He changed Tiwat

I wonder when he will be able to unload the heavy burden on his shoulders.

At this moment, Wan Ye took out an old book from his bosom—the very book he had once given to Xing Qiu, "The Collected Works of Li Yue Cao Tang".

"In my eyes, all the changes in Inazuma began from the moment I handed this book to Brother Xingqiu. You completed this incomplete book for me, and also completed the incompleteness of my hometown... So, Mr. Han, could you please sign it for me?"

In fact, the reason why Xingqiu followed him to Inazuma was that "I wanted to return this book to Manyo in person."

Han Fulai took the book and pen from Wan Ye and, after the line on the title page, "Guiding the spring thunder to burn one's body and bones, turning to ashes to nourish all things to flourish," added a newly written seven-character quatrain:

"Where all things flourish and receive blessings, a thousand mountains stand tall and lush, praising the illustrious name."

From now on, I will not concern myself with the cycle of rebirth, but will instead be the sound of dawn breaking over the world.

Chapter 269: Hai Zhi Yuling Festival [4k]

After queuing for more than half an hour, Han Fulai finally got his wish and received Teacher Zhenyu's autograph.

As the saying goes, "A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation," and in just a short time, Xingqiu's calligraphy skills have greatly improved.

Xingqiu's signature was quite beautiful, especially the words "To Han Fulai," which were even more beautiful than her own pen name—when he traveled through time in the consciousness space, Xingqiu would write her Brother Han's name dozens of times every day.

As it turns out, with Xingqiu's intelligence and talent, as long as he is willing to work hard, it is not difficult for him to write beautiful characters.

Moreover, the fact that Xingqiu could improve his calligraphy after such a long trip must be quite gratifying for Chairman Yun and the others. Perhaps Chairman Yun won't be so opposed to Xingqiu going on another "journey through the martial world" in the future.

Han Fulai naturally offered great encouragement and praised Tong Xingqiu highly.

His original plan was to wander around after getting the autographed book and see what new things were happening at the festival... Unfortunately, he didn't get to go.

As he was about to leave, Xingqiu grabbed him.

Amidst the envious gazes of numerous book fans, Mr. Zhenyu excused himself to take a short break and, holding the fan's hand, led her backstage for a friendly chat.

"Brother Han! Help me!"

The book fans had no idea that Teacher Zhenyu had grasped at a lifeline.

Xingqiu's sudden plea for help surprised Han Fulai, but after learning the reason, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

After the "lockdown order" was lifted, Inazuma invited guests from all countries to participate in the "Radiant Splendor Festival" celebration, which included many prominent merchants from Liyue—many of whom had trade dealings with the "Flying Cloud Merchant Guild" and naturally recognized the second son of the "Flying Cloud Merchant Guild".

The problem is that the fact that "Zhenyu is Xingqiu" is still a secret in Liyue.

If this gets out, all the things she did in the past, secretly submitting her manuscripts to Wanwen Collection without her father and brothers' knowledge, will be exposed—actually, writing novels isn't anything shameful, the problem is that she used a lot of people around her as prototypes for characters in her previous novels... and they were all kinds of major villains.

Especially her stubborn father, President Yun, who has served as an old and senile sect elder, an incompetent clan leader who buries geniuses, and a heartless father who breaks up lovers... In the end, he is always met with the protagonist's stern rebuke: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; don't underestimate a young man's potential," causing him to cough up blood and regret his past actions.

One can imagine that if President Yun saw Mr. Zhenyu's early works, he would probably vomit blood...

In addition, Xingqiu came to Inazuma this time under the name of "Liyue Trade Representative" along with Han Fulai.

President Yun agreed to let her come out for training purposes, it was a "business trip," not for her to hold a book signing event.

If word gets back to China that she went to Inazuma to write a novel, she'll definitely be in for a rough time when she gets back.

Those Liyue merchants, having heard about the book signing event by a Liyue novelist, naturally wanted to join in the fun, and now they were standing in line not far behind Han Fulai.

If it weren't for Brother Han's timely intervention, Teacher Zhenyu might have suddenly fallen ill and had to suspend the autograph session on the spot...

So, during the second half of the book signing, the person sitting behind the table who was called "Teacher Zhenyu" was actually surnamed Han.

Since Xingqiu always wears men's clothing, he swapped coats with Xingqiu and wore a hat to cover his eyes, so readers wouldn't notice that "Teacher Zhenyu" had become a different person.

What Han Fulai and Xing Qiu didn't expect was that the books Han Fulai signed under the name "Zhenyu" would later become legendary out-of-print books, treasured by Zhenyu's fans, who were even willing to pay a fortune to buy them.

