Eldritch Horror Theatre

It had to be said: Gerald's overly cooperative questioning had successfully pushed the scene to a shocking climax.

In this bleak, ash-gray world, the audience temporarily forgot their own safety, their minds racing to unpack the true meaning behind the name Origin Council.

As a hidden, lawless organization, the Origin Council had spent years orchestrating events from the shadows, entirely uninterested in hollow fame.

And as opponents who felt like kindred spirits cherishing each other, Fu Qian was definitely not a stingy man. He didn't mind offering a little free publicity to help them spread their name across the world.

Besides, the other party had recently done him a similar favor by spreading the prestige of the Rebirth Club.

The figures of the Wasteland jianghu before him were undoubtedly a well-connected bunch, making them the perfect audience.

Even more gratifying was the fact that someone among them actually had prior knowledge of the name.

"You think spouting this nonsense will make anyone believe you?"

The first to speak up was, surprisingly, Gerald.

Sneering, Gerald looked Fu Qian up and down before his gaze settled on the eyeball resting in Fu Qian's palm.

"I've felt something was slightly off this whole time. Thanks to your little reminder, I finally realized where that strange feeling came from."

"You aren't from the Origin Council, and your surname isn't Lu... is it, Mister Ji?"

As he delivered that last line, Gerald cast a profoundly meaningful glance at Amir, who stood not too far away.

Now that was a top-tier foil!

Faced with these accusations, a faint, ambiguous smile played on Fu Qian's lips, though inwardly he was singing Gerald's praises.

"Why do you say that?"

"Why? Heh... I think it'd be better to let someone else answer that question. Isn't that right, Amir?"

Gerald called him out directly with a cold sneer.

"Care to put on another performance of having absolutely no idea who this Mister Lu is?"

...

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Amir—who usually never let himself be outdone in a war of words—wore a bizarre expression, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Things are really getting more and more interesting!"

Even though he was still trapped in a perilous situation, Gerald seemed quite invigorated by the fact that the momentum of offense and defense had changed.

"If it's inconvenient for you to say, I'll help you out."

In the very next breath, he magnanimously offered his assistance.

"Rumor has it that years ago, the Ji Clan had a young man who carried high expectations. Unfortunately, heaven did not grant his wishes, and he ultimately failed to inherit the family talent. Unable to accept this reality, the man not only abandoned his family but even strayed onto the twisted path of limb grafting... Am I right, Mister Ji Ping?"

Striking the pose of a victor, Gerald recited a familiar name.

At this point, he was clearly no longer as worried about his own safety.

A madman was terrifying precisely because his actions were unpredictable.

But once someone belonged to an organization, no matter how deranged or cold-blooded they appeared, their actions would become traceable under the invisible constraints of their faction.

"It seems the Ji Clan is keeping a low profile on the surface, but secretly plotting quite a lot!"

He was actually someone from the Ji Clan...

Following Gerald's words, the small inn fell into an uproar of collective shock.

Compared to the Origin Council, the name Ji Ping was undeniably far more familiar.

After all, they were all out making a living in the world. Gossiping about the great aristocratic families was a common pastime to go along with their drinks.

Was this man really that wayward descendant of the Ji Clan? If so, then today's situation had just become incredibly delicate!

Furthermore, if that were the case, wouldn't the domain before them be the legendary Ash Descent?

The crowd quickly realized this, suddenly re-evaluating their gray and bleak surroundings.

The Ji Clan was a colossal entity with vast enterprises. Over the years, their core family members rarely needed to take action personally, which was why nobody had made that connection at first.

Now that they had the answer and could work backward, the pieces fell into place seamlessly.

The more they looked at it, the more it fit. It didn't take long for the crowd to recall the sheer terror of this top-level Transcendent Tier talent—its most defining trait being absolute invincibility in slaughtering anyone trapped within it.

Rumor had it that if there was a gap in Rank, anyone trapped inside Ash Descent would be reduced to nothing more than a plaything.

Just like they were right now.

...

Had that talentless Ji Clan member actually succeeded through limb grafting?

And then returned to the Ji Clan? Was he coordinating with their operations in this manner?

"What exactly is the Ji Clan plotting?"

Under the threat of imminent death, someone finally lost their composure, slamming the table as they shot to their feet and barked a stern question at Amir.

"I think you've lost your mind."

Unfortunately, having moved past his initial shock, Amir had already regained his composure and immediately fired back with a sneer.

"Gerald spouts a few lines of nonsense and you all just believe him?"

"If Mister Lu were truly a helper brought in by the Ji Clan, would he tell a lie so flimsy that even Gerald could poke holes in it? Would he just stand there and let Gerald latch that Sunken Anchor onto him?"

...That was true. The lie was indeed a bit clumsy.

Not only did he make no effort to hide his face, but he was also brazenly using such a recognizable signature ability.

Even if Gerald hadn't pointed it out, many in the room probably would have realized it soon enough.

"Believe what you want..."

His barrage of questions left the dissenter utterly speechless. Amir then turned back to Gerald, his expression dark and still as deep water.

"The Ji Clan has absolutely no interest in taking the lives of Siren's people this time."

"...Then how do you explain him?"

Faced with Amir's uncharacteristically serious tone, Gerald felt a momentary flicker of hesitation, but he was still unwilling to drop the matter so easily.

"There are far too many ways to explain it!"

At this moment, the voice of the man in question, Fu Qian, drifted over.

He had already finished pouring the bottle-less wine. Rubbing his thumb against the eyeball resting in his palm, his tone sounded remarkably lazy.

"For example, what if I did awaken my talent, but still harbored a deep grudge against the family that abandoned me? Thus, not only am I secretly killing people, but I'm also deliberately donning a disguise full of loopholes to provoke a war between your two factions?"

That actually sounded somewhat reasonable...

For a moment, Gerald and Amir were utterly dumbfounded, and even the onlooking crowd exchanged blank stares.

In a volatile situation like this, if Gerald hadn't been somewhat willing to hear an explanation, an all-out bloodbath might have erupted the second they guessed his identity.

If that had happened, the fate of everyone trapped inside would be grim indeed.

"So you really are..."

For a moment, even Amir couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not."

Fu Qian shook his head with a beaming smile. Looking at the crowd's once-again bewildered faces, he was deep in thought.

It seemed there was some kind of tacit understanding between Siren and the Ji Clan during this operation!

Aside from giving the Origin Council a massive boost in infamy, his main reason for putting on this performance was that he felt the atmosphere between the two major factions was rather bizarre.

They appeared to be at each other's throats, but their hostility was entirely restricted to lip service.

Even when members of the opposing faction were killed, their immediate reaction was to clear their own names.

Even when faced with an extreme situation—such as his suspected identity as Ji Ping being outed—Amir's immediate choice was still to solemnly issue a clarification.

It was as though they were under strict orders to avoid any direct conflict with Siren.

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