He changed Tiwat

Since there wasn't a large amount of Liyue currency circulating in Mondstadt, Ningguang prepared cash and bank drafts exchanged by the Ningguang Merchant Guild for him.

Those outfits were of various styles, from Liyue casual wear to Mondstadt suits, and even formal wear for banquets, and all of them fit him perfectly, clearly the work of Boss Ying'er, with extremely high-quality materials... I wonder when Ningguang prepared them. Perhaps she started preparing them after returning from Guili Plains?

Ningguang simply stated calmly, "Her man deserves the best."

Not only that, Ningguang also personally made breakfast for him, allowing him to enjoy a delicious "Qiankun Mora Meat".

—Is this what it feels like to be kept by a rich woman?!

Han Fulai had to honestly admit that being a kept man was really appealing.

In the past, he probably would have felt awkward about it for a while, but now he accepted Ningguang's kindness very generously—she's already his, so why would he go back on his word if he refused her?

Unfortunately, even though being a kept man is tempting, he can't live off him forever. Despite his reluctance, he still set off from Liyue Harbor before noon.

After all, the longer you stay, the less you might want to leave...

According to the plan, he would leave the city through the north gate, and the carriage would take him to the shore of Guili Plain. He would then take a boat to Wangshu Inn and ask Xiao to help him take him to Mondstadt.

Although he could have summoned Xiao directly, it wasn't something he needed to rush to today. Besides, Xiao had helped him a great deal before, so he should at least offer Xiao a couple of plates of almond tofu, right? Furthermore, Wangshu Inn was an intelligence agency under Ningguang's command. Although the owner of Filgodette wasn't a real Mondstadt resident, she had been posing as one for years to receive intelligence and was very familiar with the situation in Mondstadt. It wouldn't hurt to chat for a bit and ask about the local situation.

Han Fulai silently recalled the things about Mondstadt from his memories. Even for him, a transmigrator, the main storyline of Mondstadt was an old version. He wondered if any changes had occurred in the past six months that he was unaware of. Regardless of what Zhongli and Venti's plans were, he had his own purpose in going to Mondstadt—"the Teyvat community of shared destiny."

Although he went to Mondstadt in a private capacity, he still had a mission to complete, so he couldn't just treat it as a vacation.

Although it was in a private capacity, it would be great if I could get in touch with Venti, the Anemo Archon, and use that opportunity to discuss cooperation between the two countries with Jean, the leader of the Knights of Favonius, such as the promotion of Liyue currency.

Given his current status, traveling to Mondstadt in a private capacity wouldn't be considered "tourism," but rather an "informal visit."

While lost in thought, Han Fulai slightly parted the curtains of the carriage to look at the scenery along the way.

As the carriage exited the North Gate, the buildings along the way gradually became scarce, replaced by rolling mountains.

Just as the carriage entered the mountain road where Liyue Harbor and Guili Plains meet, Han Fulai caught a glimpse of a blonde traveler and a white flying object beside her...

"Driver, stop the car!" Han Fulai shouted.

Although Mona was very confident in her astrological skills, she was still a little apprehensive at this moment.

Astrology is absolute, but the interpretation of astrology is not.

Depending on the astrologer's skill level, interpretations of the same astrological aspect can often lead to different conclusions, and these different conclusions may even be completely contradictory.

It's true that a magnificent carriage will pass by here, but is it really this one? Perhaps this isn't the one the horoscope foretells, and another one will appear later? It's hard to say.

But the carriage stopped, which made Mona secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

After the coachman brought the carriage to a stop, a black-haired, black-eyed young master from Liyue jumped down from the carriage and walked directly toward the traveler standing by the roadside and her guide who was floating in the air.

"Are you two the great hero who saved Mondstadt, the honorary knights of the Knights of Favonius, Luminous, and her best friend Paimon?" the young master of Liyue asked with a look of reverence.

Ying and Paimon both put their hands on their hips and puffed out their chests in unison: "Exactly."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Han Fulai, and I'm a friend of Mr. Daines Reibu. We recently went on an adventure together in the Laminar Abyss. He always mentions you to me. Do you two have important business in Liyue? If you don't mind, I can give you a ride." The young master Han warmly established a relationship with the travelers.

It's so great to be famous... You have so many friends, and you're always welcomed wherever you go.

