He changed Tiwat

"Oh, I see. Don't worry, we're experts at finding people!" Paimon said confidently, accepting the job on the spot after hearing that it was a simple missing person request.

When she said "we're good at finding people," she was naturally referring to Mona, who could tell fortunes, and Fischl, who had the ability to detect Oz the Night Raven.

Of course, Han Fulai was actually quite good at finding people, especially when he was at the bottom of the giant abyss.

Adeline smiled and said, “That’s great. There are two wagons used for transporting goods, and the workers’ names are Fritz and Ben. According to their original route, they will definitely pass through Stonegate on their way back from Liyue. I would like to ask you to help me look for them in the vicinity.”

Ying nodded: "Don't worry, leave it to us."

Chapter Thirty-One: The Appearance of the Fools

Upon hearing that they were looking for someone, Mona immediately pulled out a water bottle: "No need to ask around, Miss Adeline, please provide me with more detailed information about the two of them, such as their height, appearance, age, etc..."

Astrology is indeed incredibly useful in situations like this. Knowing only the basic information and original route of the two people, her divination was already able to accurately predict the movement patterns of the two workers.

According to Mona's divination, the worker named Ben is already on his way back to Dawn Winery, but the worker named Fritz is still stranded near the border town of Stonegate. The two seem to have separated, and the details are unknown. However, astrologically speaking, neither of them is in immediate danger.

In the afternoon, the group set off for Shimen to search for the two workers.

With Mona's location and Oz's aerial view, finding people became much easier. In addition, the carriage lent by Dawn Winery made the journey even faster, and the group soon encountered Ben on the road.

Ben's carriage was moving very slowly on the road. When the group asked him, they learned that his carriage was almost full of goods, which was why he was moving slowly and had not yet returned.

It turned out that last night, when he and Fritz arrived at Stone Gate, they happened to witness a meteorite fall. One of the meteorites struck Fritz's carriage squarely, damaging the wheels.

Faced with this unexpected misfortune, the two were helpless. Fritz and Ben agreed that Fritz would stay behind to guard the goods and wagons, while Ben would transport all the loads back first, and then ask the winery to send someone to pick him up.

This is probably why Fritz remained near the Stone Gate in Mona's divination.

The carriage was hit by a meteorite falling from the sky... It's hard to say whether Fritz was particularly lucky or particularly unlucky.

This was probably the most dangerous incident in the meteor shower over the past two days, but thankfully Fritz was not injured.

“But he may not be safe now. We’d better hurry over to Shimen to check.” Han Fulai gestured for everyone to speed up their journey.

—Fritz and the other two workers have been sitting there for over ten hours since last night. They have no idea that the meteorite is something that cannot be touched. Who knows if Fritz, who is standing there staring blankly at the carriage, will touch the meteorite.

Rather, it's highly likely that Fritz has already fallen into a deep sleep. If he falls asleep alone on the mountain path, monsters and bandits could pose a danger at any moment.

The carriage traveled at high speed, and after about two hours it arrived near Shimen, where the tall sentry posts of the Qianyan Army could be seen.

Along this route, the group also collected several meteorites. The middle section of the Stonegate Trade Route is located between Liyue and Mondstadt, similar to a "public road" between the two countries. To put it bluntly, it's a place like the "high seas" where no one cares.

This is also why monsters and bandits are likely to appear on this road.

When both countries sent people to clear the meteorites, public roads were given a relatively low priority. For the time being, only the adventurers from the Adventurers' Guild could clear them. Obviously, the adventurers did not have the spare capacity to manage such blank areas. Han Fulai and his group cleared the meteorites on the road along the way, which can be considered as doing a good deed for future merchants.

But there they found another group of people cleaning up the meteorite, and this group was not a charity.

Ying and Han Fulai recognized those people very well—the Fools!

Before Han Fulai could make a move, a figure darted out from the coachman's seat and pounced on the Fools' soldiers—needless to say, it was Ying.

Han Fulai, after all, held a position within the Yuehaiting rank. When encountering ordinary soldiers of the Fools, he would still ask them a few questions to confirm their purpose to avoid any diplomatic problems. But Ying didn't have this concern, since she, as an honorary knight, didn't have a formal position.

An unofficial honorary knight is considered an unofficial knight of the order when doing good deeds, but when fighting, he is obviously considered a temporary worker.

