He changed Tiwat

Han Fulai struggled to peek out from under the immense pressure, instinctively asking, "Celebrate what?"

Rosalind puffed out her cheeks and glared at him with great dissatisfaction: "You idiot, of course it's to celebrate that I passed the entrance exam for the Order of the Church! Didn't you say you'd take me to 'Angel's Gift' to celebrate properly? You promised no overtime today!"

"Stupid dog..."

Han Fulai, nicknamed "Young Wolf," froze, his mind filled with scenes from the book "Dog and Half"... Could it be that the witch and dog scenes in Lisa's book were actually "adapted from real people and events"?

Rustam's glorious and majestic image collapsed instantly.

Rosalind then noticed the hourglass in his hand and snatched it from him in a flash.

"Let me see... This is, the 'Flame Clock'!"

Chapter 309: Revealing Ancient Things (2)

"Is this a gift for me?" The girl's purple eyes lit up instantly.

"Seriously, I only mentioned it casually last time, and you actually remembered... I'm so happy!"

Rosalyn suddenly hugged Han Fulai, or more accurately, Han Fulai in Rustan's appearance—as if she wanted to pull her lover into her chest—and then gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

Then one bite after another...

"No...stop..." Han Fulai's small protest was completely drowned out by Rosalin's enthusiasm.

The helpless "wolf cub" was like a pet kept by the "lady," being held in her arms, kissed and hugged, its face covered with lip prints.

Han Fulai, disguised as a wolf, exclaimed sincerely, "The girls in Mondstadt are so open-minded! There are other onlookers in the square, you know..."

Even knowing she was that "lady," if you asked Han Fulai how he felt... to be honest, he was still a man, and the feeling of being held by Rosalyn was really soft...

So, does this situation count as infidelity? Is the "lady" kissing Han Fulai or Rustan right now?

No, in the end, this is a dream, right? You can't take things in dreams seriously, can you? He can't be considered to have made a mistake, can he?

But if it's a dream, the tactile sensation is just too real.

Is this what is known as a "lucid dream"?

While he was lost in thought, Rosalyn was lovingly playing with the "Flame Clock".

This is a very rare alchemical hourglass, likely the masterpiece of the alchemist master of Kanria.

The transparent liquid inside the hourglass is not water or mercury, but "liquid flame".

This alchemical technique of turning flames into liquid was lost five hundred years later. Even five hundred years ago, alchemical masters who could create this "liquid fire" were extremely rare. This "flame clock" was truly a very precious gift.

For Rosalyn, who specializes in fire elemental magic, the "liquid fire" in the "Flame Clock" is one of the ultimate expressions of elemental power application, and it is also the direction she will pursue further studies at the Order of the Church.

But more importantly, it is the sentiment contained within this hourglass.

This "flame timepiece" doesn't use the speed of liquid dripping to keep track of time; instead, it relies on "burning."

Its structure is actually very similar to a "gas stove" or "lighter". It can be ignited by a built-in mechanism. The lower half of the hourglass contains liquid fuel, while the upper half contains the flame.

Once lit, a fire crystal butterfly, Rosalind's favorite, will appear in the hourglass and flutter around it for a whole year—because the "liquid fire" fuel inside can last for exactly one year.

A year is exactly the time Rosalind plans to spend studying at the Church College.

The fact that this man, who is not good with words, gave her this gift means only one thing—"I'm counting down the days, waiting for your return."

Rosalyn breathed slightly, holding the watch to her chest like a treasure, her moist eyes fixed on the person she loved most.

"Russtan, I need you to give me one more thing."

"...What?" Han Fulai was somewhat bewildered. He really didn't know what Rustan had given Rosalyn. This kind of gossip was obviously not something that would be recorded in history books.

Honestly, to encounter such a sensual scene right after "time travel" is quite remarkable in that he was able to remain rational.

Rosalind didn't wait for him to figure it out before she took action—

Her hand slowly crawled down his cheek, around to the back of his head, and then... plucked a strand of hair.

Rosalyn's long, silver-gray hair was wrapped around her fingers and woven into a rope. She used this special rope to thread through the top of the hourglass, turning it into a pendant that she wore around her neck.

"Wait for me for a year. I will come back after a year, and then... I will marry you."

