He changed Tiwat

"Oh?" Ye Lan tilted her head.

Han Fulai hummed a few lines softly:

"これが正しいって, 言える勇気があればいい."

"ただそれだけ,できれば."

"Hero."

“Miss Yelan, you can take this as a source of self-satisfaction for me.” After Han Fu finished speaking, he stretched out a big yawn as if he had unloaded a heavy burden.

Then he walked toward the abyss of layered rocks on his own.

"Do what is right, do what ought to be done. If you can do that, you're a hero...?"

Ye Lan gently tossed the dice, remaining silent for a long time.

Chapter 242 Others Mine, I Mine People

When Han Fulai returned to the new mining camp, the first person he saw was Zhiqiong.

Although it was already late at night, she was still guarding the entrance to the camp.

Upon seeing Han Fulai, Zhiqiong, with tears in her eyes, gave him a big hug.

"Hero Han, you're back safe and sound! That's wonderful! I thought I'd never see you again..."

This left Han Fulai somewhat at a loss, so he could only gently pat her back to comfort her.

Hearing the noise, Jiang Xue lifted the tent flap, saw what was happening, and then shrank back inside—after all, it was all his fault that things had turned out this way…

Since agreeing to Han Fulai's request, Zhiqiong moved her tent from next to Jinwu's to the camp entrance. If Jinwu hadn't forbade it, she actually wanted to move the tent to the "Wishing Stone" area.

She was always the first one up every day, and the first thing she did upon waking was to inspect the large pit where the "Wishing Stone" used to be. She would not miss any slight movement, so as not to miss Han Fulai and the others' distress signals... She would wait there until late at night before returning to the camp.

She spent the four days after Han Fulai left in this way.

Looking at the crater left by the "Wishing Stone," Zhiqiong sometimes felt resentful of her own weak martial arts skills and the fact that she hadn't been chosen by heaven to be granted the Divine Eye, preventing her from accompanying Master Han and his companions into dangerous situations. Sometimes, she felt a strong urge to jump down into that crater. But whenever this urge arose, she would remember what Han Fulai had told her—

"I want to entrust my life to you, Miss Zhiqiong. Are you willing to accept this commission and become my 'hope'?"

In Zhiqiong's adventurer career, this was the first time she had been relied upon and become someone else's "hope." She told herself that she had to live up to Han Daxia's entrustment; she now bore the weight of someone else's life on her shoulders.

Before going down, Han Fulai made a seven-day agreement with the exploration team, and he also told her that if the time limit was exceeded, they would have to ask for reinforcements.

Days passed, and half the deadline had already passed, but there was still no news of Han Fulai and Jiang Xue, making Zhiqiong increasingly worried. Today, her eyelids kept twitching; she didn't know if it was from lack of sleep or a premonition of something about to happen, which made her even more anxious. She had discussed with Sister Jinwu whether they should ask the Qianyan Army to come down for a search and rescue operation ahead of time, but Jinwu told her to trust in the two men's abilities.

Jinwu's skills were second to none in the exploration team; in her youth, she was at least a first-rate adventurer. With her keen eye, she could discern the abilities of Han Fulai and Jiang Xue. In her view, if those two couldn't handle a danger, even calling the Thousand Rock Army wouldn't help. As for Han Fulai's request, Jinwu immediately saw through it as a pretext to keep Zhiqiong occupied. Of course, she didn't tell Zhiqiong this.

Although Jinwu comforted Zhiqiong, her unease did not dissipate. She had always been a light sleeper, especially when she had something on her mind.

When Jiang Xue returned to the camp first, Zhiqiong immediately woke up.

Although she had never seen Jiang Xue without her hat and mask, she recognized her by her attire—and what made her uneasy was that Han Fulai had not returned with Jiang Xue.

"Hero Jiang Xue, you're back! Where's Hero Han? Why isn't he with you? Could it be...?" Zhiqiong bombarded Jiang Xue with questions.

"Well……"

Jiang Xue scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. As a bachelor with a shelf life of over thirty years, he wasn't very good at dealing with women, especially young girls like Zhiqiong.

Zhiqiong's red eyes and relentless questioning reminded him of the past.

Although it is currently a peaceful era, the Thousand Rock Army of Liyue, in addition to maintaining order within Liyue Harbor, also has the mission of pacifying the borders and exorcising demons. In particular, those more remote mountain villages are prone to demonic disturbances, requiring the Thousand Rock Army to send personnel to patrol regularly and drive away the demons. And occasionally, casualties occur in these demon-exorcising missions.

The families of the Qianyan soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the mission would stop the officers and ask questions like this, especially the young women waiting for their fiancés to return. They would cry their hearts out at such times... Jiang Xue was terrified of seeing such scenes.