As for the feud between the Fatui and Luminous, the Fatui's chief executor, "Lady," led a group to beat her up in front of the Cathedral of Favonius, and then kicked, punched, and even ripped out Wendy's heart in front of her.

Ying has always remembered this grudge.

So when Ying saw the Fatui in the wild, her first reaction was to beat them up. As for the fact that the one who beat her was "Lady's" subordinate, and had nothing to do with the other Fatui... well, let me ask you, are you a Fatui?

The group collecting meteorites was a five-man Fools squad when they were suddenly attacked by a blond-haired guy who beat them up. Two of them were knocked unconscious on the spot before they could even draw their weapons. If the blade hadn't been unsharpened, being hit on the back of the head by that blade would have been more than just knocking them out.

The debt collector, acting as the squad leader, led a Wind Fist fighter and a Thunder Hammer fighter to launch a counterattack against Ying, but Ying wasn't alone.

Han Fulai did not appear in the carriage; he merely gestured, and a golden jade shield appeared around Ying's body. The debt collectors' fire blades and the Thunder Hammer Vanguard's hammers struck the jade shield without even causing a ripple.

Meanwhile, "Half-Dragon-Slaying True Lord" once again drew her dragon-slaying weapon, chanting an incantation to buff Ying. Hearing Mona chant up close, Han Fulai realized just how absurd her incantations were; they were basically excerpts from the book "Tales of Dragon-Slaying Heroes," something like "Kick their asses hard!" Well, absurd or not, incantations are still "words of power," so as long as they work.

The night raven, which had been scouting high in the sky, was also recalled by Fischl. At the right moment, the princess’s imperial voice rang out in the carriage: “The demonic arrow of the night… it is calling out my holy name, praying that the azure lightning of punishment will strike down the enemy of fate!”

Oz, upon receiving the order, coordinated with Luminous's sword dance and spewed lightning, leaving the poor Fools soldiers dazed and confused.

With three backstage assistants serving Yingmei, Yingmei, who usually only had Paimon as her backstage cheerleader, had never enjoyed such a blessing. She fought with increasing ferocity and became unstoppable, cutting down the Fools' soldiers in no time.

"Damn it... Don't think we're going to let this go. Our executive officer is nearby too, just you wait and see!"

Seeing that things were going badly, the debt collector squad leader uttered a classic villain line and had his bruised and battered companion carry the two unconscious men as they fled in disarray.

Yingmei, looking refreshed, picked up the Mora bag left behind by a fainted member of the Fools and explained to the group her reason for attacking: "There are no good people among the Fools. You can't just beat them up in the city, but I'll beat them up every time I see them outside the city."

Although she looked more like a robber, because the Fools had such a bad reputation, everyone gave Ying a thumbs up for her righteous act.

Paimon, however, looked worried: "The Fools are also investigating the meteorite? And even the Enforcers have been mobilized! How strange... We'd better be careful."

She seemed to have a premonition that the Fools would appear, indicating that things were not as simple as they seemed.

Han Fulai also recalled what Boss Filgodette had told him before he came to Mondstadt about the Fools' unusual behavior, and he became more vigilant.

Not long after encountering the Fools, the group saw a half-destroyed carriage by the roadside, and could smell the aroma of wine from afar.

The horses that were supposed to pull the cart had disappeared somewhere. Around the cart were some jars and pots, which looked like goods that were being transported to the Dawn Winery. The cart's emblem was also the logo of the Dawn Winery.

It seems this is the carriage Fritz they've been looking for.

However, Fritz was not seen by the car, but a strange man who left a deep impression was standing there.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Scatterers

The strange man standing by the carriage could be summed up in one word: "strangely dressed."

This person was thin and short, but wore a huge red conical hat that was disproportionate to his size, making it look like he was wearing an umbrella on his head.

This conical hat is elaborately decorated, with a thunder pattern on the top symbolizing the people of Inazuma Province, and a fierce face in the center. Circular pendants decorated with plum blossoms hang from the sides of the hat by red ropes, and two transparent gauze curtains hang from the back, reaching all the way to the heels.

These two gauze curtains are the most peculiar. Each curtain is embroidered with characters, but when put together, they form a character that no one can understand. If one were to make a rough guess, it seems to be a newly created character by combining the upper part of the character for "evil" and the lower part of the character for "good."

Even in the fantastical world of Teyvat, such attire would be considered extremely strange. In Inazuma, such a person would be called a "Kabuki-zuri".

