Eldritch Horror Theatre

"The Mountain is on fire!"

Amid the cries of alarm, the deputy driving slammed on the brakes, staring up at the pillar of smoke shooting straight into the clouds.

"Looks like the house halfway up the mountain."

Muttering to himself, he subconsciously glanced back at Jones, only to see the sheriff gripping his gun tightly, his face livid.

The deputy was right. From this close, they could clearly see the thick smoke rising directly from the abandoned courtyard.

"What is going on?"

The car behind them had caught up by now. Mrs. Mary rushed out in a panic, standing there in a daze.

"We aren't sure yet."

Jones offered a soft word of comfort, then turned to look at Fu Qian.

"Do you know what's going on?"

"It's burning fast. Seems like there's more than one ignition point."

Fu Qian didn't even look back.

"It's highly likely to be arson."

...

Unexpectedly, Fu Qian was actually offering a serious analysis. Jones fell silent for a moment before pushing his door open and taking his wife's hand.

"Get in this one. We'll go take a look together."

Helping the distraught Mrs. Mary into the car, Jones signaled the deputy to change their destination and head straight up The Mountain.

Click!

At the same time, a gleaming Handcuff locked onto Fu Qian's wrist.

"Isn't this a little against protocol?"

Fu Qian glanced down at it, his expression completely unfazed.

"I don't even count as a suspect right now, do I?"

"You can sue me."

Jones's reply was just as blunt. He proceeded to cuff Fu Qian's other hand, then holstered his gun.

...

By the time the two cars reached The Mountain, quite a few vehicles were already crowding the area.

On the road behind them, a steady stream of cars was still rushing over.

Looking at the crowd piling out of the vehicles, aside from firefighting tools, many people had even brought chainsaws and axes.

Given the size of the Small Town, the odds of having a professional fire department were slim. The residents had spontaneously come to volunteer.

Right now, perhaps due to the wooden structures, the fire was spreading at an extremely rapid pace.

Looking from this vantage point, the roaring flames almost dyed half the sky red. The entire courtyard halfway up the mountain was completely engulfed in a sea of fire, and the blaze was already beginning to spread in all directions.

After years of rotting in silence, this ancient building had ushered in its final, glorious blaze.

Even the air now carried a bizarre scent.

'This was executed a little too perfectly!'

His hands cuffed, Fu Qian casually stepped out of the car, looking up at The Mountain as he marveled inwardly.

Not only could he deduce that the fire was likely arson, but he could even guess who set it.

During his earlier conversation with Ray back at the inn, he had mentioned that even if Ray burned this place to ash, he still wouldn't find the person he was looking for.

His original intent had been to hint that Ray could make a bolder move. He never expected the guy to execute it quite so literally.

He had to admit, it was genuinely a pleasant surprise.

"Ah!"

Amid Fu Qian's musings, a gasp appropriately rang out right beside him.

Turning his head, he saw Fran, who had just gotten out of the car behind them, staring dumbfoundedly at his hands.

"How did you—"

"Good question! I have no idea either."

Fu Qian raised his hands to briefly inspect them, then gestured with his chin toward Jones.

This was clearly somewhat difficult to explain. The sheriff's face grew even gloomier.

Beside him, Mrs. Mary was still somewhat limp, only managing to stay on her feet because he was supporting her.

By now, shouts were echoing all around. Many people had spontaneously organized and gotten to work, attempting to clear out a crude firebreak.

However, the ferocity of the fire was beyond imagination. In the blink of an eye, it had spread from the courtyard, threatening to swallow the entire hilltop.

"Sheriff?"

Seeing this, the deputy who had driven them wanted to step forward to help, but he subconsciously looked back to ask for instructions first.

"It's best to have them pull back."

Jones didn't react immediately; instead, it was Fu Qian who spoke up from the side.

"Listen to him."

While the deputy was still dazed, Jones, who had been observing the situation for a moment, finally gritted his teeth and spoke.

"It's too late! Even though the wind isn't blowing this way, it's spreading at an unnatural speed. It'll be dangerous for everyone if they keep going!"

"Hurry!"

Jones practically roared the last word, clearly in a foul mood.

But Fu Qian was right. In just this short amount of time, they could already feel the scorching waves of heat.

With Jones giving the order, the deputy didn't dare delay and immediately sprinted forward.

However, given the chaotic scene, by the time he and his colleagues managed to pull everyone back, the raging flames were already right in front of them.

Retreating to a safe distance, the residents stared at the mountain of fire before them and fell completely silent.

The wrath of nature was always this terrifying, easily making one feel the insignificance of mortals.

"Is anyone else still up there?"

Just then, a somewhat plump elderly man hurriedly rushed out of a newly arrived car. Seeing the scene before him, he breathed a sigh of relief before asking Jones. Judging by his tone, he seemed to be the mayor or someone of similar authority.

"There shouldn't be—"

Seeing that Jones was in no mood to speak, his deputy answered on his behalf.

However, before he could finish, gasps erupted from the crowd.

Looking toward the noise, they saw a figure slowly walking out from the thick smoke and roaring flames.

No one knew where he had emerged from. He was draped from head to toe in a heavy blanket covered in scorch marks.

Against the backdrop of the blazing sky, he looked like he had just emerged from hell. The visual impact was truly striking.

Just as the crowd was wondering if he was a man or a ghost, the figure walked a short distance away, bent down, and tossed everything covering him onto the ground, revealing his true face.

"Ray?"

Mrs. Mary screamed almost instantly.

"How could it be you?"

Beneath the blanket was none other than Ray, who had disappeared from the inn earlier.

He had actually come up The Mountain. Astonishingly, other than his hair and eyebrows being slightly singed, he didn't seem to have suffered any obvious injuries.

It was unimaginable how he had traversed that sea of fire.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Ray's expression remained deadpan. He completely ignored his aunt's cries, his eyes staring fixedly at Fu Qian.

"I understand, I understand everything now! I finally found the answer!"

"Oh? Congratulations! Though I don't really understand what it is you understand."

Instantly becoming the center of attention—with his pair of silver Handcuffs drawing countless whispers—Fu Qian wore a look of pure innocence.

At this moment, the countdown before his eyes had less than a hundred minutes remaining.

"You don't understand? Heheheh..."

A string of laughter rumbled from Ray's throat, his facial expression extremely exaggerated.

"Your flaw is that you're too arrogant..."

"Last night, you really shouldn't have told me so much."

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