Eldritch Horror Theatre

'It seems this Ms. Li Min really did have another purpose in putting on such a show.'

Fu Qian sized up the vigilant Rolden, thinking to himself.

Rachel likely didn't even know that the person inside this Tower Building wasn't Li Min, but Rolden, a Mid-Tier Transcendent.

This situation was undoubtedly worth pondering.

For Li Min to create such a massive spectacle only to not even be here—there were only two possibilities.

Either this was just another smokescreen and she was hiding elsewhere, manipulating the situation from the shadows to maximize her own safety.

Or she never intended to complete the ritual in the first place, tricking everyone into coming here while she ran off to do something else entirely.

In Fu Qian's view, the latter was significantly more likely.

He even had a vague guess as to where Li Min had gone.

Rolden was clearly on high alert. When Fu Qian didn't answer, he couldn't help but ask again, subconsciously glancing outside.

It looked like the moment anything went wrong, this guy would decide the wind is tight, pull back, and bolt.

"Well... there are a few things."

After Rolden asked twice, Fu Qian finally spoke, his tone completely unhurried.

"What exactly is the problem?"

Fu Qian's demeanor practically begged for a beating, causing Rolden to furrow his brow.

As the one who had monitored Fu Qian's ascension to the Transcendent Tier, Rolden naturally felt a sense of psychological superiority over him, even harboring a faint desire to toy with him.

Yet over the past few days, this guy hadn't shown the slightest bit of fear upon entering this new world. He walked around acting unfathomable wherever he went, making others feel incredibly awkward.

So, right now, Fu Qian's expression filled him with an inexplicable sense of disgust.

"It's simple. We made too much noise."

Fu Qian pointed outside, speaking with utmost honesty.

"We drew the attention of the Night Watchers. You know how sensitive they've been lately."

"There's reason to believe this place will be subjected to a carpet search before long."

"After I noticed the situation, I informed Li Min. She thought it over and decided to abandon this ritual, so she sent me to tell you to evacuate first."

"The Night Watchers found us?"

Fu Qian's words undoubtedly gave Rolden a fright. He subconsciously tensed up, ready to run.

But a moment later, he frowned and glanced out the window.

"Li Min said I should leave first?"

'Sure enough, Li Min managed to trick both of them at once.'

Following Rolden's line of sight, Fu Qian nodded silently to himself.

The man was looking precisely toward Rachel's location.

And from this angle, one could perfectly see the illusion of Li Min standing by the window.

In the current situation, the version of events Li Min had given Rachel was clearly a mix of truth and lies. She had Rachel maintain the smokescreen while her true body hid in this Tower Building, secretly orchestrating everything.

At the same time, she tricked Rolden into staying here, using Rachel's illusion to convince him that she was actually in the other Tower Building.

There was a very clever trick to this.

As a Mid-Tier Transcendent, Rolden was significantly stronger than Rachel. He could sense some of the auras in the other Tower Building, making him even more convinced of Li Min's presence there.

Meanwhile, Rachel obviously couldn't sense what was happening on this side, so she wouldn't realize that Li Min wasn't actually inside.

As for her motives, Fu Qian believed it was partly to hide her true whereabouts and partly to deceive Rolden.

Judging by Rolden's past actions, Fu Qian didn't consider him a particularly eager helper.

It was highly likely that, much like Teresa, he had been secretly orchestrating various rituals to boost his own strength.

Whether it was Fu Qian or Li Min, they were nothing more than useful tools to him.

Under these circumstances, his decision to come and help probably wasn't driven by pure motives.

Li Min was an outsider who had only been in Percy for a few days. Even with Rachel's introduction, Rolden might still have come with the intention of observing and monitoring her.

Because of this, Rolden was absolutely unwilling to take any risks in this ritual. The slightest sign of trouble would likely send him packing.

By doing things this way, the final result was that Rolden mistakenly believed everything was under control, all while actually guarding the most dangerous position.

"Yeah."

Facing Rolden's question, Fu Qian put on a look of pure innocence.

"Li Min said you should leave first. It's safer if we evacuate in groups. She'll stick around a bit longer to draw their attention."

In reality, Fu Qian was doing something quite similar himself.

The moment he confirmed Rolden was inside, he had decided on pushing the boat along with the current.

Often, the truth was actually the best way to deceive someone.

Rolden was undoubtedly incredibly suspicious. He didn't trust Fu Qian or Li Min in the slightest.

If Fu Qian had claimed everything was peaceful, this guy might have immediately bolted.

But the moment Fu Qian told him to leave first, he actually hesitated.

"Forget it. You guys are weaker, so I'll stay behind."

Rolden narrowed his eyes, ultimately deciding not to move.

"If anything unexpected happens, it'll be easier for me to escape."

'Just as I thought. He's afraid of becoming cannon fodder and drawing enemy fire!'

Fu Qian knew Rolden's mindset like the back of his hand.

His little speech just now was designed precisely to trigger this exact fear.

He wanted Rolden to worry that Li Min was intentionally making him leave first because the Night Watchers had already set up an inescapable trap outside.

That way, he would draw their attention right from the start, allowing the others to take the opportunity to escape.

Since it was a perfectly logical theory, Rolden clearly didn't want to take the risk without confirming the situation. Thus, he was suddenly in no rush to leave.

From his perspective, there wasn't anything unreasonable about this choice.

After all, there was a major underlying premise here: his strength was noticeably higher than the rest of theirs.

Even if Fu Qian wasn't lying and Rolden missed the optimal window to escape, he could just use the others to draw the Night Watchers' attention when they arrived, allowing him to easily slip away.

It had to be said, some people's mindsets were quite easy to figure out.

"Since that's the case, I'll head out first."

In the face of Rolden's noble sacrifice, Fu Qian's reaction was nothing short of shameless.

He didn't stand on ceremony with Rolden at all, immediately preparing to take his spot.

...

Seeing this, Rolden felt another surge of uncertainty, wondering if he was overthinking things.

Yet, the moment he saw Fu Qian's highly punchable face, he instantly calmed down.

This guy was incredibly cunning. Who knew if he was deliberately acting like this just to mislead him?

In the end, he decided to trust his own judgment.

But even so, when Fu Qian turned and left without another word, Rolden's temples still throbbed. He felt his Dao heart wavering.

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