Mona, who had been standing a little distance away, subtly pouted upon seeing this, coughed lightly, and stepped forward: "So, now you believe my astrology is the real deal, right?"

Ying and Paimon both nodded; now they could see it for themselves.

Mona winked at Ying, meaning, "Hurry up and introduce me." A great astrologer shouldn't always introduce herself so readily; it would seem unreserved. Unfortunately, Ying didn't understand her wink.

The young master Han, however, turned to Mona with a beaming smile and bowed to her with great courtesy: "Beautiful lady, may I have the honor of getting to know you?"

Chapter 5: Life is Hard, Don't Expose It [4k] (Special thanks to the author "Eternal Trauma")

Han Fulai had heard an interesting story in his previous world.

The story is about a famous director surnamed Jiang who wanted to invite two heavyweight film stars, Chow Yun-fat and Yuen Woo-ping, to join his new film. However, the big-name film stars had tight schedules, and his new film was not eye-catching among the many offers, making it difficult to win the favor of the film stars.

So Director Jiang sent two letters to the two award-winning actors at the same time.

He praised his new script to Chow Yun-fat, then wrote: "Besides my humble brother, the new film also features the talented brother You. It can truly be said: 'Where three rivers converge, there is a rich land; three heroes join forces to create a masterpiece.' How magnificent!"

In the letter to Brother You, he also praised how great and wonderful his role was, and wrote: "Besides my foolish brother, Chow Yun-fat also appears in the new film. With him on both sides, it's like being warm in winter and cool in summer, isn't that wonderful?"

Upon seeing that a big-name actor had already joined the cast, the two award-winning actors realized that the film must be extraordinary to have such a star. So they gladly accepted the offer—only to find out later that the director had tricked them out of their money.

Han Fulai felt that he had successfully gotten something for nothing—he told Dain in the Abyss of Layered Rocks that he was Yingmei's friend, and now he was telling Yingmei that he was Dain's friend, so he was now a mutual friend of both of them.

This is what is meant by "creating friends out of thin air".

If it weren't for Yingmei and Mona being there, he would probably be grinning from ear to ear right now.

She's gotten involved with the Traveler! That's the female protagonist who travels through countless worlds; in a novel, she'd be the chosen one, the epitome of a powerful and arrogant heroine. How could she not reap the benefits? Her connections might even be stronger than Zhongli's.

Hmm... to be honest, Yingmei's thighs aren't actually thick, but they are really white.

I hadn't noticed her in the game before, but after getting to know her up close, I realized that Ying is a stunning beauty who rivals all the women of Liyue. Her adventurous spirit, honed through numerous perilous experiences, and her dashing and decisive warrior demeanor complement each other perfectly. Her flowing exotic clothing, lovely face, and bright blonde hair create a striking contrast with her overall aura, adding to her irresistible exotic charm.

Moreover, Yingmei is really ladylike when she keeps her mouth shut and doesn't complain.

Grandpa is so cute.jpg

Well, he almost wanted to call the flight attendant his brother-in-law...

If he didn't already have... uh... three fiancées...

...Why do I feel like I'm starting to have some scumbag tendencies? Is building a harem really like cross-dressing—it's either a one-time thing or a never-ending cycle?

In addition, Mona was also accompanied by Yingmei this time.

Han Fulai is no longer the naive person he was when he first transmigrated, so he certainly wouldn't steal Yan Fei's lines as he did when they met.

He had been pretending not to know Mona—at least judging from the current situation, Mona was on the eve of her departure for Mondstadt, and clearly the astrologer had not yet made a name for herself on the continent of Teyvat. It would be strange for him to pretend to know her.

In the game, Mona is a reclusive astrologer, not the kind of adventurer who readily appears in public. The Mona in the game is a typical academic geek, rarely venturing out of her house. In short, Han Fulai has no reason to know her now.

As for the fact that the Traveler and Mona both appeared in Liyue... Han Fulai does recall a Mona story quest called "The Chapter of Reflection." This seems to be the opportunity for the Traveler and Mona to meet in the game.

—It could also be the opportunity for him to meet Mona.

He remembered that he had thought before that he would ask Mona to do a divination to see if he had a destiny similar to "a life of hard work" and whether he could get rid of this "overtime constitution" through divination.

