He changed Tiwat

Evening special performance, "The Legend of the Flower Knight", starring: Nel.

We'll continue to bring you fantastic performances this week, so please come and watch!

However, below the bulletin board, beneath Miss Nel's still image, there was another rather unsightly notice bearing the emblem of the Faculty of Churches:

[Instructor's Announcement:]

The performance content has been approved by the Ministry of Education, but it still needs to be improved in quality and undergo a second review within a specified time to ensure a more "intelligent" performance.

Nilu looked at the notice and sighed deeply: "Because of a lack of 'wisdom'... the Faculty intends to ban us from holding the 'Flora Festival'."

Chapter Thirty-Six: This Festival Was Paid for by Young Master Han of Liyue [4k]

"What do you mean by 'more intelligent plays'?" asked the not-so-wise Paimon.

"These are plays written by scholars of the Academy of Religion with the aim of popularizing wisdom among the people, such as 'Ode to the Light' and 'Discourse on the Sutras of the Distant Tree,' which praise the wisdom and benevolence of the Great Tree King. The scholars of the Academy of Religion will arrange an academy performance on the 'Day of Knowledge of the Treasury' every year, allowing students in the academy to preach this 'wisdom' to the people."

Miss Nilu, not being very bright, lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly and whispered, "I've watched it a few times, but because the dialogue is too profound and obscure, I always fall asleep..."

"Ode to the Light of the Spirit", "Discourse on the Sutras of the Distant Leaves"... Just by hearing these names, you can probably tell that they are the kind of things that are "not for you to listen to, but for scholars to recite scriptures".

The not-so-wise Yingmei looked on with a pained expression: "Festivals are supposed to be a lively event where everyone gets together to sing, dance, eat, drink, and have fun... Who has the patience to listen to lectures during a festival? Your performances of 'The Merchant of Ormos' and 'The Legend of the Flower Knight' are much more interesting than those scriptures and chants, so why can't you perform them?"

Miss Nilu, lacking in wisdom, shook her head: "I don't know. All I know is that no matter what we perform, the judges of the Order of the Church are never satisfied."

“When we were performing ‘The Merchant of Ormos,’ the censor, Sharif, said: ‘In reality, it’s impossible for any merchant to refuse a three-fold debt and instead take a piece of useless meat; that would be incredibly foolish. And the merchant’s daughter actually eloped with her lover and took all of her father’s wealth. Such a negative value orientation would have a significant impact on the thinking of teenagers in Sumeru, and it must be revised immediately.’”

"When we were rehearsing 'The Legend of the Flower Knight,' the censor, Sheriff, said: 'The Flower Knight, Faris, never existed in history! This play is a typical example of historical nihilism; it's completely fabricated and should be stopped immediately!'"

"But the Flower Knight Faris is one of the main characters of the 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival'! Legend has it that it was the Flower Knight Faris and his companions who went through many hardships to find the Little Lucky Grass King and let her ride in the flower carriage back to Sumeru City... If we can't perform 'The Legend of the Flower Knight,' then what will happen to the 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival'?"

Paimon's eyes widened: "Isn't the Council of the Order meddling way too much?!"

Ying also agreed: "This is just nitpicking! If we pursue truth in everything, then poetry and drama will cease to exist, and even the wind god of Mondstadt will be out of a job!"

Nilu sighed, "Sigh, we've tried revising the script, but no matter how Mr. Zuber changes it, Judge Sharif always finds new reasons to reject it. Because it failed the 'second review,' the Church has stopped funding the festival..."

Han Fulai then interjected: "According to the regulations of the Order of the Church, the right to organize and hold large-scale festivals within the territory of Sumeru belongs to the Order of the Church. In previous years, the 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival' was funded by the Order of the Church and then undertaken by the 'Zubair Theater' or other organizations. The content of the festival activities naturally needs to be reviewed by the Order of the Church."

"This is also why Miss Nilu needs to seek new sponsors—if she can't pass the Council of the Church's review, she won't get the funding for the activities. But on the other hand, if she can get the funding from other places, she won't have to fight so hard against the Council of the Church's review."