Of course, Han Fulai was not in any trouble, and Zhiqiong and Han Fulai were not in that kind of relationship... But what troubled Jiang Xue was that he couldn't answer the question Zhiqiong asked.

He returned early because Han Fulai was going to find the Thousand Rock Army to capture the Foolish Men soldiers. As the commander of the Thousand Rock Army who wanted to retire early, it was inconvenient for him to show his face, so he didn't go with Han Fulai and the others. He couldn't tell Zhiqiong this reason.

The transactions between the Fools and the Treasure Thieves, and between the Treasure Thieves and the Prospecting Team... these things were also secrets to the naive Zhiqiong, so Han Fulai's current mission to capture the Fools couldn't be told to Zhiqiong either.

Because he had separated from Han Fulai and the others early on, he was also unable to determine how Han Fulai and Ye Lan's operation to capture the Fools was progressing or how much longer it would take. Therefore, he couldn't be sure when Han Fulai would return...

If Han Fu were here, he could probably come up with a hundred ways to fob off Zhiqiong, but Jiang Xue is a martial artist and not very good with words, especially when it comes to lying to girls...

Jiang Xue stammered for a while before finally managing to say, "...He, well, he ran into some trouble...I don't know how long it will take...but he'll definitely be back, don't worry, go and rest first..."

—It becomes like this: you're telling the truth, but it sounds like you're lying to comfort someone.

Then Jiang Xue ran back to her tent as if she were fleeing.

As a result, Zhiqiong imagined several scenarios based on the adventurer stories circulating in the association, including Han Fulai taking on the task of covering the retreat alone so that Jiang Xue could escape...

In stories like this, the person covering the rear who says, "You go first, I'll catch up later," definitely won't come back...

Then came the scene where Han Fulai was inexplicably hugged by Zhiqiong.

Han Fulai, unaware of the background, couldn't understand why Zhiqiong looked like she had just experienced a life-or-death situation, and didn't know how to comfort her in this circumstances. Zhiqiong, however, seemed to relax suddenly, and once she started talking, she couldn't stop, grabbing him and desperately asking about everything that had happened in the past few days…

If this continues, Zhiqiong might have to hold him until dawn... Fortunately, there were more than just him and Zhiqiong present.

Ye Lan coughed lightly behind him a few times: "Deputy Minister Han is really lucky, he's only been in the Layered Rock Abyss for a few days and he's already..."

Zhiqiong then realized that there was a third person present and quickly let go of Han Fulai.

"Who...who is this young lady?"

Ye Lan was visiting the exploration team's camp for the first time, and Zhi Qiong had never seen her before.

Han Fulai quickly introduced her to Zhiqiong: "This is Miss Yelan. We met her by chance in the lower level of the Layered Rock Abyss."

"Yes, it was a chance encounter." Ye Lan looked at him with a smile.

Night Orchid.jpg

Zhiqiong looked at Han Fulai and then at Yelan, and couldn't help but recall the three times she and Han Fulai had acted together—

On his first trip down the mine, Master Han brought back Qi Ding;

On his second trip down the mine, Master Han brought back Old He.

On his third trip down the mine, Master Han brought back Kritov;

This is Master Han's fourth time going down into the mine, and he's brought back a stunning beauty! I wonder who he'll bring back next time...

Zhiqiong began to agree with Jinwu's statement: others come to the Layered Rock Abyss to mine, but he comes to the Layered Rock Abyss to poach people.

Chapter 243 Husseini, a connoisseur of health and wellness

After resting for a night, Han Fulai got up to wash up.

During the few days that he and Jiang Xue went down to explore the lower area, the members of the exploration team were also busy.

This area was originally a new mining area developed by the Black Rock Factory. Most of the original miners' living quarters were still usable. After Jinwu and the miners renovated it, it is now quite well-maintained.

The camp is divided into dormitories, a canteen, a sanitation area, and a special alchemy research area for Haidif and Kritov. It is fully equipped and comparable to the dormitories on the ground.

Han Fulai couldn't help but marvel at the "Liyue speed" – it truly lived up to its name – after seeing how the camp had been restored to this extent in just four days.

The sanitation area was built next to a branch of the underground watercourse, making washing up very convenient. Not only were there toilets, but even shower rooms were built—of course, you had to fetch the water yourself from the underground river.

Han Fulai encountered an unfamiliar old man here.

The unfamiliar elderly man was somewhat hunched over, wearing a pale linen blouse and thick-rimmed glasses. His hair and eyebrows were white, with a knot between his brows, and his face was full of sorrow, as if he were constantly worried...

Well, the moment Han Fulai saw this person, he was reminded of the phrase "bent over by the burdens of life".

