Eldritch Horror Theatre

All was peaceful in West Plain.

The moment he returned to this esteemed land and looked up at the starry sky in the darkness, Fu Qian was quite certain that even if he went out of his way to visit, or even took a stroll inside the Volcano, he most likely wouldn't find a thing.

Unless he transformed into the King of the Abandoned Prison and observed from the perspective of a Divine Entity—that might introduce a slight variable.

But that was exactly the problem. Faced with an abnormal peace that seemingly required such drastic measures to understand, was using those means actually a wise choice?

Blazing Rainbow hadn't explained much about "the night and Nightmares."

So far, however, aside from the maddened Red Moon, the higher entities of this world seemed to be keeping a remarkably low profile.

Not to mention that when he chose the Divine Skin, he had seen a pile of corpses belonging to Deities who were verifiably dead.

Fu Qian had always possessed the virtue of readily accepting good advice. After that exchange in the Sacred Night Capital, he never inclined toward solving problems with his Mythical Form unless absolutely necessary.

Especially outside of a task.

The moment he realized West Plain was excessively peaceful, he settled on his strategy: he would not use his King of the Abandoned Prison form to find the answer until he actually knew what was going on.

He was a figure with a proper name and reputation now. It was time to play this dark game where no one made a sound.

As a result, he decisively maintained Grimshaw's identity and took the initiative to visit the most highly regarded person among the rogue cultivators.

As for the trap just now, there was naturally a reason he had stepped into it.

Eliminating communication barriers as quickly as possible had always been a technical skill.

To help Brother Hao Ke quickly grasp the situation—thereby fully exploiting his will to live rather than suffering a backlash—the initial shock naturally had to be as forceful as possible.

"It's simple. Keep thinking."

Now that things were gradually getting on track, facing a Hao Ke who was entirely at his disposal, Fu Qian issued another important directive.

"What else makes you feel that West Plain is too normal?"

...

This question was truly a bit perverse.

Hao Ke, who had been staring unblinkingly at Fu Qian with a firm gaze to show his sincerity, almost broke out in a cold sweat.

It had originally been nothing more than his own subjective assumption, yet the other party not only acknowledged it but demanded he dig deeper.

Was it really this hard to just admit defeat, give up thinking, and be a puppet at someone's beck and call?

However, Hao Ke obviously lacked the courage to voice this complaint. He could only rack his brains and push his mind into overdrive.

"I remember now—the Blood Lion returned about a week ago."

His hard work paid off. Barely ten seconds later, he abruptly clenched his fist, having snagged onto something.

"Huang Zhixun?"

The information he provided unexpectedly managed to strike a chord with his interrogator.

Fu Qian furrowed his brows, recalling a certain old acquaintance he had dealt with before.

"Your Excellency knows him?"

Hao Ke, who had been carefully observing his expression, naturally felt a surge of excitement and proactively shared what he knew.

"As a Peak Tier 4 at the young age of forty, Huang Zhixun hails from the West Plain Huang Clan. However, he rarely returned after leaving home, and it's said their relationship isn't very close."

"Even so, the people of the Huang Clan habitually bring his name up. After all, he's a star figure expected to become the youngest Demigod in decades—"

"He won't make it."

Fu Qian shook his head, offering his evaluation mildly.

Naturally, both the phrasing and the tone were entirely plagiarized from former Classmate Su Gao.

A mere lackey of the Blood Clan, how dare he compete for glory with our Academy Dean Li?

At the same time, he silently added an original line in his mind to lower the repetition rate.

"The problem is, someone who doesn't want to come back suddenly returning—no matter how you look at it, shouldn't that be classified as an abnormal event?"

The next moment, looking at the somewhat stiff-faced Hao Ke, he frowned and raised the question.

...

This guy might be even more terrifying than imagined. Just now, Hao Ke had probably truly stepped one foot through the gates of hell.

Neither being interrupted nor being questioned was the main reason for his stiff expression.

The main reason was that Excellency Grimshaw's evaluation of the Blood Lion had been simply too natural and casual.

The flat tone, devoid of the slightest trace of doubt... upon hearing it, the strongest initial impression could only be described as condescending.

Looking down on a Tier 4 Transcendent from above... could he be a Demigod?

It was a guess that frightened him out of his wits, yet it felt so incredibly seamless.

"That is indeed the case—"

Of course, even though Hao Ke was trembling in fear from his own deductions, it didn't delay him from answering.

"But the reason I thought of this is that I suddenly realized after Huang Zhixun came back this time, the Huang Clan—who always kept his name on their lips—actually showed no special reaction. They maintained their recent low-profile style."

"That even includes him personally. He hasn't shown his face again. Even now, the people in our circle still can't figure out why he suddenly returned."

"So although this is generally abnormal, considering the Shadow Your Excellency mentioned, I actually think it's a reaction that fits the criteria."

Hao Ke clearly didn't want to be perceived as brushing him off. His speaking speed was surprisingly fast, and after this explanation, he carefully studied Fu Qian.

"Reasonable."

To his relief, Excellency Grimshaw didn't deliberately put on airs, giving his approval quite straightforwardly.

...

Just as the saying went, no matter how painful the process, the report would inevitably appear before the deadline.

Brother Hao Ke had indeed provided an interesting piece of information.

Although the Blood Lion Huang Zhixun's sudden return was an unsolved mystery to them, it was hard to say whether Fu Qian's own actions hadn't played a part in it.

After all, back in Shangjing, his cooperation with the Gulade Household had caused him to accidentally stumble into Fu Qian's hands, ultimately allowing Chief Yuan to seize the opportunity to drive him out directly.

Looking at his resume, Huang Zhixun should have enjoyed a smooth and successful rise to his former position, striving to use the resources of ancient families to completely leap over the dragon gate.

It was just a pity that this momentum had been forcefully slapped down by the collusion between officials and merchants.

Choosing to return to his ancestral grounds under these circumstances—a place that, judging by his previous behavior, he clearly believed no longer held much value...

Just what he was after was truly intriguing.

Therefore, the next thing to do was—

"It sounds like you have a circle where elites gather. Would it be convenient to call everyone together for a chat?"

The next moment, Fu Qian asked with a gentle expression.

For a true professional, a view of the big picture was never used just for boasting.

When that tree stirred up trouble last time, the entire city had been affected.

With this abnormally low profile, there was no reason to focus solely on the Huang Clan.

One had to learn how to coordinate resources. As a rogue cultivator who had successfully engaged in good communication, Brother Hao Ke could clearly continue to demonstrate his value and help accomplish more while Fu Qian was busy with other matters.

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