The term "eccentric" refers to someone who enjoys unusual customs, wears flashy clothes, and always acts in ways that defy common sense; it is short for "eccentric."

In the world before Han Fulai, such a person would generally be called "non-mainstream," and if he were exactly fourteen years old, he would probably be called "chuunibyou" (a person with delusions of grandeur).

But Han Fulai knew that this person was neither "non-mainstream" nor a harmless or even somewhat cute "chuunibyou" like Fischl.

This person is dangerous, extremely dangerous—because he is the "Executor" mentioned by the Fools who were just driven away, the sixth seat of the Fools' Executors, codenamed "Scrap Soldier".

As someone who experienced the Inazuma version of the time traveler, Han Fulai was quite impressed by the executor who stole Thor's heart in the story—of course, it's impossible for the skirmisher's appearance not to leave a deep impression.

The ranking of the Fools' executives is based on their strength.

Han Fulai had previously been in contact with two of the executives of Zhidong, namely the "Young Master" at the bottom seat and the "Rich Man" at the ninth seat. If you include the "Lady" at the eighth seat whom he met in the story and weekly dungeons, then there are three executives.

With his current strength, he could at least unleash the combat power of a sage, and should be able to defeat "Lady" in a one-on-one fight... But the Scattered Soldier is the sixth seat, even above "Lady." Based on his impressions from the Inazuma storyline, even the three elemental travelers plus Inazuma's divine familiar, Yae no Miko, might not be a match for this executor before him...

He instinctively stopped in his tracks.

Almost simultaneously, Mona, who was walking beside him, also stopped in her tracks. Not only did she stop, she even slowly backed away.

However, Ying and Fischl walked toward the skirmishers without realizing it.

Making rash contact with the Fools' Enforcers, whose intentions are unclear, might be dangerous. Should he stop Yingmei and the others? Han Fulai hesitated for a moment.

The soldier noticed someone approaching, turned around, and revealed his face, which was hidden by a straw hat.

It was a face like a doll's, exquisitely crafted like the "Ichimatsu Dolls" popular in Inazuma. His Inazuma-style clothing and ear-length black hair further reinforced this impression. His features were somewhat androgynous, leaving one questioning his gender, but judging from his chest, which was even flatter than Master Hu's, he was undoubtedly male. At least, that was the version of events Han Fulai knew.

To Han Fulai's surprise, the soldiers' gazes bypassed Yingmei and Fischl and landed directly on him.

Those deep purple eyes... were devoid of any emotion, as if they were the embodiment of the concept of "emptiness".

Han Fulai's intuition told him—this kind of person is the most terrifying. Because this kind of person has no attachments, so they don't care about anything.

“Oh, Fritz is here.” Paimon’s voice came.

Paimon flew straight over to the carriage as soon as he saw it, circled around it looking for Fritz, and found Fritz lying inside the carriage.

Paimon approached Fritz, checked his breathing, and then flew out to announce the findings: "He's passed out."

"I'm afraid so. I've tried many methods but haven't been able to wake him up." Surprisingly, it was a stragglers who answered, and they did so so naturally, as if they were very familiar with Paimon.

The outgoing Paimon immediately struck up a conversation with the skirmisher: "Looks like Fritz also touched the meteorite here..."

The soldier stroked his chin: "You mean that rock on the cart? Don't worry, I dealt with it with magic. By the way, you just said 'also,' does that mean you've seen other people who have fallen into a deep sleep?"

He asked this question to Fischl and Yingmei, who had walked up to him.

"Hmm." Facing the strangers, Fischl meticulously covered her eyes with one hand, adopting the same demeanor she had when she first met Han Fulai and his group: "My Eye of Judgment has witnessed firsthand the nightmares pouring out of the Valley of Demon Bones, and the residents of Clear Spring Town are suffering greatly from them, writhing in agony."

Oz, flapping his wings, chimed in, "As you can see, we just came from elsewhere. There are quite a few people in Mondstadt who are in a deep sleep, with symptoms exactly like this gentleman's."

"I see... It seems the meteorite caused quite a bit of damage." The skirmisher nodded, his movements making one worry that his hat might fall off.

Paimon joined the conversation again: "Oz, stop talking about 'this gentleman.' This sleeping man is Fritz, a worker at Dawn Winery. You see, his attire is pretty much as Adeline described."

