He changed Tiwat

With a flick of her wrist, Ke Qing summoned the Dragon's Roar sword from its sheath into her palm. She twirled her sword with a flourish, declaring with triumph, "What A-He can do, I can do too. Her spear is sharp, but my sword is no less so!"

Chapter 396 The Sorrow of Salt [4k]

Around 5 p.m., Han Fulai finally arrived at the secret place where the Pure Water Spirit was located.

During the flood season, roads were submerged, leaving few direct routes. Small boats couldn't keep up with the speed of a galloping horse, and the mountain paths were even more muddy after the rain. Reaching the destination in just over two hours was already a testament to their combined efforts.

The secret location is at the easternmost edge of Qingce Mountain, a small lake surrounded by mountains on three sides, accessible only by a dilapidated path used by herb gatherers. This place is several miles from Qingce Village, and has been sparsely populated for centuries. He hadn't seen any living creatures along the way, making the place seem even more ominous.

It was also thanks to Han Fulai's previous experience of farming Pure Water Spirits in the game that he was familiar with the terrain, even though he hadn't been here since his transmigration. Otherwise, it would have taken him a lot of effort to find this place.

He and Keqing parted ways halfway there.

Just like the plan they discussed on the ship: he would act as bait, infiltrating the secret location head-on to lure out the mastermind. Meanwhile, Keqing would use her agility to climb the surrounding mountain peaks first, gaining a commanding view of the entire situation, and then strike at the most opportune moment by descending from the sky—yes, Keqing was very satisfied with this entrance; it was incredibly impressive.

While the plan may not be the most meticulously crafted, it is quite feasible.

With the Ice Golem gifted to him by Shen He, it's practically a natural counter to Water Spirits. Add to that Keqing's impressive aerial mobility and her Electro-type nature, and the two of them together are practically guaranteed to defeat a Water Spirit. Often, when you're strong enough, you don't need elaborate calculations; brute force can overwhelm anything, just attack and win.

What he truly feared was that the mastermind wouldn't take the bait, which was why he specifically instructed Ke Qing to temporarily conceal her existence. After all, the other party could very well be someone from the Silver Plains Hall or even Rou Ran herself from Tianji Star. These matters obviously couldn't be revealed to Ke Qing unless the other party was confident they could silence her as well.

Deceiving Keqing... is incredibly difficult. Not only did Keqing demonstrate her prowess by single-handedly taking on an entire troop of fools at the Qunyu Pavilion, but her lightning-fast, unique movement technique also makes her incredibly difficult to stop if she wants to escape. Han Fulai's statement that having Keqing on his side would give him more confidence wasn't just empty flattery; Keqing is indeed exceptionally well-suited for this mission.

However, when Han Fulai actually saw the situation there with his own eyes, he realized how important the preliminary investigation was. "No investigation, no right to speak" is an irrefutable truth. One must never think that everything is under control just because one is a time traveler.

The situation was different from what he had imagined. He didn't see the Water Sprite, nor the Shapeshifter, or any accomplices of the mastermind.

Before him lay only a lake, but it was much larger than in the game, at least several hundred meters in diameter, not something one could easily run from one end to the other. Increased distance meant increased difficulty in providing support.

Not only that, the stone platform in the game where players could stand and fight the Water Spirits is nowhere to be found.

Han Fulai thought about it and felt that this was normal. After all, no traveler in Liyue had needed to farm Pure Water Spirits for hundreds of years, so who would go to the trouble of building a platform here? The Pure Water Spirits just want "a peaceful place," and they certainly wouldn't allow anyone to build a fishing platform on their heads...

In addition, the biggest difference from the game is that the lake water is blood-red, which is chilling to look at.

In the center of the red lake, there is a huge whirlpool, which looks just like the seal of the pure water spirit in the game, but this seal has now been broken.

From that whirlpool, Han Fulai could sense the resentment he had experienced at the bottom of the river. Clearly, the Pure Water Spirit was hiding beneath that whirlpool. That whirlpool might be the entrance to a secret realm, just like the underwater secret realm that Ba Che had once explored.

