Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Bastard... you set me up!"

At a certain moment, it was as if one could hear the sound of scales tipping.

At Taylor's furious curse, the five fingers tightly gripping the Head Cage jerked back rapidly, as if burned.

He had clearly finally reached a decision on whether the Head Cage was leverage or poison bait.

The man handing over such an item so readily had felt slightly off from the start.

Especially after his identity was exposed. Given this guy's personality, how could he be extorted so easily?

He cursed himself for thinking he had the situation perfectly in hand.

The man had even faked an attempt to snatch it back a moment ago, further muddying his judgment so he'd willingly hold onto the thing.

"How strange. I'm over here minding my own business, just using the cage to collect a blood sample in passing. How does that count as setting you up?"

Sitting there, Dayun Mingwang countered with clear, unhurried logic.

"Did I force you to take the cage?"

The talk of leaving an Imprint was complete nonsense, of course, but disproving such a claim was incredibly difficult. Especially since Brother Taylor, manipulated repeatedly into a state like a bird startled by the twang of a bow, no longer had the mental fortitude to maintain that conviction.

And his reason for saying it was simple.

Based on his previous experience and the Persuader's information, Fu Qian had decided to use a plot development beyond the dreamwalker's control to efficiently seize dominance over this dream.

...

From the initial suspicion to the subsequent probing, the situation before his eyes was now perfectly clear.

Although the recent string of corpse-looting incidents in Shangjing had ultimately been pinned on a group of fugitives, Taylor Gulade had been inexplicably wronged and remained dissatisfied. Provoked by Dayun Mingwang, he had conjured up this dream to prove his innocence.

And in this dream, this brilliant youth seemingly displayed an aptitude for strategizing within the command tent.

Not only had he seen through Dayun Mingwang's conspiracy—framing an opponent he couldn't confidently defeat by any means necessary to achieve global fame—but he had also cleverly tracked him to his latest setup and caught him red-handed.

To minimize the target's psychological resistance, coax out the truth, and even compel him to surrender leverage, he had perfectly disguised himself as another Shangjing genius.

As an equally famous figure he didn't quite get along with, Taylor was undoubtedly far more familiar with Jiang En's recent circumstances than anyone else, smoothly fabricating a plausible motive.

Ultimately, Dayun Mingwang was successfully duped. Not only did he personally admit to his evil deeds, but he was even forced to offer up his personal belongings.

The peerless prodigy Taylor Gulade, relying entirely on his own strength despite being dragged down by the corrupt Night Watchers and his incompetent family, finally succeeded in proving his innocence, cementing a legendary tale...

It was a pity that one of life's greatest regrets was that beautiful dreams eventually ended—or worse, turned into a Nightmare from which one couldn't awaken.

Just a few short sentences had sent him plummeting from Paradise to The Abyss.

His carefully woven character persona had actually bumped into the real deal.

The other party hadn't just watched his performance with cold detachment the entire time; this very performance had been part of the man's calculations.

Never mind a naturally proud existence like a member of the Blood Clan, even a normal person's blood pressure would have hit the roof.

Clang!

With a heavy clatter, the Head Cage was finally thrown to the ground.

It was just a pity that a faint, dark red streak now stained its grayish-black ridges, as if it had drunk its fill of blood.

After staring at the sight for a few seconds, the young vampire looked over, his gaze filled with bitter hatred.

...

The Head Cage naturally lacked any recording function.

Taylor's greatest tragedy was that the one currently occupying a certain degree of dominance in his dream already possessed rich experience in dream manipulation.

As Taylor retreated, although Fu Qian had yet to reach the level of a Sovereign, slightly altering an item's appearance was no longer difficult.

In short, given the circumstances, Taylor obviously wouldn't believe him even if he claimed he was just livening up the atmosphere.

His foul mood was evident from the angle and force with which he had hurled the Head Cage.

On the one hand, it was a hot potato. On the other, he adamantly refused to let the other party recover it too gracefully, so he had simply pitched it into the corner.

What powerless fury!

As the main culprit, Fu Qian felt absolutely no shame for disturbing someone's sweet dream. Instead, he immersed himself in the wonderful feedback of his control increasing yet again.

But it wasn't enough.

The next moment, he flashed his palm. From a certain angle, it actually glittered slightly.

This unusual luster made it all too easy to figure out why—he was wearing a special Glove.

"I don't know how your family elders taught you, but to grab an unfamiliar, high-tier transcendent item without a second thought..."

As Taylor's eyes involuntarily widened, Fu Qian matched the action, casually adding fuel to the fire.

Of course, the claim about the Glove was of the exact same nature as the Sweet Dream Head Cage's new skin—its purpose was identical: to make this trap, which was akin to leaving fingerprints, look much more natural.

...

"Spit it out. What exactly do you want?"

This just went to show how highly adaptable the mind could be.

Under a succession of intense provocations, Brother Taylor, whose confidence had been smashed right into the dirt, actually refrained from another irrational outburst of fury. Instead, he managed to calm down.

"If it were just to find a scapegoat, you wouldn't have needed to tell me all this..."

"Telling me this much was clearly to make me understand the current situation. State your terms."

Not bad at all. Brother Taylor was always so cooperative.

Fu Qian felt genuine appreciation for this reaction.

Of course, what he appreciated even more was the Illusory Eye, which was now almost completely motionless.

It had stabilized. He could push things a step further.

"Brother Taylor is as straightforward as expected. As for my request... you actually already helped bring it up a moment ago."

The next moment, hearty laughter rang out from beneath the mask.

"I did encounter a certain opportunity recently, and because of it, I need a little bit of funding."

"What you want... is something from the Gulade Household."

Clearly stunned for a moment, Taylor subsequently ground his teeth.

"Who doesn't know that Brother Taylor has been entrusted with high hopes by his family elders?"

Fu Qian admitted it openly.

"Please rest assured, I only need one item."

"So what do I get in exchange? Don't expect me to believe any promises you make."

Taylor mustered his final ounce of strength to fight for his own interests.

"How could I do that... The terms I can offer are simple: the method to erase the traces on the Head Cage. You can verify it right here before completing the trade."

Fu Qian waved a hand, signaling that he wasn't issuing empty promises.

"...So what do you want?"

He couldn't find any major flaws in these terms for the time being.

But the more this was the case, the more worrying it became. Having exhausted so much effort to set up this situation, whatever the other party wanted couldn't possibly be simple.

"Don't be nervous. I wouldn't force you into a corner. The thing I want is, naturally, something I confirmed was on Brother Taylor's person long ago."

Fu Qian offered a smiling word of reassurance.

"For instance—the Abyss Notes."

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