Eldritch Horror Theatre

Broken walls and ruined foundations lay blanketed in moss and dark dust.

Within the dilapidated Ruins, a deep but mild musty scent permeated the air.

But compared to a beautiful young girl gazing at him with gentle admiration, it was hardly the most captivating thing around.

Of course, that was only from a mortal's perspective.

Fu Qian glanced ahead, noticing Guan Jingzheng and the female tutor, Chang, looking back at him in unison. They were clearly on edge.

It was only human nature.

Logically speaking, Ji Liushuang's attitude wasn't hard to understand.

For a young person devoted to the sword path, having a Demigod Realm expert right in front of her made nervousness and awe inevitable.

Under these circumstances, anything he said would carry immense weight with her.

Then again, even after Li Weixuan had explicitly stated that the Kamakura Family's sword path was unorthodox, these two still chose to tag along. Was their primary mission actually just babysitting?

"It was merely a broad summary."

Facing Ji Liushuang's natural yet deliberate attempt at conversation, Fu Qian—in his capacity as the Sword Demon—softened his tone considerably, much like Cass.

"It might sound perfectly reasonable, but without the foundation of meticulous personal comprehension to support it, merely hearing and memorizing it won't be of much help."

Hmm...

Seemingly not expecting him to say that, Ji Liushuang hesitated briefly in the face of her senior's guidance before giving a solemn nod.

"I understand what you mean. Knowing something and truly comprehending it are two completely different things."

"But I still must thank you, because it remains incredibly helpful to me."

Her tone was absolutely certain.

"I might not be able to experience it firsthand right now, but this broad summary at least points me in the right direction. That is an incredibly important thing."

She was truly worthy of being the genius the Sword Comprehension Institute prized so highly; her comprehension skills were the real deal.

"You... are quite impressive."

Although he still held some reservations about her motives for approaching him, Fu Qian didn't hide his appreciation for her words.

What he had said just now was mostly nonsense, but it boiled down to a general philosophical principle.

The fact that Ji Liushuang could articulate such a perspective proved she hadn't just trained her brain into pure muscle.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Guan Jingzheng and Chang staring in visible astonishment.

After all, in their eyes, he was arrogant and treated others like dirt. They had initially been worried he would be a terrible influence on Ji Liushuang.

To hear him openly admit that his own words held little meaning was truly unexpected.

At the same time, Ji Liushuang's response proved she wasn't blindly worshipping him, but holding fast to her own judgment. That was also a good thing.

However, this also meant the two of them were actually having a pleasant conversation. Ji Liushuang clearly intended to continue seeking his advice—which almost made the tutors wish he had just rudely chased her away instead!

Their relief lasted all of half a second before Guan Jingzheng and Chang tensed up all over again.

"In your opinion, what was this place originally?"

Ji Liushuang didn't seem to overthink it as she walked naturally by Fu Qian's side, chatting in a low voice.

"Although the Kamakura Family refers to themselves as Tombkeepers, I can't help but feel this doesn't look much like a tomb."

"It might have been a temple of some sort once," Fu Qian replied casually. "But given its current state, referring to it broadly as a tomb isn't really inaccurate."

He wasn't just talking nonsense. As they walked from the entrance, despite it being carved into the mountain's interior, they could still make out the faint outlines of porticos, grand halls, and wall shrines. Further in lay a labyrinth of long corridors and meditation rooms.

Fu Qian's group had just emerged from one of those very corridors.

No matter how you looked at it, it didn't resemble the layout of a tomb.

However, for Ruins that were thousands of years old, it was likely a site of worship from the Mythological Era. Following the cataclysmic Long Night, uniformly classifying the remnants of such ancient faiths as tombs was perfectly reasonable.

Hmm.

Ji Liushuang seemed to understand his point and gave a slight nod of agreement.

Their discussion didn't attract much attention, as similar conversations were happening all around them.

The Academy tutors were clearly fascinated by everything before them. At a glance, they looked remarkably like an elderly tour group.

It got to the point where Kamakura Ki and the others leading the way had no choice but to stop and wait.

The Sacred Land their clan had guarded for centuries now looked like a ticketed tourist attraction. It was a bizarre feeling.

But since they were the ones begging for help, they didn't dare speak up to hurry the guests along.

"Alright, take us to the room where the body was found first."

The awkward pause lasted for a few minutes before Ni Huayuan finally broke the silence.

It was clear that despite riding high on momentum, even he didn't dare completely stamp out his colleagues' curiosity right from the start.

"Understood."

Looking as if he had just been granted amnesty, Kamakura Ki let out a long breath and resumed leading the way.

It was obvious that Kamakura Keiji had carefully briefed him on the exact location before they entered.

He didn't hesitate in his choice of path.

Aside from Kamakura Keiji, there were actually three other people in the group who knew the route. But considering they were either Demigod Realm experts or VIPs from the Academy, no one dared to ask them to play tour guide.

The Academy members were visibly disappointed at having to get down to business so soon, but out of consideration for the grieving family, they kept their complaints to themselves.

"It's right here."

Following Kamakura Ki, the group made their way deeper until they finally stopped before a set of doors.

Judging by their position, they were already deep within the Ruins.

And just as Kamakura Ki had claimed, they hadn't encountered anything particularly unusual along the way. It simply looked like an abandoned wasteland.

...

"This is the place."

Meeting Ni Huayuan's gaze, Cass gave an emotionless nod.

"Let's go inside and take a look."

Only then did Ni Huayuan step forward.

When Fu Qian's group had left last time, the stone doors were left slightly ajar, so they were easily pushed open now.

With Ni Huayuan taking the lead, the exploration team filed inside, and the empty hidden chamber was once again revealed.

The bloodstains on the floor proved that Kamakura Ki hadn't brought them to the wrong place.

The only shame was just how barren the room was.

A single glance was enough to confirm there was nowhere for anything to hide.

Once again, Ni Huayuan became the center of attention as everyone waited for his assessment.

"Do you know why the deceased would choose this specific place?"

He wasn't overly rigid in his thinking. After a brief pause, he opted to turn to the locals for help.

"My uncle did frequent the Ruins quite often while he was alive, but he rarely allowed us to accompany him."

Unfortunately, the local guide proved to be of little help. Kamakura Ki recalled the past with a bewildered expression.

"This is my first time entering this chamber as well, and it doesn't appear to be particularly special."

...

Ni Huayuan was visibly dissatisfied with that answer.

He crouched down to feel the blood on the floor, narrowing his eyes as he surveyed the room.

The next moment, his gaze locked onto the shattered statue at the far end of the chamber.

"Why do I get the feeling that there actually is something special here?"

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