The location was correct, but Han Fulai was indeed in a dilemma.

His plan with Keqing was for him to fight the Water Spirit, make it look like he could easily ambush the mastermind, and then Keqing would catch him red-handed. However, that plan is clearly not going to work now.

To find the Water Spirit, we need to go underwater. Will Keqing be able to come to our aid in time?

Should we change the plan and bring Ke Qing down with us? With Yuheng Star around, the mastermind might not show up.

Han Fulai rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache. He felt that ever since he transmigrated here, almost everything he had encountered had been a case of "plans not keeping up with changes," and there were very few times when things went smoothly from beginning to end.

Come to think of it, the time he got things done most smoothly was in the Abyss of Layered Rocks, where the "Wishing Stone" friend helped him out and boosted his luck... Conversely, if luck could be quantified, his base luck would probably be E?

—I should have learned swordsmanship first, why did I have to play with guns!

Despite his complaints, time was of the essence, and Han Fulai quickly made a decision—no matter what, sealing or eliminating the Pure Water Spirit and ensuring it could no longer damage the Guiliyuan Dam was the most important thing. He had to go down there.

At worst, we can try luring the Water Sprite from the bottom to the surface to fight it. Success would be great, but failure is okay too; there's always a chance to catch the mastermind.

Having made up his mind, Han Fulai no longer hesitated, clasping his hands together to activate the Jade Shield. He had at least managed to build up the power to activate the shield during his two-plus hours on the road, enough to ensure his safety. As for offense, he still had the ice puppet Shen He had given him.

Shen He gave him a total of seven Ice Feathers. He used four at the bottom of the river, and now he has three left. Theoretically, three Ice Golems should be enough for him to handle any situation.

Han Fulai summoned an ice golem to clear a path in front of him, while he himself followed the ice golem through a frost tunnel that formed on the lake's surface, approaching the center of the lake.

He observed the vortex for a moment, then gestured to Keqing, who was high in the cloaked height, with his hands behind his back. He then jumped into the blood-red vortex with the ice golem.

On a nearby mountaintop, Ke Qing carefully concealed herself, observing the red lake below. She had already gripped her hairpin, ready to use her "Star Return" technique to descend from the sky at any moment.

She saw everything Han Fulai did down there.

While Han Fulai hesitated by the lake, Keqing had already carefully examined every corner around the lake with her sharp eyes. She had considerable experience in wilderness adventures and combat. If she weren't the daughter of one of the Seven Stars and the heir to a top family in Liyue, she probably would have joined the Adventurers' Guild and become an adventurer as famous throughout the continent as Stanley.

In Ke Qing's eyes, there was no one hiding around this lake except herself. If there really was a mastermind hiding here, they could only be in the water.

She had noticed the hand gesture Han Fulai gave her before jumping into the vortex; it meant to hold back and wait for the right opportunity. She could more or less guess that Han Fulai wanted to lure their opponent in, and she certainly had that much patience.

But this patience was quickly overshadowed by worry.

—Just minutes after Han Fulai jumped into the whirlpool, the whirlpool disappeared.

The red lake surface was as calm as a mirror, without even the slightest ripple.

Han Fulai jumped into the whirlpool and landed quickly.

Yes, the ground beneath the vortex is actually the surface.

Han Fulai was prepared to fight underwater while holding his breath. He had also considered that the red lake water might be strange, so he activated the Jade Shield in advance to prevent the lake water from being poisonous or posing any other danger. Although the Jade Shield was not waterproof, it could still block harmful substances.

But what lay beneath the whirlpool wasn't lake water, but solid ground.

The whirlpool resembled the entrance to a tunnel. After entering, one found oneself in a crimson space, completely covered by red lake water except for the mud at the bottom of the lake. Yet, the lake water miraculously remained frozen like a glass wall, not leaking into the space at all, and the air inside was even quite fresh.

