Eldritch Horror Theatre

It really was him.

Am I really that hated?

Taking in Jia Yi's reaction, Fu Qian marveled inwardly.

He was still wearing a mask, after all. To be recognized instantly from such a distance was somewhat impressive.

This was a stark departure from the man's usual preference for smoothing things over.

Upon recognizing Fu Qian as an Academy instructor, Jia Yi had chosen to report the matter straight to the Night Watchers. He clearly wanted to blow the incident out of proportion and make Fu Qian suffer the consequences.

A true leader, deeply versed in the dark arts of manipulation. How did the saying go again? Just how formidable is a scheming mind?

Given the current situation, of course, the phrase needed a slight revision: Just how formidable is a scheming mind that isn't afraid of death?

Lust rots the brain. That saying truly does not deceive me!

"What exactly is going on here?"

Lanaya had already taken her place beside them. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she glared coldly at Fu Qian.

Now this is the difference between people!

Faced with her questioning, Fu Qian sighed inwardly once more.

Though Lanaya's expression was stern, she had clearly come to bail him out. Interrupting Hu Mingyi's interrogation to let Fu Qian explain himself made her intentions obvious.

While not transcendents, the crowd in this venue was undoubtedly shrewd. Even with lust rotting their brains, they remained masters at reading the room.

Most of the onlookers could easily tell exactly what Lanaya's posturing meant.

The elderly host standing at the front had already turned as pale as chalk.

[Current objective updated. Locate and kill the Attendant of Ecstasy.]

Taking all of this in, Fu Qian was just about to speak when the mission prompt finally rang in his ears.

This objective...

Upon processing the task, he froze for two seconds.

The next moment, he looked up at the ceiling, his eyes brimming with warm tears.

Where to go, who to kill, and how many to kill.

Is there finally a proper mission?!

Those previous ones were such pure torture. Am I finally being compensated?

Judging by the details, he still needed to find the target first. Plus, the title sounded rather imposing; the target's combat power might actually be quite high.

But that didn't matter. None of it was important.

Suddenly in a fantastic mood, Fu Qian smiled at Lanaya.

"It really was self-defense!"

After reiterating his main point, he recounted the recent events once more.

"It seems this was indeed a misunderstanding."

Lanaya listened with a solemn face. Without so much as a glance at anyone else, she turned to Hu Mingyi.

"But rest assured, I will report this to the Academy upon my return and organize a hearing. Once we investigate the matter thoroughly, the relevant results will be submitted to the Night Watchers."

"Understood."

Hu Mingyi raised no objections to Lanaya's statement, agreeing immediately.

When he first received the news, contacting Lanaya right away had been for exactly this purpose.

Looking at the situation now, he was glad he had.

The man sitting before them was simply too terrifying—completely beyond anyone he could handle.

Even though Lanaya was taking the suspect away, her promise acted as an endorsement from the Academy.

He would have a perfectly valid explanation to give when he returned.

Even he had no intention of asking for the whistleblowers' opinions.

While the Night Watchers were dedicated to maintaining order and preventing transcendents from wantonly harming ordinary people, treating the two groups as complete equals was nothing but a childish fantasy.

In fact, even in the ordinary world, with the influences of money, status, and power, where was there true equality?

Having confirmed that the transcendent was not blatantly at fault, he wasn't naive enough to let this crowd argue over whether it was excessive self-defense.

And so, under the watchful gaze of the entire room, Fu Qian followed Lanaya out of this den of depravity.

From Lanaya's arrival to their departure, the entire process took less than a minute.

From beginning to end, Fu Qian never even took off his mask.

"See you around."

While passing by the long-haired man, Fu Qian even greeted him with a familiar wave.

The man flinched, awaking as if from a dream. Another wave of turbulent emotions washed over him, nearly causing his Dao heart to crumble.

People were indeed different. After today, this man would surely have a much deeper appreciation for that phrase.

...

"I can never find you on a normal day, but the moment you appear, you cause trouble!"

Stepping outside, the sky above was filled with a canopy of stars.

The Night Watchers really don't have it easy, having to run fieldwork this late into the night.

Lanaya glared at Fu Qian, her expression thoroughly displeased.

"The Disciplinary Department is very busy, you know? I looked for you several times, but you were completely off the grid."

"I went out to take on some private work,"

Fu Qian replied casually, taking off the mask.

"Private work?"

His answer clearly took Lanaya by surprise.

"But speaking of which—"

She looked Fu Qian up and down, her expression caught between shock and suspicion.

"You seem a bit different."

"Going out for experience always comes with some improvement!"

Fu Qian replied calmly.

As a genuine Demigod Realm expert, his realm now firmly suppressed hers.

Under his deliberate concealment, Lanaya would only be slightly suspicious at most. It was highly unlikely she could pinpoint his true state.

"Alright. But coming back to the topic at hand, why would you go to a place like that?"

Lanaya was only mildly doubtful. Seeing that Fu Qian was unwilling to elaborate, she brought the conversation back to the recent incident.

"I was telling the truth earlier. I wandered in by mistake."

"Hmph!"

Lanaya looked entirely unconvinced.

"You got lucky this time, you know? It just so happened that Hu Mingyi was the one who received the report. He knows me quite well, so he contacted me immediately, and I happened to be close by..."

"But it's also fortunate that you restrained yourself and didn't cause any worse consequences. Otherwise, I would have had no choice but to hand you over to the Night Watchers."

"So it really was Jia Yi who reported me, wasn't it?"

"Most likely. You noticed him too?"

Lanaya obviously hadn't had the time to confirm this with Hu Mingyi, but she had more or less guessed it.

"There aren't many people who can recognize you as an Academy instructor at a single glance."

"But I'm warning you, don't pull any acts of revenge. Regardless of his motives, he didn't cross the line."

Lanaya looked at Fu Qian with absolute seriousness.

"Don't worry. How could I be that petty?"

Fu Qian struck a reassuring pose, gesturing for her not to overthink it.

He was completely sincere about this.

As a reasonable man, Fu Qian felt that, from Jia Yi's perspective, kicking him while he was down was entirely justified.

After all, they had no friendly ties to speak of—only grudges.

"That's good. Also, did you hear what I told Hu Mingyi? You know we'll definitely have to organize a hearing over this once we get back, right?"

"I know. Perfectly reasonable."

...

Lanaya looked at Fu Qian in exasperation, completely at a loss on what to do with this guy.

But a moment later, her expression shifted, a teasing look appearing in her eyes.

"I wouldn't have guessed it. To think you'd actually be interested in such decadent pastimes."

"Imagination is the source of happiness, after all. My hobbies are quite extensive."

It was impossible to explain this kind of thing clearly. Fortunately, Fu Qian had never cared about his image anyway.

Extensive hobbies...

Hearing this, Lanaya subconsciously crossed her arms over her chest and slowly put some distance between them.

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