Eldritch Horror Theatre

When Yuan Shan asked her question, Huang Zhixun stared coldly at Fu Qian.

In his view, while striking on the street might have been slightly inappropriate, Fu Qian's recent actions were far harder to justify.

As long as he hammered that point home, his own behavior would count as mere recklessness at worst.

Why had he shown up there?

At Yuan Shan's question, Fu Qian looked thoughtful, appearing to struggle for an answer.

"You aren't going to try and claim that wasn't you, are you?"

Huang Zhixun sneered from the sidelines.

"Of course not! I'm a real man, and a person must bear the consequences of their own actions."

Fu Qian scoffed.

"I know. Right after the new municipal officer announced he wouldn't be attending, wasn't it?"

Huang Zhixun's tone was aggressive.

"That's right."

Fu Qian looked the picture of honesty.

"So what exactly was your purpose in going there?"

Huang Zhixun asked rapidly, leaving Fu Qian no time to think.

"Isn't it obvious? Someone asked me to monitor the new municipal officer."

Hmm?

Huang Zhixun was instantly surprised and delighted, completely unprepared for Fu Qian to openly confess.

"You're certainly honest. Who asked you to do this?"

"Who else?"

Fu Qian looked up at Yuan Shan and, under everyone's gaze, offered a meaningful smile.

"Someone from the Gulade Family."

"...What?"

In that instant, Huang Zhixun's mouth fell open, leaving him standing there like a fool.

"Someone from the Gulade Household asked you to monitor the new municipal officer?"

Before Huang Zhixun could voice his opinion, Yuan Shan spoke up, her expression pensive.

"Yeah."

Fu Qian maintained his look of absolute honesty.

"Impossible!"

Before Yuan Shan could ask anything else, Huang Zhixun practically roared.

"This guy is talking nonsense!"

"Why would I lie?"

Fu Qian frowned slightly at him.

"Besides, what makes you so sure of that?"

"He's right. Why are you so certain?"

Yuan Shan also turned to stare at him.

"I..."

Huang Zhixun was struck speechless again.

Of course he had a reason.

His own operation had been the Gulade Household's idea in the first place, and they had even provided him with plenty of intelligence.

But how could he possibly admit that here?

This bastard had been playing him for a fool the entire time!

Huang Zhixun glared at Fu Qian, grinding his teeth until they audibly creaked.

Seriously, man, I don't know what you were thinking.

In response, Fu Qian just looked at him like he was an idiot.

Confronting me on the Night Watchers' turf without a single shred of evidence?

And your ultimate goal was to drag the Night Watchers into this mess?

Who gave you that kind of courage? Have you been huffing too much hydrogen sulfide and rotted your brain?

In truth, the moment his initial strike failed to take him down, the man had already lost his chance.

Ultimately, Huang Zhixun had just been too overconfident.

He hadn't even considered the possibility of losing the fight, and had just delivered himself right to their doorstep.

Strength really is the only absolute truth!

"So what exactly did the Gulade people want you to look for when monitoring Gan Zuoxun?"

Huang Zhixun was furious, but Yuan Shan asked another question.

"Nothing much. They just wanted me to see if there was anything unusual about this municipal officer."

"I figured it wasn't a bad thing, and the pay was generous, so I accepted."

"...What exactly are those Gulade people trying to do?!"

Yuan Shan's expression changed drastically at that. She slammed a palm hard on the table.

Following her display of fury, she turned back to Fu Qian, her face completely serious.

"We won't just take your word for it. We will investigate this thoroughly, and absolutely no one will be falsely accused."

Her acting skills are pretty impressive too!

Listening to Yuan Shan's righteous delivery, Fu Qian secretly gave her a thumbs-up in his mind.

He had to admit, they were playing off each other perfectly.

This way, they not only saddled Gulade with a blame they couldn't wash off...

...but at the same time, even if out of caution Yuan Shan wasn't entirely convinced that Gan Zuoxun was clean, she now had sufficient reason to investigate him. Everything had become perfectly logical.

For Yuan Shan, it was a benefit handed right to her—there was absolutely no reason to turn it down.

"So, Councilor Huang, what do you think?"

After that performance, Yuan Shan narrowed her eyes at Huang Zhixun.

...

That sharp gaze made Huang Zhixun's heart pound in alarm. He gritted his teeth, remaining silent for a long time.

"I believe I heard that Mister Fang once operated alongside Chief Yuan?"

This guy is truly courting death!

Fu Qian sighed inwardly from the sidelines. At a time like this, he still has the delusional hope of turning the tables?

Are you underestimating Chief Yuan's leadership?

"Of course. That's no secret. Mister Fang was once a temporary contractor for my Work Unit, but that labor relationship was terminated long ago."

Yuan Shan looked strictly businesslike, heavily emphasizing her next point.

"Rest assured, we will absolutely not let that past association result in any bias during the investigation."

Is this a fucking matter of bias?!

Huang Zhixun nearly spat blood. For a moment, he was entirely speechless.

Beautiful! Such is the magic of the term 'temporary contractor'!

Fu Qian shot Yuan Shan a look of pure appreciation.

But her expression only grew more serious.

"Councilor Huang, since we've basically clarified the situation, it's time we discuss your problem."

Sure enough!

Fu Qian was not the least bit surprised by Yuan Shan aggressively demanding accountability.

Huang Zhixun's final question had exposed his intentions completely, utterly eliminating any room to maneuver. It would have been a miracle if Yuan Shan let him off the hook.

"I don't care whether your motive was as you claimed, but here in Shangjing, there are certain behaviors I absolutely will not tolerate."

Yuan Shan took a deep breath, looking the picture of impartial authority.

"You recklessly struck in front of numerous ordinary civilians, disrupting public order and even posing a lethal threat to the people around you. Do you admit to this?"

...

Huang Zhixun's face was incredibly dark.

But what Yuan Shan said was completely true; he couldn't just blatantly deny it.

Ultimately, it came down to him misjudging the strength involved. Failing to capture him directly had put him on the back foot at every subsequent turn.

"I was indeed a bit too hasty, but I harbored no malicious intent."

Left with no other choice, he could only try to justify his motives.

"I understand. I'm also inclined to believe your original intentions were good, so I don't intend to pursue this matter further."

Yuan Shan held Huang Zhixun's gaze.

"But I have one demand—starting today, I hope you will not appear in Shangjing again."

"...I am one of the Federation councilors in Shangjing."

Huang Zhixun clearly hadn't expected Yuan Shan to directly kick him out of Shangjing, and he froze in shock.

He had operated here for years; how could he possibly be willing to just walk away?

"I know, so if you ever need to come to Shangjing again in the future, remember to submit an application to me."

Yuan Shan's tone was flat and resolute, completely unmoved.

"...Fine."

Finally recognizing the cruel reality, Huang Zhixun stopped trying to struggle in vain and resentfully agreed.

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