Eldritch Horror Theatre

The courtyard wasn't large, matching the dimensions of the Church quite well.

Even the courtyard walls were simple. They were built almost entirely from stones—wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, shaped like ancient ritual tablets—pieced together with gaps wide enough for a person to squeeze through.

Having no intention of exploring the courtyard, Fu Qian walked straight to the end of the path and surveyed his surroundings.

A black iron gate was set into the wall, which didn't even reach the height of a grown man. It wasn't locked, just left slightly ajar.

According to the enthusiastic crowd from earlier, stepping any further meant entering the true night, where unspeakable horrors roamed.

Even standing right here, one would inevitably be affected.

Recalling that warning, however, Fu Qian didn't rush to let his imagination run wild about what lurked in the dark. Instead, he looked up at the sky and let out a quiet sigh of regret.

In the end, it didn't share many similarities with the Full Moon Garden.

Most importantly, there wasn't the slightest hint of a moon.

Bearing that regret, Fu Qian casually pulled the rather heavy iron gate open, revealing the scene outside.

If the darkness inside the courtyard was clotted blood, the darkness out here was solid lead.

Though they were only separated by a single wall, the difference was stark. It felt like a clear boundary had been drawn here—once crossed, turning back would be nearly impossible.

Even his perception was suppressed to its absolute limit. Beyond his faint field of vision, it was impossible to predict whether something might come crashing out.

Fortunately, he had received an item for just such an occasion.

Fu Qian opened his palm, examining the Emerald Vial.

In this absolute darkness, the medicinal liquid inside even emitted a faint fluorescent glow.

According to the Old Lady, this item could effectively enhance his sense of smell, serving as a detection method to help avoid danger—though, of course, the success rate wasn't guaranteed.

While Fu Qian couldn't detect anything particularly special about this "elixir" with his own senses, he didn't completely dismiss the claim.

After all, based on his earlier deductions, the nature of this place was likely similar to a dream. It wouldn't be strange to encounter things that defied common sense.

But would he actually follow the instructions and smear it on his body? Not necessarily.

Fu Qian was in no rush to do so. Instead, he simply held it in his palm and stepped into the absolute darkness.

"You finally came!"

He hadn't even gone far before a voice filled with joy rang out from the side.

...

Who else could it be?

Someone suddenly shouting from the unpredictable darkness was a standard horror movie trope, and Fu Qian wasn't surprised in the least.

Madam Bride hadn't disappointed him. She had achieved a new breakthrough and actually made it outside.

Pulling that heavy gate open and shut wouldn't have been easy for her, but who said she had to use the gate?

As long as someone didn't have a build like Hao Ke, squeezing through the wide gaps in the fence-like wall was entirely possible if they gritted their teeth.

As for how she managed to find him so coincidentally?

It was simple. He hadn't smeared the elixir on his body, but he had his own special way of using it.

Even though the glow was negligible, carrying it out in the open still made him stand out just a bit more in the dark.

"I knew you would come."

Before Fu Qian could respond, Madam Bride's voice rang out again.

Even by the strictest standards, it was hard to detect anything abnormal in her tone.

There was a relieved cheerfulness, the joy of finally finding the light, and even a hint of shyness...

The sheer madness she had shown when she sprinted out of the Church earlier seemed completely gone.

"Of course. I always keep my word."

Feeling the bizarre contrast, Fu Qian didn't rush to spoil the mood. He kept the elixir steady in his hand and replied casually.

Under the faint glow, a figure grew increasingly clear in the dark.

"This feels amazing. It's even more wonderful than I imagined!"

The figure only stopped when the hem of her dirty wedding dress nearly brushed against Fu Qian's feet, speaking in an exaggerated tone.

"That stone has been deceiving us with a lie, trapping us in there and making us reject this comfort... I should have realized it sooner. Can you see my changes?"

Not only was she casually blaspheming the Deity, but Madam Bride even leaned forward as she spoke. She seemed to be doing it to make it easier for Fu Qian to look, allowing her upper body to bathe in the faint glow as much as possible.

"I can."

Not rejecting her enthusiasm, Fu Qian examined her carefully and voiced his agreement.

He wasn't just humoring her.

In just a short amount of time, this lady who had embraced the darkness had become completely unrecognizable in the truest sense of the word.

Clusters of long, slender marks, as dark as the surrounding night, crawled across every inch of her exposed skin. As they roamed, they chewed out bloody trails, even burrowing beneath her flesh.

...

Now he knew where all those little scars came from.

These bugs clearly lacked any typical biological structure, looking more like squirming strands of asphalt.

But the sight was so incredibly vivid that it almost made Fu Qian feel a sympathetic itch on the corresponding parts of his own body.

At the same time, the gnawed trails perfectly matched the dense array of fine scars that Madam Bride was originally covered in.

Considering she had left the Church "multiple times" before, everything suddenly made sense—

Each excursion didn't just drive her further into madness. The dark night was physically materializing and literally "devouring" her.

That also explained why she had managed to spot him so quickly, and why she had sprinted all the way over without stumbling over anything in the dark.

She was already merging with it, becoming a part of the darkness itself—and she was completely unaware of it.

"So I was right, wasn't I? We should never go back to that place!"

Sounding incredibly satisfied with Fu Qian's answer, Madam Bride flashed a sweet smile. The motion tugged at the "lines" on her face, making the sight even more horrifying.

"I can't do that. I promised to go back and report my findings."

However, Fu Qian's sheer imperviousness was even more shocking. The next moment, he rejected her directly without so much as blinking an eye.

"Besides, since we know it's just a lie, how can we not tell the others?"

...

The excitement, joy, and relief seemed to freeze instantly upon her face, right along with her stiffening limbs.

Ah—

But the pause only lasted for a split second. A frantic scream erupted from Madam Bride's mouth, and her hand shot out at an inhuman speed, snatching straight for the elixir in Fu Qian's hand.

Unfortunately, even monsters had tiers of power. To Fu Qian, such a sudden strike was still pitifully slow.

Here.

With a casual flick of his arm, he accurately pressed the elixir right into her hand.

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