That's the pinnacle of calligraphy in the world of light novels!

No novelist in the world has ever surpassed the level of autographs displayed at this book signing event, not even Mr. Zhenyu himself could replicate it afterward…

Thus, Teyvat gained another elegant anecdote, saying that Master Zhenyu's literary talent moved the gods in heaven, and that the gods left behind those few calligraphic works through Master Zhenyu's hands.

Upon learning of this rumor, Han Fulai could only shake his head, saying that the people of Teyvat did not understand the hard work of the students in the small Chinese town who were preparing for the college entrance examination—he had studied Zhao Ziang's essays for more than ten years during his student days, just to get a little extra points for neatness on the exam paper...

For the next few days, Han Fulai spent time with Xingqiu on the outlying island... or rather, Xingqiu was unwilling to let him go.

With the wealthy and generous second young lady covering all the expenses for the festival tour, Han Fulai enjoyed a wonderful two-day vacation. He spent his days following Xingqiu around, eating and sightseeing, and truly experienced the exotic charm of Inazuma.

Of course, even on vacation, official business cannot be neglected.

The Shogun, the Chief Justice, and the Shrine Commissioner are all busy with the festival, but the real shogun is Minister Han, who has to keep a close eye on Inazuma's various reforms to improve people's lives.

Besides the affairs of the Shogunate, he also interfered in the affairs of the Liyue Fleet and Hyjal Island. The workers sent by the Seven Stars to support the construction of Hyjal Island are already on their way and are said to arrive in a few days. The leader is Xin Yan, the head of the "Liyue Laborers' Association Red String Orchestra".

He also had to make advance arrangements for the food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation of these hundreds of people, as well as the rock and roll cultural performance that Xin Yan planned to hold on Haiqi Island.

He also had to keep a close eye on the progress of the fertilizer-based land reclamation project in Haiqi.

Xingqiu then complained quite a bit.

Every time she and Brother Han were having a great time and the atmosphere was just right, there would always be some people, like Su Ding, Little Su, the son of Captain Su of the "Tianheng", and Chief of Staff Su from the Qianyan Army... who would come over to disturb them.

Su Ding had an unsolved mystery for a long time—why did Xingqiu always give him a bad look whenever they met? What did he do to offend the Xingqiu brothers?

A few days passed quickly, and Han Fulai received a message from Xin Hai: the preparations for the "Hai Zhi Yu Ling Festival" have been completed.

This means that his path to the Kingdom of White Night has been opened.

After all, "becoming a god" is his most pressing task right now.

As the saying goes in military strategy, "An army marches on its stomach."

Xin Hai, the strategist of Haiqi Island, has always attached great importance to logistical support. One of the reasons Han Fulai is visiting Baiye Kingdom is to solve the food security problem of Haiqi Island, and Xin Hai naturally cannot stand aside.

To support Han Fulai, Haiqi Island mobilized its entire force. The former "Rebel Army" and now the "Haiqi Special Zone Garrison" all entered Baiye Kingdom ahead of time under Xin Hai's command to "scout the way" for him.

The witch Lu Zi, sent by Xin Hai to welcome Han Fulai, is a beautiful woman with long hair. It is said that her ancestor was a witch in the White Night Kingdom, known as "Ebony Hat," and was a very famous figure in the history of the White Night Kingdom.

According to Narukami Taisha, Ruko's family lineage is roughly equivalent to the Kano and Hisaki families on Narukami Island, both being priestly families with a history of over a thousand years. This is why Shinkai dispatched Ruko, a shrine maiden with deep ties to the Byakuya Kingdom, to serve as his guide.

At this moment, Lu Zi was pointing to the entrance of the abyss and introducing the history of the White Night Kingdom to Han Fulai: "This deep pool directly opposite the Coral Palace is the entrance to the 'Abyss Palace,' which is also said to be the origin of the Sea Gods."

“In ancient times, there was a saying about ‘Sea Goddess Beauties,’ and it was said that the skin of Sea Goddesses was so delicate that even seven kinds of hard-to-hide blemishes would not be noticeable. The origin of this saying is that our ancestors did not receive sunlight in the Yuanxia Palace, so their skin did not have the dark pigmentation caused by sunlight.”

"As you know, our 'Current Human Goddess' Lady Xin Hai has exceptionally fair and beautiful skin, which is a manifestation of this bloodline..."

"Ahem." Han Fulai coughed lightly, reminding Lu Zi not to go off-topic.

This shrine maiden, Ruko, is knowledgeable and capable, but for some reason, she always likes to steer the conversation towards their "human god shrine maiden," and every time she talks about Kokoro, she winks and makes faces at him, as if she's trying to sell him something...

