Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Thank you for your hard work."

Despite her being an uninvited guest, Fu Qian's hospitality was flawless.

He applied no pressure to the slightly hesitant Serana. Instead, he turned to Wen Li and pointed at the tea set resting nearby.

"It will be ready in a moment."

She offered a gentle smile. As a dignified Tier 4 Transcendent, she showed no distaste for the menial work, rising immediately to demonstrate her tea-making skills.

"Compared to our last meeting, excellency, you're looking even better."

Having made the arrangements, Fu Qian turned back to Serana, casually striking up small talk to give her ample time to organize her thoughts.

"Speaking of looking well, Mister Fang is clearly faring much better."

This level of making guests feel at home left Serana's vigilance undiminished, though it did prompt her to reflect on her own attitude.

The moment she tallied up his past crimes, Serana felt significantly more justified.

Besides, her remark hadn't been pure courtesy.

After just a short time apart, this mysterious demigod felt increasingly unfathomable. She couldn't see through his depths at all—even if one of his arms was clearly not moving as smoothly as it should.

For those who had stepped into the realm of Divine Beings, pure physical damage was hardly worth worrying about.

Especially for the guy sitting right in front of her.

At that thought, a certain memory she never wanted to revisit—that Cocoon which had nearly crushed her to pieces—surfaced uncontrollably in her mind.

Then again, for someone with his level of flesh and blood manipulation to suffer such an injury, it was hard to imagine just how thrilling and perilous the battle behind it must have been.

...

"You flatter me. I was just thinking about something pleasant."

Faced with Serana's assessment, Fu Qian appeared exceptionally modest, suggesting that it was merely a case where happy occasions lift the spirit.

"...Actually, I came here today because there is something I need to confirm with you."

As a proud member of the Blood Clan, Serana was clearly not adept at this kind of mutual flattery. Moreover, she knew perfectly well that when it came to beating around the bush, they weren't even on the same level.

Bolstered by the mental fortification that she 'wasn't taking things too far,' she instantly cut to the chase with imposing sharpness.

"Early this morning, Grantham sought me out and mentioned something strange."

"Taylor—the one who originally sold you the Abyss Notes—fell into a bizarre dream earlier, and through its guidance, he uncovered a massive conspiracy."

Serana unceremoniously emphasized the last word. Combined with her expression, it was enough to make any young talent with a shred of self-esteem die of shame.

"I won't go into the details of the conspiracy, but I am very interested in a certain thing mentioned within it, and I wanted to share it with Mister Fang."

"Oh? What could be so special?"

Under Serana's scrutiny, Fu Qian's face displayed a flawless expression of curiosity, looking exactly like someone whose appetite had just been whetted.

Even the tea master beside them, who had returned and was already boiling water, made no attempt to hide her attentive posture.

...

Just as Mister Fu predicted, Taylor went straight to Grantham to report.

Of course, beneath Eldest Miss Wen's outward display of an actor's self-discipline, she was marveling inwardly at something else entirely.

From excellency Serana's current tone, she could easily picture what Taylor Gulade must have endured after sharing his discovery.

Still, for her to come straight to their door, one had to admit that her intuition was astounding.

"...A special Emblem."

Unable to find any flaws in Fu Qian's expression, Serana hesitated briefly before choosing to speak her mind directly.

"I have never seen it before, but it gives off a very unique feeling."

"According to Taylor, the power behind this Emblem represents the Power of Calamity, belonging to an ancient Higher Existence."

"Oh? Does it have a name?"

Fu Qian nodded slightly, playing along with flawless naturalness.

"His honorific name is... the King of the Abandoned Prison. Even within the heritage of the Gulade family, it's a title that has never been heard before."

Although she hadn't genuinely expected to glean much from reading his expression, when directly announcing the honorific name tied to the Emblem, Serana still stared intently at Fu Qian with a solemn face.

"King of the Abandoned Prison..."

She saw him frown slightly, murmuring the title to himself before demonstrating his usual sharp train of thought.

"Are you worried that, unlike the massive conspiracy Brother Taylor discovered, this higher entity is not just pure fantasy?"

"Exactly... Setting aside how it was discovered, anyone with half a brain can see how absurd that conspiracy is. But what interests me is the dream itself."

Serana narrowed her eyes, her gaze piercing.

"To be able to affect a Mid Tier to such an extent, I suspect this is the manifestation of some kind of power infiltration."

"A reasonable deduction."

Fu Qian agreed with her assessment almost instantly.

"An Emblem, an honorific name... it certainly has the flavor of an ancient higher entity. However, wouldn't it be better to seek out the Night Watchers for this sort of thing?"

"Both Grantham and I agree that bothering the Night Watchers over a dream is making a mountain out of a molehill."

Shaking her head slightly, Serana's tone remained resolute.

"Furthermore, Taylor has already been ordered to wear items that restrict dreaming. From the initial looks of it, there shouldn't be any further issues."

"I am merely driven by personal curiosity, and considering Mister Fang's extensive knowledge, I decided to come have a chat with you."

Is this what Young Master Qin calls the power of the sixth sense?

Listening to Serana's explanation, Fu Qian briefly marveled inward.

Whether they believed it or not, regarding this bizarre incident, the only clue left for Serana and the others was the "conspiracy" witnessed by Taylor.

In other words, it still revolved around the recent corpse-looting incident, and the only people involved were Jiang En and Dayun Mingwang.

Even if the Night Watchers' efficiency in locking down the criminal syndicate was a bit suspicious, Fu Qian didn't think the Gulade Family, having just regained their innocence, would have the guts to pry into the underlying reasons.

Serana's explicit statement just now about not troubling the Night Watchers perfectly illustrated this point.

And yet, despite all of that, she had still managed to efficiently show up right at his door.

Even before entering just now, Serana had clearly been hesitating and peering inside for quite a while.

"So what does this Emblem look like? Could you show it to me?"

Although Serana's reasoning was less than sufficient, as a businessman who believed that harmony fosters wealth, Fu Qian ultimately maintained his warm hospitality, offering to try and provide some insight.

"Taylor drew this from memory."

Serana promptly extended her right hand. Quickly, a portion of her flesh and blood turned illusory, sketching out a pattern.

It was rough and crude, looking like a hand represented only by five simple lines gripping a strangely shaped eyeball.

Hmm?

And in that very instant, the face of the Bookstore Owner—who had been perfectly lackadaisical the entire time—turned dead serious.

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