Eldritch Horror Theatre

'What a truly interesting existence. It seems able to conceptually distinguish between self and non-self.'

Fu Qian gazed up at the sky, making no effort to hide his curiosity about the moonlight.

Beside him, Serana had frozen completely stiff, like a stone statue.

She had considered many possibilities, but she never expected a sleight of hand like this.

Within that single, bizarre second, this guy had already used some incomprehensible method to dispel the confinement that had built up around him.

Then, to trick her into thinking he had lost the ability to resist, he had used the simplest method possible to fake the shadows on his skin.

It was simple, but absolutely not something that could be pulled off easily!

After all, the moment she realized the trap had been triggered, she had rushed over without a second of delay.

This meant that in the very first instance, he had not only identified the nature of the confinement, but also decisively abandoned any thought of escape, pivoting instantly to set a trap and formulate a complete strategy.

Even if she couldn't defeat him, she certainly wouldn't have landed in such a passive position.

Unfortunately, her deep understanding of the Ancient Reminiscence had made her overly presumptuous, causing her to lower her guard.

"There's no need to stall for time. You should be able to tell that even if we drag this out, you'll be the one unable to move first."

Amid her thoughts, she saw Fu Qian rubbing the moonlight in his hand as he cast a glance her way.

Serana didn't show much reaction to having her intentions exposed.

Seeing no hope of escape earlier, she had indeed entertained the thought of stalling, hoping the confinement would gradually build up on her opponent and give her an opening.

Because in her judgment, no matter what, Fu Qian was definitely more deeply affected by it than she was.

However, after their brief exchange, she realized he had completely seen through the mechanics of the Ancient Reminiscence. That plan was already dead in the water.

In truth, at this very moment, her body had already begun to stiffen.

Within this space, the moonlight was omnipresent, yet not a single spot of that omnipresent light was perfectly even.

Therefore, Dislocation was a constant; it only varied in intensity.

"Looks like you've figured it out. Shall we head out before we talk?"

Her subtle shift in mood had clearly failed to escape Fu Qian's eyes.

"You probably wouldn't want Yuan Shan, or anyone else for that matter, to stumble upon this scene, right?"

"...Alright."

Serana was instantly convinced.

Having reached an agreement, Fu Qian watched her with open curiosity, wanting to see how she would get them out.

The next moment, Serana took a deep breath. She slowly crouched down, dropped to one knee, and assumed a highly peculiar posture.

As she pushed her right palm upward, Fu Qian sensed a faint instability rippling through their surroundings.

'It's that simple? All she has to do is strike a pose?'

Come to think of it, the posture looked a bit like someone kneeling to beg for candy.

The instability rapidly expanded. As if drawn by an invisible magnet, the surrounding moonlight swiftly condensed, ultimately converging right into the palm of Serana's hand.

Finally, as the Bright Light faded, an eye-shaped sphere appeared in her palm.

By now, their surroundings had drastically changed.

Fu Qian found that they were no longer on the street outside The Bookstore. Instead, they were standing next to a bookshelf on the first floor, with bright sunlight streaming in through the glass doors and windows.

"Thanks."

Testing his body and finding all sense of confinement completely gone, Fu Qian nodded at Serana.

Barefoot and bare-handed, she remained in the same state as before, her body from the neck down tightly cocooned within her broad bat wings.

"Have a seat."

Fu Qian unceremoniously plopped down and offered a casual gesture.

Serana's bright red eyes locked onto Fu Qian, but she didn't react right away.

His overly confident demeanor faintly suppressed her urge to turn and run.

Primarily, this guy's earlier display had simply been too brutal. Even now, she was unwilling to recall those hideous tentacles.

Not to mention the cage those tentacles had woven, which had nearly trapped her to death.

"May I take a look?"

Seeing Serana finally, and rather reluctantly, take a seat, Fu Qian pointed at the sphere in her hand.

This transcendent item known as the Ancient Reminiscence now looked dim, cloudy, and completely lifeless—as if it really had been gouged straight out of some creature.

...

Serana hesitated for a few seconds at Fu Qian's request, but she ultimately handed the object over.

"So the way out of it was to strike that strange pose. What about activating it?"

Fu Qian toyed with the sphere in his hand.

"There's no special method. Keep it under direct moonlight for ten minutes, and it activates automatically."

"After that, anyone who approaches within a certain radius will fall into that moonlight illusion. That's why it normally needs to be stored away from light."

"That's quite convenient!"

Fu Qian offered a brief appraisal of her explanation, but inwardly, he replayed the scene of her dropping to one knee, a flicker of vigilance rising in his heart.

Others might not know, but drawing from his past experiences, Fu Qian was acutely aware that one shouldn't strike random poses out of nowhere.

"By the way, besides you, does anyone else in the Gulade Household know about the Abyss Notes?"

Midway through his thoughts, Fu Qian seamlessly changed the subject.

"As far as I know, no."

"Taylor clearly wanted to keep this matter under wraps. If I hadn't made him suffer a bit, he would've even tried to lie to me!"

'Made him suffer?'

Fu Qian clicked his tongue.

"Pardon me for being blunt, but jumping straight to torturing a young Offspring means you aren't doing a great job of nurturing the next generation, are you?"

"Hmph!"

Fu Qian's words left Serana momentarily stunned. When she finally registered what he meant, she let out a cold snort.

"If it weren't for the Notes, I couldn't care less about this sort of thing."

"To me, he's just a stranger who happens to share my surname. Nothing more."

"Time is a remarkably cruel thing. If you ever look at a certain family and see some ancient fossil from centuries ago getting along happily with the younger generation..."

"...then there's only one possibility—there's a direct or indirect exchange of interests between them."

"Makes sense."

Fu Qian looked as though he had greatly benefited from Serana's imparted life wisdom.

"In truth, you have no reason for extra worry. Although I rarely involve myself in the family's affairs, I do know they've issued strict orders regarding you."

Seeing Fu Qian's noncommittal expression, Serana continued.

"After Huang Zhixun left, word is that a notice was quickly sent out strictly forbidding anyone from provoking you anytime soon. The same goes for Gan Zuoxun's side—they've been told to halt all operations and offer full cooperation."

"Honestly, even I was a bit surprised. It's completely unlike their usual style. It's clear that someone is deeply wary of you."

"In fact, it was precisely for this reason that Taylor felt indignant and sought you out."

'So that was it.'

"I appreciate your honesty. You may go."

The next moment, Fu Qian directly showed his guest the door, displaying an extraordinary level of generosity by not pursuing her earlier actions.

"Really?"

Being let off this easily left Serana highly skeptical for a moment.

However, when she stood up, she noticed Fu Qian absentmindedly rolling the sphere around in his palm. He clearly had absolutely no intention of returning it to its original owner.

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