He changed Tiwat

Han Fulai smiled and nodded: "Don't forget, Schubert, who was kidnapped, is now my 'uncle' as well."

Chapter 206 The Vanished Temple [4k]

"Are you... serious?" Yura was taken aback.

Han Fulai smiled and nodded, deliberately adjusting his "medals" and "sashes".

"I'm just accompanying my 'fiancée' to find her missing uncle. Is there anything wrong with that? Besides, I think personally rescuing Schubert from danger is much more useful than treating him to a meal, isn't it?"

Yura couldn't refute Han Fulai's reasoning.

Indeed, Sir Humphrey was Yura's fiancé, and Schubert was nominally her uncle as well.

It is only natural for him to go looking for his "elders".

Moreover, Yura has witnessed Han Fulai's strength firsthand, and if he is willing to help, the operation to rescue Schubert will definitely be much easier.

But he also has another identity: Deputy Director of the Office of Liyue Moonsea Pavilion, and Executive Deputy Secretary-General.

When Han Fulai clashed with the Foolish Diplomats, including Vagin, at Longji Snow Mountain, he deliberately concealed his identity in order not to escalate the incident.

If he were to go with the Knights of Favonius to rescue people, the nature of the situation would change drastically, essentially making Mondstadt and Liyue join forces against Winter... Although Yura wasn't yet a core member of the Knights of Favonius, she could still see the basic situation clearly.

She led a guerrilla squad to rescue people, which was a normal duty of the Knights of Favonius to search for missing civilians, and was still within the rules of the power struggle between Mondstadt and Winterfell. With a high-ranking official from neighboring Liyue also going, Winterfell might react very strongly.

Actually, she didn't care much about Zhi Dong's reaction, but she was afraid of causing Qin too much trouble.

Although she always complained about Qin holding grudges, had some reservations about Qin's ideas, and never admitted to their friendship... she saw how hard Qin worked. Her willingness to obey Qin's instructions and do things that she considered trivial and underutilized was itself an act of consideration for Qin.

Yura would really feel bad if this matter caused Qin to get into trouble again.

Of course, Yura was unaware of the contents of Han Fulai's secret conversation with Qin the night before last.

Jean had asked him to help deal with the Fatui, and now was the perfect opportunity to eliminate them from the shadows of Mondstadt.

For Han Fulai, the Fools had essentially handed him leverage, and the person they'd kidnapped just happened to be his "uncle." How could he possibly miss such a golden opportunity? Even if Yura insisted he not go, he would sneak off on his own...

Yura didn't hesitate for long before making her decision.

Schubert is still in danger; every minute they arrive later means another minute of danger for him. Regardless, saving him is the priority, and Han Fulai's strength and wisdom are exactly what Yura needs right now.

"In that case, I'll go back to the Knights Order to change my equipment and gather my men. Wait for me at the city gate, and we'll meet there."

After Yura finished speaking, she rushed out, but was stopped by Han Fulai again.

"There's no need for all that trouble. I think you look fine in this outfit."

"Huh?" Yura didn't understand what he was saying at all.

“Going back to the Knights to call for help is too slow,” Han Fulai explained. “As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war, and delay can lead to unforeseen circumstances. Of course, the sooner we go to rescue people, the better. Let’s set off now.”

"Huh?" Yura was surprised again.

Judging from Han Fulai's words, it seems that the two of them are enough?

Han Fulai didn't explain further and said goodbye to Mona directly: "Mona, thank you very much this time. I'll treat you to dinner when I get back. You can choose any restaurant."

Upon hearing about the free feast, Mona beamed with joy: "It's a deal. Have a safe journey."

Before Yura could say anything more, Han Fulai pulled her out the door.

Schubert felt as if he had been in darkness for a very long time.

Maybe it will last for tens of minutes? Or perhaps for several hours?

He couldn't calmly calculate the time; people easily become anxious in dark and unknown environments.

Despite being well-versed in so-called "aristocratic etiquette," it had never taught him what to do when he was blindfolded and bound hand and foot.

All he knew was that his hands and legs were tied to a terrible chair with a backrest, and he was completely unable to move.