“Yes,” Nilu added, “So recently our theater staff have been looking for sponsors, and a few days ago I met Mr. Jiang Xue at the ‘Lambad Tavern.’ He said he knew a generous and kind friend who was willing to help sponsor the ‘Flower Goddess’s Birthday Festival’… I never expected that Mr. Jiang Xue’s friend would be a famous adventurer on the continent.”

As she spoke, she took Ying's hand again: "By the way, could you please tell the troupe about your adventures later? If you're willing to authorize it, I think Mr. Zuber would be happy to write your legendary experiences into a script and commemorate the help you gave us with a wonderful play!"

To be honest, Ying was initially reluctant when she heard that she had to pay—while she wasn't exactly a miser, she wasn't a sucker either; the Mora in her pocket was all hard-earned money from completing missions! Although more than half of that money came from the generous Fools, the generous Treasure Hoarders, and the generous unclaimed treasure chests she encountered on the road… it was all hard-earned money nonetheless!

But when Ying heard that Nilu was going to write a play for her, she was immediately excited.

She's listened to quite a few Liyue operas in Liyue, especially "The Goddess's Lair," which features Han, the man beside her, as the main character; and in Inazuma, she heard they're filming "The Shadow," based on Han; and in Mondstadt, it seems they've also erected a monument to Han...

He's an "Adventurer," and so am I; he's an "Honorary Knight," and so am I; he fought a demon god, and so have I... Why does my screen time count less than his? That's not fair!

Now that she has such an opportunity to make her famous throughout Sumeru, she certainly can't miss it.

Yingmei's spirits soared, and she thumped her chest loudly: "Sponsorship is easy to discuss. Just name your price!"

Nilu was overjoyed: "Thank you so much! I assure you, the 20 million Mora you sponsored will be used entirely for the festival, leaving the people of the Grand Bazaar with an unforgettable 'Flora Festival'..."

"Wait a minute..." Yingmei was stunned. "How much did you say?"

“Twenty million Mora.” Nilu counted on her fingers as she calculated, “The theater renovations, prop making, the ‘Seven Delicacies Table’ banquet, and all the parade decorations and, most importantly, the floats—the funding gap for these projects is just too huge… Although everyone is working very hard to raise money, no matter how you calculate it, we're still short by more than twenty million Mora…”

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Ying's forehead.

She stole a glance at Paimon.

Little Pai Meng pouted and ignored her—"Serves you right for pretending to be rich! Serves you right for patting your chest! Keep patting it!"

Even if you include all the savings Yingmei has accumulated over the past year and a half, as well as the little stash of money Paimeng has hidden in the soles of her shoes, it still wouldn't amount to 20 million... Their total assets amount to only a little over 15 million Mora.

Normal daily quests, such as running errands, cleaning, or finding pets, usually pay between a few thousand and ten thousand Mora. Even if an average adventurer does daily quests every day of the year, they might not be able to save up a million Mora.

Yingmei, relying on her martial prowess, mostly takes on high-risk missions, often earning hundreds of thousands of Mora from a single mission. Combined with some special bounties and the generosity of some employers (such as hiring them to investigate the Layered Rock Abyss and to clean up the Heart Sea of ​​Floating Spirits), she has managed to accumulate more than 15 million Mora.

She had only been on adventures for a year, and many of the missions she had undertaken were unpaid (such as accompanying Han to the Layered Rock Abyss, accompanying Han to fight the Thunder General, and accompanying Han to the Abyss Palace, etc.). It was quite remarkable that she had managed to save up so much money... But for a large festival with at least tens of thousands of participants, this amount of money was really not enough.

Moreover, this is only 20 million mora after the members of the "Zubair Theatre" and the enthusiastic people of the Grand Bazaar have already raised more than 50 million mora and simplified all the projects that could be simplified. Otherwise, the shortfall would probably be even greater.

