Eldritch Horror Theatre

The Night Watchers had indeed come up empty. Chen Xing soon finished his discussion with Poker Face and announced the end of the banquet, allowing the guests to head home.

As the guests began to leave, Fu Qian drove out of the manor. He was just wondering where he might look into the middle-aged man's background when he noticed a car tailing him from a distance.

'Where did I slip up and draw suspicion?'

Fu Qian frowned in thought and quietly slowed the car.

If he really had exposed a flaw, he needed to confirm it and handle the situation cleanly as soon as possible.

As he decelerated, the trailing car quickly caught up.

A moment later, his perception picked up a familiar presence.

'Wen Li?'

'What does this girl want?'

The door opened, and sure enough, Wen Li stepped out and hurried over.

Seeing Fu Qian frowning at her, Wen Li felt inexplicably flustered. She glanced around to ensure there was no one else nearby.

"Excuse me... are you... Mr. Fu?"

!!!

Fu Qian was genuinely shocked.

'I'm wearing layers of disguises, how did she recognize me?'

"It really is you!"

Before he could answer, Wen Li's face lit up with joyful surprise, and she lowered her voice even further.

"I never had the chance to thank you for your help last time, and now you've saved my life again."

"Don't mention it. Just think of yourself as a daughter of destiny."

There was no point in denying it now, so Fu Qian shifted his voice back to normal.

"How did you recognize me?"

He was genuinely puzzled. He was wearing layers of disguises like a Russian nesting doll.

"Your disguise is flawless. There were no slip-ups."

Wen Li shook her head shyly.

"It's just that when we ran into each other at the banquet, I sensed you were a bit surprised to see me..."

"And when you kicked me earlier, it felt inexplicably familiar, so I took the liberty of testing my theory."

'That actually works?'

'Did being kicked unlock some sort of masochistic sixth sense?'

Even before advancing, Wen Li could perceive the emotions of those around her. That ability must have strengthened after she leveled up, so it wasn't too strange that she had sensed his emotional shift.

This served as a wake-up call. There were many bizarre abilities in this world, and he needed to be far more vigilant in the future.

"Alright."

Fu Qian shook his head. His facial muscles shifted, quickly reverting back to Fang Xun's face.

"You're..."

Now it was Wen Li's turn to be dumbfounded. She subconsciously took a step back.

"A double safeguard."

Fu Qian didn't want to overexplain.

"Oh."

Wen Li tactfully refrained from pressing the issue. After a brief silence, she remembered something.

"Then... that face from last time was your real one, right?"

"What else? Do you think I'm a thousand-layer cake?"

"...That's a relief."

Wen Li beamed at Fu Qian.

"This face isn't nearly as handsome as that one."

'...This girl really knows how to talk!'

Fu Qian instantly decided to forgive her presumptuous test.

Seeing that Fu Qian was in a decent mood, Wen Li relaxed.

"I broke through with your help last time, but you left before I had the chance to thank you. My father and I have always felt terribly regretful about that."

'That's a bald-faced lie!'

'I can understand your regret, but your dad saw you stumbling out of that Safe House half-dressed. Are you sure he regrets not thanking me?'

"I even tracked down Captain Gu later to ask for your information. Unfortunately, he told me that you hadn't been with the team for long and that he knew very little about your background, so I had no way of finding you."

"I draw a clear line between my professional and personal life. I never reply to messages outside of working hours."

"I was a little hesitant when my father told me to come to Shangjing. I never expected to run into you right after arriving."

Wen Li's tone grew increasingly bright and cheerful.

"Are you on a secret mission, wearing such a heavy disguise?"

"First of all, this is a one-off thing."

Fu Qian pointed at himself.

"Second, your logic is a bit flawed. If it were a secret mission, would I be able to tell you?"

"...That's true. I'm sorry, that was presumptuous of me."

Wen Li quickly apologized, then suddenly remembered something else.

"Could your operation have something to do with the theft at the Night Watchers' warehouse?"

'You sure know a lot, young lady!'

Fu Qian was instantly intrigued.

"How did you know the Night Watchers' warehouse was robbed?"

"It was just a rumor I heard."

Wen Li giggled.

"I've been visiting some elders over the past couple of days, and I heard them mention that something happened at the Night Watchers Base. It seems an insider stole a certain Item and went on the run. They're searching for him everywhere."

"I just treated it like gossip, but I never expected to run into something like this tonight, let alone almost lose my life."

Wen Li looked visibly shaken.

"Do you know what the guy's name is?"

"I think his name is Henrik."

'Henrik...'

In that case, it really was an inside job. An insider had stolen the Blood of Thorns.

Although he had managed to escape tonight, he was already injured.

He hadn't managed to flee Shangjing before, and it would be even more impossible now. His only option was to stay hidden.

Currently, his true rivals were the Night Watchers, who were also hunting the thief.

Yuan Shan clearly knew something to be able to pinpoint a location like Houhai Manor so accurately.

This was information he lacked. After all, both the man and the Item belonged to them. He was at a severe disadvantage in that regard.

"Mr. Fu, where are you staying in Shangjing?"

As Fu Qian remained silent, Wen Li seemed to think of something and blinked at him.

'Where am I staying?'

Fu Qian remembered the absolute wreckage that was The Bookstore. That place was definitely unlivable right now.

"Whenever you have the time, please come by my place so I can properly express my gratitude."

Wen Li handed him a business card.

Fu Qian took it and glanced at the print. At her young age, she was actually sporting the title of Vice President of the Wen Group!

'Was she sent here to expand their territory?'

Fu Qian shook his head inwardly. Wen Li was a bona fide Mid-Tier Transcendent. Even if she was a business prodigy, Wen Xiuxian wouldn't let her waste her energy on something as mundane as making money.

'He's probably thinking about her future.'

After successfully advancing, staying cooped up in a small city would do nothing for her growth.

Sending her to Shangjing, a city teeming with transcendents, was ostensibly to expand the business, but its true purpose was likely to give her more opportunities to interact with the supernatural world.

The attitude of the two Chen Family scions today made it clear enough: despite being a newcomer, she was already drawing quite a bit of attention.

'Wen Xiuxian really puts a lot of effort into being a father!'

As for attention, however, Fu Qian preferred as little of it as possible.

Deep in thought, Fu Qian drove the car back to where the tree had snapped earlier.

After killing the engine, he located the still-unconscious Zha Yingjun, dragged him out, and tossed him into the car. Then, he shut the door and strode away.

'Although I commandeered your clothes and your car for a bit, I also made you the center of attention at the banquet, laying down a solid foundation for your future social endeavors.'

'You didn't lose out on this deal.'

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