Eldritch Horror Theatre

It was a staircase with an astonishingly steep incline, yet he could walk up it completely unharmed?

Miranda was the only one who spoke, but she voiced exactly what the rest of the audience was thinking.

More than one person was staring in shock, unconsciously clutching their own wounds.

Every bloodstain carried the lingering pain of having their weakest points pierced.

The sensation was so unforgettable that even though the figure walking up the long flight of stairs was completely unhurt, every step he took seemed to tug at the wounds beneath their palms in a dull throb.

However, that feeling eased somewhat after Miranda called out.

The psychological effect was subtle, but the core reason was that the mysterious figure not only remained silent, but kept right on walking.

This dismissive posture prompted the group to subconsciously reevaluate their initial assumption, and they quickly spotted the flaw in the logic: if the rules were no longer in effect, where did his injuries come from?

The moment they realized this, almost everyone could hear their own violently pounding heartbeat—

And now, he was truly leaving...

And demonstrating it?

Realizing there was another way to interpret Fu Qian's actions, the group's eyes instantly widened, refusing to miss a single detail of his ascent up the long stairs.

"Hardships are merely illusory symbols in consciousness, while the smooth path lies beneath one's feet."

Almost at the same time, the climbing figure finally turned his head to glance their way, speaking in his unchanging, gentle tone.

...

Illusory? Beneath one's feet?

True masters never needed lengthy explanations.

Without uttering another word, Fu Qian turned back to continue his climb a second later, ignoring this bunch of deadwood.

Moving at a pace that seemed slow but was actually quite fast, his figure against the blood waterfall gradually reached a height where they had to look up at him.

"Is that blood... not flowing?"

Just as the group stood bewildered, desperately trying to comprehend the master's proverb while hesitating over whether to stop him before he moved out of reach, the man who had answered first spoke up softly, sounding somewhat unsure.

The somewhat heavy "wheel" in his hands had already been placed on the ground. Perhaps demoralized by the master's crushing insight, he no longer wanted to pursue whatever idea he had planned for it.

Not flowing?

Though his voice wasn't loud, everyone's ears were undoubtedly working at full capacity at a time like this. In an instant, more than one person experienced a sudden enlightenment.

"This isn't a downward-flowing waterfall of blood—every part of it is static! Just look at the ripples after his foot lands, you can tell!"

Miranda was among them.

Pointing toward Fu Qian's feet as he reached a higher vantage point, her voice grew so shrill it almost cracked.

It looked like it was flowing down from the top of the stairs, but was that actually just an illusion?

In essence, it was completely static, but its excessively smooth surface made it hard to notice?

"Like a folded water surface."

Meeting the gazes drawn by her voice, Miranda nodded as if she knew what everyone was thinking and offered a peculiar analogy.

"So according to this place's rules, it likely represents the exact same elevation. That's why he can walk on it."

"The path to leave has actually been right in front of us this whole time. We were simply too dense, taking it for granted as a dead end."

Though there was a hint of self-mockery in her words, Miranda's tone was uncontrollably exhilarated as she pointed at Fu Qian's departing figure.

A despair-inducing predicament had been instantly solved in such a manner, without demanding any further price!

With escape right in front of them, what did a slight blow to their intellect matter?

...

Although Miranda's speech was highly infectious, Huang Lezhan, the leader of this team, didn't rush to speak. He simply gazed into the distance, watching Fu Qian's steadily retreating feet.

"That makes some sense... It really looks like he's stepping on a still surface of water."

From this distance and angle, it was no longer easy to distinguish clearly, but after a few seconds, Huang Lezhan still managed to force a conclusion.

Mainly because the other party was already approaching the top of the long flight of stairs; if they didn't observe him now, they would soon lose their point of reference.

"Exactly, so we must have been misled by a counterintuitive illusion, whereas that gentleman just now—excellency."

Nodding slightly, Miranda paused for a moment before finally settling on a relatively respectful title.

"He noticed this from the very beginning, which is why he gave us the hint that 'the smooth path lies beneath one's feet'."

As she spoke, Miranda turned back to size up the hole they had painstakingly dug out, her tone pointed.

"The answer was right before our eyes. It's a pity we stayed here for so long without realizing it, and we didn't even think to give it a try—"

"And what if it's not an illusion?"

However, her pointed remark was abruptly cut off by Huang Lezhan.

"What do you mean?"

Even though the situation had taken a drastic turn for the better, the prior rifts between them couldn't just be brushed off as if they had never happened.

Faced with Huang Lezhan's impolite tone, Miranda clearly had no intention of maintaining superficial harmony. She immediately joined the others in staring him down as she retorted coldly.

"You said yourself that we 'must have' been misled. What if it isn't some counterintuitive illusion?"

Huang Lezhan's momentum didn't yield in the slightest. He watched the figure reach the top of the long stairs and completely vanish from sight before finally turning his head to speak.

His words were obviously a bit of nitpicking.

In a desperate fight for survival, catching even a glimmer of dawn was already a rare blessing. How could there be any hundred-percent certainty?

"Are you trying to get me to test it first?"

But as part of the minority faction, Miranda's vigilance was on full display, and she instantly understood his intent.

"Since you're so confident..."

Huang Lezhan chuckled, actually making a 'go ahead' gesture.

"Aren't you overthinking things? I was the one who paid the price to earn this glimmer of hope in the first place."

Unfortunately for him, Miranda's refusal was just as swift. Judging by her expression, she didn't even seem particularly surprised by his conduct.

"So you're saying we should take turns contributing? And now it's our turn?"

"Need I remind you why this team came here in the first place?"

Unfortunately, Huang Lezhan's resistance to moral accusations was evidently quite strong. He merely continued to chuckle.

"You misunderstand. When I said you were overthinking things, I obviously wasn't referring to that. In fact, I never expected such a thing from you."

Yet, to everyone's surprise, Miranda's smile grew even more radiant a moment later.

"The issue right now is that I couldn't care less whether Blood Lion or Huang Lezhan lives or dies. I wonder if you feel the same way?"

"When I said you were overthinking things, I meant: did you actually think I was more anxious than you are?"

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