Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Prepared for what?"

Fu Qian took a seat with natural ease, his tone like two old friends catching up.

"I've applied for leave. I can go with you to Ye Island at any time."

Dressed in her eternally unchanging outfit, Su Gao gave a gentle nod, her tone making it sound like a matter of course.

'So it was actually for this.'

"Are you troubled by something?"

Before Fu Qian could say anything, Su Gao blinked as she studied him.

'She could even see that?'

Although he hadn't deliberately tried to hide it, this demigod had clearly stabilized her state quite well.

"It is nothing more than a few wisps of Clamor."

Unbothered that she had seen through him, Fu Qian spoke in a calm, flat tone that radiated an air of absolute mastery.

"But although I do have plans to go there, the time isn't set yet."

"It doesn't matter. I applied for a very long vacation."

Waiting quietly for Fu Qian to finish, Su Gao smiled and shook her head.

"Alright."

Fu Qian was straightforward and didn't stand on ceremony any longer.

"Have you been here long?"

"I arrived last night."

So she had sat here all night.

And looking at her, it seemed she wouldn't have minded sitting there indefinitely if he hadn't shown up.

Fu Qian stood up and made an inviting gesture.

"Come in, then. The shop is open for business."

...

"You're finally willing to open for—"

As Yuan Shan walked into the bookstore, she was clearly startled by the sight before her, and her exclamation came to an abrupt halt.

No matter how you looked at it, the sight of two demigods sitting across a counter reading books in a small street shop truly challenged the imagination.

Moreover, hadn't this newly advanced demigod just returned to report back? Why had she hurried back here so quickly?

For a moment, Yuan Shan simply didn't know what to say.

After inviting Su Gao inside, Fu Qian had specifically gone up to the second floor and found a sofa chair as a grand gesture of welcome, tossing it outside the counter for her to use as she pleased.

The bookstore's floor space wasn't large to begin with, and with the chair taking up room, it instantly became even more cramped. There was even a section where one had to turn sideways just to squeeze past.

A firm believer in making guests feel at home, Fu Qian naturally didn't find anything inappropriate about this setup.

And as for his arrangements, Su Gao certainly wouldn't voice any objections.

Seeing virtue and seeking to equal it, she even mirrored Fu Qian's behavior after sitting down, pulling out a book to read and joining him in treating the customers as if they didn't exist.

Perfectly content and at ease, she merely gave Yuan Shan a slight nod when the woman walked through the door, paying her no further attention.

"Heaven Rewards Diligence."

As the host, Fu Qian looked up from behind the counter and finally greeted Yuan Shan, rescuing the Chief of the Night Watchers from her awkwardness.

After just a few days unseen, Chief Yuan's elegance had only grown. She wore a graceful light green dress that formed a stark contrast with Su Gao beside her.

"Is Chief Yuan here to patronize my humble shop?"

"Forget it, I don't like studying..."

Faced with Fu Qian's question, Yuan Shan decisively refused, her brow furrowing slightly as she looked at his face.

She could clearly sense that there was something a bit off about Fu Qian, but she couldn't articulate exactly what it was.

"Just a few days ago, I received news possibly regarding Ariel."

To avoid being derailed by Fu Qian's tendency to crack jokes and banter, she swiftly changed the subject, directly divulging top-secret information from the Night Watchers.

After all, among the three people present, Su Gao was not only one of their own, but she had also lent a hand in passing last time. There was no need for secrecy.

"Oh, where?"

Fu Qian nodded, asking with curiosity.

"Dunis. I didn't expect him to run off to a place so far away!"

Yuan Shan sighed as she spoke.

"The Clamor Festival?"

Fu Qian asked, looking thoughtful.

"You even know about that?"

This time, it was Yuan Shan who was surprised.

In her imagination, Fu Qian shouldn't have had much interest in such worldly festivals.

"Look, it talks about it right here."

Fu Qian spread the book in his hand open on the counter and flipped back a few pages.

Given this mission, the accounts he'd heard from Veil had sparked his interest in the myths and legends circulated across various regions.

Seeing a relevant book in the shop, he had picked it up to browse, and it just so happened to be perfectly timed to give someone a scare.

'...Isn't this a little too much of a coincidence?'

Forced to glance at the contents of the book, Chief Yuan looked up, stared at Fu Qian, and fell speechless once again.

It felt as if the world was operating a bit abnormally!

Unfortunately, she could never read anything from Fu Qian's face, so she quickly gave up observing him.

"It is indeed the Clamor Festival. I haven't received a highly detailed investigation report yet, but it's clear the Origin Council is making a big move this time."

Shaking her head, Yuan Shan spoke rapidly.

"Given that Ariel had previously appeared in Shangjing, the person in charge over there contacted me immediately, asking for my help to confirm his identity."

"So what exactly did that Divine Emissary do?"

"His specific goal is still unknown, but it was clearly related to the carnival. They say over 100,000 people nearly turned into idiots."

Yuan Shan sighed.

"But the strange thing is, it seems an unknown individual was secretly sabotaging their operation. As a result, the situation was resolved before the Night Watchers practically even had to lift a finger."

"The person in charge over there, Chelfus, suspects this faction might belong to another organization—the Rebirth Club."

"Rumor has it that during the previous loss of control incident at the Ring Archipelago, one of their leaders, Lu Ming, not only survived but even advanced to a demigod, and has subsequently been active across multiple regions."

"That sounds reasonable enough. The Origin Council and the Rebirth Club—peers in the same industry naturally harbor naked hatred for one another!"

Fu Qian stroked his chin and offered his commentary.

Chief Yuan was truly someone who understood tact.

Her words just now had actually revealed a key point: other than her, no one inside the Night Watchers knew that he occasionally assumed the identity of Lu Ming.

Otherwise, for an incident of such magnitude, the relevant investigations would have likely already traced back to him.

It was a kind of tacit understanding. He had previously assumed the identity of Old Man Lu to help her, and now she was trying to tell him that she had never disclosed this to anyone else and had been keeping his secret all along.

Dealing with polite people truly saved a lot of time and effort.

In fact, to some extent, this incident actually cleared him of suspicion.

He had just confirmed that only a few short days had passed here since the Clamor Festival.

And he certainly hadn't been inactive in Shangjing during this time. Just yesterday, Eldest Miss Wen had even been here tidying up his bookstore.

A genuine, space-time level alibi.

It was impossible for Chief Yuan not to find this out, so she would have to accept a certain fact—aside from himself, the real Old Man Lu was also still alive.

This was undoubtedly a wonderful thing, providing a great deal of maneuvering room for his future operations.

"Perhaps..."

Yuan Shan clearly didn't want to tangle with such complicated matters any longer.

"So, has there been any reaction from Gulade?"

Seeing this, Fu Qian closed his book, leaned back, and asked.

It wasn't as if she had come specifically to report on her work to him.

"There has."

Seemingly not expecting Fu Qian to actually take the initiative to ask, Yuan Shan felt unexpectedly flattered for a moment and gave a crisp nod.

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