As for why it's called a "terrible chair"—because this chair doesn't even have a plush cushion, and the surface seems to have uneven splinters; his noble backside has never suffered such torment before.

Schubert's last memory was of last night.

He was suddenly awakened from his sleep by a loud thud, like his suitcase had been overturned. Schubert had just sat up to check when he felt a blow to the back of the head, and then he knew nothing more.

Even now, the back of his head still hurts terribly.

Moreover, he was very cold.

The weather in Mondstadt should be quite warm right now, but the temperature here reminded him of the bitter cold of late winter. A cold wind howled through a window, making him shiver uncontrollably.

Yes, he's only wearing a bathrobe right now.

If he could speak, his first words would definitely be to ask for a coat for himself.

Unfortunately, his mouth was roughly stuffed with something he didn't know, and he even felt like his tongue was about to be crushed.

At that moment, a hand removed the black cloth covering his eyes.

Schubert opened his eyes and was immediately met with a horrifying face.

The face was very close to him, almost touching his nose—grayish-white skin, dark eye sockets, and a scarlet scar on the right cheek extending to the lips, as if tearing the entire face in two.

The torch flickered in the wind, and the face silently moved closer to him, creating an incredibly eerie atmosphere.

Is this a legendary ghost, or a zombie that crawled out of its grave?

Anyone would feel uneasy being stared at by such a terrifying monster at close range, let alone Schubert, who was not particularly brave to begin with.

"Ugh... Ugh ugh ugh!"

He tried to shout, but all his voices were stuck in his throat.

Schubert struggled to kick his legs, desperately trying to get away from the monster in front of him, but his head slammed against the stone wall behind him with a thud, causing him to see stars and almost faint.

Fortunately, he wasn't far from the wall, otherwise he might have knocked the chair over and hit himself harder than he did now.

"Heh..." The "monster" in front of him laughed out loud.

"I thought our nobleman was quite capable, even declaring he wanted to see our highest-ranking official, but it turns out he only has this much guts?"

The man who had been mocking Schubert straightened up, took off his hood, and revealed a head of short brown hair.

Schubert then realized that what he had just seen was not the man's face, but his mask.

"Wearing a mourning mask".

Fools often wear masks—supposedly because once one becomes a Fool, everything from the past and everything about oneself becomes meaningless. Therefore, both one's true name and one's face should be abandoned.

Joining the Fools means abandoning your past life; in other words, your past self is dead.

So they wear masks not only to conceal their true appearance and hide their identities, but also to commemorate their past selves.

In this sense, the person Schubert saw could also be called a ghost or a zombie.

The man then reached out and tore off the cloth stuffed in Schubert's mouth.

"Damn bastards! How could you treat a nobleman like this, your most esteemed ally! Let me go, let me go, you despicable barbarians!"

Schubert was trembling all over, partly from the cold and partly from anger.

He truly never imagined that the Fools would dare to be so disrespectful to him, and even dare to attack him.

To dare kidnap a nobleman—if this were still the glorious era of the royal family, such a person would absolutely be sentenced to death! A death sentence of being torn to pieces!

Oh, and those useless Favonius Knights, they actually let someone kidnap him within Mondstadt's borders... Good heavens, how bad must the security situation be in Mondstadt? These people's dereliction of duty deserves the death penalty!

The man waved the wad of cloth in his hand in front of Schubert's eyes, as if considering whether to put it back in Schubert's mouth.

This action silenced Schubert temporarily.

Anger aside, having your mouth stuffed in your throat is definitely not a pleasant experience.

"Allies? How dare you even use that word?"

The man dropped the wad of cloth in his hand and stroked his chin. Like Schubert, he also had a brown goatee.

“Your young lady, Yura Lawrence, recently injured one of my men in the snowy mountains, hindering our mission, and was even commended by the Knights. Yesterday, she publicly announced her engagement to a knight from Fontaine, and you immediately reneged, taking back the intelligence that was supposed to be given to us… It is your Lawrence family that betrayed our agreement.”

Schubert grunted and turned his face away.

As he did this, Schubert also secretly glanced at his surroundings.

