He changed Tiwat

Gambling, after all, involves money. Just like when a football player takes a penalty kick on Earth, there's always a chorus of boos from the opposing team's stands, or even laser pointers and flashlights shining into the player's eyes... These spectators are just stirring things up and teasing him; they're already quite well-mannered for not actually cursing him on the spot.

Generally, players on stage don't interact with the audience, but Han Fulai is different; he's waiting for someone in the audience to ask him this question.

He had already mastered the tactic of "showing weakness when he was capable" when he held press conferences in Liyue. Now he was simply repeating the same trick to get the audience to support him.

He suddenly glanced at the audience, his gaze settling on the face of the man who had just been demanding he compose a poem on the spot: "Who was it that said I couldn't do it?"

For a moment, most of the audience followed his gaze and looked in that direction, and the shouting man immediately fell silent.

The audience shouting a couple of times is just like sending comments to criticize the streamer for being bad at a game live stream; it's just something that gets mixed up in the barrage of comments and passes by... Who would have thought that this streamer would not only interact with the audience's comments, but also take it seriously?

Wendy coughed, and was about to remind him that there was no need to pay attention to the audience's comments and that the competition was the most important thing, when he heard him interject, "In the past, the founder of the Guhua School of Liyue was known as 'Guhua could write a hundred poems after drinking a bucket of wine.' Although there is no wine now, we are still 'playing drinking games,' so of course I cannot tarnish the reputation of my Guhua School."

"I want to make a bet with you. Not only will I compose a poem on the spot, but I also guarantee that every poem I recite next will be an original creation. If even one of them overlaps with the works of Mondstadt's ancient bards, I'll consider it a loss. The stake... is a bottle of 82-year-old dandelion wine from the Dawn Winery. How about it, are you willing to bet with me?"

Chapter 273 A Hundred Poems Composed During the Return of the Gambling Game

This caused quite a stir at the conference.

The new rules for the finals were already enough to target Han Fulai, a foreigner, but unexpectedly he went even further, even saying that he would compose poems on the spot for the entire match, without having to use a single work by a senior bard.

Does he really think he's the reincarnation of Barbatos?

Many audience members who were originally just watching the show couldn't sit still anymore and shouted loudly, "I'll bet with him!", "Count me in!", "Count me in too!"... This scene didn't look like a "poetry recitation" venue, but rather like the "Rock Tea House" casino in Liyue Harbor.

Upon seeing this, Han Fulai once again put on his signature smile.

He had recently experienced a lot of local customs and culture in Mondstadt, and had gained a great deal of understanding of the Mondstadt people... especially the nature of drunken Mondstadt people. Just like what Kaeya had told him the other day, Mondstadt people would gamble on anything when they were drunk, and Lawrence, the gatekeeper who was cheated by his father, was proof of that.

Although these people are not drunk yet, in this lively atmosphere filled with the aroma of alcohol, they are practically in the same boat.

At times like these, a little instigation from him is all it takes for these meddlesome Mondstadters to take the bait.

To become "Sir Humphrey on par with Barbatos," one must add more gimmicks to the game that will be talked about in taverns.

The title of "Best Bard of Mondstadt" is awarded every year, and has been given to thousands of participants to date. This year it might be him, but next year it could be someone else, and his fame may not be that high. But if he not only defeats seventeen opponents in this "contest" but also composes all the lyrics on the spot, speaking verses effortlessly, then he will definitely be the most dazzling star in Mondstadt's history of the "Badminton Festival"!

His fellow townsman from Guhua left behind the reputation of "Guhua can write a hundred poems after drinking a jug of wine" in Liyue, so he followed suit and left behind the legend of "returning to Mondstadt to gamble on wine and write a hundred poems" in Mondstadt.

Seeing Han Fulai's expression, Yura knew that this must be another of his schemes. She couldn't help but turn her head away, thinking to herself that this guy was indeed full of bad ideas—but there was actually a hint of a smile on her lips.

After all, she knew that Han Fulai was showing off like this for her sake.

