He changed Tiwat

Ruhari scratched his head, a green light flashing before his eyes, clearly indicating he was querying information from the "Void Terminal." After a moment, he shrugged and said, "Sorry, 'Void' hasn't responded to my question."

"Hey, are you like that too?" Paimon glanced at him sideways. "Judging from your arrogant attitude just now, I thought you would definitely get a lot more information than us."

Ruhari awkwardly tried to salvage the situation: "Oh dear, I already said this isn't my area of ​​expertise. I'm just a small researcher, and 'Void' must think I don't need to know anything about the Grass God. But as far as I know, since the Little Auspicious Grass King returned to Sumeru, he has never left the Pure Good Palace, nor has he ever appeared in public."

Ying and Paimon exchanged a glance: "Five hundred years without seeing anyone? I never imagined the Grass God was such a mysterious deity..."

Ruhari nodded: "Yes. The Grass Goddess lives a secluded life and may not even want anyone to see her. If that's the case, it's only natural that we can't find any information about requests to see her in the 'Void'."

Paimon panicked: "What if that's really the case?"

Ruhari, with a look of world-weariness, said, "You can think more positively. Even if you don't get to see Lord Little Lucky Grass, it's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, in this world, there are always some knowledge you can't obtain from the 'void,' and there are always some things you can't do... Letting go is also a kind of wisdom."

"Take me for example. With my intelligence, I should be grateful if I can publish one paper every three years, but Tinari can publish three a year..."

“Uh…” Paimon was taken aback, and could only respond with a sympathetic look: “Okay, thank you for your help… and for your guidance.”

Ruhari waved his hand dismissively: "You're welcome. If you want to know anything else, such as the list of scholars promoted by the Council this year, or the interpersonal relationships among the six sages, feel free to come and consult me."

Upon hearing "the Sage," Ying remembered Haibasha's suggestion and hurriedly asked, "By the way, do you have a way to see the 'Sage'?"

Ruhari's eyes lit up immediately: "Haha, you've come to the right person! Although the six major schools of thought study different fields, the sages often interact with each other because they have to handle the administrative affairs of the Council of the Church. As researchers in the Council of the Church, we often get to meet each other."

“Our ‘Life Theory’ sage, Lord Nafis, is notoriously difficult to deal with. Not only are we researchers afraid of him, but even the great sage, Lord Azar, gives him some leeway. You know, the reason I was able to publish that paper was because I took advantage of the fact that Lord Nafis wasn’t a reviewer!”

"There's a trick to seeing the Sages. Although it's not easy to get into their research labs, the Wisdom Palace, which serves as the library of Sumeru City, is open to all citizens free of charge. So you just need to wait at a time when the Sages are looking up information at the Wisdom Palace—and I have a very good relationship with Lady Setare, Lord Azar's assistant. I know every Sage's schedule and habits inside and out!"

"Oh! Oh!" Upon hearing that there was hope, Ying and Paimon both perked up.

Ruhari confidently retrieved the "Sage's Schedule" he had created and uploaded from the "Void Terminal"—well, just like every university has scripts for booking courses and lists of easy courses, Ruhari was the kind-hearted person who created these wonderful little tools for his juniors.

For ordinary people whose talents are not as great as those of the Tinari, "publishing papers when the Sage of Nafis is too busy to review them" is an essential skill for getting papers accepted.

However, after some inquiry, Ruhari shook his head again: "Unfortunately, you just missed the window of opportunity. Recently, all six sages have been involved in the secret project of the Council of the Church, and we haven't seen the sages for a long time. The 'Theory of Knowledge' sage Kavaja came out once a while ago. The best opportunity to see the sages was at that time... but he returned to the Council of the Church two days ago to continue the project, and the next time he goes out is unknown."

Seeing the disappointed expressions on Ying and Paimon's faces, Ruhari quickly added, "Hey, don't worry, just because we can't see them now doesn't mean we won't see them in the future. The sages always have to come out and handle affairs. Since you're an adventurer, we can keep in touch through the Adventurers' Guild!"

"As soon as I hear news of the sage emerging from seclusion, I'll leave you a message at the Adventurers' Guild. You can check the message regularly, and come find me when you receive it. I'll take you to the Palace of Wisdom, how about that?"

The method of "waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump" is clumsy, but it is the only option left.

After thanking Ruhari, Ying and Paimon rushed to the Adventurers' Guild branch in Sumeru City.

Although Ruhari didn't provide much useful information, he did give Ying a hint—the Adventurers' Guild also has its own intelligence sources, and what Ruhari couldn't find out, the adventurers of Sumeru might be able to find out.

Unfortunately, she came up empty-handed at the Adventurers' Guild again. Catherine regretfully told her that the Adventurers' Guild also had no information about the Grass God.

