He changed Tiwat

Cavajra replied in an ambiguous tone, "It's not certain yet."

Tina frowned: "I asked these questions in the letter I sent to the teacher before, but unfortunately I didn't get a reply... Are you saying that even though you came to Huachengguo in person, you still can't answer any of the questions I asked the teacher in the letter before? If that's the case, I'm afraid I can't give you a definite answer."

The young scholar named Ghulam was furious upon hearing this, pointing his finger at Tinari's nose: "Tinari, you—"

Tinari stared coldly at Ghuram's finger. With his skill, breaking that impudent finger wouldn't be difficult, and he could also treat Ghuram's fracture while he was at it... if Ghuram would apologize obediently.

Kavaja shook his head, stopping Ghulam from saying anything more with a look, and then reached out to press Ghulam's arm down: "Sigh, never mind, let's go."

After saying that, he put his hands behind his back, turned around, and left.

Ghulam glared at Tinari resentfully, then followed the sage, with the scholars accompanying him also leaving in pursuit.

After everyone had left, Ying and Paimon appeared to meet Tinari.

They explained Haibasha's current situation to Tinari, and Tinari also gave them a general explanation of what had just happened.

The matter itself is not complicated. Simply put, the Council of the Church is currently undertaking a major project in Sumeru, which is said to involve the highly classified "World Tree." Many scholars, including Tinari, have been summoned by the Council of the Church, and his teacher, the "Life Theory" sage Nafis, is also involved in the project within the Council of the Church.

However, the "dead zone" in Daocheng Forest was increasing, and Cole was ill and needed care. Without Tinari, the daily operations of Huacheng Guo simply could not function. Moreover, strangely, the Church did not intend to reassign Tinari to his position, so Tinari declined the Church's summons.

Later, his teacher wrote him a very polite letter—so polite that Tinari didn't even realize this person was his teacher—inviting him to the city to participate in the Church's engineering project.

When Tinari replied to inquire about the details of the project, he received no response. Tinari was not interested in the positions and honors promised in the letter, so he rejected the Church for the second time.

Then came today's "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage".

However, even when the wise man of the "Analects" came in person, Tinaari still did not give him any face.

His reason for refusing was certainly justified—if the Order of the Church did not send someone with a grass-type God's Eye who was also familiar with the rainforest to take over the position of "Grand Forest Ranger," who would be responsible for the spread of the "Dead Zone"?

The work of a forest ranger is a task assigned by the Order of the Instruction, and there should naturally be a proper handover of duties. Even a sage cannot violate the Order of the Instruction's system.

For some reason, the Imperial Academy just couldn't send anyone to hand over the work, and when asked about the details of the Sumeru City project, they remained tight-lipped... Under these circumstances, even Paimon could tell that there was something fishy going on.

However, this also cut off the avenue for asking Tinari to write a letter to consult the sage Nafis, since that sage was currently involved in a confidential project and certainly wouldn't be meeting with outsiders. In fact, the sages of the six academies were all currently gathered in the Faculty of Law to discuss that "major project," and none of them should have time to help Luminous and Paimon solve that dream problem.

Upon hearing this news, Ying and Paimon were undoubtedly disappointed. Fortunately, Tina was, after all, a disciple of a sage, a "superior youth" of Sumeru, and had a wide network of connections in the academic world.

He immediately wrote another letter and handed it to Ying and Paimon: "This letter of introduction is for you. Take this letter to Sumeru City and find a researcher named Ruhari. He was my classmate in the Faculty and is quite well-informed. I have enclosed the address with this letter. You should be able to find it easily when you get there."

"Also, when you enter Sumeru City, you should get something. Although I don't think it will necessarily be helpful, you can still give it a try. That thing is called the 'Void Terminal.' It is a tool made by the Order of the Church using the legacy left by the Great Tree King. Some people also say that it is the cornerstone that made Sumeru a true city of wisdom."

"As for how to use it, the people in the Order of the Instruction will teach you; I won't presume to do it for you."

“And also…” He pointed north and said, “I just saw Cole go that way. She’s been lying there for too long, so I let her take a walk around the neighborhood. She probably heard you were leaving and went to the intersection to wait for you.”

After bidding farewell to Tinari, Ying and Paimon arrived at the crossroads north of Huacheng Guo, where they saw Kelai waiting there with an oil paper package in his hand.

Although it had only been a day, Ke Lai's complexion was noticeably worse, and she looked rather frail when she stood up.

