Eldritch Horror Theatre

"This..."

Su Gao's words left the group exchanging bewildered glances in silence.

Huang Leji choked back the rest of his sentence, stewing in his own mounting frustration.

"He claimed he had an agreement with you to split up."

"That's right. We're operating separately to hunt down Ill Omen."

Who was she trying to fool?

Any fool could see the two hadn't crossed paths in a long time. They barely even seemed to know each other. How could they possibly have a joint pursuit plan?

This guy surnamed Fu was glaringly suspicious, yet Su Gao had stubbornly vouched for him without a second thought.

"Mr. Fu even suspects that Ill Omen is hiding right here in our Huang Family!" Huang Leji said coldly.

Su Gao's gaze finally sharpened as she swept her eyes across the crowd.

"If Mr. Fu believes that, he naturally has his reasons."

...

Huang Leji was left completely speechless.

Whatever the reason, Su Gao was clearly protecting this kid unconditionally.

It looked as though even if Fu Qian accused one of them of being Ill Omen, Executive Yama Su would simply draw her sword and hack them down.

Unwilling to drop the matter so easily, Huang Leji redirected his offensive at Fu Qian.

"Mr. Fu, how exactly did you deduce that Ill Omen's target was a member of the Huang Clan? How did you pinpoint it right down to Sixth Uncle?"

"Professional expertise. Why else would I be an operations advisor?"

Fu Qian grinned at the patriarch's questioning, then followed up with a sentence that made everyone in the room break out in a cold sweat.

"Not only that, I can also confirm that Ill Omen's next target is another Huang Clansman!"

...

Another Huang family member?

A wave of panic instantly rippled through the crowd.

As a prestigious aristocratic clan long accustomed to peace, they had never once imagined that Ill Omen would pose a genuine threat to them.

Unfortunately, the gruesome scene before them had thoroughly shattered that false sense of security. Fu Qian's warning now hung over them, bringing an almost tangible terror.

"Mr. Fu..."

Huang Leji froze in stunned silence. He took a deep breath and was just about to speak—

"Look at the time!"

But Fu Qian suddenly stood up, gave Su Gao a nod, and strode straight toward the exit, completely ignoring the ring of people blocking his path.

Su Gao followed closely behind him without a word.

The people in his way subconsciously stepped back. She was a Night Watcher, after all—were they really supposed to block them by force?

Everyone present knew exactly what it meant to raise a hand against a Night Watcher. More than a few powerful families had been wiped from history for making that exact mistake.

The crowd automatically cleared a path, watching helplessly as the two of them walked away.

"Father, what should we do now?"

After a long, dispirited silence, a pale-faced Huang Jianyuan stepped up to his father.

Huang Leji's expression was incredibly grim. It was obvious they couldn't do anything to this stranger of unknown origins today.

At the same time, his instincts refused to believe a word Fu Qian had said.

But what he wanted to believe was a separate matter; the brutal murder scene right in front of them was undeniably real.

If they let their guard down and something like this really happened again...

"Send out word and recall everyone. Lock down the Huang Manor. Until further notice, no one is allowed to leave without my approval," Huang Leji ordered through gritted teeth.

...

"I never had the chance to thank you properly for last time."

Once they had left the Huang Manor, Su Gao stopped, turned to Fu Qian, and spoke with utter sincerity.

'You already did,' Fu Qian thought with an inward chuckle. He waved off the rest of her gratitude and handed her a piece of paper.

It was one of the documents the Huang Family had provided earlier. The section detailing Huang Yuanchang had been highlighted.

"It's a bit complicated to explain, but I'm fairly certain this is Ill Omen's true identity."

"Hmm?"

Su Gao's eyes lit up. She took the document and studied it carefully.

Ever since taking this assignment, she had relentlessly tracked Ill Omen. She'd had a few close calls, but the killer had slipped through her fingers every time, leaving her with painfully little actionable intel.

Yet Mr. Fu had managed to pinpoint his identity just like that!

"After killing that man in the Huang Family estate, this guy fled the scene. He should be laying low somewhere in West Plain City right now, hunting for his next target.

"Another thing I'm sure of—after that murder at the estate, his string of ritualistic sacrifices and mutilations is nearing its end.

"He only needs a handful of sacrifices to accomplish his goal, which is highly likely to trigger some sort of large-scale disaster.

"Simply put, we're running out of time."

Fu Qian rapidly laid out his findings. Su Gao didn't interrupt, listening with absolute focus.

"But we still have a shot."

"Ill Omen's movements are secretive, sure, but his pattern is crystal clear: he exclusively targets transcendents.

"I intentionally claimed his next target would be another Huang Clansman just to spook them.

"The number of transcendents in West Plain is already low. Once the Huang Family locks down their estate, Ill Omen's pool of targets will shrink even further. That's why we're going to split up."

Drawing from memory, Fu Qian quickly sketched out a rough map on the back of the paper.

"Two sectors. We'll each take a route and start sweeping."

"By my estimates, if he's targeting transcendents below the Mid Tier, he needs at least five more sacrifices to complete his ritual. If we can pin down his location before he finishes, we can stop him."

"Understood."

Su Gao agreed without a moment's hesitation. She raised no objections to Fu Qian's plan, nor did she ask how he knew all this.

She was never one to place her trust in others easily, but their previous encounters had forged an almost blind faith in him.

Back then, this mysterious man who appeared out of nowhere and called himself an expert had relied on uncanny intuition to guide their group through an impossible mission, giving meaning to the slaughter she had been forced to commit.

Without him, she would likely never have been able to face the memories of that bloodbath.

"Take care of yourself, Mr. Fu!"

Accepting the map he had sketched, Su Gao gave a deep bow before turning and leaving without hesitation.

'It begins.'

Watching her disappear into the distance, Fu Qian wasted no more time and sprang into action.

Now, within the confines of West Plain City, Ill Omen was dealing with two hunters at once.

Truth be told, Fu Qian was almost certain Su Gao wouldn't find him.

If his theory about Ill Omen receiving some form of supernatural protection was correct, then Su Gao was undoubtedly the much larger threat.

Whatever force was shielding the killer would prioritize her, guiding him to steer clear of her search at all costs.

The sole purpose of sending Su Gao out on the hunt was to have her act as a decoy—distracting that protection so that he, the slightly weaker threat, would have a higher chance of finding their prey.

Some might ask why he hadn't just told the Huang Family the truth and enlisted their help in the manhunt to further squeeze Ill Omen's operating space.

The reason was painfully simple: Fu Qian didn't believe they posed any real threat to Ill Omen. If anything, their involvement would only complicate the situation.

It was far better to just spook them into turtling up inside their own estate.

You couldn't win a game if your teammates kept feeding the enemy!

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