The entire space is about ten meters long, wide, and high, resembling a rather unsightly hall with no decorations or furnishings, and you can see right through it.

The water sprite, Lotia, was also in this space, still retaining her human form. The wounds on her body from the ice golems had healed, but it was unknown whether the damage inflicted by the ice golems had been cured.

Upon seeing Han Fulai, her "enemy," Lotia's eyes blazed with fury.

"Assassin! Assassin who trespasses on the waters of Qingce! You will surely experience the terror of water with your death!"

She spread her arms wide and screamed, and birds, cranes, frogs, squirrels, wild boars and other shapeshifting beasts swarmed out to block her way, completely obscuring her—the scene looked just like an ancient emperor shouting, "Assassin! Someone, come to my rescue!" and then a bunch of guards and eunuchs ran out of the palace to stand in front of the emperor.

Despite Lothia's tough talk, she's actually doing the most cowardly thing—she's quietly backing away behind the shapeshifter...

"Aren't you supposed to be the strongest pure water spirit spy under the Water God? How come you're such a coward..." Han Fulai twitched the corner of his mouth, almost letting out a sarcastic remark... Ah, no, almost, it seems he really said what was on his mind.

—When cosplaying Zhongli in his battle form, his desire to mock is always very strong.

Well, it's quite reasonable for a character like Zhongli, who can activate a shield and act as the main tank, to have a built-in taunt skill...

"Kill them."

Han Fulai snapped his fingers, and the ice puppets guarding him moved at his command, charging into the formation of illusionary beasts with their spears.

The battle between the ice golems and the shapeshifters was a complete one-sided affair; the shapeshifters were virtually no match for the ice golems. Aside from continuing to reinforce the shapeshifter guards as meat shields to buy time, Lotia seemed unable to do much more.

Come to think of it, if Lothia were truly powerful, she wouldn't have needed to secretly have shapeshifters dismantle the dam. As a "spy," sabotage behind enemy lines should be her forte, but she's not a "warrior," and direct confrontation isn't her forte. Besides, she was severely injured by the ice golem when she came to dismantle the dam before, and she's probably still weakened.

In the game, the Pure Water Sprite is only slightly troublesome in terms of mechanics. In terms of actual combat power, it seems to be quite weak compared to various world bosses. It hasn't been able to enter the Spiral Abyss since the game's launch...

Of course, Lothia did try to retaliate; she did command some shapeshifters to attack Han Fulai. However, neither the water bullets spewed by the cranes nor the charge attacks launched by the wild boars could even create a ripple on the Jade Shield, failing to break through its defenses at all.

If Han Fulai summons another ice golem, the battle could probably be ended very quickly.

However, he did not do so.

Having an ice golem suppress Lotia was enough; he was still conserving his strength to deal with any possible surprise attacks, and most of his attention was focused on something other than Lotia—a long red and blue spear.

That spear stuck in the lakebed is probably the culprit that turned Lotia, who originally lived a peaceful life in this small lake, into what she is now.

The resentment he felt on the lake earlier actually came from this spear. Now that he's closer, he can feel the sorrow emanating from the spear even more clearly.

And what turned the lake water red was probably this long spear.

The lake in the game isn't like this, and the pure water sprite Lotia in the game is different from this one. Lotia's current state is more like a hysterical reaction to something affecting her mind; she seems very emotionally unstable. Perhaps she's being controlled by this spear? Like how the remnants of a demon affect a person's mind?

Han Fulai recalled doing a quest in a game about pure water spirits called "The Wish of Pure Water." The quest mentioned that pure water spirits had a unique characteristic: their race could merge with other water elemental beings, synchronizing their records and receiving their emotions and knowledge. The way pure water spirits expressed affection was by merging their water bodies together.

However, because water spirits are inherently pure, their dominant consciousness is easily disrupted by even the slightest hint of malice. This spear polluted the water; the resentment or malice on the spear contaminated the water spirits' water, causing Lotia's dominant consciousness to collapse, leading to her current state.