Ying regretted not asking Ayaka and the shrine maiden beforehand how much Inazuma spent on the festival each year. She was so focused on enjoying the festival that she never considered how miserable the job of "festival organizer" really was...

More importantly, the boast he made was exposed in less than half a minute, which was extremely embarrassing!

The understanding Secretary Han then quietly gave Ying a wink and mouthed three words: "I'll reimburse you."

As the character Han Fulai is supposed to be a Liyue sailor, he shouldn't be able to spend over 20 million Mora at once, so he has to find someone to act as his "sugar daddy".

He had originally planned to use Uncle Tian's name to persuade Boss Lambad to sponsor Nilu. If Yingmei hadn't come to the city today, there would probably be two bearded men patting Nilu's furry chest and laughing "hahaha" right now... Hmm, thinking about that scene, Han Fulai also felt that Yingmei's arrival was really timely.

Hearing that the festival was paid for by Young Master Han of Liyue, and all the credit would go to her, Ying's courage immediately swelled, and she puffed out her chest again: "A mere 20 million Mora, it's nothing!"

The wealthy and powerful young master Han smiled without saying a word.

Well, a mere 20 million Mora is nothing. As long as it helps his plans, he doesn't care how much money he spends on this "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival"... Anyway, he can get reimbursed after he returns to China.

His return to Sumeru this time is backed by the entire "Seven Star Council".

Ningguang, Keqing, and even Xingqiu's father, Chairman Yun, which one of them can't casually produce a few small goals? Twenty million is nothing to them.

Passing the notice board with the notices from the Vatican, behind it lies the Grand Bazaar's most famous "Zubair Theatre".

There's not much to see in the Grand Bazaar inside the tree hollow. If there's anything here that could be called a "scenic spot," it's this theater.

To be honest, compared to other festival stages I've seen, the Zubair Theater can only be described as shabby.

A miniature fountain less than a person tall; a few lotus-shaped colored lights, one of which seemed to be broken, always flickering on and off; and a small stage, no more than five or six meters long, just a layer of wooden planks laid on bricks... This is all there is to the Zuber Theater.

Not to mention comparing it to the Fengshen Square during the "Feng Hua Festival" or the outlying islands during the "Guang Hua Rong Cai Festival," even the stage at the He Yu Tea House is much more impressive than this Zubair Theater—its stage is made of top-quality fragrant wood, and it also has screens produced by "Fan Mu Tang," which are very valuable and could be sold to collectors for several Zubair Theaters.

What's even more surprising is that the theater doesn't even have a single seat.

If audience members don't bring their own stools, they'll have to stand to watch the show.

Han Fulai had indeed seen such a stage before—in his childhood Chinese textbook, there was a text called "Village Opera"—village operas used such a simple stage.

Of course, the audience at the Grand Bazaar didn't come to support any fancy theater.

After all, the most beautiful scenery in this grand bazaar is the people. On the stage of the theater, there is Nilu, the most beautiful and kindest dancer in Sumeru City.

Nilu led them up the wooden steps on the side of the theater, reminding them to watch their step as they went: "Watch out, there's a hole here... the planks over there aren't very sturdy, step on them carefully..."

Ying and Paimon silently sighed that the stage really needed renovation, but Nel shook her head, saying that the problem with the stairs was a minor issue and the theater didn't have extra funds to repair them.

She pointed to the ceiling of the stage: "That's where it really needs fixing."

Zubair Theater is a small theater inside a tree hollow, and the ceiling of the stage is, of course, a branch of the sacred tree Sumeru—and the branch above their heads has a piece of bark the size of the stage that has been completely peeled off, leaving only a small part connected to the trunk, making it look like it is about to collapse.

Luckily, there was no wind in the bazaar inside the tree hollow, otherwise the bark might have fallen off if the wind had blown it.

“Mr. Zubair is worried sick. We’ve reported it to the Papacy several times, but they haven’t sent anyone to deal with it… Sigh, the people in the Papacy have always looked down on us singers and dancers. I guess in their eyes, it would be better if the theater were smashed.”

