Eldritch Horror Theatre

The Crown of Thorns was an easy enough accessory to picture.

Just hearing the name was almost enough to make a person feel spikes piercing their skull.

Still, the fact that it was woven from real thorns rather than just a symbolic handicraft was somewhat surprising.

When he first heard about it, Fu Qian's immediate thought had been the Thorns of Sin belonging to the Goddess of Sins. Now, however, it sounded like this crown was much closer to nature.

"But there are no thorns in the Night Watchers Base?"

Moving as swift as wind and lightning, Fu Qian pondered the peculiar news Lanaya had brought and casually asked the question.

"No. Lily didn't weave it either, though she seems to really like it."

Lanaya's tone was odd, as though she couldn't decide whether this development was good or bad.

"So they're looking for someone now? And she doesn't know who gave it to her, either?"

"That goes without saying... Even though Lily wasn't harmed, something like this happening right inside the Night Watchers Base can't just be brushed off as if nothing happened.

"As for why they were in such a rush to find you, I really have no idea."

Lanaya clearly didn't understand why Professor Fu had become their immediate go-to for help; she was merely sympathizing with the Night Watchers.

"But you agreed so readily without even knowing the situation?"

Naturally, she couldn't help but follow up by questioning his eager attitude.

"You don't understand. For sudden incidents with such low expectations, the key is response speed. Now that the critical part is done, all that's left is to do the bare minimum and wait for their hospitality."

Fu Qian simply waved a hand. Leaning back comfortably, he shared his wealth of experience with his boss.

"I suppose that's true. At the very least, the Night Watchers' recent attitude toward us has been much gentler than before... You deserve a lot of credit for that."

As the head of the Disciplinary Department, Lanaya was undoubtedly sensitive to such shifts. The current harmonious relationship between the Academy and the Night Watchers would have been impossible without the man beside her.

Moreover, considering Professor Fu's past behavior, his anticipation of their hospitality made an inexplicable amount of sense.

...

"We'll have to trouble Professor Fu again."

This was his first time visiting this particular Night Watchers Base. Compared to the territory of Chief Yuan of Shangjing, it was admittedly much more low-key.

The aesthetic was similar, however; the center also featured a black building as sharp as a blade.

The local Chief Yuan was already waiting there, immediately greeting Fu Qian and Lanaya as they arrived.

"Don't mention it. I'm just a bit curious about exactly how you plan to trouble me."

While Professor Fu put on a magnanimous front, he didn't waste a single second establishing the main theme of this trip—keep your expectations low.

"Let's walk and talk... Professor Lanaya should have already given you the gist of the situation?"

Yuan Fang clearly found the situation bizarre as well. Flashing a somewhat helpless smile, he took the lead and guided them forward.

"Yeah. The Crown of Thorns, the victim of the Invitation Letter, and all that."

Fu Qian nodded, his gaze sweeping over the sparse personnel within the base.

It was clear from this alone that the Night Watchers had confidence in the Academy's ability to police itself; even now, they hadn't stationed heavy guards here.

"Yes. The crown is actually still on her head. Those thorns cause a considerable amount of pain, but we didn't forcibly remove it."

The route Yuan Fang led them on headed straight for that black building. They even descended underground, which reminded Fu Qian of when Yuan Shan had given him a tour of the Shangjing base.

"Lily requested it herself. She wanted a place that was as quiet as possible."

Before Fu Qian could ask, Yuan Fang preemptively explained why she was down there.

"Considering her mental state was rather unstable, we ultimately chose to accommodate her request.

"What makes this incident particularly unusual is that Excellency Aike just attempted to treat her last night, only for this drastic change to occur first thing in the morning..."

Understood. Excellency Aike probably wasn't in the best of moods, then.

Listening to these details, Fu Qian kept his thoughts to himself—mainly because the person in question had already come into view up ahead.

"Thank you for coming."

He had to admit, compared to some of her colleagues, Aike was exceptionally polite.

Greeting them immediately despite her lackluster expression, she pushed open a nearby door.

...

She wasn't standing directly behind the door, but behind a pane of glass.

The layout closely resembled an Interrogation Room. Fu Qian stepped inside, his gaze sizing up the figure standing quietly in the deeper adjacent room.

Although he could only see her profile, she wasn't hard to recognize; she was the young married woman who had greeted him at the ball.

Even after being cooped up away from the sun, her complexion was still excellent. It looked as though a vigorous surge of blood was constantly pumping through her heart—and her head as well.

It was a genuine, bona fide Crown of Thorns. There was no shortage of inward-facing spikes, and after being wedged onto her head, the blood welling from the punctures hadn't even fully congealed yet.

Moreover, although Yuan Fang had mentioned the considerable pain, Lily herself seemed entirely oblivious to it.

With a faint smile on her lips, she stared at the far wall as if gazing out of a window into the infinite distance.

"When she was discovered this morning, she looked exactly like this,"

Yuan Fang quietly explained from the side.

"Can Professor Fu spot anything unusual?"

Aike didn't put on any airs, softly asking Fu Qian for his assessment of the situation.

"Before Ian died, he did try to take on a tree-like shape, but its composition was closer to flesh and blood. The difference between that and this is quite stark."

Fu Qian replied quickly. Although his point of comparison sounded rather bizarre at first, Excellency Aike's eyes briefly flickered.

Sigh... why else would they have called me here?

For consultants and advisors, there was one thing even more important than offering strategies: figuring out what the person asking the question actually wanted.

This was undoubtedly a bizarre incident, but the Night Watchers had their pride. They wouldn't just casually seek outside help for no reason.

As far as Fu Qian could see, the only reason Excellency Aike had hurriedly sent for him was because he was irreplaceable in one specific aspect.

And what aspect was that?

It pertained to "Ian's lover," Lily—and, by extension, Ian himself.

He was the one who had executed Ian. Only he, the killer, had witnessed the process with his own eyes.

Aike wanted to know if any strange elements had manifested back then, so she could determine the true nature of this crown.

The answer was obviously no.

Compared to the Tree of Ecstasy, the crown on Lily's head was something else entirely. Not only did it lack the aura of the Transcendent Tier, but fresh sap could even be seen weeping from its snapped ends.

Even so, Fu Qian's verbal answer remained somewhat ambiguous.

"However—Benevolence Society?"

While Excellency Aike frowned in thought, Fu Qian followed up with another question a second later.

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