Eldritch Horror Theatre

Someone clearly had an ulterior motive, and they were racing against the clock.

A Lian wasn't the first to notice the disappearance, of course. Ever since they walked through the door, Fu Qian had been wondering who would slip away.

The answer turned out to be the Old Man—a true case of someone old in body but young at heart.

In theory, the Old Man actually owed him some thanks.

Fu Qian knew full well that the elderly man had slipped away precisely while he was holding forth, right when everyone else's attention was captivated by the city layout shaped like the Inviolable.

His agility was truly impressive. Even in an old building like this, he hadn't made a single sound.

It was obvious now that he hadn't joined as an ordinary person just to keep a low profile.

He had been plotting this for a long time, and his goal was something inside this place.

Whatever he was searching for, the intended effect of his maneuver was easy to guess: a precious head start.

"What's wrong?"

A Lian's reaction had alerted the rest of the group. As they turned around to ask, more than one person froze.

"Why is he missing too?"

The man from the couple frowned deeply, evidently feeling that this tour group was fraught with misfortune.

"He was just here, right next to me."

Brother Mediterranean muttered to himself in deep empathy. He subconsciously glanced at Fu Qian, clearly reminded of the first person who had broken away from the group.

"Are we not allowed to move around on our own in here?"

Never one to disappoint, Fu Qian offered a slight nod and looked to A Lian for confirmation.

...

"In theory, no. But once we're inside, no one usually goes out of their way to enforce it..."

"But it's still easy for things to go wrong. We need to find him quickly, otherwise I'll have to consider reporting the situation."

A Lian seemed to have gathered her thoughts slightly, though her brow remained deeply furrowed.

"I'm so sorry, but could you all look around on your own for a bit? I need to find him as soon as possible, before he wanders too far."

She quickly made up her mind and sought the group's agreement.

"No problem. Considering the trouble I caused earlier, I can help this time."

Fu Qian agreed without a moment's hesitation, showing an unexpected amount of team spirit.

Wasn't she just afraid he would cause trouble again...

A Lian certainly didn't look very moved by his offer.

"Don't worry, I've already gained a lot from this trip. It doesn't matter if I don't see the rest."

Fu Qian was completely oblivious. He gestured toward the window, looking for all the world like a man who had experienced the grandeur of an emperor and felt his life was now complete.

"I'll help too."

Before A Lian could say anything else, Clara, who had been silent for a long time, surprisingly volunteered.

"Don't worry, I won't get lost."

The intense confidence in her tone made it impossible for anyone to doubt her.

"...We won't wander off, either."

The rest of the group, however, clearly lacked that kind of resolve.

Seeing the search effort catching on, Brother Mediterranean hesitated briefly before declaring that he would tour the area with the other two and absolutely wouldn't run off.

The couple kept quiet, evidently unwilling to waste their romantic getaway.

"Then I'll have to trouble you two."

Seeing how unity of will forms a fortress, A Lian was quickly persuaded.

"...Memorize your assigned search areas, but more importantly, remember the gathering point. Whether you find him or not, you must head back there to regroup."

Fu Qian didn't even have to suggest splitting up. After a quick, fruitless search along their original path, A Lian took the initiative and made the call.

The fact that the man had vanished completely was clearly placing a massive psychological burden on her.

Given the sheer size and complex layout of the place, sticking together left them with very little hope of finding anyone.

"Easy enough. No matter how big this place is, it can't compare to the outside."

Fu Qian readily agreed, assuring her that his track record proved she had nothing to worry about.

Clara was much more modest by comparison. Meeting A Lian's complicated gaze, she simply offered a slight nod and walked away.

Though Fu Qian highly doubted she was going to be quite so diligent.

...

Fu Qian fully believed that Clara was genuinely curious about where the Old Man had gone and what he was doing here.

But offering to help with the search wasn't necessarily her primary objective.

In his view, Clara's goal was much like his own: to become a hidden observer, watching the movements of the tourists—especially this specific group.

After all, it was apparent that her feelings toward Lanphilai were rather complicated, and she seemed to be striving to observe it from a different perspective.

On the other hand, this tour group was genuinely fascinating. Take the Old Man, for instance, who had gone through all the trouble of infiltrating this place, only to end up reading a book.

Fu Qian had never actually planned on conducting a grid search.

Deducing the Old Man's whereabouts wasn't particularly complicated.

Although it was now a tourist attraction, the Royal Imperial Garden clearly still had restricted areas—and if the Old Man hadn't come for a restricted area, why would he expend so much effort?

So, the moment he split off from the other two searchers, the very first thing Fu Qian did was abandon his assigned zone. Instead, he mapped out the sections outside the official tour route, which included a library claiming to have centuries of history.

It wasn't entirely abandoned, but the entry requirements were clearly extremely strict.

And Fu Qian effortlessly found the white-haired Old Man inside, poring over ancient texts.

Intense and hurried, the older man was rapidly flipping through a massive, heavy tome.

It was obvious that, despite his strong execution, his exact target wasn't entirely clear yet, as there was more than one book stacked beside him waiting to be checked.

No wonder he had made his move at the first opportunity. Though it was uncertain what he was searching for, the process was clearly an arduous one.

Obsession truly was a harmful thing; nothing proved it better than this.

Sighing inwardly, Fu Qian didn't go over to disturb the hardworking elder. Instead, he simply changed direction and left.

...

What else could it be for?

The path of the transcendent was never so easy to let go of.

It was hard to say how the Old Man knew he would find answers here, but there was a high probability he was trying to draw power from ancient wisdom to guide his own transcendent journey.

Considering the obvious long-term planning and high degree of control over his own actions, the Old Man didn't seem to need anyone worrying about him. Fu Qian figured he might as well go check on the others—after all, the real excitement always came from the youth.

Fu Qian was undoubtedly highly efficient, but once again, he didn't head to his assigned search area. Instead, he made his way toward other secluded corners.

His search principles were twofold: first, deduce the likely movement routes of the three remaining group members; second, listen for unusual panting.

As he approached the source of the strange noises, Fu Qian successfully spotted a familiar figure—the pale-blonde Clara.

The sounds certainly weren't coming from her mouth or nose, but she was clearly watching very intently.

Without alerting a soul, Fu Qian swiftly chose the path of readily accepting good advice—

Sure enough, inside a splendidly decorated room right before him, the couple from their tour group were locked in a passionate embrace, completely lost to the world.

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