Upon seeing the two, Cole instinctively lowered her head, seemingly a little embarrassed. However, she quickly raised her head and greeted them, saying, "Luminous, Paimon, you're back... um, no... I shouldn't say that now, let me just say 'have a safe trip' instead."

Ying and Paimon smiled at Cole in perfect unison.

Paimon snatched the parchment paper package and held it high like a trophy: "Yay, it's Chef Cole's pocket bread, fantastic!"

Ying then teased, mimicking Tinari's tone, "Coley, you should be taking good care of yourself now. You came all this way just to wait for us. Your master will be worried, won't he?"

Seeing this, Cole returned the smile: "Yes, don't worry, I'll take good care of myself, and my condition is fine, it won't flare up often. I'm a ranger, after all, and I have to protect the rainforest with everyone!"

"I'll be back in the patrol team in a few days. Although I can't help my master deal with the dead zone for the time being, I'll do other things well."

"besides……"

She took a deep breath and said what she had been wanting to say to her two new friends: "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my illness at first, because I wanted to be your equal friend, not to gain your sympathy... But the most important thing between friends is to treat each other sincerely, so I wanted to apologize to you in person today."

Ying and Paimon exchanged a glance, then said in unison what they had promised Tinari the night before last to say to Cole in person:

"This isn't Cole's fault, you don't need to apologize!"

Ying smiled and said, "We should thank you for your trust in telling us about the past."

Paimon added, "While we are concerned about your health, it is simply out of concern for a friend, not out of sympathy."

Ke Lai was taken aback at first, then lowered her head, with tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.

She gently wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve, her smile returning, and then took out a brand-new forest patrol notebook: "Oh, right, this is for you."

Ying took the notebook, opened it, and found it to be a densely written cookbook. It contained not only the recipe for "pocket bread," but also several other home-style dishes that Ke Lai was good at, along with his tips and experiences. It even included a map showing the distribution of some local specialties in Daocheng Forest.

Ying could imagine how much effort Cole put into this cookbook.

Ke Lai's cheeks were flushed: "I said before that I would copy a recipe for you. Last night I specially asked my master to write it for me, and then I copied it into my notebook... My handwriting isn't very good, so please don't laugh at me. I hope that when you see it, you will remember the time in Huacheng Guo."

Ying hugged the recipe book tightly to her chest: "Thank you, I will never forget you."

“Finally—” Cole placed his hand on his chest and bowed solemnly to the two of them: “Cole, the trainee forest ranger, wishes you both a safe journey. Welcome to visit Huacheng again. We forest rangers will do our best to assist you!”

After leaving Huacheng Guo, Ying and Paimon trekked through the rainforest for several days, visiting the rainforest sights along the way and collecting local specialties according to the recipes given to them by Ke Lai.

Just as the two of them were trekking through the rainforest, another traveler arrived in Sumeru City, weary from his journey.

This person entered the city with the pack animals of the caravan.

He wore a sun hat, a short blue jacket in the style of Sumeru, a simple bag on his back, and a short sword for protection on his blue belt. He looked exactly like the most common Sumeru people - the residents of Vimo Village often dressed like this when they went to the market in the city.

But as soon as he entered the city, he was stopped by the instructors and mercenaries guarding the gate.

The instructor bowed to him politely and said, "Sir, please wait a moment. This must be your first time visiting Sumeru City recently."

The traveler who was stopped raised his hat, revealing his face—black hair and black eyes, very young, looking only in his early twenties, with a typical Liyue appearance, except that his full beard added a touch of "banditry".

Seeing that the other party did not respond, the instructor knew that they probably did not understand Sumeru's language, so he switched to Liyue language and asked again.

The traveler understood this time: "Yes, I'm from Liyue. The last time I came to Sumeru was half a year ago. I'm here to visit relatives. Are you stopping me because Sumeru City has recently banned outsiders from entering or leaving?"

The instructor shook his head: "Sir, you misunderstand. I am not trying to prevent you from entering Sumeru City. On the contrary, the Instruction Council will provide every traveler who comes to Sumeru City with a convenient tool."

“You have been to Sumeru before, so you must have heard of the name ‘Void’ (Akashi). It is the legacy left by the Great Tree King and a treasure trove of knowledge.”

He waved his hand, and a mercenary beside him handed him a leaf-shaped mechanical device.

The instructor took the device and displayed it to the traveler: "This is the 'Void Terminal.' The Instruction Academy developed this a few months ago after hundreds of years of tireless research. Now, within the Sumeru Realm, as long as you wear and activate the 'Void Terminal,' everyone can connect to the 'Void' and obtain the knowledge they need from it."

