Eldritch Horror Theatre

In the end, he still hadn't made it in time.

Although the process had been pure guesswork and the result anticipated early on, failing to meet that long-admired sage face-to-face still left Fu Qian deeply regretful.

Of course, this regret existed only in his logical mind. When it came to his emotions, he didn't have a single drop of resources left to allocate.

The scenario he had once pondered when he first encountered the White-Headed Sanctuary—facing that massive, explosive Finger Orb—had now truly manifested inside his head.

His mind was filled with a yellow turbidity, a gallery of Ecstasy containing every tier of pleasure from Layer 1 to Layer 100... At this moment, Fu Qian was certain the layers of pleasure multiplying inside his head hadn't quite reached triple digits, but they were damn close.

Compared to the higher entities he had encountered in the past, Excellency Stomach had a rather distinct sense of love and hate. Ever since recognizing him back in the Church, His strikes had been mercilessly heavy.

If He weren't fundamentally still bound by some rules of this Heaven, keeping His influence strictly within the mental realm, Fu Qian might have already mutated into some unrecognizable shape.

As for the reason behind this behavioral style, after coming into contact with Him again, Fu Qian leaned toward his previous assessment: although His power was exalted, Excellency Stomach wasn't very bright.

So much so that despite His grotesque appearance, He could be considered a rare clear stream among the many higher entities Fu Qian had encountered.

Of course, a clear stream could still drown a man, and his current predicament was proof of that.

Fu Qian knew perfectly well that his remaining time to act with free will was running out.

But it didn't matter. He hadn't forgotten that he was the one who had invited this clear stream in the first place.

Furthermore, from what he had observed along the way, Excellency Stomach's attitude toward the Realm of Bliss was quite ambiguous.

Combined with His straightforward style, three relatively confident conclusions could be drawn—

First, the Realm of Bliss was not His territory; otherwise, He wouldn't have had to put in so much effort to deal with Fu Qian.

Second, He was actively trying to turn the Realm of Bliss into His territory. The Church and similar structures Fu Qian had seen were proof of His power's erosion.

Finally, His power was somewhat similar to that of the Realm of Bliss.

Because earlier in the Second Heaven, when he had prayed for "bliss," he had actually just forcefully simulated layers of pleasure in his mind. Yet, that had genuinely resonated with "bliss."

With these three points established, theoretically, his actively polluted self was in a better position now than before.

After all, there was an ancient one glaring at him from the shadows, and earlier, it hadn't even bothered to hide its intentions.

The sheer danger of trying to continuously shatter the void again went without saying.

But once his will was entirely corrupted and he became Stomach's puppet, there was a good chance he would be turned into a minion used to erode the Realm of Bliss.

In a sense, it was like securing an official position on the payroll. Whether active or passive, he could leverage this power to confront the ancient one.

And if He ultimately succeeded in transforming the Realm of Bliss entirely into the Divine Realm of Joy, Fu Qian might even complete his mission along the way.

"...You believe I didn't kill them?"

Amid these optimistic musings, his earlier words had finally provoked an emotional response from Brother Repentance. The man's smile shifted to surprise as he stared straight at him.

...

As expected of a stubborn stone handpicked by the Tombkeepers. Trying to enlighten this kind of guy was bound to be exhausting.

Seeing Brother Repentance instantly perk up, Fu Qian naturally understood it was because he had mentioned the man likely hadn't committed those murders.

Although he had intended to quit the Brotherhood, the concept of karma and samsara was clearly deeply rooted in his mind. No wonder his body in the coffin had undergone such a severe mutation.

"Of course."

Thus, Fu Qian didn't waste time repeating what he had just said in the carriage. He merely offered a natural nod.

"But... why?"

Unable to hide his excitement, Brother Repentance clearly wanted him to explain further.

"Because, essentially, they all died because of me."

Fu Qian didn't hold back.

"But... why?"

It was just that the revelation was so shocking, Brother Repentance's reaction was like a copy-and-paste of his last question.

"Good question. Why is that, indeed..."

Sighing lightly, Fu Qian swung the Golden Melon in his hands left and right. Keeping his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, he looked completely ethereal and detached.

Paired with the terrifying scenery around them, he genuinely looked much more like a murderer than the other man did.

"What are you trying to do... Are you going to kill me too?"

Brother Repentance stood up instantly, nimbly putting some distance between them.

Although he lacked evidence, he was clearly inclined to accept Fu Qian's claim, to the point of fearing for his own safety.

"Heh... that's really hard to say."

Assessing his own crumbling sanity, Fu Qian gave a heart-stopping answer, actually stepping forward pace by pace.

"Stop, don't come any closer."

Locked onto by his gaze, Brother Repentance stumbled, retreating desperately.

Unfortunately, his hushed warning meant absolutely nothing to the vicious man before him.

In the blink of an eye, Fu Qian caught up and swung his hammer without the slightest hesitation.

Clang—

The sound was excessively crisp, completely unlike the dull thud of striking flesh.

Staring at the incense burner he had just smashed flat, Fu Qian didn't hesitate. With a backhand swing, he struck out again.

He still didn't hit his target. Faced with a lethal threat, Brother Repentance dodged this second strike with astonishing agility.

But Fu Qian didn't dodge.

Fu Qian didn't continue his pursuit. Instead, he lowered his head to look.

A bloody hole had appeared in his abdomen. Although its position was slightly off-center, it naturally brought to mind the Umbilical Cord from the Third Heaven.

As for the weapon that caused the wound, Fu Qian looked toward Brother Repentance, who had once again widened the distance between them.

In the latter's right hand rested a rather familiar weapon.

About the length of a forearm, resembling both a blade and a baton, it was the exact same weapon carried by Thick Eyebrows, who currently lay dead on the ground.

Now, it had successfully fulfilled its original owner's wish, genuinely leaving a severe wound on him.

"You aren't surprised?"

While Fu Qian lamented the impermanence of worldly affairs, Brother Repentance's reaction to the sudden shift was extremely flat, his voice having cooled completely.

"I'm not surprised... What should I call you?"

Fu Qian shook his head.

...

Of course, he hadn't missed on purpose. The Golden Melon had been locked firmly onto Brother Repentance's head.

The latter should have ended up exactly like the Masked Madam, but the attack had been interfered with.

As for what interfered with it?

He had seen similar cases more than once.

So you still couldn't bear to just walk away, could you? Excellency Ancient One.

"You never bothered asking for anyone else's name before. Should I feel honored?

"How were you so sure it was me, rather than that weeping mess?"

Unfortunately, the other party seemingly had no interest in introducing himself.

Toying with the weapon in his hand as he spoke, "Brother Repentance" even actively closed the distance, focusing on the most critical question.

"I wasn't sure. I was just testing the waters."

Another surge of Turbulence seemed to join the swelling pleasure inside his head, making every movement difficult, but Fu Qian still gripped the Golden Melon with both hands, standing steadily before him.

"If I beat you to death, it wasn't you. If you don't die, it is."

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