand."

Jiang Xue was reminding him that the person sitting in front of him was "Bodyguard Jiang Xue," not "Yao Guang Xing Xing Han." At the same time, Jiang Xue was also telling him that he had to resolve his dispute with Ning Guang himself, and that Jiang Xue was not taking sides.

—This is only natural. Jiang Xue came to the Layered Rock Abyss with his own goals. Any changes at the bottom of the Layered Rock Abyss are none of his business. Traveling with Han Fulai is largely for convenience. Acting as a "bodyguard" is just a side job, a way of repaying Han Fulai for his help.

Han Fulai was certainly aware of these things.

However, Jiang Xue's presence as a "bodyguard" somewhat lulled Han Fulai into a false sense of security regarding Ningguang—Han Fulai harbored a slight sense of complacency: "Ningguang, you know Yaoguang Star is with me, you should at least have some reservations, right?"

Ningguang responded to him with her actions: "You are you, and Jiang Xue is Jiang Xue. What does scheming against you have to do with Jiang Xue?"

"So, stop your useless probing." Jiang Xue shifted into a comfortable position and lay back on the bed, as if everything was irrelevant to him.

—In fact, the impact on Han Fulai's political stance has absolutely nothing to do with him.

Han Fulai's special trip to Jiang Xue to discuss matters is, as Jiang Xue said, a test of Yao Guangxing's attitude, to see how far Jiang Xue is willing to help him.

Jiang Xue's response was: What's it to me?

Even though Han Fulai had anticipated this answer, he was still somewhat disappointed.

However, this does not affect what he is going to do next.

"So... since you're my 'bodyguard,' you'll still be working with me, at least within this Rock Abyss, right?"

Jiang Xue lazily rolled over. "Yeah. What do you want to do?"

"It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost," Han Fulai said with a smile.

In fact, he could have seen through all of this before stepping into Ningguang's trap.

Han Fulai knew about the Fools' coveting of the Stranded Rock before his transmigration, based on the game's text. Furthermore, the "Winter Ore Merchant Spy Case" that he and Yanfei solved after arriving in Liyue was very likely related to the Stranded Rock. The spy from Winter, Krosso, had sought to fabricate a clean identity to investigate the Stranded Rock.

After the strange events that occurred in the Abyss of the Rocky Mountains, the Fools sent a force to the bottom of the Abyss of the Rocky Mountains more than a year ago to participate in disaster relief. Yanfei had told him about this before.

After becoming the deputy head of the Moonlit Pavilion, Han Fulai learned why the Fatui were so kind as to send troops to the Lava Pit to help Liyue resist the anomaly—because Winterfell and the six Teyvat nations had signed a "Protection Agreement".

According to the archives at Moonsea Pavilion, Mondstadt was the last of the six kingdoms to join the Protection Agreement—because the Anemo Archon was often nowhere to be found, and the Fatui simply couldn't find anyone to sign it. Finally, a year ago, after the Winter Diplomat was assassinated in Mondstadt, he used this as leverage to force the Knights of Favonius to join the Protection Agreement.

Five hundred years ago, the continent of Teyvat was struck by the "Dark Calamity," when countless monsters invaded the Seven Kingdoms from "beyond the world." After the war, Queen Wintersweet began to establish the Fatui. This "diplomatic organization" then spread Wintersweet's influence across Teyvat. Of course, nominally, the Fatui's mission was to "protect the continent of Teyvat."

As the saying goes, "There are three things that are everywhere on the continent of Teyvat—mint, sweetflower, and the Fools." The Fools' ability to spread throughout the continent of Teyvat is largely due to this "Protection Agreement."

The "Black Calamity" of Liyue originated from the depths of the Layered Rock Abyss five hundred years ago.

Although the Fools have done many bad things behind the scenes and have a bad reputation, there is one thing they are truly worthy of praise for—when faced with the "Dark Calamity," they will indeed keep their promise and send people to provide disaster relief.

The anomaly in the Abyss of the Rocks was initially interpreted by the Fools as a manifestation of the "Dark Calamity," and in any case, they did send relief forces into the Abyss of the Rocks.

However, after the Battle of Ocel, the Fatui broke ties with Ningguang because of their attack on the Jade Pavilion. As a result, Ningguang and Keqing ordered the expulsion of Fatui diplomats, including the relief forces from the Deep Rock Abyss.

Judging from the documents and records in the Moon Sea Pavilion, the Fools' forces had indeed withdrawn from the Layered Rock Abyss. Therefore, Han Fulai had never considered that the exploration team and the treasure-hunting group could have made contact with the Fools.

—This is the intelligence gap between him and Ningguang.

Ningguang took advantage of this intelligence gap and accurately predicted Han Fulai's inability to let go of the miners in the Layered Rock Abyss, which led her to set up this scheme.

To protect these miners, Han Fulai needed to cover up their resale of supplies to the treasure-hunting gang. To do that, he had to balance the exploration team's accounts. The loss list he instructed Mu Ning to submit to the General Affairs Department for this purpose was solid evidence of his collusion with the Fools.

The exploration team colluded with a treasure-hunting group, which in turn colluded with the Fools, who were lurking in the Layered Rock Abyss plotting something sinister. If Ningguang could simply send men to capture and interrogate the treasure-hunting group and the Fools in the Layered Rock Abyss, and then hold the exploration team and Steward Mu Ning accountable… then, in a little while, it would become clear that Han Fulai was colluding with the Fools.

If necessary, whatever anomalies or destruction occur in the Abyss of Layered Rocks, the blame can be placed on the Fools and Han Fulai.

Colluding with the Fools is not uncommon among the Liyue high command. This matter can be a big deal or a small one; it might be insignificant if weighed out, but could be incredibly heavy if weighed out. The key issue is that the power to weigh Han Fulai rests in Ningguang's hands.

Of course, given Han Fulai's powerful backing, even if Ningguang were to truly weigh him down, it would at most be a light lifting and a gentle lowering, with the exploration team ultimately becoming the scapegoat... But the damage to his reputation and political stance would not only harm himself, but also his superiors Ke Qing and Gan Yu.

More importantly, in order to absolve himself of any responsibility, Han Fulai would have no grounds to protect the miners in the Deep Rock Abyss who were "colluding with the Fools." His plans, which were based on workers and farmers as his political base, the industrialization process of Liyue, the "Liyue's Radiance" project, and so on, would all be greatly hampered.

In other words, he is likely to be eliminated in this struggle for the highest power in Liyue.

But Han Fulai did not want to be eliminated.