In this sense, the seemingly cowardly and crazy pure water sprite is also a victim.

Considering the hydrochloric acid on the shapeshifter, Han Fulai had some guesses about the origin of this gun.

This gun might also contain remnants of the "Salt Demon God" Heuria.

It's either a relic of Heuria, or it's stained with Heuria's blood? In any case, it must be related to the Salt God.

Perhaps if he simply pulled out this strange spear and took it with him, he could solve everything.

But Han Fulai doesn't dare touch the spear now.

On one hand, he was afraid that touching the spear might have some negative effects. On the other hand, the mastermind behind it had not yet appeared. The spear was stuck in this space, which was too much like a trap. He might be affected by the spear.

While remaining vigilant, he said loudly, "I've already come all this way, why won't you even give me a greeting? I came at your invitation, yet you won't even show your face; this is a breach of hospitality."

Chapter 397 Then I'll Help You Be Dignified

His voice echoed in the empty space, but no one responded.

Han Fulai shook his head and said, "There's no point in continuing to hide. I know there are other people here."

"This space was not formed naturally, nor could it have been created by the pure water spirit itself. Pure water spirits are water elemental creatures, they do not need to breathe, and they do not need to create such a space. Only humans, who need to breathe like me, would specifically create such a space to hide underwater."

“I have heard that pure water spirits must live in places where there is water. The purer the water, the more abundant the water element, and the stronger the pure water spirit. Conversely, if the water is polluted, the pure water spirit’s body will also be polluted, not only will its power decrease, but even its spirit will be eroded. You must have used the resentment on this spear to pollute and control the pure water spirit, making her destroy the Guiliyuan Dam for you.”

He waved his hand, and the ice golem, who was locked in combat with the water sprite, immediately withdrew its weapon and retreated. The water sprite, now able to catch its breath, turned around, and a stream of water enveloped her. When the water receded, Lotia had already transformed back into her former sprite form, hovering in mid-air.

The PureWater Sprite's appearance is somewhat similar to Eevee from Pokémon, but its two arms have now become two water wings, and its legs have transformed into a fish tail. It is said that the more powerful the PureWater Sprite, the closer its body is to colorless and transparent pure water, but this PureWater Sprite's body is currently covered with a layer of dark red gloom, greatly diminishing its appearance.

The water sprite let out a sharp cry and flapped its wings as it charged upwards, seemingly trying to escape from the whirlpool's exit. However, its movements abruptly stopped halfway, and it instead swooped down to attack.

The ice puppet, of course, would not let her attack it, and charged forward again with its spear, engaging the pure water sprite in a fierce battle.

Han Fulai pointed at Lothia and laughed, "I've heard that this water sprite escaped from Fontaine to Liyue back then. She has a deep desire to avoid the world and is not a monster that likes to fight at all. Look, she just instinctively wanted to run away, and I didn't stop her from running away, but she came back. Why is that? It's because she is now not in control of her own destiny and is being controlled by others."

"If she can't keep me occupied, it will be difficult for you to launch a sneak attack on me, right? I wonder which expert from the Silver Plains Hall is lying in ambush here? Or perhaps it's Lord Tianji Star himself?"

Now that things have come to this point, if someone were truly hiding in the shadows trying to ambush him, they should know that the ambush would not succeed.

But the person hiding in the shadows seemed determined not to show themselves.

All of his claims are speculations without any concrete evidence. Since the other party was able to secretly plot using the Pure Water Spirit, they are not the kind of person who can be easily provoked by a few words.

Han Fulai sighed, silently chanted the incantation again, and summoned another ice puppet.

"Go, smash down the outer walls of this space and let the lake water flood in. If you'd rather drown than show yourself, then give it a try."

Ice Puppet, of course, had no reservations. He thrust his spear straight at the nearest spatial boundary, and the glass-like wall formed by magic immediately trembled. No one doubted that if Ice Puppet continued his attack, he would soon break through the outer wall of this space. In fact, if Shen He were here in person, he probably would have shattered these walls with a single punch.