However, Catherine also recommended a new source of intelligence to her.

According to Catherine, the Adventurers' Guild isn't the most well-informed organization in Sumeru. Many large and small mercenary groups, known as the "Gilded Brigade," are active there. They take on various commissions, travel throughout Sumeru, and naturally possess a wealth of intelligence.

The "Thirty-Man Brigade," named after the number of members at the time of its founding and responsible for the defense of Sumeru City, is one of the oldest brigades in Sumeru's history. They are responsible for managing and coordinating affairs between various brigades and are also the most well-informed organization in Sumeru.

Following Catherine's directions, Ying then went to the headquarters of the "Thirty-Man Group" in the city, the Sand Gathering Hall, to find Asfard, a group advisor who had a good relationship with the Adventurers' Guild.

Disappointingly, even the advisors of the "group of thirty" knew nothing about the Little Lucky Grass King.

The Gilded Brigade originated in the desert and were originally subjects of the desert lord, the "Red King." After the Red King's fall, the Gilded Brigade became mercenaries who earned their living through their own abilities. To put it bluntly, they were "unbelievers." They had no faith in the Grass God and were even less likely to actively seek to understand him.

Furthermore, according to Asfard, most people in the Sumeru Church still worship the previous Grass God, the Great Kindness Tree King, and almost completely ignore the new Lesser Auspicious Grass King. In their view, the Great Kindness Tree King created Sumeru and left behind "emptiness," while the Lesser Auspicious Grass King merely happened to inherit these things.

Moreover, Little Auspicious Grass King never shows herself, and the Order of the Nation almost never releases any information about her. Therefore, to the Sumeru people, she is nothing more than a "living" deity.

Therefore, the most likely reason why they couldn't find any information about meeting the Grass God in the "Void Terminal" is that no Sumeru person cared about this Little Auspicious Grass King at all...

After leaving the Gathering Sand Hall, the two inquired about the Grass Goddess from merchants and passersby along Baoshang Street, the most bustling commercial street in Sumeru. However, just as Asfad had said, no one had seen the Little Auspicious Grass King, and no one wanted to see her.

A dignified "Seven Rulers of the Mortal World" is being so ignored by his own people in the country he rules... Before coming to Sumeru, Ying never imagined that Sumeru would be in such a state.

"The situation is probably not very optimistic..."

Ying looked up at the canopy of the sacred tree with a worried expression.

The entire city of Sumeru was built upon the sacred tree left behind by the Great Compassionate Tree King. The root part of the sacred tree is the main urban area of ​​Sumeru, which is also where they are now located; the middle layer of the trunk is the location of the Order of Teachings, which is also the administrative center of the entire Sumeru; and the Pure Goodness Palace built at the top of the tree crown is the palace of the Tree King, and also the residence of the current Grass God, Little Auspicious Grass King.

Although the Great Compassionate Tree King has passed away, the entire city of Sumeru is still under his shade, and everyone living here is grateful for his kindness.

As for the Little Lucky Grass King... to put it bluntly, even Orobas, who has been dead for over two thousand years, has a greater presence than the Little Lucky Grass King.

Even if she were truly imprisoned by the Fools and stripped of her divine authority, probably few Sumeru people would care...

Paimon also looked worried: "Is it possible that not a single person in the entire Sumeru City is interested in the Little Lucky Grass King?"

If that's the case, further inquiries will be futile. Perhaps they should seriously consider "breaking into Jingshan Palace at night."

Just as the two were at their wits' end, they suddenly heard a familiar voice behind them: "Ying, Paimon, we've finally waited for you."

Chapter Twenty-Four: Meeting an Old Acquaintance in a Foreign Land

"Huh?" Hearing that familiar voice, Paimon turned around with a look of surprise. "It's Han..."

She swallowed the word "Han" back after only saying half of it.

The large beard that appeared before her was so striking that she didn't recognize it at all.

Since her gaze was now focused on the person's face, the person's name automatically appeared on her "void terminal" screen—

"...Who is Han Jiangxue!?"

Han Jiangxue seemed very happy, and warmly opened her arms to give Paimon a hug: "It's so great to meet you all in Sumeru!"

Paimon dodged away with a look of disgust.

Ying also had a lot of complaints she couldn't bring herself to say.

She and Han had gone through several adventures together, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they had a life-or-death bond. They went from being ordinary friends to "comrades-in-arms" and "accomplices." How could she not recognize his voice?

However, the voice was the same, but the face was not the same.

In her memory, Han Fulai was not only handsome and dashing, but also at least gentle and refined, definitely not this kind of rough, bandit-like appearance with a tanned bronze complexion.