The man who had started it earlier was initially a bit timid, but hearing the support from those around him, he suddenly became bolder and stood up, shouting back, "Let's bet! Who's afraid of who? If you can really do it, I, Ning Lu, will consider myself a sober man, and all the money for the drinks is yours!"

Upon hearing this, a bystander immediately gave a thumbs-up, exclaiming, "Brother Ning Lu is so generous!"

Then another person stood up on the stage, and it was Sister Victoria, who had been silent all along.

"Ning Lu, remember what you said. I will keep an eye on you and make sure you quit drinking."

Ninglu was a notorious drunkard in the city. Every day after get off work, he would go to the bar and drink himself into a stupor, often requiring his wife, Miss Youlu, to drag him home from the street in the middle of the night. Now the two were planning to have a child, but a drunkard couldn't be a good father, so Youlu repeatedly told Ninglu to quit drinking. To this end, she even took him to church and made him swear to God to quit drinking.

But how easy is it to quit drinking? Even Barbatos, the god of wind, couldn't quit... Miss Eurydice was also very depressed because her alcoholic husband always secretly drank, and she went to Sister Victoria to "confess" (complain) many times.

Now that Ninglu dared to bet on quitting drinking in public, Sister Victoria naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to properly punish this alcoholic for his "sins".

When Ning Lu heard Sister Victoria speak, he remembered being lectured by this strict nun in the church, and he shrank back... However, he couldn't just back down in front of everyone, so he could only continue to be stubborn: "I might not even lose... If he loses, he'll have to buy me wine!"

Sister Victoria ignored Ninglu, looked at Han Fulai, nodded heavily, and then sat down without saying a word.

Although the nun didn't speak, Han Fulai knew that she was telling him, "You have to win."

Seeing the lively atmosphere, Wendy knew to strike while the iron was hot and immediately said, "Since Sir Humphrey and Mr. Ninglu have made a bet, our competition committee is here to witness it. Our judging panel is responsible for rigorously evaluating Sir Humphrey's poems. If Sir Humphrey can truly fulfill his promise and defeat all the challengers by composing a poem on the spot, he will undoubtedly be the 'greatest bard of all time'!"

"I'm sure everyone is eager to witness the birth of a new legend, so without further ado—Sir Humphrey, please have a new poem ready in one minute—time begins!"

Almost as soon as Wendy finished speaking, Han Fulai recited the "new poem" he had prepared beforehand:

“Men have sorrow and joy, they meet or part again;

The moon is bright or dim and she may wax or wane.

There has been nothing perfect since the olden days.

So let us wish that man

He will live as long as he can!

Though miles apart, we'll share the beauty she displays."

People experience sorrow and joy, separation and reunion; the moon waxes and wanes, and nothing in this world is ever perfect. May we all live long and share the beauty of the moon, even from afar.

Su Shi's famous lines about the moon have traveled across a world and landed in Mondstadt.

Even those who don't understand poetry can tell that these lines are connected to the ones he recited earlier. The previous line asks, "When will the bright moon appear?" and this line answers, "This has been so since ancient times," echoing the sorrow of the previous poem and implying a profound philosophical truth.

But more importantly, of course, is the phrase "sharing the same moon across a thousand miles".

"Though miles apart, we'll share the beauty she displays..." Eileen listened to this poem, her eyes unconsciously drifting towards the direction of the Knights. There, that dreamlike, beautiful figure must still be working diligently for the people, right? She longed to be by her side...

"Eileen? Miss Eileen, it's your turn!"

Wendy had to remind her several times before Eileen, who was engrossed in the poem, came back to her senses and realized that she was still in the middle of a competition.

However, her mind was full of the ensemble leader, and she couldn't think of any new verses at the moment.

While hesitating, a minute of thinking time had already passed.

Eileen lowered her head. "I give up."

Chapter 274 Under the Rose [4k]

In the first round of the finals, a drinking game, Han Fulai defeated Eileen to secure the first victory.

Now he will have to defend his title and face the challenges from the remaining sixteen contestants.

