Eldritch Horror Theatre

A strong will to live was always vital, especially when dealing with an illness of the mind.

Unfortunately, Yuan Shan looked as though she had given up on treatment entirely.

Even worse, the suspected reason she was giving up was that she didn't want her "parent" to go bankrupt over a lost cause.

From that perspective, didn't that mean he—the one who had called the "parent" over—bore the primary responsibility?

The situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Realizing the likely cause, Fu Qian didn't shy away from acknowledging his own contribution.

The most fundamental premise of treatment was facing the facts. If one couldn't even admit to medical malpractice, how could they ever claim a healer's benevolence?

Besides, it wasn't the first time the patient had been screwed over. Chief Yuan clearly hadn't checked the almanac before leaving the house today.

Of course, if things kept going this way, she would never need to check it again.

Sighing inwardly, Fu Qian raised his hand and topped off the chipped cup with more tea.

This time, she actually drank the tea instead of taking a bite out of the cup.

This was undoubtedly a bad sign. Their synchronization rate was climbing rapidly.

It wasn't entirely without its perks, though—at least she hadn't spilled tea all over herself.

The cup was small to begin with. Even though Fu Qian had carefully accounted for the chipped edge while pouring, another bite would likely have destroyed its ability to hold any liquid at all.

But since she had essentially drained it in one gulp, there was no need to worry about that anymore—hm?

It was only natural to draw comparisons. The next moment, Fu Qian's gaze drifted over to the Red Moon.

Why was its tea getting fuller the more it drank?

He was quite confident in his memory; there definitely hadn't been this much tea in the cup a moment ago. Now, it was brimming, right on the verge of overflowing.

It was almost as if the tea Yuan Shan drank had ended up in the Red Moon's cup.

...

Were thoughts beginning to bleed into reality?

He had to admit, there was a certain beauty to it that smoothed out the wrinkles of the brain.

A little deeper thought, however, revealed its indescribable nature.

Everything was paradoxical. Combined with the earlier assessment of "when the man-like star shines," the Red Moon's current behavior felt remarkably like someone trying to solve a math problem using sheet music.

And Yuan Shan's condition was undoubtedly far less optimistic. The final window for treatment seemed to be rapidly closing.

Yet, the Attending Physician didn't seem particularly proactive. He merely sipped his tea, his gaze bypassing her entirely to look out the door.

Creak—

The eerie yet peaceful tea-drinking atmosphere was finally broken.

Two young girls, one tall and one short, gingerly pushed the door open and walked in arm in arm.

"Excuse me... are you open right now?"

It was obvious that the scene inside the shop made them anxious. When the emotionless boss looked their way, the taller girl almost shrank back in retreat.

"Of course. Welcome—"

Even though the two didn't look like they had much spending power, running a business was all about professional ethics.

Fu Qian instantly switched to a warm, enthusiastic expression, gesturing for them to browse freely.

As the two customers let out a sigh of relief, his gaze drifted back to the Red Moon's face.

Sure enough, it had temporarily stopped drinking its tea. It silently watched the two sudden intruders, its gaze tracking them as they wandered between the bookshelves.

...

See, I wasn't lying. Business is booming.

For an entity as exalted as the Red Moon to pay attention to such vulgar commercial activities was truly the definition of stooping to a lower level.

Not that Fu Qian found it surprising.

After all, before Yuan Shan had arrived, the two of them had been chatting about life in Shangjing.

Chaos didn't equate to a bad memory. It was perfectly normal for this scene to stir up recent recollections.

As for why customers had shown up in the first place?

That was even less surprising. When he had opened the door to welcome Chief Yuan earlier, he had explicitly emphasized that the shop was open for business as usual, and had even flipped the sign to match his words. Talk about walking the walk.

So it wasn't the customers being rude; The Bookstore was, in fact, officially open for business right now.

As for why he was splitting his attention to run the shop when he clearly had VIPs to entertain?

Simple. Because the VIP needed it.

No matter how harmoniously they were drinking tea, the situation beneath these peaceful years remained incredibly grim.

This was the Red Moon—an entity that even Blazing Rainbow had to steer clear of. Could anyone really expect Chief Yuan to have infinite willpower? Did anyone genuinely believe she could forcefully maintain her sense of self and emerge victorious while besieged by its chaotic thoughts?

That would be far too optimistic.

His earlier series of exchanges with Yuan Shan had essentially just been the equivalent of telling a critically wounded patient "don't fall asleep."

If he truly wanted to help Chief Yuan survive this ordeal, there was only one real solution: make the Red Moon leave on its own.

Under what circumstances would the Red Moon leave on its own? That, naturally, depended on why it had come in the first place.

The only reason it had directly initiated a Descent without batting an eye, putting the world on the verge of collapse under its immense pressure, was because it was worried about its "child's" condition.

In a situation like this, the natural countermeasure was to put on a good show of a wonderful life and put its mind at ease.

...

One had to maintain a big-picture mindset. The more complex and unsolvable a situation appeared, the more one had to rely on simple, unadorned logic.

Although, just how effective this logic would be was still far from certain.

As for the two girls carrying this momentous mission on their shoulders, they were completely oblivious.

Realizing that the bookstore manager possessed at least a shred of professional ethics, the two young customers visibly relaxed. They genuinely focused their attention on the books, wholly unaware of the kind of entities currently scrutinizing them.

"We're so sorry..."

And their innocent intentions seemed to pay off. On their second lap around the bookshelves, they appeared to find what they were looking for. They quickly grabbed a book and hurried over, though they were still terrifyingly polite.

Oh?

Fu Qian didn't say anything, merely raising his eyes to look at them.

"Excuse me... do you happen to have another copy of this?"

Given that he looked every bit like a man whose elegant tea-tasting had just been interrupted, the customer suddenly grew tense.

But youth came with its own kind of tenacity. The shorter girl bit the bullet and voiced her request.

"You both want it?"

Fu Qian easily grasped the problem. The young girls had indeed found what they were looking for—but unfortunately, there was only one copy.

"Yes."

The two of them nodded in unison, their eyes filled with expectation.

"No."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian delivered his verdict immediately, without even a second glance.

Ah...

Seeing the manager go right back to pouring and drinking his tea, the customers were momentarily at a loss. They even unconsciously glanced over at Yuan Shan beside him, their eyes lingering on the strange teacup in her hands.

"So, how much are you each willing to pay?"

Fortunately, the awkwardness didn't last too long. When Fu Qian spoke again, he quickly offered a new angle.

"...Are you saying you'll sell it to whoever bids the highest?"

The customers caught on quickly. Realizing the man was turning this into an auction, shock wrote itself across both their faces.

"Is there a problem with that?"

Fu Qian didn't see anything wrong with this at all.

"Well... of course not. We aren't going to compete against each other like that."

The two customers exchanged a glance. It was still the shorter girl who spoke, her voice filled with quiet resolve.

"Fine, let's try a different approach. How much are you willing to pay the other person so that you can keep the book for yourself?"

Nodding, Fu Qian didn't push the issue. Instead, he casually proposed a second option.

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