The opportunity is now right in front of you.

Moreover, Mona's astrology is incredibly accurate, a true "prophetic art." Building a good relationship with Mona might give you a significant advantage using her amazing astrological skills… Additionally, you could try to poach Mona to Liyue; that's called "talent recruitment," and with his position, he could easily solve Mona's financial and housing problems…

Wait, why does it sound like he's going to keep Mona as a mistress? ...Pshaw, pshaw, pshaw.

While Han Fu was reflecting on his actions, Old Zhang, the coachman outside, was secretly memorizing the information he would later report to Lord Ningguang.

"Lesser Han let two young ladies into your car less than ten minutes after leaving the city. I don't know what they were doing in the car. Hmm, they were both very young and beautiful..."

Inside the carriage, Mona continued her "basic astrology lesson" incessantly.

Like Han Fulai, Mona was also trying to "get something for nothing".

Luminous and Paimon's previous guess was correct. Mona was actually really afraid that she was not as good as the other party's successor. The old woman had fought with that witch of Mondstadt her whole life and had never gained the upper hand. What if the other party's successor was just as powerful? Would she embarrass herself?

Despite not wanting to admit it, Mona honestly racked her brains to find the famous Traveler to be her helper. After all, the Traveler is a great hero of Mondstadt, and this great hero is now her "apprentice." Even if the other party doesn't give her face, he should at least consider the Traveler's face.

The Traveler kept his word. Since her prophecy had come true, the Traveler believed that following her would lead to clues about his brother, and agreed to disguise himself as her apprentice and return to Mondstadt first—after all, Luminous's trip to Liyue was also because Venti said there would be clues there. With the clues found, the journey could naturally be put on hold for now.

Moreover, this trip is considered an adventurer's mission, a proper bodyguard job.

However, Mona's current financial situation doesn't allow her to pay the traveler's hiring fee, so the only option is... well... to persuade her with words.

Knowledge is valuable too. The astrology books Mona bought cost hundreds of thousands of moles. Using knowledge as a deposit should be reasonable, right?

Although the so-called "acceptance of apprentices" is just an act, if the traveler knows nothing about astrology, wouldn't he be embarrassed on the spot when asked? If you're going to put on an act, you have to go all the way.

For all these reasons, Mona decided to take this opportunity to do some basic education for the Traveler, her "disciple," and dutifully play the role of an "astrology master." Before heading to Mondstadt, she wanted to impart as much astrological knowledge as possible to the Traveler.

"The so-called 'astrology' is a general term for the study of the laws governing the movement of matter; celestial bodies are only a superficial object of study in this discipline..."

So "astrology" is actually Teyvat's version of "astrophysics," right? Han Fulai, who was listening in, translated in his mind.

“My ‘Water Divination’ is the only divination technique on this continent of Teyvat that can reveal the true nature of destiny.”

Mona raised her hand and summoned her "Water Divination Plate".

Legend has it that there were once three moons on the continent of Teyvat. In addition to the white moon that people can see every day now, there were also a "red moon" and a "blue moon".

The azure disc, like the "Blue Moon" of Teyvat legend, reflects the entire starry sky with countless constellations, and its circumference is marked with clockwork-like markings. Mona can use her fingers to move the disc, adjusting the markings to perform her divination.

"The 'water divination' I use is a divination technique based on the illusion of the starry sky reflected on the water's surface. It uses the illusion in the water to reflect the false sky in order to glimpse the truth of the world. ... This is also the only serious research result of that old woman."

Although Mona always looked annoyed when she mentioned her mentor, the "old lady," her slightly raised chin clearly betrayed her inner pride.

At this moment, Ying raised her hand and asked, "I'm talking about Mona..."

Mona stared wide-eyed.

Because it was too much trouble, Ying decided to go along with her.

"...Teacher Mona, I have a question. Since you say that everything on this 'water divination plate' is an illusion, a false sky, how can the falsehood lead to the truth?"

“Ying’s question is excellent.” Mona spoke with the air of a teacher. “Let me explain it in a way that even beginners can understand. The fate of everyone is etched on the starry sky, and the ‘water divination plate’ is the lake on the ground, reflecting the starry sky. As the stars move, the reflections move with them, just like a person’s shadow moves with them.”

