Eldritch Horror Theatre

Faced with such opponents, the Natives likely stood little chance.

But judging by their recent display, they almost certainly wouldn't give up on revenge either.

Fu Qian looked the girl up and down.

Compared to her people, she was dressed quite cleanly.

A silk lining was even visible inside the collar of her Bark Clothing.

The same applied to some of the furniture in the room, like the Chair beneath him. Though rough, it was clearly crafted with care—not something a savage could make.

This girl must have received a decent upbringing.

She even held a half-woven flower crown in her hands, its bright crimson hue striking.

He hadn't noticed any normal flowers in it; judging by the shape, it was likely woven from collected filaments.

Fu Qian pointed at himself.

"The one at the door didn't seem very friendly to me."

"There was no flaw!"

The girl glanced at him, then lowered her head and whispered.

"Grandpa Ai Lei is our neighbor. After my parents died, he took care of me and protected me."

"Later, when he could no longer walk, he stood guard out there. He doesn't let anyone but me inside..."

"At first, I used to go out and chat with him a lot, but his moments of lucidity have grown shorter and shorter..."

"Sounds like you've been here for many years?"

"Yes."

The girl nodded.

"According to my parents, it wasn't this... crazy in the beginning."

This girl really had received a relatively normal upbringing. The furniture and other items were likely her parents' handiwork.

"If it's so crazy, why not leave?"

"There are monsters outside. We can't get out."

The girl shook her head.

"Those people shouldn't be afraid of monsters, right?"

Fu Qian pointed outside.

He had witnessed the sheer violence of those Dolls firsthand. If they used them to clear a path, the meager dangers outside wouldn't be an issue at all.

"They aren't afraid, no... but they no longer want to leave."

"Grandpa Ai Lei said that at first, people did organize groups to leave, especially right after they learned to manifest the White Spirits. But wave after wave of exploration teams went out and never returned. There was no news at all."

"My father was part of the very last attempt... Later, my mother passed away as well."

So that was it.

Fu Qian thought of Miyamoto, Mister Luo, and their group again. No matter how he looked at it, the missing exploration teams had to be connected to them.

"My condolences."

"...Anyway, after a few consecutive failures, there weren't many left who still insisted on leaving. Instead, they focused entirely on cultivating the White Spirits, growing more and more fanatical."

That made perfect sense.

"Did you call that thing the Sacred Tree just now?"

"Yes. The Sacred Tree glows at a fixed time every day, and basking in the pilgrimage is something everyone must do. However, only the transcendent ones have the right to breed..."

Every day... Who would've guessed they had such good physical stamina.

Fu Qian nodded.

"Can anyone go up to that island?"

"No one has ever been there."

The girl shot him a surprised look and shook her head in fear.

"They say that island eats people. No one is allowed near it."

Eats people... Fu Qian was even more intrigued now.

Logically, he should hurry to track down that Frenzied Spirit, but what he had just witnessed sparked an intense curiosity.

The Sacred Tree, the Dolls, the pilgrimage...

Chatting with the girl, Fu Qian couldn't shake a strange feeling—as if he had overlooked something, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Thank you for answering my questions."

Having made up his mind, he offered the girl a smile and thanked her earnestly.

"Do you have anything you want to ask me?"

His question seemed to take the girl by surprise. She observed him for a moment, finally realizing he wasn't joking.

"Are you... from the outside?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I noticed you were very clean."

The girl pointed at her own face, her expression unchanging.

This girl was far from stupid.

"What is it like outside?"

"A lot better than here."

Fu Qian answered honestly. Although he wasn't sure of the exact timeline right now, judging by the gear Delin and his group carried, the standard of living outside was worlds apart from these primitives'.

After his answer, the girl lowered her head and fell silent.

Though he understood how she felt, there really wasn't much he could say to comfort her.

Fu Qian stood up and bid the girl farewell.

"By the way, a quick warning."

"For your own safety, it's best not to wander around for a while. If you can find a place to hide, even better."

"Mhm, thank you!"

The girl rubbed the flower crown and bowed somewhat clumsily in gratitude.

By the time she raised her head, Fu Qian was already gone.

...

Fu Qian stood beside Grandpa Ai Lei, who was watching him with one eye squinted.

He had to admit, he had learned a lot from talking to the girl.

Given the current situation, Delin's intelligence on Miyamoto was likely unreliable.

That guy was definitely no mere head of some small enterprise. There had to be a much larger faction backing him.

And those exploration teams that never returned had almost certainly fallen into the hands of this faction, which was how they obtained the secret of the Dolls.

It was a rather reasonable hypothesis.

Of course, what Fu Qian cared about most was still the origin of the Dolls.

He stood there and observed the area. There were only a few guards around the island, looking in different directions. Most of the people had likely gone out for revenge.

These guards were clearly from the pilgrimage procession earlier.

Though they were performing their duties, they generally seemed sluggish.

Furthermore, after manifesting the Dolls, their physical constitutions seemed quite average. Dealing with them shouldn't be difficult.

However, according to the girl, the island itself posed hidden dangers. He would need to be careful once he actually set foot on it.

Fu Qian wasn't in a rush to make a move. Instead, he waited under the Ai Lei Tree for a while.

If the Dolls were let out for a stroll at a fixed time every day, it should be soon.

Sure enough, about half an hour later, Fu Qian saw palm-sized Dolls crawl out from beneath the guards' clothing, hopping and skipping away into the distance.

It was time.

To be safe, he waited another few minutes. He then chose an angle that kept him in the line of sight of only a single guard and walked straight forward.

The guard clearly noticed him but didn't show much vigilance, hardly bothering to glance his way.

Only when the distance had closed further did the guard finally remember to shout.

"What are you doing?"

Just as the guard finished speaking, he realized the trespasser had vanished.

He looked around in confusion, but couldn't find any trace.

In the end, he rubbed his eyes, gave up the search, and resumed his guard duty.

Half a minute later, having already slipped past the guards, Fu Qian pinched the Ring on his finger and deactivated the Lucid Dream.

He had to admit, in this special place, both Rings had come in handy.

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