Eldritch Horror Theatre

Only those who had weathered the turbulent seas of commerce understood how difficult it was to keep a shop open every day.

At the Bookstore Owner's gracious invitation, the customer outside seemed to sense this profound weight. She finally stopped hesitating and stepped inside.

"The weather is quite nice today."

Fu Qian was highly dedicated to his role. He led the way while casually bringing up the weather, doing his best to make his guests feel at home.

"It is nice."

As it turned out, there was a reason the weather was a classic conversation starter. In that moment, "Yuan Shan" actually glanced outside before replying.

"So, how did you know I was back?"

Of course, Fu Qian hadn't planned to just coast by on small talk. He cut straight to the chase.

Hmm...

Considering her earlier confusion over her own identity, this would undoubtedly prod at the minefield of her "self" awareness, threatening to shatter their delicate balance at any moment.

But Fu Qian asked anyway. The reason was simple: not only was Chief Yuan in danger, but the Red Moon was also a victim here.

In this incident, he was clearly playing the role of a vortex dragging in all sides.

Merely showing up in Shangjing felt like tearing a hole in the functioning of the world.

And to mend that hole and return to his peaceful years, he needed to do much more than just soothe her emotions.

Not only did he have to ensure Chief Yuan wasn't completely broken, he also needed the Red Moon to end its Descent as quickly as possible.

To make the latter happen, he undoubtedly had to stimulate a certain degree of subjective initiative.

If he simply avoided the minefield, how could he expect to achieve that?

To sum it up, he not only had to dance through a minefield, but he had to do it without getting a speck of dust on himself.

In this situation, his entry point was crucial.

For instance, the beauty of his previous question was that it made perfect sense whether he was asking the Red Moon or Yuan Shan.

The "person involved" had to introspect, but didn't necessarily have to confirm who they actually were.

Skirting the edge wasn't so simple.

...

"I..."

Sure enough, Yuan Shan hesitated, struggling to formulate an answer.

"I saw you come here."

But what did a mere Demigod Realm being's muddled brain matter to the Red Moon?

After a brief hesitation, she spoke again.

Clearly, this answer had a very high Red Moon content.

"Then you have sharp eyes. I practically just arrived."

While not exactly a good thing, he had to admit this scene was quite fascinating. As Fu Qian took it in, he offered praise without missing a beat.

And just like before, this compliment worked for whoever she currently was.

"You haven't been here in a while."

Unfortunately, those who spoke ambiguously eventually suffered the backlash. Yuan Shan responded quickly this time, and surprisingly, her statement fit perfectly regardless of which identity she was speaking from.

There wasn't even any emotion in it; she was simply, earnestly stating a fact.

...

Had it been a while? Actually, it wasn't that long.

Having drifted through the jianghu for years, how could Fu Qian not know the principle of more haste, less speed?

He didn't continue pressing her. Instead, moved by her words, he turned and surveyed his surroundings.

A winter afternoon, a warm sun, a gentle breeze, and reasonably tidy bookshelves.

He could only say that even without a manager present, this corner of Shangjing looked quite harmonious and culturally rich.

Aside from Yuan Shan's previous message, no new envelopes had appeared on the floor.

It wasn't surprising. Only three people had the mailing address for The Bookstore, and two of them were currently busy studying hard.

But if he really had to calculate the time since his last visit, it honestly hadn't been long.

From his own perspective, agreeing it had been a while was barely passable; after all, given the duration of his missions, he had simply experienced a lot.

"True. So let me think about where the cups are... What would you like to drink?"

He didn't correct her minor lapse in logic. Gesturing for her to take a seat, Fu Qian actually did something rare and served her himself.

"Tea is fine."

She didn't stand on ceremony, making her request clear.

"A wise choice."

Fu Qian praised her, actually digging out an exquisite tin.

Mostly because there was nothing else to drink here anyway.

Of course, the quality was definitely excellent. After all, Wen Li had specifically brought it over during her internship at the shop.

"Not bad."

This was quickly doubly validated. Almost as soon as Fu Qian started preparing it, Yuan Shan offered high praise from across the table.

"That's good."

Fu Qian maintained a relaxed posture, unhurriedly boiling the water. He didn't even forget to multitask with some idle chatter, pointing a finger toward the door.

"I received a blank letter here previously."

...

Silently nourishing all things.

Naturally, they weren't just here to drink tea. Sitting down together to share an activity—a behavior that was fundamentally about bonding—was always an excellent opportunity to push the boundaries of conversation.

For example, the previous message was undoubtedly something closely related to Yuan Shan. Fu Qian had no intention of wasting the chance to bring it up.

As for Yuan Shan's response, it was somewhat delightful.

"The blank letter... I wrote it."

Giving a soft nod, she admitted it without hesitation.

In theory, this meant that amid her oscillation, the real her seemed to have finally grasped her Anchor Point and clarified her sense of self with startling efficiency—

"There was no content on it... yet there was."

It just seemed a little too clear. Before Fu Qian could say anything, Yuan Shan added another sentence.

There was nothing wrong with what she said, of course. Fu Qian had already deciphered the meaning behind Chief Yuan's message at the time: she had a non-urgent matter and was inviting him over for a chat whenever convenient.

So her statement was naturally correct, but the awkward part was that something like this didn't really need to be said out loud, did it?

Hearing it at that moment almost felt like she was reading a narrator's script aloud.

Because of this, her perfectly fine human facade suddenly felt a bit off.

"Indeed, I think I understood the contents."

Fortunately, Fu Qian never discriminated when it came to these things. He raised a hand to pour the tea, genuinely agreeing with her.

"Wen Li's tea."

Unsurprisingly, Yuan Shan's gaze was drawn in. She watched Fu Qian's movements the entire time, then finally nodded.

Oh? She even remembered this? Was she improving even further?

Of course, he couldn't rule out the Red Moon remembering Wen Li, but this kind of aroma recognition was clearly something only a person who had actually tasted it could pull off.

So overall, the current situation still looked like it was progressing, despite the twists and turns—Crunch!

His beautiful vision was shattered a moment later by a strange sound. Looking over, he saw that Yuan Shan had raised the teacup, completely ignored the heat, and brought it to her lips to take a bite.

That was right. While commenting on the tea, she directly bit a piece off the rim of the teacup.

The tea set was also something Wen Li had helped upgrade; its quality was similarly excellent.

But no matter how precious the treasure, to someone in the Demigod Realm, it was still as soft as cake.

Yuan Shan's table manners could even be considered elegant as she chewed gently with her mouth closed.

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