Not only that, he put himself under a nightmare level of intensity—all the poems he recited during the competition had to be composed on the spot, while his opponents could quote the works of previous poets to counter him, and he had to win in this way all the way to the end.

If this match were a martial arts arena contest, the bet Han Fulai made would be equivalent to allowing his opponent to use weapons, while he himself would not only fight unarmed but also be forbidden from even moving his feet; moving even slightly would mean losing...

Of course, even if Han Fu were to fight in such a martial arts arena, he wouldn't be afraid. It's just a matter of being "impregnable" and having "the heavens and earth shake." Didn't the Rock King Emperor in the PV also remain unmoved despite being surrounded by countless enemy forces?

He is now a true successor to the Emperor, so of course he has to emphasize "I am invincible, you can do whatever you want".

His confidence was simply unbelievable to the people of Mondstadt—it was like single-handedly challenging the 2,600-year history of the "City of Pastoral Songs"! No matter how strong you are, can you be stronger than all the bards of Mondstadt over the past two thousand years?

Honestly, at least half the audience wanted to see this arrogant guy get his comeuppance, even if they had bet on him to win.

Lisa, sitting on the judges' panel, raised her theme board. She would be the one to set the theme for the second round of the "drinking game".

Almost as soon as Lisa raised her question board, one of the contestants rang a bell. Like Han Fulai earlier, this challenger had already answered before even seeing the question, expressing his confidence in winning no matter what the question was.

This aggressive challenger was Dr. Edith, a specialist in folklore.

As a folklorist, Edith has always been proud of Mondstadt's poetry, and her papers contain a great deal of research on Mondstadt's bard poems.

For a foreigner to dare to challenge Mondstadt's poetic culture in public is, in Mondstadt parlance, "to sing poetry before the god of winds," and is utterly humiliating.

Even for the sake of the dignity of her folklore profession, Edith had to fight.

—In addition, Han Fulai’s eye contact with Yura before the incident did not escape Edith’s keen sense of the sweet smell of romance.

—This guy seems to be trying to impress Miss Yura?

...That's even more intolerable!

Hmph, I swear on my twenty years of single academic life, Edith will crush this arrogant Liyue person!

Han Fu looked at the question board in Lisa's hand. This time, the keyword was "rose".

Roses are very common flowers, such as the red roses that grow in Mondstadt, the roses that grow in Liyue, the "Sumeru Roses" that grow in Sumeru, and the "Rainbow Roses" that grow in Fontainebleau... These beautiful flowers belonging to the "Rosaceae" family are all collectively called "roses".

It's hard to say that the "Rose Witch" didn't have some ulterior motive in using "rose" as the test question.

However, bards throughout history have indeed left behind a large number of poems about roses. Whether using the flower as a metaphor for people or expressing feelings through it, there are certainly hundreds, if not thousands, of such poems. If you flip through Mondstadt's poetry collection, you're almost certain that one out of ten poems will mention roses.

For Dr. Edith, who has a remarkable memory, this topic is certainly a major advantage.

Host Wendy signaled for the challenger to begin answering, and Edith immediately started singing:

"I've been burning in water and drowning in flame

I have burned in water and been swallowed by fire.

To prove you wrong and scare you away

I wanted to prove you wrong, but you'd already fled in fright.

I admit my defeat and want back home

If you can turn back, I'm willing to admit my mistakes.

In your heart under the rose

I can never understand your heart.

So-called "minstrel poems" can certainly be sung. Poems are both poems and lyrics, just like "Yuefu poems" are actually folk music lyrics from the Han Dynasty.

As a PhD in folklore, Edith may not be very good at writing poetry, but she is quite skilled at "reciting poetry"—just like the judges and guests invited to those TV poetry competitions. In terms of titles, they are all experts and professors from universities, proficient in commenting on poetry and doing reading comprehension, but when it comes to writing poetry, they are either mediocre at everything or completely nonsensical...

