Eldritch Horror Theatre

She certainly looked like a special visitor.

While meeting a true master could be nerve-wracking, this level of hesitation was a bit excessive for a paying customer.

More importantly, she had been hesitating for quite a while now.

Fu Qian knew perfectly well that the moment his five senses had returned, she was already standing outside his door.

Clearly, even after making it this far, deciding whether to consult Master Grimshaw remained a difficult choice for the young woman.

In theory, this was the perfect scenario to put on an imposing front.

For instance, he could stand behind the door, pull it open silently the exact moment she raised her hand to knock but pulled it back, and say with a smile, "Please, come in."

But Fu Qian didn't do that. As he silently evaluated her, he remained as steady as Mount Tai.

To stand out in such fierce competition, every detail had to be taken to the extreme.

He had to trust in the allure of the occult.

Knock, knock!

As it turned out, Fu Qian's professional confidence was entirely justified.

After raising and lowering her hand twice more, the special customer finally made up her mind.

At the sound of the knocking, Fu Qian didn't strike any deliberate poses; he simply stepped forward and casually opened the door.

...

Red hair, thin lips, and exquisite makeup. The woman standing outside looked to be in her thirties.

Her expensive clothing and jewelry made it blatantly obvious that she belonged to a completely different social class from the ordinary office worker he was currently playing.

At the same time, even her heavy eyeshadow couldn't completely conceal the dark circles beneath her eyes.

This pampered woman clearly hadn't been sleeping well lately.

"Good morning."

Seeing this, Fu Qian offered a brisk greeting to provide a little encouragement.

"Morning, Mister... Grimshaw?"

She seemed to receive the sentiment, though his appearance clearly gave the customer a bit of a shock.

After a brief hesitation, she ultimately opted against using an overly occult title like "Master."

"Yes. Please, come in."

Fu Qian was perfectly straightforward. He flashed the business card in his hand, let her read the name printed on it, and then gestured for her to enter.

"...Thank you."

The stark contrast between his image and her expectations clearly made the young visitor hesitate for a moment, but she ultimately accepted the invitation.

"I'm sorry for showing up without an appointment. You can just call me Claire."

Walking straight to the sofa and sitting down, her first priority was to apologize for her presumptuous visit.

"...I just heard how extraordinary you were, and I was desperate to come and seek your advice."

While introducing herself, Claire was noticeably scanning the room, her hesitation visibly growing by the second.

From where she sat, she could see the entire room clearly. The glaringly mundane atmosphere was rapidly draining her confidence in this visit.

"It's fine. In our line of business, the doors are always open."

Fu Qian fully picked up on this mood, but he made absolutely no effort to allay her doubts. Instead, he sounded incredibly professional as he emphasized his business mindset.

"...Business?"

That phrasing effectively pushed Claire's anxiety to its peak.

Unable to hold back any longer, she finally asked.

"Does that mean you weren't planning to pay when you came here today?"

This time, it was Fu Qian who looked surprised.

...

"Of course not. The fee is absolutely not an issue, it's just..."

Fu Qian's response had undoubtedly shattered Claire's expectations once again, so much so that her composure completely slipped.

As she frowned and quickly denied it, the suspicion in her eyes was impossible to hide.

"It's just that I shouldn't be asking for money? Because using the occult to solve problems is a noble calling, and compensation should just be left to fate?"

Shaking his head as if he were completely accustomed to this kind of reaction, Fu Qian smiled and fired back with a question of his own.

"I know that's how a lot of people operate, but are you really sure that's what you want to hear?"

Uh...

A true master's aura was naturally beyond compare. Before he had even started working, Claire was already beginning to look at him in a new light.

Of course, Fu Qian wasn't guiding the conversation this way just because he was addicted to acting like an evil god, nor was he trying to indulge some twisted sense of humor for the mission.

In his judgment, if he couldn't give Claire enough confidence, even after she came in and sat down, she would very likely just test the waters briefly before getting up and leaving.

Her hesitation outside the door made it obvious that the problem lay with herself.

The true purpose of this visit was likely something she found extremely difficult to voice aloud.

As Fu Qian saw it, if he wanted to close this deal, he had to make her truly believe she was dealing with a professional.

Simply playing the part of a mystic charlatan probably wouldn't be enough.

By pushing the contrast to the extreme, he figured the odds of sealing the deal would be noticeably higher.

...

"Mister Grimshaw... I have to admit, if it had been like you said, I really couldn't guarantee how I would react."

Prompted by Fu Qian's question, Claire had fallen into a long silence.

When she spoke again, she seemed to have a much clearer understanding of herself.

"You are running a business, of course, and what I need is exactly that—a professional businessman."

"You have indeed proven that you are different from the rest."

"It's a little early to say that, but I'll try my best to be worth the price you pay. Tell me about your problem."

The consultation was off to a good start, and Fu Qian had no intention of wasting time. He asked straight away.

"Why does it have to be a problem... and don't you need to use any tools?"

Even with some mental preparation, this rapid pace still seemed to throw Claire off balance.

"I don't need them. I have my own special techniques."

Pressing his business card flat under his hand, Fu Qian shook his head again.

"And I'd actually prefer it if it wasn't a problem. Those customers are generally much easier to satisfy."

"That's true. It's hard to imagine you pulling out a deck of cards and having me draw one..."

Fu Qian's words clearly plunged Claire into deep thought once more.

"...It's not my problem. It's my husband's."

Muttering to herself, she seemed to finally make up her mind.

"So he doesn't know you're here today?"

Fu Qian's expression didn't change.

"He doesn't. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to it."

"Understood. Tell me exactly how this problem is manifesting."

"He gets up in the middle of the night to lick things..."

Claire stared straight at Fu Qian for a long time. When she spoke again, a visible layer of goosebumps actually broke out across her skin.

"More than once, I've woken up in the dark to find him with his eyes closed, licking my body..."

"That is a bit strange, but for a married couple, it shouldn't be considered too unusual of a behavior, right?"

"And a cat..."

"And everything inside the fish tank..."

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