"Sigh... Vice Minister Han, please stop." A voice suddenly came from behind Han Fulai.

The pure water sprite, which was entangled with another ice golem, suddenly drifted back several meters and stood there motionless like a puppet.

Seeing that the enemy had stopped, Han Fulai also ordered two ice golems to return to his side to guard him, and turned to look at the source of the sound.

The place should have been empty except for the transparent wall made of magic, but suddenly the void distorted, and a young man in blue robes with long hair walked out from the distortion of light and casually threw away a piece of white paper.

"This is a talisman from the Inazuma 'Yin-Yang Bureau,' just a smokescreen. I hope Vice Minister Han will forgive my blunder."

Although Han Fulai had not met this noble young man many times, he still recognized him at a glance. He was the leader of the Salt God's remnants, one of the Seven Stars, the Rouran of Tianji Star.

The so-called "Shiki" he just discarded seems to be similar to the talismans used by the Liyue Immortals, with a style somewhat similar to the talisman paper used by "Onmyoji" that Han Fulai had seen in the anime before.

Whatever his intentions, it's good that he's willing to show his face.

Han Fulai smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "I greet Lord Tianji Star."

Rouran smiled back and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Vice Minister Han, there's no need for such formalities."

If a third person were watching, they would probably think that the two had met by chance on the Jade Capital Terrace and were exchanging pleasantries.

But this is clearly a hidden underwater realm fraught with danger, with pure water spirits floating nearby, and the eerie spear emanating deep resentment stuck in the ground behind Han Fulai.

"Would the Rouran lord be willing to explain to me why you are here?" Han Fulai asked.

Rouran's smile remained unchanged. "Since Vice Minister Han already knows the answer, why ask me?"

"Since the Rouran lord intends to kill me, why don't you do it?" Han Fulai asked again.

Rouran pointed to the jade shield on Han Fulai's body and the ice puppet beside him, and said helplessly, "There is no chance. Deputy Minister Han has close ties with the Immortals, Miss Ganyu and Lord Gochenlang of Liyue Harbor are protecting him, and the Great Sage of Demon Extermination is always there to protect him... To be honest, if I didn't know that you, Deputy Minister Han, are indeed human, I would almost think that you are the Emperor who faked his death and was reborn."

"No, no, you flatter me..." Han Fulai waved his hands repeatedly.

After hearing what Rouran said, he realized that his "bodyguard" was indeed a bit higher-level, at least much higher than a Seven-Star... Well, his salary was lower than a Seven-Star's! These are considered benefits, right?

Rou Ran's smile seemed tinged with bitterness: "But it seems that Vice Minister Han's title of 'successor of the Emperor' is truly well-deserved. The Jade Shield is as solid as a rock and indestructible. The Emperor relied on it to be invincible during the Demon God War. Seeing it today, it is indeed worthy of its reputation. The power of the Pure Water Spirit is like an ant trying to shake a tree in front of the Jade Shield. My few Yin-Yang Talisman Techniques that I learned from Inazuma Tomoto are even less worth mentioning."

"Not at all, not at all, you flatter me..." Han Fulai waved his hand again to express his humility.

This is what it means to feel reassured by the weight of the rocks. The reason he dared to venture into this secret realm alone was because he relied on the absolute defense of the Jade Shield. Without summoning a powerful magical beast of the Ba Che level, no one could break through his defense now.

"Since Lord Rouran also knows that the goal cannot be achieved, why not reseal the Pure Water Spirit?"

Rou Ran tilted her head slightly. "If we do this, will Vice Minister Han just pretend nothing happened?"

"Oh dear, Lord Rouran, you're quite the joker," Han Fulai laughed. "Our Liyue laws emphasize 'leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist.' Your cooperation... saves me the trouble of taking action. Doesn't that make things more respectable for Lord Rouran?"

"What if I don't want this kind of respectability?" Rou Ran shook her head with a smile.