Rosalyn closed her eyes, her luscious lips slightly upturned, awaiting her lover's vow kiss.

...Han Fulai looked at the girl in front of him and was caught in a dilemma.

Should he give her that kiss?

Just then, the familiar black vortex appeared before his eyes. In the darkness, he could no longer see the Mondstadt highlands square, nor Rosalind.

Five hundred years later, the "Lady," the executive officer of the Fools, always wore a small hourglass.

High-temperature liquid fire slowly flows in the clear glass bottle, and the fire in the hourglass never goes out, just like the person.

Some say the bottle contains melted evil spirits, others say it contains the years the witch offered to the flames, and still others say it contains the witch's blood.

—When the "Flame Witch" traveled all over the world, burning monsters with her scorching flames, people said that she had abandoned human flesh and blood, and that liquid fire flowed through her body.

But even she was once a young girl, and she once had love and longing in her heart.

No one knows that when the Burning Witch was still a young girl, before the dark calamity came, the girl who went to the Order Academy for further studies received a specially made water clock from her lover before her departure. The time it took for the clock to run out was exactly the time she needed to go to the Order Academy for further studies.

When she returned to her hometown, the man who had given her the timepiece had become food for disaster.

She witnessed a fire, and it was that fire that burned away all the beautiful and fragile parts of the girl's heart.

She lost everything that had been promised to her.

—The people we cherished, the past years, and the bright future have all been shattered.

The girl's time came to an end, and the "Flame Witch" was born.

She threw herself into the fires of hell, using her own body as fuel, and began to burn herself endlessly until all the demons in the world and all the pain they caused were burned away.

The fields she walked through were left with only ashes.

When the distant firelight appears, people will close their doors and windows tightly to drive away the Flame Witch—even though she burns harmful monsters.

But that didn't bother her.

She thought that someone had to burn away all the pain to bring new hope.

No need to understand.

No one needs to comfort them.

They don't need anyone's sympathy.

The person who could understand her feelings is no longer here; only the clock remains, relentlessly recording the time since he was lost.

From then on, she became a witch that historians were unwilling to record.

Han Fulai opened his eyes again.

In front of me is a desk that looks somewhat familiar.

—The Knights of Favonius, the Grand Master's office.

He had personally witnessed the head of the troupe sitting behind this desk working.

But now, he's the one sitting behind this desk.

Chapter 310: Revealing Ancient Things (3)

Having had the experience from the previous time, Han Fulai quickly adapted to the dizziness after "time travel".

His head still ached, but this time it wasn't entirely from the dizziness of being spun around in a washing machine and then thrown out; it also came from several memories flooding his mind.

Including the "lady's" memories after that day...

When the dream transitioned between scenes, he seemed to gain some memories about the original owner of the body and the people that the original owner had come into contact with. It was like being able to view the background information of a character in a game's system menu after owning that character.

Headache is a headache, but this time the pain is worthwhile.

The first thing Han Fulai did after waking up was to examine himself and his surroundings, and figure out his identity and situation.

He is still Rustam, Rustam a year after he parted ways with Rosalind.

—There was a full-length mirror under the office clock for grooming, and Han Fulai saw “himself” in the mirror.

The man had a mature appearance and looked to be in his late thirties; according to my memory, he should be thirty-five.

Wearing the knightly uniform of the Knights of Favonius, every button was neatly fastened, giving him a serious and meticulous appearance, like a committee leader maintaining discipline in the group—which was indeed the case, as Rustan also served as the chief inspector of the Knights.

He joined the Knights of Favonius at the age of twelve along with Erendelyn as a novice knight, and was awarded the title of "Knight of the North Wind" at the age of twenty-seven. This year marks his twenty-third year in the Knights of Favonius.

His skin was pale, as if he hadn't been in the sun for a long time; his pale blue eyes were deep and unfathomable; his long, silver-gray hair was stiff and had a natural curl, like a wolf's mane, and was tied into a ponytail with a purple ribbon at the back of his head, similar to the hairstyle of that Lord Diluc; there were also battle scars on his cheeks, which added a sense of grimness to his face.

Overall, his face is handsome, but his demeanor is overly melancholic. His brows are always unconsciously furrowed, and he has developed frown lines on his forehead, as if he has endless worries every day...

