Eldritch Horror Theatre

'Those are some really long legs!'

Fu Qian sized up the little girl next to him.

She didn't look very old, but she was definitely quite tall.

Her amber eyes warily observed him first, then turned toward the white tree in the swamp.

She must have noticed him outside earlier and stayed hidden in the house, only daring to emerge once the Handbell rang.

In fact, it wasn't just her. Summoned by the Handbell, people were emerging from the surrounding buildings in twos and threes.

Everyone had the exact same reaction: they stood obediently by the roadside, bathing in the dazzling white light.

The ringing of the Handbell drew closer, its rhythm growing increasingly urgent.

'Feels like something big is about to happen!'

At that moment, the light radiating from the white tree abruptly erupted, blazing several times brighter than before.

Washed in this intense glow, Fu Qian suddenly felt his flesh and blood begin to boil.

A wave of dizziness washed over him. An itchy numbness spread across his exposed skin as transparent tendrils of flesh sprouted and stretched wildly in all directions.

'This can happen?'

Under the white light, Fu Qian faintly sensed a part of himself breaking away. He could barely even maintain his molded face.

Fortunately, everyone else's attention was fixed squarely on the tree.

Taking a deep breath, he subtly covered his skin and slowly gathered his focus to suppress the reaction.

Meanwhile, the reactions of the others varied wildly.

The flesh of most people standing obediently by the road writhed and rippled, squeezing out beads of translucent light.

These specks of light gathered in front of them, constantly shifting until they coalesced into illusory silhouettes—figures that resembled dolls!

'So that's where those things come from?'

Having largely stabilized his condition, Fu Qian found the scene truly eye-opening.

Looking closely, he noticed that the solidity of each doll differed.

Some were merely clumps of light, barely able to maintain a basic outline.

Others were almost entirely physical, possessing incredibly distinct details.

Of course, there were also those like him who had absolutely no reaction.

Fu Qian had initially worried that he might stand out too much, but when he glanced back, he discovered that the girl was just as unresponsive as he was.

'Looks like it won't be a problem.'

By now, the procession ringing the Handbell had arrived.

Surprisingly, these people looked vastly different from the bystanders on the roadside.

Not only were their builds and proportions close to those of normal humans, but the signs of corruption on their bodies were also barely noticeable.

The man at the front ringing the Handbell looked like a completely ordinary old man.

As he rang the Handbell, he scanned the roadside, closely inspecting the condensation process of the dolls.

Naturally, his gaze didn't linger for even a millisecond on someone like Fu Qian.

"Ah!"

Accompanied by a cry of pure relief, the light in front of one person finally solidified into a physical form.

A lustrous white doll dropped to the ground, immediately rolled over, and swiftly burrowed into his clothes.

The envy radiating from the surrounding crowd practically materialized into physical weight.

At the same time, Fu Qian noticed that the man's body rapidly shrank, shifting back toward normal human proportions.

'Did the doll share its life force?'

'So the dolls that Miyamoto and the others hunted weren't Transcendent Tier creatures at all, but things grown right out of the bodies of these Natives.'

Fu Qian marveled inwardly.

'Truly unexpected!'

Fu Qian then noticed that at the rear of the procession, several people were carrying corpses.

One, two, three...

He observed them carefully and noticed that one of the bodies actually had four arms.

Thinking back to the ambush yesterday, Fu Qian had a pretty good idea of how these people died.

'It seems that if the doll is shattered, the original body dies with it.'

The long procession had now reached the edge of the swamp. Under the harsh illumination of the white light, the people appeared almost transparent.

The three corpses were pushed into the mire, quickly swallowed by the red and green sludge.

In the next second, the ringing of the Handbell came to an abrupt halt.

The members of this glowing procession synchronously stripped off their clothes and began to copulate right there on the ground.

'There's absolutely no aesthetic beauty to this!'

Shocked by this absurd turn of events, Fu Qian took a few glances before averting his eyes.

Scanning the surroundings, he saw that most of the bystanders were watching the scene with intoxicated expressions.

The girl next to him, however, kept her head down, staring at the ground as if she didn't care for the spectacle either.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the white light dimmed and everything returned to calm.

Even the tree-people nearby settled down, their eyes sliding shut.

Fu Qian threw a glance over his shoulder. The girl was already silently walking back.

After a moment of thought, Fu Qian carefully navigated past the tree-people and followed her into the house in the back.

The house was much tidier than he had imagined; it clearly showed signs of long-term habitation.

The girl was sitting in a chair, watching him warily.

"Don't be nervous. I'm not a good person."

Fu Qian casually found a chair that still looked sturdy and sat down, sizing her up and down.

He had to admit, the girl was quite delicate and pretty. Her figure wasn't bulky and rugged like the others', but a large patch of coral-colored rot on her left cheek ruined most of her charm.

It was hard to imagine how she had survived in a place like this.

"I just have a few questions for you. About that thing from today."

Fu Qian gestured with his hands.

"Do you know what it was?"

"You mean the Frenzied Spirit..."

After staring at Fu Qian for a long time, the girl finally spoke. Her voice was hoarse and sluggish, as if she hadn't spoken in ages.

"So that thing is called a Frenzied Spirit?"

Fu Qian nodded.

'The name is quite fitting.'

"Do you know where I can find it?"

"I don't know."

This time, the girl answered with absolute certainty.

"No one knows where the Frenzied Spirit is. It always appears suddenly, eats people, and runs away."

"From what you're saying, it attacks you guys often?"

"Mhm."

The girl nodded.

"It started a long time ago."

"They say it was originally a White Spirit too, until it ate its own master and went mad."

'Ate its own master...' Fu Qian recalled the scene from earlier.

"Are you from the outside?"

While he was deep in thought, the girl suddenly asked.

"Yes."

Since the girl hadn't exposed him earlier, Fu Qian didn't hide the truth and simply admitted it.

He thought she would keep asking, but to his surprise, upon receiving his confirmation, she just bit her lip hard and didn't press any further.

"Speaking of which, what was that group of people doing just now?"

"The pilgrimage... The Sacred Tree shines at a fixed time every day. Bathing in its light allows the White Spirit inside the body to grow rapidly."

'I knew it!'

"Can everyone control the White Spirit they manifest?"

Fu Qian brought up another question.

"They are originally one entity, so why wouldn't they be able to control them?"

The girl looked at him with a hint of confusion.

"However, every so often, the White Spirits will leave their host's body for a free hunt."

'A time for a free hunt.'

Fu Qian instantly remembered the group he had lured at the very beginning.

'Miyamoto, Mister Luo, and the others... they really understood the habits of these dolls perfectly!'

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