Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Because the Laria Family has such a long history, there's a massive amount of material on them. I've organized my notes here by time period and key figures."

Even though she had already advanced to a Tier 4 Transcendent, Eldest Miss Wen remained completely meticulous in her clerical work.

"Also, if we narrow the scope down to the Ehm Palace, there's a rather unique rumor you might find interesting, Mister Fang."

Opening the file in her hands, Wen Li pointed to a specific paragraph.

"The Ehm Palace was built very early on. It served as the temporary residence of the family's second God-Man, Emmanuel, who was rumored to possess an immortal body."

"Word has it that a statue of him originally stood inside, but the few people ever permitted to enter claimed they never saw it."

"However, the subject of the rumor I mentioned isn't him, but his son, Don Juan."

"Apart from being extremely charismatic and having broad romantic interests, there are very few records of this young man. The unusual event happened at his grand wedding. It's said that every noblewoman in the entire region rushed to attend the ceremony, to the point where the air itself was thick with the scent of their powder and perfume."

Wen Li took a subconscious breath as she spoke, seemingly imagining the scene.

Oh?

He had to admit, the name was a bit too classic.

"Was there an accident? Did the ladies attending the ceremony suffer casualties?"

Fu Qian blinked. He thought of the Bronze Madam, which he had previously received as a consulting fee.

And his experience traveling with Madam Sissi through the place suspected to be the Ehm Palace.

And those luxuriously dressed noblewomen whose heads were dropping all over the ground.

"Actually, it's the exact opposite. First of all, there were no accidents at the wedding. It was so lavish and grand that people talked about it with great relish for a long time afterward."

Wen Li's expression turned somewhat strange.

"It's just that rumor has it that after those noblewomen went home, within a very short period of time, many of them murdered their own husbands."

...

So that was why it was a Blood Wedding.

Just going by the name alone, it was hard to imagine things developing in such a way.

The word "rumor" might make it sound somewhat unreliable, but one couldn't forget that this was a "rumor" specifically recorded by the Night Watchers.

"The motive?"

Fu Qian nodded slightly, confirming more details.

"The most mainstream theory is that they were left heartbroken by the wedding, though it's hard to say whether that was due to its sheer extravagance or because of the groom."

Wen Li's expression grew even more bizarre.

"Furthermore, it seems these women were never punished afterward. Spreading rumors about the matter was strictly prohibited, and due to the lack of any official endorsement, it ultimately just stopped at being a legend."

Sure enough, it only sounded stranger the more he listened.

Taking the detailed files Wen Li handed over, Fu Qian wasn't in a hurry to comment.

Even though it was called a rumor, the statistics compiled were quite detailed, with the victims all listed by their full names.

Looking at the long list, the sheer number of names was indeed massive.

But aside from the sheer numbers, didn't this completely contradict the scene he had witnessed inside the Bronze Madam?

The victims weren't that group of noblewomen, but their husbands.

Moreover, the murders hadn't happened on the spot, but had occurred successively after the wedding?

Had his previous guess been wrong, and this wasn't the same incident?

Or perhaps—

Such bizarre and highly consistent behavior, combined with the subsequent official handling of the matter, practically reeked of the Transcendent Tier.

The scene inside truly did contradict actual reality, but could it have been some kind of conceptual manifestation on a Transcendent level?

For example, that swelling brain, and even the heads of the noblewomen uniformly dropping off as they desperately tried to squeeze inside it?

Had some sort of special influence already been spread as early as the wedding, only flaring up afterward?

And the Bronze Madam was suspected to be a legacy Senior Ji Feng had left behind in the Real World.

Had he used it as a special hiding spot to store the Bronze Circlet, allowing his descendants to hear voices when they wore it? That was certainly an easy conclusion to draw, but there was an issue at the same time—how exactly did Ji Feng get his hands on this thing?

Judging by how he controlled the Unseen Hill later on, he was likely the highest Rank out of all the predecessors Fu Qian had encountered.

For an entity like that, having a few extra items in his collection wasn't an issue at all.

But here, there was another guess based on personal experience—

A portion of the mission rewards often carried elements of the mission itself.

Was it possible that this thing was simply his direct mission reward?

Although it wouldn't affect the outcome, this was by no means a meaningless flight of fancy.

Because that would imply a certain situation: no matter when Brother Ji Feng first signed on, his missions could even have stretched back hundreds of years into the past.

...

So far, his own suspected maximum time span was nothing more than seeing Su Gao as a child in the Rotten Forest, a little over ten years ago.

The contrast was simply too stark. Had the Warehouse's power truly declined that severely?

Of course, if this were true, the significance wouldn't lie in roasting his employer, but in the fact that his predecessors' influence over the world would span an absurdly vast timeframe. When encountering certain things later on, he would need to examine them from this perspective as well.

"Thank you for your hard work. You did great."

Quickly skimming through the contents of the file, Fu Qian nodded at Wen Li, who had been waiting quietly all this time, immediately offering his praise.

She really was attentive as expected. Knowing there was a high probability he had a specific target in mind when looking for these kinds of materials, she had locked onto special events right away.

What was even more commendable was that aside from these special events, the rest of the content was also organized in a completely meticulous manner.

Emmanuel's statue was probably the figure wearing the Crown that he had once seen in the Record of Recollection.

However, according to Wen Li, the statue in the real-world Ehm Palace seemed to have vanished long ago.

This was undoubtedly another interesting piece of information.

After all, he even had a suspected identical Crown in his own possession.

"It was no trouble at all. I just happened to read these secret histories to pass the time."

Wen Li looked quite pleased with Fu Qian's praise.

"Is it just a verbal reward, though?"

In the next moment, however, she covered her mouth with a light chuckle, speaking half-jokingly.

"What other reward do you want?"

Considering she had shown an awakening of the "working for pay" mindset as early as her last stint working at The Bookstore, Fu Qian wasn't actually surprised.

"Do you have any advice for me when I go to the Academy this time?"

The facts proved that Eldest Miss Wen truly didn't lack for material comforts; what she wanted was still practical advice for her operations.

He had to admit it was a very good habit. Even if something looked like a good thing, making a few extra preparations never hurt.

"The main building of the Linghui Courtyard is a bit old, and the smell isn't too great, so be mentally prepared."

"Also... they don't like it when others point that out."

Since she had helped him out so earnestly, Fu Qian naturally didn't mind sharing some of his own past experience. He spoke up quickly after a brief thought.

"...Understood. Anything else?"

Although the content of this advice clearly left Wen Li a bit dazed.

"Also... if you need anything, you can look for Professor Lanaya from the Disciplinary Department. She's a very helpful person."

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