In fact, "Young Wolf" Rustan was indeed such a person. Taciturn, always looking worried, reluctant to enjoy life, and always busy with work and chores, many people said he had already married the Knights, and was ridiculed by his superior and childhood friend Erendel as an ascetic monk.

However, Rustan, despite his appearance, was also attracted by the girl singing about the wind god in the square and fell in love with her.

Only the girl's clear, melodious singing voice could ease the slight frown on the knight's sorrowful face.

Only that girl could make him temporarily forget the burden of his duties.

Then the girl came to his door and questioned him about why he was always peeping, and then she surrounded him in public on the street, forcing him to draw the curtains while he worked. As a result, she came to sing under the Knights' window and even included him in the lyrics. The entire Knights were laughing at him, forcing him to take leave and hide...

Then, during a holiday, we bumped into each other by chance while borrowing the same book at the library... no, it wasn't a chance encounter at all...

And then, in a corner of the library, he was forced by a girl to confess his feelings...

Only in matters of love is the "young wolf" truly no different from the "stupid dog".

Han Fulai felt a little empathy for Rustan in his heart—speaking of Rustan, a commoner from a tenant farmer's family, who rose to power through hard work and then worked diligently for half his life...isn't he just like a Mondstadt version of a small-town exam-taker? He's bound to be deceived by a bad woman!

Okay... at this point, Rosalyn still seems like a good woman...

He still remembered everything that had happened in the Highland Plaza: Rosalind from five hundred years ago, the "Flame Clock," and that unfulfilled kiss...

As for that sudden blackout, it felt just like when I was a kid watching TV and my parents covered my eyes during R-rated content... Maybe it was Wendy's doing?

But what's with the sudden change of scene?

Based on his perception of time, the period between his first "time travel" and his second "time travel" was probably only about ten minutes. In that short time, he barely figured out "who I am and where I am," and before he could truly explore the dream, everything changed.

Perhaps this is a characteristic of dreams?

Most people's memories of dreams are pieced together from various fragments. The scenes in dreams are always unstable, often appearing on the ground one moment and in the sky the next. There is no temporal or spatial continuity, and two dreams are often completely unrelated.

This phenomenon could perhaps be explained as Yura having a new dream?

...But Han Fulai still had things he couldn't let go of.

Why do Rustan, the "young wolf," and Rosalind, the "lady," appear in Yura's dream?

Five hundred years ago, the Lawrence family had already been expelled from Mondstadt. The only ones still alive now should be Yura's ancestors eight generations back. How could Yura know about this gossip from five hundred years ago, and why would she have such a dream...?

And even though he's in a different dream, why is he still Rustam?

Also, where is Yura?

Or rather... is this really Yura's dream?

Standing in the office doesn't allow him to understand everything out of thin air. Perhaps he should walk around Mondstadt more often in this dreamlike city, meet more people, and obtain more information.

Just as he was about to open the office door, there was a knock.

The person knocking seemed somewhat surprised that the door was opened so quickly; their hand hovered in mid-air, almost hitting him on the nose.

The newcomer was dressed in a set of spotless, gleaming silver-white noble knight armor, so shiny it could be used as a mirror. Even the small flower pinned to his collar was white.

His face was handsome and dashing, and his every move exuded an air of nobility, just like the male protagonist in a traditional chivalric novel.

Han Fulai naturally did not recognize this person.

After only a moment of stunned silence, the knight immediately stood up straight and bowed to him: "Guerrilla Knight Roland, reporting to the acting commander! The Grand Commander's expeditionary force is lined up outside the city, waiting for your arrival."

"Expeditionary Force"...the expeditionary force of five hundred years...it was the one during the "Dark Calamity"!

Han Fulai's pupils contracted slightly. Historically, it was in this year that the "Dark Calamity" triggered by the ancient kingdom of Kanria swept across the entire continent of Teyvat.

Erendel, the "Lion of Light" and Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius at the time, led the main force of his knights on an expedition to Kanria.

Rustan, the "Young Wolf" who was the vice-commander, also died in this "dark calamity".

—The “lady’s” memories also prove this point.

So... he will witness Rustan's death?

Seeing that he didn't answer, the guerrilla knight Roland whispered a reminder again: "Acting Commander... no, Master, we should go outside the city to see the Grand Commander off."