Oz, without any pretense, showered Paimon with praise: "Your eyesight is excellent, Mr. Paimon! I couldn't possibly discern those subtle details in his clothing."

Paimon chuckled and accepted Oz's compliment: "My memory is better than my eyesight!"

Then she turned to the skirmisher: "However, compared to the one next to me... Fritz's outfit is indeed rather unremarkable."

"Haha, are you talking about me?"

The soldier smiled and pointed to his magnificent purple and black robes.

“Yes, this is the first time I’ve seen you dressed like this,” Paimon nodded.

Ying also spoke up, "The hat is very big and very unique."

Fischl said, "The clothes are very special and beautiful."

"Oh dear." The soldier seemed quite pleased. "Thank you for the compliment. I'm just a 'vagrant' from Inazuma."

"Floating Man" means "wanderer," similar to a down-on-his-luck samurai like Kaedehara Manyo.

Han Fulai couldn't help but laugh when he heard what the stragglers said.

He had seen the origin of the soldiers' uniforms online before.

The soldiers are not wearing ordinary Inazuma clothing, but rather Inazuma aristocratic attire from hundreds of years ago. These days, they can only be seen in Inazuma's traditional theatrical performances, known as "Kabuki."

—Moreover, his costume is called "Kokubun-yaku" in Kabuki, which is for a villainous character who overthrows a country's government and seizes it for himself.

In particular, the "Yatagara" crest he wore on his chest was related to the "Sanba crest" of the Thunder General, representing a sacred object of "Heaven, Earth, and Man." In Inazuma, only people of high status could wear such a crest, and now it was rarely seen except in the general's castle tower.

If Inatsume saw the soldiers' attire, her first impression would probably be "a prince from a Kabuki play who brings disaster to the country."

Of course, in Paimon and the others' eyes, it was just "dressing in a more unique way"—after all, Luminous's otherworldly traveler's outfit, Paimon's star cloak, and Fischl's gothic lolita outfit were no less unique than the skirmishers'.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Important Figures and Dangerous Individuals

The fact that the soldiers called themselves "wanderers" of Inazuma actually meant that they were hiding their identities, similar to Zhongli's "a nobody in the mortal world" that he often mentioned.

Although they were strangers, the atmosphere during their conversation was quite pleasant, and since the person didn't seem to have any ill intentions, Ying and the others wouldn't pry into his identity.

While the origins of the stragglers were indeed mysterious, everyone present had their own little secrets.

After the skirmisher finished introducing himself, he turned the conversation to Fritz: "I was just trying to help this unconscious gentleman when you appeared. May I ask your names?"

Paimon, having heard that he had just rescued someone, felt a certain liking for him. Moreover, the man seemed very polite, so he straightened his chest and said, "I am Paimon, the best friend of the Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius!"

Fischl adopted a more dramatic, childish pose: "I am Princess Fischl, the one who punishes sins, and I rise to the call of the people!"

Oz landed on Fischl's shoulder: "I am the lady's servant, the Night Raven, Oz."

Ying also introduced herself: "I am an adventurer under the association..."

Before Ying could finish speaking, the skirmisher interrupted, "You are Ying, the honorary knight of the Knights of Favonius, right? I've heard of your heroic deeds."

"Yes, we were asked to investigate the meteorite incident."

A slightly smug yet shy smile appeared on Ying's face—"Yes, I am indeed a celebrity. Look, even a random passerby has long admired my name."

Fischl, not to be outdone, stepped forward to the stragglers: "The princess has already set out for war. Look forward to it, the holy thunder of judgment, which proclaims destiny, will purge this seed of nightmare that brings calamity!"

"Uh...uh?" The skirmisher had traveled to many countries and was quite knowledgeable, but he had never seen anyone like Fischl who made it impossible for him to understand what she was saying...

Paimon quickly explained, "Don't mind her, that's just her style."

Ying also chimed in, "Fischl is a very kind and warm-hearted person."

"Hmm." The skirmisher decided to ignore Fischl's true identity and turned his gaze to Han Fulai and Mona behind the group: "So... are those two over there also your partners?"

Ying and Fischl then realized that Han Fulai and Mona had been standing still the whole time.

Paimon enthusiastically introduced the newcomers: "That one over there wearing a big hat is the astrologer Mona, and the one next to her in a long robe is Han Gongzi from Liyue... Hey, come over and meet your new friends!"