"Ah, sorry. In the past, I often acted as a guide, introducing Haiji Island to travelers, so I accidentally..." Ruko apologized with a grin.

...Han Fulai always felt that she was "deliberately careless".

"The name of Yuanxia Palace used to be Baiye Kingdom. Because the underground kingdom has no sun or moon, only two kinds of celestial phenomena: 'white night' and 'everlasting night'."

"Our ancestors relied on the faint light of the 'Great Sun Chariot' mentioned in historical records to survive under the claws of the Deep Sea Dragon Prince. Until thousands of years ago, the Umi-no-Mikoto descended, defeated the Deep Sea Dragon Prince, and finally led us back to the land, where we built the Coral Palace and made Umi-no-Island our new home."

"And the White Night Kingdom beneath the sea was henceforth called the Abyss Palace, in contrast to the Coral Palace on the surface of the sea."

"Of course... legends are just legends, just like Naruto's theory of demonic conquest for the shogunate army... the theme of sacrifice and remembrance is also one of our weapons to defend ourselves."

"Is this something a priestess should say?" The chief priest standing next to Han Fulai expressed his strong dissatisfaction.

Yes, the divine child came with him.

Her deity was going to a dangerous place, and as her "familiar," she should naturally accompany him.

Of course, this should only be the "official reason" of the goddess. Her real thought was probably that she didn't want to face the sullen face of the shadow. According to the goddess, the shadow didn't give her a good look during the festival. The two of them sat together and forced smiles at the crowd below. They were so bored.

Han Fulai thought it was only natural for Ying to be angry, after all, someone had even dragged him to Ying's statue for "dual cultivation".

As the deity who controls the Inazuma ley lines, if Kage wanted to see it... he could probably actually watch it live...

Thinking about this, Han Fulai felt an urge to cover his face.

Not only did he run to the shrine to "do **", but he was also watched by the god enshrined in the shrine... From a personal point of view, he was already in a state of "social death" in front of the shadow, right?

"I apologize for digressing again... A shrine maiden shouldn't say such things, but as a human being, I believe we should look at history and folklore with a critical eye. Whether it's the history of Narukami Island or the history of Umijima Island."

Ruko bowed slightly and apologized to the chief priest of Narukami Shrine, but it didn't seem very sincere.

"Let's get back to the main topic. Nowadays, the problem of the 'sacred land' of Haiji Island is becoming more and more serious. Just as people's hearts and water always flow downhill, the 'spirit' of Haiji Island is attracted by the profundity of the Abyss Palace, so the land is gradually turning white, which is to say, 'sacred land'."

"If this continues, Haiqi Island will one day become a desert as pale as moonlight."

"According to traditional teachings, every few hundred years, when the spiritual veins flow appropriately, the barrier that blocks the connection between the Abyss Palace and the Coral Palace must be broken. Then, someone must be sent to infiltrate the Abyss Palace and retrieve a coral jade branch left by the Great God to suppress the dragon offspring of the deep sea."

“By using the jade branch to perform the ‘Sea God Spirit-Controlling Ritual,’ the sunken ‘spirits’ can be returned, and the erosion of the ‘sacred land’ can be stopped.”

"Thanks to the suppression of the Coral Palace and the divine power of the Great God inherited by the 'Current Human God Priestess', the 'Holy Land Transformation' did not spread to the entire island."

The Divine Child calmly pointed out the flaw in Ruko's words: "But at the same time, taking away the Jade Branch that suppresses the Dragon Heirs will also cause the Deep Sea Dragon Heirs in the Abyss Palace to riot, right? Even if the 'Holy Land Transformation' is contained, the invasion of the Dragon Lizards will still cause disaster."

"The reason that 'human goddess priestess' mobilized all the soldiers on Haiqi Island was to guard against the disturbances of the deep-sea dragon offspring, right? In the end, the so-called 'Haiqi Spirit Festival' is nothing more than a stopgap measure to 'fix the wound'."

Similar to the "Divine Cherry Blossom Great Purification," the "Sea Spirit Festival" is also a "stopgap measure," which is why it is held every few hundred years.

"...You're quite perceptive. However, you're perhaps a bit too presumptuous. Our Haiji Island has also produced some remarkable heroes." Ruko gave the Divine Child a deep look, and their gazes met, creating an inexplicable tension in the air.

For some reason, Ruko seems to have a strange sense of antagonism towards the Divine Child, perhaps because of their different beliefs?

Han Fulai grinned helplessly and interjected, "If I'm not mistaken, the 'remarkable hero' Miss Lu Zi mentioned should be an acquaintance of mine..."

