Eldritch Horror Theatre

"The liquor here is average, but the atmosphere isn't too bad."

Akasha's silence was deafening, but Fu Qian was ultimately true to his word, stepping out of the carriage right in front of the bar.

Not only that, but despite being an outsider, he casually introduced the local customs and practices along the way.

He wasn't acting as a shill for the bar, of course; he genuinely had been here before.

Yes, this was the exact spot where he had warmly met with the Night Watchers Squad. It was also where he'd had the honor of being ambushed by two Divine Emissaries and a demigod.

To be honest, ending up here again was somewhat of a pleasant surprise.

Sitting in the carriage just to see where it would go felt, frankly, a bit too reliant on fate.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been enough to make someone as experienced in the jianghu as Excellency Akasha doubt her life choices so visibly.

That was why Fu Qian hadn't insisted the carriage take him straight to Sage Lake or any other crucial location within the Unseen Hill.

And this bar, a place with history, seemed well worth a bit of imagination.

Granted, the battle that took place here hadn't become reality because the mission had ultimately failed.

This was likely the main reason Akasha was so perplexed.

Unlike the restaurant from earlier, the Natives' intel would show that the outsider Andiel had absolutely no connection to this place.

Yet, that was exactly what Fu Qian found so fascinating.

If their arrival here was truly influenced by Ji Feng's will, did that mean he wasn't entirely oblivious to that false history?

Such a degree of Transcendence—even among the higher entities he had encountered so far, few seemed capable of it. He wondered if it might be related to a possible past Administrator Identity.

Regardless, just for the sake of that suspicion alone, it was worth coming down for a look.

Not to mention that this place was genuinely one of the livelier establishments in the entire Unseen Hill.

Perhaps getting drunk helped people find their own freedom, granting them a higher resistance against the Gate of Freedom?

"Honestly, I don't see it."

Faced with Fu Qian's resolve, Akasha finally seemed to have adjusted her mood, following him all the way to the entrance.

Unfortunately, her preferred beverage seemed to be solely blood. Confronted with the scent of fermenting alcohol and human bodies, she was already frowning before they even stepped inside.

Once inside, she scanned the room, clearly doubting Fu Qian's assessment that the atmosphere wasn't too bad.

...

'What do you know? You can't judge the feng shui of a place by its surface alone.'

"You have to feel it on a deeper level."

Fu Qian simply sighed inwardly before offering this earnest piece of advice.

In a chaotic place like the Unseen Hill, how much aesthetic beauty could anyone expect from a dive where people came to get drunk?

His claim about the nice atmosphere was actually referring to the colorful characters he'd met here last time, and his hope of stumbling upon a similar stroke of luck tonight.

It was just a bit of a shame that the table he used to sit at appeared to be occupied.

It wasn't quiet, but it wasn't deafening either. Under the dazzlingly gaudy lights, it was easy to see that the bar's layout hadn't changed much.

And the spot where he had sat last time was indeed taken.

Fortunately, Fu Qian was never one to fuss over trivial details, so he wasn't about to insist on sitting there—

"Get out."

But alas, the Spider Silk Queen was still a queen, and her appearance in such a venue was incredibly eye-catching.

The two men sitting at the table watched helplessly as Akasha strolled over, not even daring to blink.

However, before the pair could even figure out what to say, Akasha casually chased them off.

"Shall we sit here?"

Not only that, but in the next second, without even paying attention to the men's reactions, she turned straight to Fu Qian to confirm that she hadn't "felt it on a deeper level" incorrectly.

...

She truly wasn't resigned to being unilaterally tormented. It seemed Excellency Akasha still wanted to snatch back a bit of the initiative.

"Sure."

Fu Qian didn't stand on ceremony either.

Akasha's gaze was undoubtedly locked onto him. He had only glanced in this direction a second longer than normal, and she had already quietly figured out his thoughts.

Naturally, this didn't mean there was much goodwill behind her actions. Essentially, his previous refusal to play by the rules had left her maddeningly confused, prompting her to stir up trouble just to introduce a few variables.

As for whether Akasha was worried about ruining the mood and upsetting him?

It was simple; she always measured her boundaries perfectly. She was really just "stirring up" a little trouble.

Hmm...

The two men, who looked quite formidable, were naturally unhappy about being slapped with an eviction notice right in the middle of their drinks.

However, from the moment they shifted their gazes to scrutinize her to the moment they stood up and walked away in silence, barely five seconds had passed. They didn't even get a chance to throw out any threats.

On one hand, it was naturally because the radiant Excellency Akasha hadn't fully retracted her bone wings, making for an incredibly striking visual impact.

On the other hand, there were no Night Watchers in the Unseen Hill. Regardless of how politely she spoke to Fu Qian, at her core, Excellency Akasha killing people was truly no different from crushing ants.

Her tone just now had profoundly reflected that fact. Adding emotional color when speaking to ants was a waste to begin with.

Though the two "ants" didn't realize that the situation was a bit special this time. Even if they hadn't left, Akasha wouldn't have killed them on the spot; she likely would have just used a gentler method to invite them out.

...

"So why did you kill that guy? Clearly, with him around, you could step through that door again without worrying about not being able to return."

They sat down peacefully, the two men's leftover drinks still sitting on the table.

It was a pity that these two patrons completely ignored the core element of being at a bar, choosing only to chat.

And Akasha, who had practically been threatening murder just moments before, was immediately curious about Fu Qian's own violent act.

As for the guy she was referring to, it was naturally the Black Doctor, who had been miserably swallowed by Calamity.

Her reason for questioning him sounded perfectly logical.

Earlier, after securing the "antidote," finishing him off might have seemed clean and decisive, but it also nearly destroyed any possibility of recreating that newly discovered method of returning from behind the door.

No matter what his goals were, it certainly robbed him of a lot of flexibility for future actions.

"If I could run back and forth between the two sides without worrying about making it back, would you have come?"

However, Fu Qian seemed to have already anticipated this doubt, merely answering with a smiling counter-question.

"Uh..."

At that moment, Akasha said nothing, seemingly realizing just how much sincere invitation was packed into that reunion of old acquaintances.

"To me, if I did that, you might feel the situation was more controllable... Someone over there has been watching us."

Without looking at her, Fu Qian let his gaze fall on the crowd of dancers, and sure enough, he admitted it.

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