Eldritch Horror Theatre

He certainly arrived quickly.

Yuan Shan hadn't even finished her first cup of fresh tea before a knock sounded at the door.

To be honest, despite being a street-facing storefront, the Bookstore's door rarely received such treatment.

After all, even if someone could see the boss inside during off-hours, few had the courage to disturb him when faced with his imposing presence.

Even the invited guest, the elderly Chen Pingxian, felt a similar apprehension.

His hesitation in that moment was palpable, but deciding that one cannot be too polite, he earnestly knocked three times.

"Welcome."

Fortunately, the proprietor displayed the amiability of a businessman and immediately invited him in.

"Excuse the intrusion."

"Please, sit down. I should be the one apologizing for making you take a special trip out here."

Fu Qian's amiability persisted. He smiled, gestured for the man to sit, and made sure to grab another cup to pour him some tea.

Since when was this guy so polite?

Yuan Shan stared in a momentary daze, especially when contrasting this with her own past experiences.

The offer to sit wasn't empty politeness; there really was a guest chair waiting there.

He had specifically gone upstairs to bring it down before the man arrived.

Recalling how this guy and Su Gao had sat reading face-to-face while forcing her to stand and talk... it truly made one lament the injustice of the world.

But regardless, she possessed that bit of broad-mindedness. Looking on the bright side, at least with this posture, he didn't look like he was preparing to wreak havoc on the locals.

Yuan Shan clearly remembered the idea this guy had once proposed to lower Ariel's guard: turning a fake act real and directly killing the new head of the Chen Clan.

From that perspective, Chen Pingxian's cautious attitude was actually quite reasonable.

Many people truly had no idea what kind of danger their lives had faced at a given moment in time.

"Just as I mentioned during our last meeting, I am very interested in the Chen Clan's ancestral cultivation method."

Of course, not a trace of the poisonous schemer could be seen on his face right now. He even spoke with complete solemnity, cutting straight to the point.

"Because I've been rather busy lately, I could only ask Chief Yuan to invite you here."

...

It was evident this was a treatment Chen Pingxian had never expected.

The higher one's position and authority, the more acutely they could sense the disparity in status.

A figure who could casually laugh and chat with the Chief of the Shangjing Night Watchers was far beyond anything that could be measured by mere industrial influence.

Therefore, when he had overheard topics related to his family at the banquet, one could easily imagine the complexity of his emotions.

Fortunately, his subsequent bold initiative seemed to have steered the entire situation in a favorable direction.

But for things to go this well still felt somewhat unreal.

"Mister Fang is too polite; this is our honor. Worried about disturbing you, I strictly ordered the younger generation to stay at home. They weren't allowed to follow me."

Regardless of his complex emotions, the pleasantries still had to be delivered. Chen Pingxian earnestly expressed how flattered he felt and explained why he had come alone.

"Young people. It's easy to understand their feelings, though often, more haste, less speed."

Fu Qian empathized deeply with that urgency, waving his hand to indicate it was human nature.

"...Actually, coming here this time, I brought along a summary of our family's cultivation insights from over the years."

The atmosphere gradually grew so harmonious that it almost felt like a casual afternoon tea chat.

Yet, within this harmony that even Yuan Shan found astonishing, it was Chen Pingxian who seemed unable to bear it first.

Not only did he proactively bring up the main point, but he even pulled out a booklet as he spoke.

It wasn't very thick, but its great age was obvious. The claim of it being ancestral insights was no lie.

For a moment, even Fu Qian's gaze was naturally drawn to it.

...

Not bad. A cultivation clan, an ancestral secret manual... this trope felt all too familiar.

In that moment, Fu Qian sighed inwardly, seemingly feeling the profound weight of the term "martial arts world."

If it were a folded cassock instead of a booklet, wouldn't it be even more of a classic?

"Elder Chen, what is the meaning of this?"

Reveries aside, it didn't stop Fu Qian from pulling a stern face and squinting as he asked the question.

"...It's merely a summary of some experiences. If Mister Fang is interested, it would be the Chen Clan's honor."

There was a saying: imposing without being angry. This sudden shift in attitude caused Chen Pingxian's breathing to grow somewhat shallow.

He still braced himself to explain, keeping both hands raised to offer the booklet.

"I recall making it very clear that I have no intention of prying into the secrets of your family's ultimate arts. Do you think I was being insincere back then?"

But Fu Qian was not one to tolerate nonsense. He let out a near sneer and didn't spare it another glance.

"How could I? Please believe me, I absolutely did not mean that... I will put it away right now."

Seemingly finally sensing his resolve, Chen Pingxian didn't dare offer further pleasantries and tucked the booklet away in absolute trepidation.

"Then it seems I misunderstood. I've benefited greatly from our chat today. Please return."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian didn't let him off the hook easily. Though no anger could be seen on his face, he simply waved his hand, directly seeing the guest out without another word.

This...

No longer knowing what to do with himself, Chen Pingxian looked helplessly at Yuan Shan.

"Don't worry, Mister Fang won't fuss over such trivial matters. You can go back first; we still have things to discuss."

It was a pity that even this mediator seemed to feel that saying more was useless, directly signaling the end of the meeting.

...

"Your evaluation earlier was just a gift to them? In reality, you aren't that interested in their ancestral arts?"

Since the Chief of the Night Watchers, a person attending to myriad affairs daily, bluntly stated there were important matters left to discuss, Chen Pingxian unsurprisingly hadn't dared to push the issue and immediately took his leave.

Watching him quickly depart, Yuan Shan withdrew her gaze and fixed it on Fu Qian. The solemnity was gone from her face, replaced only by curiosity about what had just transpired.

"How could that be? I was genuinely interested before. It's just that I later consulted with a professional, so using them for research now holds little meaning."

Fu Qian leisurely sipped his tea. Not a trace of his earlier noble integrity remained; he had clearly just been looking for an excuse to kick the man out.

At the same time, he answered Yuan Shan's question truthfully. At the banquet, he had indeed used that method to make the Chen Clan voluntarily offer themselves up as observation samples.

But not long after that, he had run straight into Nepheli, who had already conducted detailed research, and they had thoroughly discussed the core traits displayed by the Chen Clan.

"Understood. So you asked me to call him over earlier because you felt his behavior was abnormal?"

Clearly not thinking Fu Qian had any reason to lie about such a thing, Yuan Shan gave a slight nod.

"I didn't think so before, but looking at it now, it's definitely a bit strange. Between actively seeking me out earlier and proactively offering up family secrets just now, Chen Pingxian's attitude has been far too enthusiastic. What do you think is going on?"

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