Eldritch Horror Theatre

With the Iron-Masked Man's demonstration fresh in his mind, Brother Hammer proved quite cooperative.

Even after the swift conclusion of their transaction, however, he remained on the ground, struggling and unable to stand.

The crossbow bolt clearly carried some special effect. Crisscrossing gashes radiated from the impact point, tearing his entire leg open so deeply that fractured bone peeked through the flesh.

Unless the man possessed some talent for limb regeneration, that leg was ruined.

As for his teammate, the man was frantically tearing at his mask, trying to free his head from its grip.

Fu Qian felt absolutely nothing toward this one-sided beatdown.

Flanged Mace in one hand and crossbow in the other, he headed back toward his rented apartment, thoroughly satisfied with his harvest.

The auction house was a true treasure trove for cultivators—the ancient sages truly had not deceived him.

...

After returning to his apartment to change and rest, giving the gathering area some time to digest what had just happened, Fu Qian followed the address on the card Tyr had given him.

The sky had darkened. Under the starlight, he could see that the layout here was far more chaotic than his own neighborhood, and the buildings were significantly more dilapidated.

It wasn't surprising. The gathering area had expanded gradually, and this was essentially its oldest district.

Anyone still operating around here, regardless of their actual strength, belonged to the most senior generation of residents.

This was probably why Ji Yicheng had spoken of Tyr that way.

To him, Tyr represented an outdated mode of production.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Fu Qian made no attempt to hide his presence and stepped right up to knock on the door.

Whether it was the incident at the auction house or this current visit, he had no intention of keeping a low profile.

In fact, he knew very well that the Siren Group's people were incredibly dedicated. They were still watching him right now.

But after that conflict, his shadows had noticeably backed off to observe from a safer distance.

The door soon opened, revealing Tyr's deeply conflicted expression.

"Looks like I found the right place."

Fu Qian offered a smile as he pulled off his mask and flashed the card in his hand.

"You got here much faster than I expected."

Tyr fell silent for a moment before giving a faint nod. His gaze then drifted to the Flanged Mace in Fu Qian's grip.

"So that incident earlier today really was you... Never mind, come on in."

Stopping himself mid-sentence, the older man pulled the door fully open and gestured for Fu Qian to enter.

"Sure."

Fu Qian didn't stand on ceremony, strolling inside with his newly acquired loot.

The house wasn't just run-down on the outside; its internal layout was exceedingly bizarre.

Tyr led him down a long, narrow corridor until they finally emerged into a slightly less claustrophobic room.

A round brown table took up almost half the floor space, and a small group was already seated around it, waiting.

As Tyr led Fu Qian inside, the group of three men and two women all looked up.

"Everyone, this is Mr. Fu, the man I just mentioned."

Tyr kept the introduction incredibly brief. Clearly, Fu Qian had already been a topic of their discussion.

"A pleasure!"

Fu Qian then greeted everyone with a smile.

At the same time, he noticed that one of the two women was none other than Nora, whom he had met earlier.

"So it really was you who killed Azim?"

She clearly still had a poor impression of him, answering his polite greeting with a cold snort.

However, when her eyes caught the weapon in his hand, she couldn't completely hide the shift in her expression.

"You mean those three brothers? Word spreads that fast around here?"

Fu Qian had no intention of denying something so trivial.

"Like you said, they're three brothers. And two of them are still alive!"

Nora snapped back irritably.

"Besides, practically everyone recognizes that thing in your hand."

"That was purely self-defense. There isn't some authority here planning to bring me to justice, is there?"

In response, Fu Qian simply lifted the mace and dropped it onto the table, letting the group get a good look at it.

"Don't worry. Lunatics like Sir William are few and far between."

Clear disgust flashed across Nora's face at the mention of the name.

"Right now, you just have a fierce reputation. People will simply go out of their way to avoid you, that's all."

She let out a heavy sigh, looking at him with complex eyes.

Azim and his brothers were despicable, but they were also cunning, brutal, and armed to the teeth with various weapons and artifacts. Even she would find them a massive headache if she ran into them alone.

Yet against this man, two of them had been nearly crippled, and Azim had not even been left with a whole corpse.

She really had misjudged him.

Tyr was right. In the transcendent world, there was no such thing as unearned luck.

"It's all just exaggerated rumors. It's not like I robbed them."

Fu Qian tapped his fingers against the mace on the table.

"Really? Forgive me, but I reserve my doubts."

Ahem!

Seeing the rest of the group growing uneasy over their conversation, Tyr cleared his throat.

"Everyone here is an old friend. We gather regularly to exchange items and information. Are you interested in joining us?"

"Of course."

Fu Qian nodded.

He had basically guessed what they were doing the moment he walked in. This world didn't have things like mustard seed pouches, and everyone here had bundles of various sizes resting next to them. Those had to be the items they brought to trade.

This group consisted of close acquaintances, and Tyr clearly commanded enough respect to organize such a gathering. It was just a shame that, in the face of the Siren Group's dimensional strike, this whole setup felt remarkably primitive and inefficient.

"Then I'll use this!"

Fu Qian casually pointed at the table.

"I have no use for it, anyway."

"Are you sure? This weapon's value isn't low. What do you want to trade it for?"

The whole group, Nora included, looked over in surprise.

"Information. I just got here, after all, and I'm not very familiar with anything."

Fu Qian grinned.

Whether it was rare materials or divine weapons, they were undoubtedly meaningless to him. He wouldn't be able to take them with him once the mission was complete. Information, on the other hand, had no such restrictions.

"In addition, I have some information I can share."

"Information about Siren?"

Someone immediately asked.

"We can talk about that in a bit."

Tyr gestured for everyone to settle down, simultaneously glancing around.

"The agreed time has passed. We won't wait for those who haven't arrived."

Why does that give the feeling of a deserted courtyard and sparse carriages?

Fu Qian could almost feel the disappointment in Tyr's heart.

"You are participating for the first time. If you want, you can speak first."

Amid his thoughts, Tyr turned to look over.

"Sure!"

Faced with Tyr's suggestion, Fu Qian did not decline.

"I want information on the Siren Group's exploration of the Underground Ruins. The payment is this weapon."

What?

The moment Fu Qian finished speaking, a bizarre silence fell over the cramped space.

Everyone, Tyr included, stared at him as if looking at an alien.

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