Honestly, if Han Fulai had looked like this from the beginning, Ying would never have been interested in getting to know him.

What's even more ridiculous is that his appearance and voice don't match at all!

What kind of ruthless bandit has such a gentle voice?

Unable to hug Paimon, Han turned to look at Yingmei, but ultimately didn't dare to hug her. Instead, he clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Oh, what a joyous occasion! Meeting an old friend in a foreign land! It's truly a great thing in life and deserves a proper celebration. Come on, come on, I know a nice restaurant. It's my treat today!"

Yingmei finally couldn't help but complain: "Don't recite poetry with such an uncultured face, okay..."

Han Jiangxue stroked his beard and retorted sternly, "Hey, Miss Ying, you're mistaken. Who says someone with a face like that can't be cultured? Liyue has a rich literary tradition, and even a fisherman like me has read a few books!"

Paimon glanced at him sideways: "You've changed careers and become a fisherman, huh?"

Yingmei glanced sideways and said, "I think you're more like a robber from a treasure-hunting gang. Just looking at your face makes my hands itch."

Han Jiangxue winked at the two of them and lowered her voice, saying, "Alright, alright, the street isn't the place to talk. Whatever you want to complain about, come with me to the restaurant first."

"Hey friend, what would you like to eat today?"

As soon as the three entered the "Lambad Tavern," the tavern owner greeted them very familiarly.

The boss also had a full beard and the same bronze skin; apart from being a bit older, he was almost a carbon copy of "Han Jiangxue".

Han Jiangxue gave the owner a thumbs up: "Same as always, when you don't know which one to choose, just pick 'Lambad Fish Rolls'! Three servings, the largest ones, please!"

The owner responded with a thumbs-up: "You know your stuff! Want some 'coconut charcoal cakes'? Freshly baked! For your sake, I can give those two young ladies a 50% discount."

Han Jiangxue beamed with joy: "Brother, you're so generous!"

The boss laughed heartily: "Hahaha! How could a man of the sea be stingy? Back in the day, I've been on many life-or-death adventures!"

"I have traversed storms that blot out the sky, more fierce than the wrath of General Thunder; I have broken through the thickest glaciers, harder than the heart of the Queen of Winter. Yet these are not the greatest deeds—"

"The greatest thing is that after experiencing all these dangers, I was able to safely return to Sumeru and open this lively tavern, hahaha!"

Han Jiangxue laughed heartily as well: "Hahaha! That's why the wine here carries the chill of the sea, and the fish and shrimp here carry the freshness of the sea. It truly is a tavern run by men of the sea!"

The boss was even happier: "Well said! Just for what you said, brother, I'll give you another dish of 'Sabuz Stew' on the house, hahaha!"

The two bearded men burst into laughter, giving Ying and Paimon goosebumps. Han, however, seemed oblivious, leading the two to a table at the far end of the tavern.

"Boss Lambad used to be a sailor at sea. He is a very warm person and his cooking is also very delicious... Honestly, it would be a pity to come to Xumi and not try his cooking."

Seeing that Ying and Paimon both looked like they wanted to say something but hesitated, he smiled slightly and changed his tone back to the original one: "Well, for now, you can call me Jiang Xue. My current identity is a fisherman from Liyue. I came to Sumeru City to visit relatives—my nephew, Jiang'er, who is hospitalized and recuperating at the 'Health Home' in the city."

"You guys took my requests and helped me when you were adventuring in Liyue before, so I know you guys well, that's all."

"Uh... wait a minute, wait a minute..."

His long list of "new personas" left Paimon completely bewildered—"Jiang Xue" and "Jiang Er," so many "Jiang"s were hard to remember, Paimon felt his brain was going to freeze...

Yingcai didn't bother remembering all that and went straight to the point, asking, "Why are you dressed like this?"

"Ah, this is Ye Lan's handiwork. I asked her to help me get a fake identity, made based on the face of an acquaintance of mine..."

Han Fulai rubbed his face. His face was covered in "technology and ruthless work," and he couldn't easily remove it. He himself was actually quite unaccustomed to it.

With Miss Ye Lan's skill of "one person, a thousand faces", not only her face, but also her height, weight and voice could be made exactly the same as Jiang Xue's, but Han Fulai did not ask to do that.

He didn't plan to use this fake identity for too long; he just wanted to be able to sneak into Sumeru City discreetly.

Jiang Xue is clearly a very classy middle-aged man. Even with his original bearded appearance, he could be described as "unconventional and unrestrained." Yet Ye Lan insists on making him look like a "bandit." I wonder what his mentality is.

Hmm, it can't be because they're worried that making him too handsome will attract Sumeru's little sisters, right? I've heard that many young girls like the mature, older type...

