Eldritch Horror Theatre

This...

Faced with the question from the Mouth of Truth, Violetta answered no and easily slipped her hand free.

The sight genuinely left Fu Qian a little stunned.

Asking who was the fairest in the Snow White fairy tale should have been a freebie. He never expected the answer to actually be no.

Was it because she was too young and hadn't reached the age to trigger it?

That would make sense.

Or is it possible she isn't the real Snow White?

Fu Qian frowned down at Violetta, his mind racing.

The most crucial part was that she had actually thought it over seriously before choosing her answer. It completely defied his understanding of how little kids operated.

Violetta clearly wasn't overthinking things. With a joyful cheer, she skipped over to Fu Qian and held out her open palm.

Resting on the little girl's pale palm was a colorful piece of plastic wrapper, twisted shut at both ends.

"Is this... candy?"

Fu Qian asked.

The shape was unmistakable, and it perfectly fit the concept of a reward.

"Mhm!"

Violetta gave a firm nod and eagerly peeled back the wrapper, revealing a translucent, pale yellow cube.

It really is a sugar cube!

Fu Qian nodded, but a moment later, his frown deepened.

What is that smell?

A strange odor began wafting through the air the moment Violetta unwrapped it.

Is it durian candy?

A wave of horror washed over Fu Qian, but Violetta was already leaning in eagerly.

She held the candy under her nose and took a deep sniff, an intoxicated expression washing over her face.

Is that really necessary? You just ate more than one pastry.

Fu Qian watched in utter incomprehension as Violetta looked ready to drool right then and there.

However, at the very last second before popping it into her mouth, she stopped.

She turned her gaze to Fu Qian, a violent internal struggle seemingly playing out across her face.

"You can have it."

She finally lowered her head and offered him both the cube and the wrapper.

"I don't really like candy."

Fu Qian shook his head. It wasn't that he was afraid the thing was poisoned; he just couldn't bring himself to take something the little girl clearly cherished, even if he didn't quite understand the appeal.

"You eat it. This is candy made by Mother. It's very tasty."

Violetta gulped hard at his refusal, but she shook her head firmly.

"Mother said that good things should be shared with others."

It's actually her Mother's handiwork?

Fu Qian's interest was immediately piqued.

It's actually tied to the target!

He quickly took it and rolled it around in his palm.

The sugar cube was perfectly square and translucent. At first glance, it even looked like a crystal Die.

It didn't look bad at all, but the smell left much to be desired.

Now that it was close enough to properly smell, Fu Qian realized his earlier guess had been far too conservative. This thing reeked far worse than durian.

The strange odor washed over him in tidal waves, battering at his sanity.

It was genuinely hard to believe this was candy, but he tucked it away regardless. It might come in handy later.

Under the little girl's reluctant gaze, Fu Qian swiftly rewrapped the cube and shoved it into his pocket.

"Let's keep going."

Violetta bit her lip, watching helplessly as he put it away.

"Okay!"

Fu Qian glanced back at the Mouth of Truth beside them, ultimately deciding against sticking his own hand inside.

We already got one reward. There's no need to be greedy.

He didn't possess any plot armor, and this place was incredibly strange at every turn. Taking an unnecessary risk like that would be foolish.

Besides, what Violetta just said might have actually been a warning.

As a man with plenty of self-knowledge, Fu Qian knew full well that his own moral integrity was far looser than Pinocchio's. If he actually reached his hand inside, it wouldn't be the least bit surprising if something went wrong.

"Violetta?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you know this was candy made by your Mother?"

Fu Qian followed closely behind her as they resumed their seemingly endless descent down the Corridor, tossing the question out as they walked.

"The smell! The candy Mother makes has a very special scent. I recognized it the moment I smelled it."

"True. I've certainly never come across anything like it before."

"Right? Every time she makes it, Mother has to climb up really high trees to gather a bunch of ingredients. I always want to help, but she always tells me to wait at home..."

She has to climb trees just to make candy?

Violetta chattered on, but the more Fu Qian listened, the stranger it sounded.

But before he could ask anything else, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye—

Hmm?

Glancing back instinctively, Fu Qian realized that a splash of red had reappeared far down the Corridor, facing in their direction.

Has that Scarecrow been following us this whole time?

Could this be a haunted house setup where the staff sneaks up and taps you on the shoulder if you walk too slowly?

As a man prone to wild leaps of logic, Fu Qian's imagination immediately began running wild.

The problem was that this thing wasn't some haunted house employee. And given how it was coming and going like a ghost, there was no telling what would happen if it actually did tap him.

Amidst his thoughts, Fu Qian realized something else and quickly whipped his head back around. The brightly patterned Corridor was completely empty. Violetta was gone.

Fu Qian could have sworn he hadn't looked away for more than two seconds.

Even though there was a corner just ahead in the Corridor, he had a clear view in both directions.

Yet, she had simply vanished.

Not only that, but when he glanced over his shoulder again, the Red-Clad Scarecrow was gone, too.

There hadn't been a single sound, so she likely hadn't been attacked.

And since the mission hadn't failed yet, it meant she wasn't dead.

Still, he didn't have much time left. Getting separated in a place like this meant finding her again would be incredibly difficult.

Fu Qian paced forward down the Corridor as he thought, confirming that the path ahead was a physical hallway and not some illusion.

He couldn't spot anything wrong. So where could she have gone?

Wait...

A moment later, Fu Qian faintly realized something.

Instead of rushing ahead to chase after her, he took a few steps back, returning to the exact spot where he had last seen her.

Facing the empty Corridor, he pictured Violetta's height and slowly crouched down to her eye level.

As his perspective shifted lower, the patterns on the floor and walls underwent a noticeable change in his vision.

Under this specific visual overlap, they actually pieced together an entirely different passage, one branching off at a slight angle.

A visual misdirection? It really is impossible to guard against completely.

Fu Qian nodded in admiration and walked forward down this angled Corridor.

There had to be more than one passage at that corner. It was just that, because of the visual misdirection created by the striped patterns, a man of his height could only perceive a single path.

From Violetta's height, there was also only one path—it just happened to be completely different from his.

After walking about a dozen steps down this new path, Violetta's blue dress reappeared in his line of sight. She was standing motionless a short distance away.

And standing beside her were a pair of acquaintances—the Torrance Couple. Both of them were also standing completely still, blocking the only path forward.

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