Although Han Fulai had indeed "dug" out quite a few people from the Layered Rock Abyss, rationally speaking, the Layered Rock Abyss was not a place for the elderly. Judging from appearances alone, Han Fulai couldn't be sure of the old man's identity, so he went up to greet him.

"Hello, sir/madam, may I ask your name?"

The old man looked at Han Fulai with a blank expression and did not answer.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the elderly man was quite health-conscious, with well-maintained skin, free of wrinkles and age spots, though he was clearly a little hard of hearing.

Han Fulai had no choice but to raise his voice: "Sir, may I ask your name and what you are doing here?"

“Uh…” The old man opened his mouth, looking confused. “I’m not very good at Liyue language… Did you mean me when you called me ‘old man’?”

The old man's words startled Han Fulai, because his voice sounded unexpectedly young.

Han Fulai recognized his accent; it was a Sumerian accent very similar to that of Hydif. Furthermore, his claim that he wasn't very good at Liyue language indicated his foreign identity. If this stranger was a foreigner from Sumerian… Han Fulai thought of the “junior” Hydif had mentioned.

"Ah! Could you be the scholar of Mount Sumeru, Husseini?"

"Uh, that's right. May I ask who you are?" Hosseini nervously adjusted his glasses. When he spoke, deep nasolabial folds appeared on his face, making him look even older.

Han Fulai twitched the corner of his mouth. He remembered what Haidifu had once said—"My junior, Husseini, is almost thirty years old and is still just a 'Diliyesi,' and he might not even graduate..."

The person in front of me is actually a student at the Order Academy who is under thirty years old?!

This isn't just about looking old... Hosseini's condition makes people exclaim, "Look at him, he's almost thirty, yet he still has a lot of hair and is so healthy. His secret to longevity is clearly related to his frequent writing of papers."

Han Fulai thought of Haidifu's old face again—no wonder Lisa wanted to leave the Church; if she had stayed a few years longer, she wouldn't be "Aunt Lisa" anymore, but "Grandma Lisa"...

Han Fulai suddenly felt fortunate that he had traveled to Liyue instead of Sumeru.

He quickly and warmly shook hands with Hosseini: "My name is Han Fulai, and I am an investigator dispatched by Liyue Jade Capital to the Laminar Fiery Pass. Mr. Hosseini, it's a pleasure to meet you."

He then steered the conversation toward Haidif, glossing over the fact that he had just called him "old man."

After a conversation, he roughly understood the current situation.

Hosseini is a student of the "Sultan" school of the Theological Seminary and has been researching topics related to leyline energy. According to Hosseini, he is "a genius envied by heaven, and his life has been full of misfortunes"... In short, this time he has gone all out and is giving it his all to graduate.

Actually, he had changed his graduation project several times before. His initial graduation project was a joint research project with his supervisor called "Practical Application of the Energy Conduction Disc," which involved using an instrument called an "Energy Conduction Disc" to collect ley line energy and create "Lyley Fruits," which were crystallized products of ley line energy. However, during the experiment, he accidentally exploded the instrument, and the "Lyley Fruits" he obtained were stolen by monsters. He almost got kicked out of the program by his supervisor.

Then he changed his research topic to "how to use energy-converting disks." Inazuma had many areas with disordered ley line energy, so he traveled there to investigate. However, because he couldn't afford the millions of Mora required by the "Kanjo Magistrate," he couldn't obtain a permit to stay and couldn't conduct his research. Desperate, he tried to sneak into Narukami Island, but was discovered by the shogunate, his research equipment was confiscated, and he had to pay a large fine, exhausting his research funds…

This time, Haidif used the promise of being the "second author" of the paper as bait, writing to Hosseini and asking him to bring the "Pulsina Light Nail" to the Stratolith Abyss. After receiving the message by carrier pigeon, Hosseini saw hope for graduation and quickly applied to the superintendent of the Faculty of Education for the "Pulsina Light Nail." He traveled non-stop and finally arrived at the Stratolith Abyss the day before yesterday.

The "Pursina Light Nail" is a peculiar machine created by the renowned scholar Pursina, who held the title "Hapandha." It is said that Pursina was inspired by the technology of an ancient civilization and even used materials obtained from some ruins... In short, it is a great invention that Hosseini cannot fully understand. In fact, not only him, but also other scholars in the Council of the Fathers do not quite understand this machine, so it has been gathering dust in the warehouse.

Although Hosseini didn't fully understand how the machine worked, it undeniably had the effect of absorbing "chaotic energy." Under the influence of the "Pulshina Light Nails," the "chaotic energy" within Qi Ding and Lao He was expelled, and Sister Jinwu had already sent miners to escort them back to Liyue Harbor for medical treatment and recuperation. Hydif also accompanied him to this new mining camp, preparing for the next phase of research.