"Thank goodness, the Grass God guided you here, allowing us to hire people to repair the treetops and even have the money to renovate the stage—by the time of the 'Flower Goddess's Birthday,' the stage will be much more beautiful than it is now, so please look forward to it!"

Ying then finally remembered an important question: "Speaking of which... what exactly is the 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival'? We still don't know!"

She only heard Han Fulai mention in the tavern that the way to see the Grass God was to hold a "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival," but Han Fulai didn't have a chance to tell her why holding the "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival" would allow her to see the Grass God...

Strictly speaking, the 20 million Mora sponsored by Yingda Philanthropist was an investment decision made without even watching a PowerPoint presentation. If she had actually paid for it herself, she would probably want to buy a block of tofu and smash her head against it in shock.

However, in Nel's eyes, this only highlighted Ying's generosity and kindness. Look, she didn't even know what the "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival" was, yet she still took out 20 million to sponsor it. What other word could describe her but "great philanthropist"?

Nilu felt that filming just one movie for Ying was not enough; she should film a series to lavishly praise her noble sentiments!

So Nel began to earnestly explain the origins of the "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival" to Ying:

"Legend has it that the reason this day is called 'Flower Goddess's Birthday' is that it originally meant 'Flower Goddess's Birthday Celebration'."

“A long, long time ago, on the birthday of the Tree King, her friends held a banquet to celebrate her birthday.”

"At the banquet, several deities got drunk, and one of them, in high spirits, began to play an instrument. So the Tree King sang, and the Flower Goddess danced..."

She removed the sari covering her headdress and leaped onto the center of the stage.

The light gauze in her hands fluttered like a tumbleweed, her swirling dance steps resembled lotus petals, her graceful figure and captivating voice made one forget where they were and what day it was.

This is the most important ritual in the "Flora Festival" - the "Flora Dance".

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Dina Zede [4k]

Nilu clearly remembers that the first time she saw the "Dance of the Flower Goddess" was ten years ago, at the "Birthday Festival of the Flower Goddess" when she was eight years old.

That same year, she met Nabiyy, the first dancer at the Zubair Theatre and her dance teacher.

Back then, the uncle who played the "Knight of the Flowers" gave her a lot of Yalda candy. Little Niru held the candy in her arms as she passed by the Zuber Theater.

The "Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival" is the birthday of the Grass Goddess, and also the day when the Flower Goddess presents a dance to the Grass Goddess, so naturally, there is no shortage of dance celebrations.

However, since the death of the Tree King, the Order of the Church seems to have paid less and less attention to the "Birthday of the Flower Goddess". In most parts of Sumeru City, few people even mention this festival. In the entire Sumeru City, only this Grand Bazaar celebrates the "Birthday of the Flower Goddess".

As festivals are not valued, the Faith Council naturally does not approve much funding. In previous years, when the Grand Bazaar celebrated the "Birth of Flora," it almost always invited outside dance troupes—such as bards from Mondstadt or dancers from Fontainebleau—to perform songs and dances on a temporary stage. Of course, outside dance troupes would not perform the "Dance of Flora."

There's nothing we can do about it. With that meager budget, it's already a miracle we could even get a dance troupe; how could we possibly hope for a "Dance of the Flower Goddess"? As for theatrical performances and float parades, forget about it altogether...

But that year, the playwright who came from the Grand Bazaar, Mr. Sheikh Zubair, who traveled the world in pursuit of artistic excellence, returned!

He not only came back, but he also brought his theater troupe back with him!

The Grand Bazaar now has its own theater troupe, the "Zubair Theater Troupe"!

They set up the "Zubair Theater" in the Grand Bazaar to celebrate the birthday of the Grass God and to present the troupe's first performance to the people.

Excited people flocked to the new stage, surrounding it in droves.

Little Nilu finally managed to squeeze through the crowd to the front of the stage and saw her teacher dance for the first time.

The brown skin that comes from the desert has always been regarded by the "city people" of Sumeru as a symbol of ignorance and barbarity, but in Niru's eyes, that figure is as sweet and pleasant as honey.