"For example, the reason I can tell that you haven't been to Sumeru recently is because your identity information is not recorded in the 'Void'."

The traveler glanced at the leaf-shaped device with suspicion, but did not reach out to take it.

“I know some friends from Vimozhuang, and they’ve never used this terminal before…”

The instructor chuckled, "Of course, due to some technical reasons, the 'Void Terminal' operates more smoothly and is more powerful in large cities with large populations like Sumeru City and Omos Port. However, in more remote areas, the 'Void Terminal's' signal is currently difficult to cover..."

“In the past, the Council of Religion only issued ‘void terminals’ to Sumeru people and foreigners who stayed in Sumeru for a long time. It was only recently that it was decided to issue them to all travelers.”

"This is also a regulation of the Order of the Church. Anyone entering the city must wear a 'Void Terminal'. Don't worry, it's distributed free of charge, and there will be no additional fees for its use."

Upon hearing that it was "free," the traveler's wariness seemed to lessen slightly, and the instructor quickly shoved the "Void Terminal" into the traveler's hand.

"That's it. Just hold it in your hand and silently say, 'May I hear the voice of divine wisdom,' and you can activate it. Whatever you want it to do, just concentrate and imagine it in your mind."

The traveler grasped the "void terminal" as instructed, recited the command, and instantly a green leaf-shaped light flashed in his ears, as if he were wearing an invisible pair of headphones. At the same time, a green light flashed in front of his eyes, as if a semi-transparent screen had appeared in front of him.

He saw the words "Church of the Instruction, Pana" appear above the Instructor's head, which must be the Instructor's name.

Then, a black box appeared in front of him, asking him to fill in his name, nationality, age, occupation, and other personal information.

The traveler thought for a moment and filled in the following information on the form:

Name: Han Jiangxue;

Nationality: Liyue;

Age: 25;

Occupation: Fisherman (crossed out), fisherman.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Ignored God [5k]

As soon as Paimon stepped into Sumeru City, he immediately started complaining to Yingmei: "So the disguise didn't work at all! They just used that 'Void Terminal' to scan us and they knew we were from out of town!"

"This...this is all Tina's fault for not explaining clearly. If there were such a thing in Huacheng Guo, I wouldn't have wasted my time..." Ying awkwardly took off the disguise robe and casually shifted the blame to the innocent Grand Forest Ranger.

To avoid any potential spies from the Fools, Ying originally planned to sneak into Sumeru City with a merchant caravan and secretly investigate how to meet the Grass God. For this, she even went to great lengths to disguise herself and Paimon...

To be fair, Ying Daisuke has done this kind of thing quite a bit in Inazuma, from smuggling into Narukami Island to infiltrating the "Evil Eye Factory." It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he's "proficient in infiltration and investigation"—but he couldn't even get past the gatekeepers of Sumeru Castle. The mercenaries guarding the gate spotted them out of the crowd at a glance.

If I had known they had such advanced inspection equipment as the "Void Terminal," why would I have bothered with the pretense?

Because everyone in Sumeru City wears a "Void Terminal," any passerby could tell at a glance that they were outsiders without any identity information. Even if they had actually smuggled themselves in, they couldn't hide it from others. So Ying and Paimon simply revealed their true identities openly.

Anyway, the disguise was just to avoid trouble. Even if she really faced the Fools head-on, Ying wasn't afraid at all. In fact, she would rather they come to her and get beaten up themselves.

The instructor guarding the gate seemed to have heard of the "golden-haired honorary knight and white companion's" exploits. He not only kindly taught them how to use the "Void Terminal" but also introduced them to the city's tourist attractions and restaurants. Before they left, he politely bowed and offered his blessings.

Well, the title of Knights of Favonius is quite useful; at least as a simple "traveler," one receives preferential treatment.

Speaking of which, she actually has quite a few titles now. She is not only the "Honorary Knight" of Mondstadt, but also the "General of the Umijima" and the "Shogun's Attendant" of the Inazuma Shogunate. She is a "high-ranking official" and should be qualified to meet the Grass God, right?

Now that her identity has been exposed, why not make good use of it? Ying's way of thinking has always been very proactive.

Tina also said that the "Void Terminal" might be able to help them, and now it seems that it is indeed true. After experiencing the "Void Terminal" once under the guidance of the instructor, Ying actually quite liked it.