"Although we know that a shadow is just an image of light being blocked and has no physical form, seeing a shadow at least allows us to infer that something is blocking the light. In other words, the existence of a shadow symbolizes the existence of the entity itself. This is the principle behind using a water divination plate to predict fate, using a false reflection to deduce the trajectory of destiny."

Mona continued, "Divination is about accurately revealing a predetermined destiny. The job of an astrologer is to clearly show people the fate they are about to face, whether they want to accept it or not..."

At this moment, Paimon raised his little hand: "Mona Laus, what if the other party doesn't want to accept the divination results?"

Paimon actually had some pastries stuffed in his mouth, which were always kept on Ningguang's vehicle. After getting on the vehicle, the greedy Paimon couldn't resist the temptation of the food, and now he looked like a little squirrel with round cheeks, which was quite cute.

Compared to the traveler's look of wanting to skip class, Paimon seemed more interested in Mona's lecture.

Mona answered the student's question very seriously: "It is precisely because it cannot be changed, cannot be defied, and can only be accepted that fate is called fate."

"For example, there was an old woman whose son wrote home saying that he had made a lot of money doing business and would be returning home in glory soon, and had even asked someone to bring him a large sum of Mora. The old woman missed her son, so she went to great lengths to find me and asked me when her son would be coming home?"

"As a result, I learned through divination that her son had lost all his capital in business and owed a large amount of high-interest loans. He sent the last bit of money back home and is now hiding from his creditors. He probably won't be coming back... As a result, the old woman scolded me and left."

"Ah...and then what happened?" Paimon was so surprised he almost choked.

Mona shrugged. "A few months later she received news of her son's death. I told her her son wouldn't come back, that fate couldn't be changed, but she didn't believe it."

Ying and Paimon exchanged bewildered glances.

"So, Mona, do you often offend people?" Paimon asked cautiously.

Mona nodded without hesitation: "That's the job of an astrologer, to only show the truth."

"Isn't this a bit inhumane..."

Even someone as naive as Paimon had such thoughts.

Ying also shook her head: "There's no need to expose some things..."

Han Fulai sighed silently—Mona, don't expose my struggles, you'll easily get beaten up if you keep doing this.

Mona, however, replied completely unconcerned: "This is the code of conduct for astrologers. I will never compromise on the truth. If you're afraid of getting the truth, why ask me? Isn't it those who lack awareness who are at fault?"

Ying and Paimon exchanged glances again, both feeling it was best not to learn astrology—otherwise they would end up as annoying as this astrologer.

The atmosphere in the carriage suddenly became a little awkward. In order to ease the tension, Han Fulai raised his hand and asked, "Master Mona, I also have a question I would like to ask you. I hope you will be kind enough to enlighten me."

Mona smiled.

This young master Han is such a friendly person, so polite and gentle. After hearing that she was an astrologer, her attitude became even better. Honestly, you should take on a disciple like young master Han.

Moreover, he is now very considerate in satisfying Mona's pride.

Mona wouldn't mind satisfying Han Gongzi's curiosity.

She nodded: "Please ask, I swear by the name of Astrologis Mona Megistus, I will tell you everything I know."

Han Fulai smiled somewhat embarrassedly and said, "My main job is as a civil servant in Liyue. This position... often requires overtime. I've been here for more than half a year, and the total amount of vacation time I've taken is less than half a month. Even this trip to Mondstadt was actually a business trip... So I would like to ask you to help me calculate whether I have a destiny of 'being born to be hardworking' or something, and whether you can help me to avert it..."

"Oh, that's easy to do."

Mona aimed the water basin at Han Fulai and raised her hand to start spinning it.

"The twinkling stars reflect the fate of all people, and what is reflected on the water is an illusion, but the 'truth' will eventually be revealed."

With the air of a master astrologer, she gently clenched her hands, as if grasping the destiny on the horoscope: "The stars are all within my grasp."

The astrolabe's rotation gradually accelerated, much like a clock speeding up.

Finally, a patch of shimmering blue starry sky came into view in front of Mona, and then... and then the water sphere vanished.

Han Fulai stared at Mona expectantly, while Ying and Paimon also stared wide-eyed at Mona, eager to know what the divination had yielded.

Mona herself wanted to know what the result would be.