Even though there were no flowers on the stage, at that moment, she felt as if she saw millions of flowers blooming on the stage.

Unconsciously, the candies clattered to the ground, and Little Nilu couldn't help but jump up and down along with the teacher on the stage.

When the dance ended, Nilu realized what she had done and hurriedly apologized to the people around her who had made room for her.

At that moment, the teacher gracefully walked down from the stage and helped little Nile pick up the Yalda candy. She extended her hand to little Nile with elegant movements—

"Would you like to dance with me from now on?"

Without lights or accompaniment, Nil's solo "Dance of the Flower Goddess" captivated everyone's attention.

People passing by the Zubair Theater in the Grand Bazaar silently gathered in front of the stage, looking up at the graceful figure on the stage, even their breaths unconsciously stopped, for fear of disturbing the beautiful dance.

As the dance ended, Nel breathed softly and recited her final lines:

"As the goddess of flowers danced, countless beautiful patissani grew on the grass she trod... Bright purple-red flowers formed a magnificent stage, and the gods all said: 'Ah, if only time could stand still at this moment.'"

The gods' sentiments back then were also the shared thoughts of everyone present.

Especially Han Fulai and the other two, they suddenly understood the feelings Lei Yingdong had back then—

Why did Lei's films so persistently pursue "eternity"? Because those beautiful moments, like fireworks that bloom and fade in an instant, truly make people involuntarily hope that the power of time can preserve them forever.

After a moment of silence, "Han Jiangxue" led the applause in a loud, enthusiastic clapping, and even whistled at Nilu: "So beautiful! Miss Nilu is the best in the world!"

The phrase "Miss Nel is the best!" instantly rose and fell in the crowd, with some even shouting "I'm Miss Nel's dog!"...

In Mondstadt, a thousand miles away, Miss Yura, who had been praised by Han as "the best dancer in all of Teyvat," suddenly sneezed.

Thanks to the commotion, Ying and Paimon, who were deeply captivated by Nel's dance, finally came to their senses.

It was only then that the two of them noticed that Nel had two strange "horns" on the top of her head.

Noticing their gazes, Nilu smiled and pointed to the top of her head: "Although the gods of yesteryear are no longer here, the tradition of performing dances to celebrate birthdays has been preserved. The outfit I'm wearing is said to have been designed to imitate the figure of the Flower Goddess."

"Even though we are just insignificant humans, we must still work hard to make the birthday star—the Little Lucky Grass King—feel loved."

Paimon tilted his head: "Speaking of which, I've noticed that you seem to really like Lord Little Lucky Grass King, Nilu... Could it be that you've met Lord Little Lucky Grass King?"

When she and Yingmei first entered Sumeru City, they asked many people about the Grass God, but no one seemed interested in him... Connelly seems to have a particularly deep affection for the Little Lucky Grass King.

Nilu shook her head: "No, I have never met the Grass God. Although I was born in this 'Land of Wisdom' Sumeru, I have never had any talent for 'learning knowledge' since I was a child. If we go by what the people in the Order Academy say, I am probably the kind of person who is furthest from 'wisdom'."

“My parents never blamed me, but I knew myself that I seemed to be a little less intelligent than my peers. I started speaking later than others, and I learned to read slower than others. We all went to the same classes, learned the same texts, and did the same exercises, but my test scores were always the lowest... However, Teacher Nabi told me that I had another talent…”

She gently waved to the crowd below the stage and smiled, and the people below returned the smiles. Many even took their companions' hands and began to dance along with her. Although their steps were clumsy, everyone's face was filled with happiness and joy.

"My teacher said that when God closes a door for people, He always leaves a window open. And the 'window' that God left for me is this talent, the talent of conveying emotions through 'body language'."

“If it weren’t for the ‘Flower Goddess’s Birthday Festival,’ I might never have known I had such a talent, and I might never have discovered the joy that dancing could bring to myself and the people around me… I think this is probably the gift that Lord Little Lucky Grass King generously gave me.”