Eldritch Horror Theatre

Is this life?

No matter how hard you struggled, right when you thought things were finally looking up, you would turn around to find a fresh disaster waiting for you—no, that was Chief Yuan's life.

Truth be told, an ordinary person was rarely that miserable.

The Red Moon upstairs had always been a ticking time bomb. How could Fu Qian not know?

This was an existential crisis of "who am I and who is me," and she was actually the main character.

Casually tossing out a few lines of talk therapy down here to resolve the issue without alerting the main body was far too idealistic a notion.

As far as Fu Qian was concerned, once the pressure was applied, it was only a matter of time before the main body reacted.

Of course, whether it happened sooner or later, Chief Yuan's current situation looked exceedingly grim.

Just as it was impossible to stop the Red Moon from coming downstairs, Fu Qian couldn't stop the two of them from making eye contact.

The latter looked down from above, staring at a face identical to her own as if looking into a very special mirror.

Naturally, even when genuinely looking in a mirror, one occasionally found their own reflection unfamiliar.

And right now, putting aside everything below the neck, there was a stark difference in their demeanor.

Yuan Shan's expression was naturally different from her usual self, but it still fell short of the Red Moon's distinct inhumanity.

Yet the boundary between human and divine was not entirely insurmountable.

Even before she reached them, as the distance between the two narrowed, Fu Qian clearly sensed the change.

Reducing the surplus to supplement the deficit, the differences between the two faces were being slowly smoothed out, rapidly achieving the effect of a true mirror image.

"Strange, but I seem to have forgotten..."

Even their trains of thought were smoothly converging. As she stepped off the last stair, the Red Moon frowned slightly, seemingly troubled by an elusive memory in her mind.

...

This was quite bad.

Yuan Shan knew Old Man Henry, while the Red Moon didn't—that was the core concept behind his little maneuver just now.

And at first glance, it seemed to have worked. The Red Moon clearly lacked any concept of the tuxedo cat, to the point of rationalizing it as having "forgotten."

But as everyone knew, forgetting required having once remembered. The underlying implication of the Red Moon's words was that she actually did know Henry.

And why would she know? Because Yuan Shan knew.

This was far more than manually piecing together a Yuan Shan; it was reverse-assimilating the host, a sensation of completely absorbing Yuan Shan into herself.

"I seem to have forgotten too... How could this be? Black and white, I was so sure..."

The very next moment, Yuan Shan continued to prove this point.

When the Red Moon stepped right up to her, separated only by the corner of the counter, a synchronized look of confusion washed over Yuan Shan's face as she muttered to herself.

Using the word "too"—at first glance, being able to distinguish herself from the Red Moon seemed like good news.

But given the actual content of her words, starting to forget even Old Man Henry was a massive loss of ground, feeling like a drowning person's final struggle.

Not to mention, it was hard to believe Yuan Shan's original consciousness could speak so lucidly in such a face-to-face encounter.

Therefore, Fu Qian leaned toward the idea that, just like before, the one speaking was still the Red Moon.

Going by the mirror analogy, under their locked gazes, the Red Moon was forcefully acknowledging both faces as her own, driving the rapid convergence in their auras.

In short, this was close-quarters combat with no room to maneuver.

By contrast, Chief Yuan was pathetically weak.

"Take your time. Don't rush."

At such a critical juncture, Fu Qian finally stopped sitting on the sidelines.

While offering verbal reassurance, he grabbed another pre-prepared teacup, poured the golden tea, and pushed it to the corner of the counter.

Seeing the time, it was almost three o'clock. No matter how earth-shattering the situation, drinking tea came first.

...

Clack!

Even the motion of setting their cups down had reached nearly a hundred percent synchronization.

The Red Moon was very receptive to advice. Faced with Fu Qian's warm hospitality, she didn't refuse, nor did she mind the lack of a seat. She immediately picked it up and took a sip.

And the moment she set the teacup down, Yuan Shan's movement was almost perfectly synchronized. The two clacks were virtually indistinguishable, fully highlighting the rapidly deteriorating situation.

Still, looking on the bright side, it wasn't completely without gain.

Comparing their movements, Fu Qian found he had an even stronger sense of déjà vu regarding the Crimson Robe on the Red Moon's body.

Aside from being fine as silk and clinging tightly to her figure, its peculiar texture actually reminded him of the Embrace Armor she had once given him.

Strand by strand, thread by thread, they faintly resembled arms clustering together in a self-embrace, possessing a beauty both twisted and strange.

Of course, this beauty belonged strictly to the realm of art. Even though she had initiated a Descent directly without a word, the Red Moon was still trying her best to keep a low profile.

Not only had she directly copied a face, but her appearance also lacked the maddening divinity she usually possessed.

Even an ordinary person could look at her a few times without issue.

"Also, I can offer a small hint."

The Bookstore grew quiet for a moment. Fortunately, Fu Qian wasn't just having them drink tea; he quickly offered something substantive.

"Although he's a cat, he isn't exactly light, and he doesn't look particularly agile..."

Pouring himself a cup, Fu Qian recalled Old Man Henry's appearance.

"Also, despite his terrible personality, his gambling luck is absurdly bad..."

"And even though his luck is awful, his addiction is still quite strong..."

The critique showed no regard for their past friendship, proving thoroughly blunt.

"Gambling?"

This seemed to work. Yuan Shan's memories were instantly triggered, and she frowned in deep thought.

After all, not long ago, she had been complaining about Old Man Henry's massive gambling losses.

"But... really? How could a cat gamble?"

Unfortunately, barely a few seconds later, she glanced toward Fu Qian and shook her head, indicating that her recollection had failed.

Going by her tone, she truly thought Old Man Henry was just a cat.

...

Ah, a rebellious disciple is still a disciple.

Even if she wasn't particularly capable and constantly caused headaches, she still showed some filial piety at the critical moment.

Chief Yuan's eyes were somewhat unfocused, but meeting her gaze, Fu Qian didn't despise her for giving up so quickly.

She might always be looking to slack off, but Fu Qian never doubted her ability to hold down a region.

She had proven her decisiveness in the face of life and death more than once. With Chief Yuan's skill and boldness, how could she easily let go of a straw she had finally managed to grab?

Unless she felt the straw might snap.

Old Man Henry was strong, but he had likely never subjected Yuan Shan to such intense pressure.

Her own state might be dull and chaotic, but the most probable explanation for this reaction was still that she sensed the danger and didn't want to drag Old Man Henry into the pit with her.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!