The "Sea Spirit Festival" hasn't been held for hundreds of years, which means that the situation at Yuanxia Palace is completely unknown. Given Xin Hai's military style of "knowing yourself and your enemy and you will never be defeated," he certainly wouldn't joke around with the lives of his soldiers.

Therefore, she must have found a very powerful and trustworthy adventurer to help her retrieve the Coral Jade Branch from the Abyss Palace. Ideally, it should be someone who could be lured with "treasure"—both economical and practical.

"That's right, it is I!"

A familiar voice sounded behind them.

"Sea Goddess Unparalleled Attendant General" Yingmei and her best friend Paimon make a grand entrance.

"Oh dear, little one, it's been a while, have you missed me?" The divine child hugged Yingmei tightly and began to grope her.

It is said that during the festival, the shrine maiden specially contacted the Yomi-no-miya to arrange a private fireworks display for Hotaru and Ayaka. From then on, Hotaru acted as if she was indebted to the shrine maiden.

Seeing the heroes of Umijima Island being manipulated and bullied by the wicked fox of Narukami Island, Miss Ruko felt a little embarrassed.

Just then, the person who came to the rescue appeared: "Mr. Han and Ms. Miyaji, welcome to Haiqi Island."

Chapter 270 The Three Realms Road Sacrifice Begins [4k]

The one who spoke was Xin Hai.

Haegiri Island is already beautiful, but Coral Palace is the most beautiful place on the island.

The palace, adorned with shells and scales, glittered with jewels, resembling a legendary underwater dragon palace.

But with Xin Hai's appearance, all the scenery seemed to become just a backdrop for him.

Although she simply walked in with ordinary steps, each step seemed to create phosphorescent ripples on the ground made of crushed seashells.

The strings of beads hanging from her waist are all made of "coral pearls", each pearl containing a star-like iridescence, making it look like a rainbow dancing around her.

Coupled with the ethereal sash of her flowing robes, she truly possessed the appearance of a goddess, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

"Dressed in a shimmering silk robe, adorned with jade and precious stones, and adorned with gold and kingfisher ornaments, her body is embellished with bright pearls"—this description is perfectly suited to Xin Hai at this moment.

After all, this is the Coral Palace, the "home ground" of the Heart Sea.

The "Yi Lai Feather Robe" she wore and this palace of shells and scales were both made by the divine power of the Great God of the Sea, and were originally one. Here, they naturally generated a divine power resonance.

Han Fulai and the others all showed admiration in their eyes, but the other palace master seemed less than pleased: "Arriving so late, I thought you got lost while taking a walk underwater, Miss 'Deep Sea Tongue Turbot'. Oh, could it be that you can't be seen in public the way you usually look underwater, so you specially changed your clothes?"

Her words were barbed, clearly mocking Xin Hai's deliberate attempt to dress up.

The saying goes, "A woman dresses up for the one who appreciates her," and Lord Gongsi knows perfectly well who Xinhai is dressing up for.

Lu Zi's face showed anger, and she was about to lash out when Xin Hai spoke up: "In order to preside over the 'Sea Spirit Festival,' the 'Current Human God Priestess' must naturally change into the attire of a priestess. As a fellow priestess, Miss 'Exquisite Fried Tofu' should not be unaware of this, should she?"

"It's Miss 'Exquisite Fried Tofu' who's inexplicably in a hurry that makes me wonder... Oh, I heard that 'Exquisite Fried Tofu' cools down quickly. If it's not served while it's hot, it'll probably become cold and greasy."

The two palace officials' eyes met, as if sparks were igniting in the air.

"What does Xin Hai mean?" Little Paimon, completely oblivious to the situation, whispered to Yingmei.

Yingmei, with her extensive experience in gossiping, was unusually clever at this moment: "She's saying that the Divine Child is old, and if she's left out for too long, no one will want her..."

Seeing that the atmosphere had suddenly turned dangerous, Han Fulai quickly stepped between the two palace officials.

“Shenzi, Xinhai, you two have corresponded before, so you should be quite familiar with each other. There’s no need to rush to reminisce now; business is more important.”

The two palace officials simultaneously turned their gazes away, which was considered a courtesy to Han Fulai.

Han Fulai turned to Xinhai and said, "Xinhai, Miss Luzi just told me about the situation at Yuanxia Palace. However, I remember you said before that the preparations for the 'Sea Spirit Festival' were complete, but now you've changed into your ceremonial attire. What's going on at Yuanxia Palace?"

Xin Hai nodded and replied, "Just as Mr. Han said, a new situation has arisen in Yuanxia Palace. The problem lies in the 'Sea God Spirit Festival'..."