The next phase of research involves using "Pulsina Light Nails" to treat the black mud in the strata abyss.

According to Hosseini, this paper could fill a gap in the Siege's subfield of leyline energy conflicts and has significant academic value. If the paper is successfully published, he will have a good chance of graduating.

In addition, Han Fulai also learned that Husseini was born in Vimalakirti Village in Mount Sumeru. His sister, Arenzo, was admitted to the Faculty of Education at the same time as him. However, his sister was also struggling with her thesis and eventually gave up and dropped out of school to return to her hometown, thus bidding farewell to the life of traveling back and forth for thesis and report conferences.

Hosseini believed that one day he too would become a great scholar, earning the titles of "Tasata" or even "Hapandha," producing research results that would be named after him and be admired by thousands for generations to come.

If we disregard his tumultuous academic career, Hosseini is actually quite a talkative person. The two chatted all the way back to their camp dormitory.

Upon their return, Jinwu immediately led them to Haidifu's tent, where the main members of the exploration team were already waiting for them.

Chapter 244 The Miraculous Pulshina Light Nail [4k]

Besides the familiar face of Haidif, Miss Yelan was also in the tent. She was standing in front of the table with her arms crossed, looking at the "Pulsina Light Nail" placed on the workbench.

To the exploration team, Yelan was clearly a stranger, and they shouldn't have invited her to the meeting—but Yelan actually managed to pull out a safety investigator's certificate from the General Affairs Department... Not only that, she even had a "Mining Exploration License" from the Huishan Hall and a "Membership Certificate of the Liyue Relics Protection Association" from the Shenglu Hall...

Therefore, her current identity is "General Affairs Department Civil Servant", "Veteran Mining Investigator", and "Liyue Historian"... In any respect, Jinwu and Heidifu must treat her as an honored guest.

As Ye Lan said, "It's more convenient to have more identities when walking in this world."

After Han Fulai entered the tent, he greeted Ye Lan, and then his gaze fell on "Pulshina Light Nail".

The "Pulsina Light Nail" is over one meter tall and has a very unique shape. Its base is a square mechanical pedestal with a cylindrical tube in the center. A purple columnar crystal is nested tightly inside the tube, and the top of the crystal has been artificially sharpened into a pointed shape. If this instrument is turned upside down and inserted into the ground, it is indeed a "light nail".

Around the purplish columnar crystal, three yellowish-brown triangular metal plates are inlaid at a 120-degree angle. The specific material is not visible from the outside, but it is likely some kind of composite material.

In Han Fulai’s view, this thing could be a mechanical “heat sink”, an instrument “battery panel”, or a rocket “stabilizing wing”; in short, it is full of wonderful modern technological sense.

In addition, Han Fulai also saw some strange metal components placed on the workbench.

Although he didn't know what those metal components were, he was certain they were related to ancient civilizations or Kanria—they were several hexagonal nuts about ten centimeters in diameter, shaped like gears, with patterns engraved on them that were very similar to the patterns on the "Gate of the Rock Hall".

"These are...?" Han Fulai pointed to the hexagonal nuts on the table.

Hussein, who was standing next to him, immediately provided the answer: "This is a maintenance accessory for the 'Pulsina optical nail', a 'universal directional transmission element'."

"Do these maintenance parts come from ancient civilization relics?" Han Fulai walked over and picked up a nut to examine it carefully.

The edges of the nut were polished very smoothly, and the surface had a bright silver electroplated layer, clearly not a handmade product. If he weren't in Tewat, Han Fulai might have suspected that it was a stainless steel product from some modern factory.

Hosseini had previously told him that the "Pursina Light Nails" were made by the scholar Pursina, inspired by the technology of ancient civilizations, using precious materials found in ruins. These precious materials probably refer to these nuts.

If these nuts are indeed products of an ancient civilization, then that civilization's industrial level must have reached at least the modern era—the fact that industrial products can remain uncorrupted for thousands of years requires quite advanced materials science and alloy technology.

Sitting at his workbench, Haidif stroked his goatee with a hint of surprise.

"Deputy Minister Han has a good eye. These are all treasures that the Council of Religious Affairs found in the ruins of ancient civilizations. 'Universal directional conductive elements' are commonly found in various creations left behind by ancient civilizations and are one of the basic components that ensure their operation. Since the components used in the 'Pursina Light Nail' are made of similar materials, they can be used to replace damaged components. In fact, the Council of Religious Affairs' maintenance plan for ancient civilization products is basically 'restoring the old with the old'..."

"Oh? Is the 'Pulsina Light Nail' so easily damaged?" Han Fulai keenly sensed the hidden meaning in Haidif's words.