Of course, there's no need to explain this to Yingmei and the others.

Han Fulai pointed to his ear: "Let me tell you the most important thing first. After you entered the city, did you receive the 'Void Terminal' issued by the Order of the Church? This is a new policy recently issued by the Order of the Church. Whether you are a local or a tourist, everyone must wear this in order to enter the city."

"The saying goes, 'Free things are the most expensive.' This 'Void Terminal' is so powerful, its cost can't be low. There must be a reason why the Council is willing to spend so much to distribute it to everyone for free."

"The reason I invited you to this 'Lambad Tavern' is also to guard against this thing—"

He smiled and said, "This is the harbor furthest from the Order of the Church, and the signal is the worst here."

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Older Brother Is Watching You

"Poor signal...?"

Upon hearing this, Paimon quickly tried to connect to the "Void Terminal"—sure enough, the "Void Terminal," which usually responded quickly to any search, was now slow to respond, even a simple search for "Lambad Tavern's Dianping" took a long time to complete...

Ying looked thoughtful: "Could this 'void terminal' actually be a 'record-taking machine' used by the Order of the Church to monitor the people of Sumeru?"

Han Fulai nodded: "Yes. You should have heard that the Order Council is currently working on a secret project, right? The policy of issuing 'void terminals' to everyone entering the city started at the same time as that secret project. I don't think there is no connection between the two."

As a modern time traveler who experienced the Internet age, Han Fulai's understanding of "Void" is obviously more profound than Ying's.

In his view, "Void" is a cloud database built by the Academy, similar to "CNKI" that he used when writing papers in college, but of course the content in this database is much richer than that of "CNKI".

The "Void Terminal" is a "portable interactive AI search engine" that responds to user search commands based on data in the "Void" database, providing users with the knowledge they need. Like modern AI, it also has various limitations, and there will be situations where it is "not displayed according to relevant laws and regulations".

Such a convenient tool can't possibly be truly "free".

Generally speaking, users' personal information, search history, and search-generated data become new resources within databases provided to platform operators. In fact, most modern "big data" and "user profiles" are derived from users' search history in search engines or from their chat logs on various social media platforms.

In other words, the Church Council can be considered to have installed a camera on everyone's head, monitoring everyone's every move in Sumeru City around the clock. The convenience brought by the "Void Terminal" is actually obtained by selling personal information and privacy to the Church Council.

More importantly, this thing is directly connected to a person's brainwaves!

The technology of "void terminals" that search for relevant information based on people's thoughts also exists on Earth. Han Fulai had heard of the so-called "brain-computer interface," which allows machines to sense bioelectrical signals in the human brain and perform corresponding operations.

These technologies are usually used in the medical field, such as helping people with disabilities operate prosthetics or helping paralyzed people type with their brains... But what if these technologies are misused?

The fictional "Big Brother watching you" in literary works has probably become a reality.

To take it a step further, suppose this "void terminal" could be controlled by the central authority within the Council of the Church, allowing it to freely peer into everyone's thoughts, and even do something more terrifying?

Given that the "Sensory Mimicry" device created by the Fools by stealing the authority of the Grass God has the ability to spy on others' minds and manipulate their consciousness, it is not surprising that the "Void Terminal" issued by the Order of the Fathers possesses the same power.

While carrying out that "project," the Council of Religion was forcing everyone entering Sumeru City to wear "void terminals," which was probably not just for "surveillance."

Han Fulai even speculated that the "project" of the Order Academy might be a national-level "sensory mimicry" experiment, a conspiracy by the Fools to brainwash and control the entire Sumeru territory!

Ying clearly also connected the dots to the device on the "Golden Apple Islands," and her expression immediately changed: "'Void Terminal' is actually this kind of thing!"

She immediately pulled out the "Void Terminal" that the instructor had given her when she entered the city, preparing to crush it. Han Fulai quickly stopped her: "Don't do that. If this thing really has a surveillance function, destroying it will undoubtedly alert the enemy. Moreover, without the 'Void Terminal,' you won't be able to move freely in Sumeru City."

"Are we just going to let them spy on us like this?"

Ying was genuinely angry—she even resisted her own brother's "guardianship," let alone the Sumeru Cult, which she knew nothing about. Besides, this thing might have been made by the Fools!

Paimon held the "Void Terminal" in his hands, looking hesitant, as if he wanted to throw it away but couldn't bear to part with it—after all, it was still uncertain whether this thing was actually a "surveillance device," and it was quite useful as a "guide"...

Despite sporting a full beard, Han Fulai still revealed that smile that Ying and Paimon were very familiar with—a smile that used to make people want to punch him, but now looked incredibly reassuring.

"Don't panic, I have a plan."