The "Void Terminal" is a very convenient tool. By simply thinking about specific content, one can gain knowledge within the "Void." It not only provides information such as maps, shops, and attractions in Sumeru City, but also offers real-time translation of language and text… If only this could be used outside of Sumeru City, it would be incredibly useful when searching for treasures in secret realms!

“‘Void Terminal’, I need information on ‘Little Lucky Grass King’.”

Ying submitted a search command to the "Void Terminal".

The "Void Terminal" quickly fed the search results into her mind:

Five hundred years ago, the sages found a newborn god from the scorched ruins...

The Little Auspicious Grass King currently resides at Jingshan Palace...

Overall, the information in the "Void Terminal" was no different from what Cole had said, and there was nothing new.

Ying issued a new search command to the "Void Terminal": "How do I get an audience with the Grass God?"

This time, however, the "Void Terminal" did not respond at all.

Paimon then rubbed his head and complained, "Ugh... my head is so tired..."

"I also asked the 'Void Terminal' how to meet the Grass God, but I didn't get any information at all? If I force myself to think about this question, my brain has that subtle feeling of wanting to remember something, but just not being able to..."

Ying checked the "Void Terminal" again, and this time the "Void Terminal" returned some prompts, or rather, "warnings":

The "Void" does not respond unconditionally to every question, but rather imparts relevant knowledge based on your identity, age, experience, and other differences.

In other words, they don't have the "authority" to get the answer to this question?

...That's not entirely incomprehensible, after all, every country has its own classified information! Moreover, it's said that Sumeru places particular emphasis on "intellectual property rights," and much "knowledge" is openly priced. If "Void" were to answer every question truthfully, no matter who asked, how would "knowledge" be sold for money?

Ying thought for a moment and then tried some more "indirect" questions: such as "How do I enter the Pure Goodness Palace?", "How do I worship the Little Auspicious Grass King?", "How do the believers of the God of Wisdom pay homage to their gods?", etc., but all she got was that cold, impersonal message of insufficient permissions.

Paimon also tried every keyword he could think of, but the result was the same as Ying's: "How strange, even though I've tried so many times, I still can't find a way to see the Little Lucky Grass King."

Ying frowned. It's normal to need certain conditions or status to meet the Grass God, but it's strange that even the "method of meeting the Grass God" requires special "authority" to search.

While not everyone can see the gods of Liyue and Inatsuki, the methods to see them are known to everyone... Do Sumeru people not usually worship their own gods? Or is it because they are outsiders that the "Void Terminal" treats them differently?

Ying thought for a moment, then took out the letter of introduction that Tinari had given her: "In that case, let's go and ask the person Tinari introduced. He is a Sumerian and works in the Council of Religion, so his 'authority' should be much higher than ours."

Ruhari's residence was not far from the city gate of Sumeru, and the two arrived there in no time.

And luckily, Rujavi happened to be sitting in the sun in front of his house at that moment.

"Brown hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a small mustache..." Paimonbi checked Tinari's description to make sure he hadn't gotten the wrong person, then quickly flew up to greet him: "Hello, are you Ruhari?"

Ruhari lazily sat up from the recliner, yawning as he replied, "That's me. May I ask what brings you here?"

Paimon took the letter of introduction from Ying and handed it to Ruhari: "Actually, it was Tinari who sent us to find you..."

"What! Tinari?!" Upon hearing the name "Tinari," Ruhavi jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shaking his head vigorously. "No need to say anything, there's nothing more to say. I admit that the article I published last month was indeed poorly written, and the data wasn't very convincing, but it's really not easy for me to publish an article!"

"It's been three years! It took me three years to publish this paper! Just for the sake of our long-standing friendship, could you please ask him to at least wait until the end of the year when the professional title evaluation is over before publishing an article to refute me? Otherwise, I'll be a 'probationary novice' for the rest of my life..."

"Uh, well, you seem to have misunderstood. We're not here for an academic discussion..."

After some explanation from Ying and Paimon, Ruhari, who was about to cry, was finally calmed down.

After reading the letter of introduction, Ruhari finally regained his composure: "...Phew, that scared me to death, I almost had a stomachache. So you just wanted to ask me about something. Haha, it seems even the Tinari have to admit that I do have a talent for gathering information."

He stood tall and puffed out his chest, striking a confident pose: "Speak up, what do you want to ask? For Tina's sake, I, the 'informer of the Church,' will not charge you any consultation fees."

Paimon hurriedly said, "We want to see the Little Lucky Grass King. Do you know any way to do that?"

"You want to see Lord Grass God? Hmm, this isn't my area of ​​expertise."