The song Edith just sang, titled "Under the Rose," is a folk song passed down from the Mondstadt royal era. It is not found in writing, but was only passed down orally. As a folklorist, Edith personally collected and compiled a large number of such orally transmitted folk songs for her thesis.

This Mondstadt folk song uses simple words, but the metaphors are very novel. It uses "burning in water, drowning in fire" to symbolize the poet's tormented heart, and compares the other person's thoughts to "hidden under the rose."

Those unfamiliar with Mondstadt might easily misinterpret the phrase "under the rose" as meaning "under the roses".

But actually, it means "secret," referring to the unfathomable heart of a woman.

Noelle, the "maid knight" who was most popular in Mondstadt, often wore a few red roses with her on her person.

This is not merely a girl's decoration, but a symbol of chivalry—the rose, a flower that simply symbolizes love in other countries, has a special meaning in Mondstadt—"keeping one's mouth shut."

This flower language actually originates from Mond during the royal period.

Although the nobles of that era led dissolute lives, they were also very concerned about their image and always put on a dignified and respectable appearance in front of others.

For example, they would forcibly abduct women to become "Badminton Festival Princesses," then take them to their rooms for sexual pleasure, but publicly claim that the "Badminton Festival Princesses" admired the noblemen's charm and voluntarily submitted to them as slaves.

Therefore, in order to protect their "open secrets," the aristocracy had an unwritten rule: when nobles attended a banquet at another mansion and saw roses on the host's table, the guests knew that everything discussed at that table should not be revealed.

Later, Mondstadt's royal nobles even carved rose patterns on the ceiling of the palace's banquet hall, and then indulged in debauchery beneath these roses—in the words of the nobles, "Under the rose, in secret."

Beneath the roses, everything remains a secret.

In modern Mondstadt, where there are no nobles or courts, this custom of using roses to symbolize secrecy has been passed down as a folk flower language. In fact, the confessionals of the Church of the West still have carvings of roses to this day, symbolizing that the nuns serving God would keep the secrets of believers who come to confess. And if a woman gives birth out of wedlock, the illegitimate child is also referred to as "born under the rose."

Edith felt a little smug after singing the poem.

The reason she chose the poem "Under the Rose" was actually to subtly use the folk symbolism of the rose to satirize her opponent, to show that Sir Humphrey was too flamboyant and made outrageous remarks, and should learn from the rose to "keep his mouth shut".

After listening to her poem, Han Fulai thought for a moment and then responded:

"Spring's left no traces on the land;

Spring has vanished without a trace; who knows?

None know where but orioles who sing

Unless you ask the oriole.

A hundred tunes none understand.

No one can decipher the hundred turns of the melody.

Riding the wind, over rose bush they wing.

The roses were blown by the wind.

This is "Qing Ping Le: Where Has Spring Gone?" by Huang Tingjian, one of the "Four Scholars of the Su School". For the Mondstadt people, this is, of course, another impromptu poem by Sir Humphrey.

Having just finished reciting Su Shi's poems, he then recited the poems of Su Shi's disciples—a kind of fun that only Han Fulai, a time traveler from China, could understand.

What's even more ingenious is that he actually used this poem to respond to Edith's mockery.

As a gamer, he naturally knew the meaning of the Mondstadt rose and could fully understand Edith's hidden meaning.

He specially chose this poem in return, which means that the traces of spring are known by the oriole, the song of the oriole is understood by the rose, and the language of the flowers is also known by the wind—I am so talented that even if I keep it a secret, everyone knows it.

Yura, who was in the audience and understood his boasting, couldn't help but curl her lips and think to herself that this guy was really shameless.

Edith was somewhat surprised by his combination of offense and defense, realizing that she might have underestimated this Liyue poet.

However, in her mind, a truly talented person should be like Mr. Zhongli, whom she had met briefly a few months ago... that is the ideal gentleman! Moreover, even just looking at their faces... Mr. Zhongli is more handsome!

Edith suddenly turned to the side, facing the audience below, and loudly sang a new song:

“O my Luve is like a red, red rose