Eldritch Horror Theatre

"I actually do have some business."

At Fu Qian's words, both Ariel and Xiao Mingyue were taken aback. Xiao Mingyue simply stared at him, dumbfounded.

Aren't you being a little too direct?

"Oh?"

Ariel froze for a moment before a smile resurfaced on his face.

"And what exactly is this business?"

"Something simple!"

Fu Qian nodded.

"Given your unknown background, I've been commissioned to investigate if there's a problem with you."

Xiao Mingyue blurted out, her face livid.

"Mister Ariel."

She quickly turned back to Ariel.

"Please don't worry. This is just a routine inspection."

"A few incidents have occurred recently, so our procedures are a bit stricter than usual."

"I understand."

Ariel didn't seem rattled in the slightest. Instead, he shook his head with a chuckle.

"It is the duty of the Night Watchers. I will naturally cooperate fully."

Then, as if recalling something, he looked back up at Fu Qian.

"But isn't Mister Fang a member of the Night Watchers?"

"No, I'm an external operations advisor. My main job is as a Bookstore Owner."

Fu Qian wore a look of utter arrogance.

...

Now even Ariel didn't know how to respond. Xiao Mingyue flushed red, glaring fiercely at Fu Qian.

"Mister Fang, feel free to ask whatever you wish. I will tell you everything I know."

True to his nature as a business elite, Ariel quickly recovered his composure and addressed Fu Qian.

"Excellent. Then I won't hold back."

Under Xiao Mingyue's complicated gaze, Fu Qian stood up, took a step forward, and released the restraints on his aura.

The next moment, a violent, invisible wind swept out in all directions.

A mountain-crushing pressure blanketed the room. Even Xiao Mingyue shuddered beside him, overwhelmed in body and mind.

At the center of the storm, Ariel instantly fell into a stupor, losing all self-control.

"What is your true purpose for coming to Shangjing?"

Staring into Ariel's eyes, Fu Qian asked coldly.

"I was marginalized in the Federation and my ventures weren't going smoothly, so I wanted to gradually transfer my business to Shangjing."

Ariel answered in a dull, vacant voice.

"What is your relationship with Deng Feizhou?"

Fu Qian asked his second question.

"We worked together many years ago. I helped him deal with some trouble, so he owed me a favor."

"Very good. Last question: do you know where Deng Feizhou went?"

"...Rumor has it he went missing. I asked around and heard he might already be dead. The Night Watchers locked down the information for some unknown reason. I didn't want to stir up trouble, so I stopped looking."

Not bad at all!

Fu Qian nodded and reined in his aura.

His answers to those three questions perfectly fit the image of a wealthy businessman from outside the local circle who possessed a certain degree of operational reach.

Especially the reason he gave for coming to Shangjing—it was completely natural and reasonable.

This Origin Council was truly formidable!

Fu Qian marveled inwardly.

That's right. He was now over ninety percent sure that this fluctuation-less fellow was a member of the Origin Council.

Not only that, he was also the most terrifyingly powerful person Fu Qian had encountered so far.

In fact, the moment he walked through the door, Fu Qian had realized something was wrong.

Sitting there, Ariel appeared to have an ordinary aura. Yet in Fu Qian's eyes, the man was like a blazing torch. A pure, clear radiance filled his entire body, devoid of a single trace of shadow.

His aura was disguised far too well. Had his inspiration not been far beyond the norm, Fu Qian probably would have been completely fooled.

To pull off a disguise capable of deceiving someone in the Demigod Realm... this person's Rank was likely even higher than his own.

He had just advanced to High Tier not long ago. Although he had yet to solidify his Demigod Form, he was a genuine Tier 3 Transcendent.

If the man was ranked even higher than him, he had to be at least Tier 2.

He still didn't know enough about High-Tier Transcendents.

But one thing was certain. A figure of this Rank wouldn't stoop to traveling all the way to Shangjing just to transfer a business.

He had even played along with this Q&A game just to avoid exposing himself.

He was setting a trap to find the person who killed Deng Feizhou.

That was Fu Qian's immediate reaction.

The reason he deliberately leaked that he was looking for Deng Feizhou was to draw the attention of his potential target.

Thinking about it now, it was a good thing he had chosen to have Wen Li go to Yuan Shan, rather than investigating the situation himself first.

If he hadn't used the cover of the Night Watchers to contact him, he probably would have been locked onto in an instant.

In fact, even now, he still wasn't entirely safe.

High-Tier Transcendents had extremely sharp perception. The slightest unreasonable behavior could be noticed.

This was exactly why Fu Qian had chosen such a brutal interrogation just now.

His goal was to show that he was completely unbothered about hiding his Demigod Realm identity.

The other party could most likely gauge his true strength. Sending a Demigod Realm expert to investigate an ordinary wealthy merchant was already strange enough.

Under such circumstances, acting too humble would only raise further suspicion.

A domineering display of suppression, followed by a crude and simple conclusion, was actually a far more normal reaction. It made it much easier for Ariel to believe his identity hadn't been leaked.

Otherwise, if a conflict broke out, getting away wouldn't be a big problem for him, but it would undoubtedly expose too much.

As for Xiao Mingyue, it went without saying—she would be dead for sure.

At this moment, as Fu Qian reined in his aura, Ariel slowly "recovered" his senses and took a deep breath.

"Mister Fang, I..."

He frowned. As if realizing something was wrong, he tried to recall what had just happened.

"The questioning is over."

Acting as if he couldn't care less what the man remembered, Fu Qian turned to look at Xiao Mingyue.

"He's clean."

...

Xiao Mingyue's breathing had also just leveled out. Looking at Fu Qian now, her emotions were a complicated mix of fear and hatred.

Fear, because this guy's strength was outrageously terrifying, far exceeding her previous estimates.

Hatred, because he was simply too reckless!

No matter how domineering the Night Watchers were, they still acted with reason.

The other party was an ordinary person. Did this guy never consider what would happen if he scared someone into a mental breakdown?

She let out a breath.

Exhaling deeply, Xiao Mingyue looked at Ariel, whose face had turned rather grim.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation. We will take our leave now."

Without waiting for a response, she immediately stood up and walked out the door.

Even as Fu Qian followed her out of the reception room, Ariel remained sitting there, looking somewhat dazed.

...

"I'll report to the Chief in a moment."

Xiao Mingyue drove in silence. After a long while, she finally spoke.

She still didn't realize she had just taken a stroll past the gates of hell.

"Alright."

Fu Qian nodded, his expression completely unchanged.

"I happen to have some business with Yuan Shan as well."

...

"You were way too reckless. We were only doing a routine inspection based on a single tip-off."

Xiao Mingyue bit her lip.

"Besides, even if he really did have a problem, wouldn't acting like that just strike the grass to startle the snake? You might be incredibly strong, but you don't know the first thing about investigations!"

"Is that so?"

Hearing this, Fu Qian glanced at her.

"You aren't strong, and you don't know the first thing about experts, either."

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