Eldritch Horror Theatre

No wonder they say the foreign monk chants scriptures better.

The moment the outsider title was announced, the guy inside—who just moments ago looked as if all hope had turned to ash, wanting nothing to do with the world—actually raised his head slowly. It worked even better than a police raid.

Obviously, he shared the same confusion as the Old Lady: how did an outsider end up here?

"What do you want?"

Of course, even so, that did not mean he was willing to open the door and welcome guests.

His ass remained glued to his seat. He spoke for the first time since the beginning, his voice filled with weary sighs, sounding exactly like a completely deflated balloon.

"To take away what you don't want."

But having worked in ideological guidance for years, Fu Qian always knew how to motivate people with maximum efficiency. Instead of smashing the door in, he answered without a shred of hesitation.

...

After a long silence, the door really did open from the inside.

And Brother Downcast truly did not look too well. His sullen face flashed for just a second after opening the door before he turned and walked right back inside.

"Pardon the intrusion."

Fu Qian did not mind at all. He casually closed the door, walked over, and sat across from the man at a small round table.

An oil lamp with a blackened shade sat on the round table, and one could see there was not much fuel left inside.

On such a dangerous night, this was undoubtedly a mistake that should not have happened, yet it seemed Brother Downcast had lost the will to even care.

Of course, no matter what, as the only light source in the room, the oil lamp was still quite eye-catching—though not nearly as much as the object resting next to it.

It really was a sword.

An arm's length long, it had a sharp design and even an exquisite handguard.

It was just a pity that most of it, especially the blade, was covered in a layer of filth resembling a mixture of coal ash and bloodstains.

Even so, the occasional tiny sliver of exposed metal still reflected a breathtaking gleam under the lamplight.

And from Fu Qian's perspective, this gleam was exceptionally brilliant.

His earlier perception had not been wrong; even a Deity's boon would be no more than this.

Besides, judging from this coating, had it been dug out of a mineshaft?

The aura of a Chosen One was simply impossible to conceal.

Unfortunately, the person involved did not seem to think so.

The look in Brother Downcast's eyes clearly treated it as some sort of trouble, or even a psychological burden.

"Why do you want to take it?"

Of course, human nature was just that peculiar. Just because someone directly expressed interest did not mean he was willing to simply hand it over.

Because of his burly figure, even with his head lowered, he ironically gave off the impression of staring down from a superior height.

"Didn't I just say it? Because you don't want it."

Fu Qian naturally felt no discomfort at this; he just replied with a smile.

"How do you know I don't want it?"

"So you do want it?"

Wasn't your demeanor obvious enough? Besides, I already stated my intentions clearly just now. If you wanted it, why open the door?

...

"How did you know it was here with me?"

Bro Downcast was clearly too inexperienced in this regard; just a casual bit of ideological guidance had already left him speechless.

And after a brief few seconds of silence, he finally voiced his question about the most bizarre aspect of this visit.

Squelch—

This time, Fu Qian did not immediately answer either. Instead, he reached below his collarbone and felt around for a moment.

Of course, this meant the literal below, a place that normally required a scalpel to touch.

And under Brother Downcast's horrified gaze, Fu Qian's index and middle fingers displayed superior precision. A second later, he pulled a coagulated clump out from that bloody hole and casually tossed it into an empty cup nearby.

This kind of curse was clearly highly targeted. Once it left his body and lost the support of 'himself,' its transcendent aura dissipated at an astonishing speed.

The originally bubbling blood clot quickly dissolved into a viscous puddle in the cup, looking exactly like flat cola.

Fu Qian even genuinely picked up the cup, swirled it around, and then placed it right next to that sword.

"That on it... is your blood?"

Brother Downcast might not have ever seen cola, but he still clearly grasped a few things from this scene.

For instance, that the man in front of him was likely no ordinary figure, and how he knew about the object on the table.

"Why don't you tell me how you found it?"

Going too far is as bad as falling short. Since the message had been so accurately conveyed, Fu Qian had absolutely no thought of drawing a snake with feet, so he directly changed the subject.

...

"I actually don't know..."

Staring blankly at that pool of dark red in the cup until it rapidly settled into stillness, even Brother Downcast subconsciously leaned slightly away from the table.

At the same time, under the strange and unfathomable pressure radiating from his visitor, he finally began his tale, speaking as if murmuring to himself.

"After that day, the number of people suddenly plummeted... Everything was in complete chaos..."

"I went to my workplace, only to be told to go home and wait... I had no idea what was happening, nor what I should do."

"But just as I was leaving, I suddenly felt that there was something in the Underground waiting for me as well..."

His gaze fell upon that sword.

"I sneaked back inside. No one saw me, and then I just started digging endlessly..."

"I don't know how long I dug for. It was like I couldn't feel exhaustion, constantly swapping out for new tools... until I dug into a patch of flowing coal, which was even bleeding..."

"And right at that moment, someone knocked me aside, rushed in, and pulled this out from inside—it turned out I wasn't the only one who felt the call."

Bleeding coal. No wonder it had such a strange appearance.

"And then?"

Fu Qian gave a slight nod. Imagining the scene, he offered a casual prompt.

"And then... a group of them started brawling right there. They desperately wanted to snatch it for themselves, and even when the first person to grab it lightly swung it and chopped a man to pieces, it still didn't scare them off..."

"If it was that powerful, why did it end up in your hands?"

As a figure in the transcendent realm, Fu Qian did not doubt for a second that an ordinary person could wield such destructive power after taking up this sword.

"The area below collapsed..."

Brother Downcast seemed fully immersed in those tragic memories of the past once again, his voice resembling someone talking in their sleep.

"It could be that the sword also slashed apart something else in the process, I'm not sure of the exact reason..."

"Anyway, by the time I came back to my senses, I groped around in the dark and found it, then I held onto it and crawled out bit by bit. When I got outside, it seemed like a very, very long time had passed..."

"What a story full of ups and downs... But it seems you didn't put this gift to good use?"

Now that the man was finally finished, Fu Qian felt a moment of deep appreciation.

"I'd rather not have this gift!"

However, at that last question, Brother Downcast's reaction was exaggeratedly fierce; he practically roared.

"I never want to experience that feeling ever again... Everything here has gone mad, yet they blame everything on that Church!"

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