The place where he was imprisoned looked like a dilapidated house in the suburbs. It wasn't very big and had no windows. The ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, the walls were cracked and let in drafts, and the only light in the room came from two braziers quite a distance away from him.

Looking out through the cracks in the wall, you can vaguely see tall trees.

The only entrance was behind the Fools in front of them, and there were shadows of people on the ground outside the door, as if there were guards standing outside.

Is this the back mountain of Qingquan Town, or the forest of Benlangling?

"Do you know what the rules of the Fools are? Traitors die."

The man's voice was very sinister, and his eyes, hidden behind the mask, were eyeing Schubert with ill intent, as if he were plotting how to torture him.

“Listen, my name is Sergei, and I’m the highest-ranking person here. You said you wanted to see me yesterday, so I had someone bring you here.”

"You call this 'please'? Untie me! Do you hear me?!" Schubert roared, shaking his chair. Sergei had only freed his face, but not his limbs.

"Save your energy, no one will come to save you no matter how much you scream. Oh, by the way, even if you died here, no one would care, let alone if you were kidnapped... Or do you not know how unpopular your Lawrence family is in Mondstadt?"

Sergei ruthlessly exposed Schubert's petty tricks; his blustering and shouting were nothing more than an attempt to attract attention.

"Hmph, you barbarians from the North, do you think you can subdue a nobleman like this? Bah!" Schubert spat fiercely, his face showing a selfless and unyielding spirit.

Sergei slapped Schubert across the face.

"If you don't want to die, cooperate with us obediently and stop talking nonsense."

The burning pain on his face made Schubert realize that his life was truly in the other party's hands.

While nobles were certainly expected to display unwavering courage in the face of the enemy, displaying courage did not mean dying in battle… or rather, as long as courage had been displayed, surrender was not shameful, which was a battlefield convention followed by the nobles.

"...What do you want me to do?" Schubert lowered his head to indicate his cooperation.

Sergei chuckled and pulled a roll of parchment from his pocket.

This was the very "map" that Schubert had intended to give to the Fools yesterday.

Sergei opened the "map" and displayed it to Schubert.

"Now, tell me honestly, what exactly is this graffiti you've drawn?"

"...Graffiti? This is a topographical map that I painstakingly drew over several days, surveying the geographical environment!"

Schubert's voice sounded very aggrieved.

Sergei glanced at the "map" again.

—Crooked lines, not-quite-round circles, and not-quite-square blocks make up this intelligence map that was originally intended to be given to the Fools.

Honestly, this should be considered an abstract art piece.

If this drawing could be understood by the two "debt collectors" who went to steal information last night—that is, Daryl and Triss, who are now guarding the door—Schubert wouldn't have needed to be "invited" over.

Schubert spent several days surveying the terrain and then solemnly used precious parchment to draw this graffiti, which they could only assume was some kind of Lawrence family ancestral code.

To crack this code, we'll have to bring Schubert back.

As for why they acted so ruthlessly at the time, it was mainly due to a "personal grudge" stemming from their disapproval of the old aristocracy's ways.

"Uh... why is it drawn so ugly..." Sergei muttered under his breath, pointing to the shape in the picture and asking, "What is this square?"

"That's not a cube, it's Star-Picking Cliff!"

"...Then this circle?"

"That's not a circle, it's Starfall Lake!"

"...And what is this thing that looks like both an apple and a sunset fruit?"

"That's the circular theater! A sacred hall for offering sacrifices, a symbol of the Lawrence family's glory!"

Schubert wished he could spit on Sergei's face.

Sergei repeatedly compared this "map" with the Mondstadt terrain in his memory and found that Schubert might be telling the truth... Although without Schubert's explanation, the Fools who received this "code" might never have been able to "decipher" it in their lifetime.

"So... this long strip, could it be the road leading to our destination?" Sergei pointed uncertainly to a spot on the map.

Schubert grunted again, “At least in the records of my ancestors, that used to be a road.”

A slight smile finally appeared on Sergei's lips: "Then explain to me clearly—explain clearly where that 'lost temple' is."

Chapter 207 The Gate of the Eagle [4k]

When Mona said "Have a safe trip," she actually had a slightly mischievous thought in her mind, hoping that Yura would experience the same thing as her.