Eldritch Horror Theatre

Disciples of the jianghu inevitably grow old in the jianghu.

Sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall, taking swift and resolute action to one day return to the Guild Law Hall, clear one's name, and reach the pinnacle of life... that was merely a lie of a glorious return.

Things were never that simple.

The person in charge standing before him—who appeared to hold much higher authority than Brother Thick Eyebrows—clearly had no intention of believing his nonsense. The phrase "cleaning house" was written all over his face.

Although it wasn't ideal, it wasn't an unexpected reaction.

For Fu Qian, the only thing he was actually curious about was his method of cleaning house.

After all, killing someone was a massive taboo in this place no matter what.

Of course, the first move had already been made. Smashing the incense burner like that made the situation seem extremely severe.

At the very least, from the corner of his eye, he could see Brother Thick Eyebrows wearing a grave expression, seemingly not expecting the situation to escalate so fiercely all at once.

He could only admit he was simply too ignorant and inexperienced, having never witnessed even more extreme methods.

Fu Qian didn't even blink. He casually tossed out the name, not even forgetting to glance around in search of it.

...

Helun was naturally the gang member from earlier who had committed assault with a knife out of righteous indignation.

In fact, up until this point, it was the only name from the Brotherhood that Fu Qian actually knew.

Even such a minor resource had its value, and he needed to put it to optimal use.

For example, bringing it up right now allowed him to naturally reinforce his persona and prevent anyone from doubting his identity.

In addition, no matter how the two persons in charge reacted, he could use it as a comparison against his own "incense burner." This would let him try to determine what was so special about Helun that he had been driven by the mastermind behind the scenes.

And finally, the occasion before him was undoubtedly a prime opportunity for another bloody incident to take place. Such a strong stimulus was more than enough to drive everything forward as efficiently as possible.

While continuing his strategy of countering speed with speed, he could also probe for the mastermind's behavioral patterns.

There wasn't a guarantee of results, but with so few resources on hand, how could he not carefully calculate every move?

"You actually dare to bring up Helun..."

Gratifyingly, it seemed he had genuinely reaped a reward.

Almost the moment the words left his mouth, Old Man Yin-Yang Hair could no longer maintain his aura of quiet authority. Thunderous rage sparked in his eyes.

Clearly, someone had already reported the previous events to him.

And unsurprisingly, the organization had defined Helun as a martyr—a victim of some baffling villain suffering from qi deviation.

"Why would you involve the Brotherhood in such a severe crime?"

Before Fu Qian could defend himself, a further interrogation followed close on its heels.

So the primary focus of his fury wasn't actually that one of his own men had been killed, but the criminality of the act?

That actually made sense.

At that moment, Fu Qian nodded inwardly.

Ever since seeing the spectacular, smoke-wreathed scene before him, he had gained a much more concrete understanding of the Brotherhood's philosophy.

Their concept of unity of mind obviously didn't mean they literally shared a single brain; it was clearly much closer to sharing karmic burdens.

This perfectly aligned with their delusion of using this method to touch a higher Heaven.

The karmic burdens of the masses converged together in this manner, transforming into an alternative, massive conceptual entity.

At first glance, it held some merit, but it led to an inevitable problem. If they failed to maintain strict discipline within their ranks, the entire collective would have to bear the consequences when something went wrong.

For example, his own murderous atrocity.

The very nature of this act had already exceeded the Brotherhood's absolute bottom line.

This was likely why Old Man Yin-Yang Hair had smashed the incense burner so resolutely.

Motive was no longer important. Regardless of the reason, with such a massive incident having occurred, they had to cleanly excise the black sheep.

"Is it that one? From what I can see, that's the only one not smoking."

Fully aware of this well-intentioned earnestness, Fu Qian understood perfectly and casually rubbed salt in the wound.

Since the other party was unwilling to help find Helun's incense burner, he would just have to rely on himself.

In just this short span of time, he had already spotted an anomaly among the multitude of incense burners.

Its surface was painted in various colors, and its shape was somewhat slender. But its most distinguishing feature was that, within his entire field of vision, it was the only one not emitting smoke.

Fu Qian didn't stand on ceremony; he simply pointed a finger at it and asked.

...

Looking at their reactions, it actually was?

At that moment, breathing inside the Great Hall—which was already suffocating in a purely physical sense—became exponentially more difficult.

Whether it was Old Man Yin-Yang Hair or Brother Thick Eyebrows, their eyes looked as though they were ready to devour him alive.

Fu Qian, who had been closely observing them all along, faintly validated his guess without feeling that they were overreacting.

On the one hand, he had committed an atrocity provoking the wrath of gods and men. Not only did he show absolutely no remorse, but he actually had the audacity to bring it up on his own.

On the other hand, don't forget that in the eyes of these two, he was supposed to be extremely familiar with this place. Asking a question he already knew the answer to carried a massive suspicion of deliberate mockery.

When making a living in the jianghu, one absolutely had to possess empathy; otherwise, it was all too easy to get hacked to death.

Facing two faces that were struggling to maintain any semblance of composure, Fu Qian deeply felt that his own life was already like a flickering candle in the wind.

"I'm actually very sorry about what happened earlier, even though it was indeed intentional."

Still receiving no response, Fu Qian took two steps forward and, mimicking Old Man Yin-Yang Hair's movements, directly lifted that particular incense burner.

"So, are you really not interested in hearing about my two-plus years of insights from over at the Church?"

...

"No. I had originally held out hope that coming here might inspire some remorse in you... but it seems you've gone completely mad."

After plagiarizing his idea and posture, Fu Qian finally succeeded in getting a response, though Old Man Yin-Yang Hair's attitude was vile.

As expected of the person in charge who wielded even greater authority, he was deeply poisoned by power, granting him far more immunity against the empty promises Fu Qian had just spun.

Unlike the shocked and suspicious Brother Thick Eyebrows, this elder decisively severed all wandering thoughts with the sword of wisdom, leaving Fu Qian's deceptive words with no room to operate.

Although there really was no such thing as insights to begin with; what he had been peddling all along were empty concepts.

"If you have a mind to take his incense burner with you after everything is over, then be my guest."

In the very next moment, he bluntly announced that the grand spectacle he had prepared was only just beginning.

It was perfectly reasonable. Not only had he betrayed the organization, but he had also turned around and slaughtered a colleague. If they merely scolded him furiously and kicked him out of the Guild Law Hall, they would never be able to justify it. They had to employ some actual measures.

Of course, he believed they still lacked the courage to cross certain absolute bottom lines—and if they did cross them, then they wouldn't be who they were.

"Then I'll just accept it for now."

Carrying this beautiful prospect in mind, Fu Qian very unceremoniously accepted the incense burner, taking a few steps forward and stirring up a trail of smoke and dust.

"Suit yourself."

That mirage, which possessed a somewhat transcendent aura, truly condensed without dispersing, returning to normal in the blink of an eye.

Having made his decision, Old Man Yin-Yang Hair's voice abruptly turned ethereal, no longer carrying the slightest hint of fiery rage.

As they exchanged these faux courtesies, Fu Qian clearly noticed that his breathing had grown as heavy as if his lungs had been filled with wet cement.

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