Eldritch Horror Theatre

'So I'm not even a firefighter this time, but a psychologist?'

The moment the idea of reading his patient surfaced, Fu Qian grasped a different understanding of the flame's essence.

Based on his previous deductions, the flame was akin to a corruption afflicting the Unseen Hill.

If the entirety of the Unseen Hill was the physical manifestation of someone's will, did that make this a form of mental corruption?

Unfortunately, healing the sick and saving lives wasn't his strong suit.

Moreover, the sheer difficulty of the task was glaringly obvious. Setting aside the severity of the illness, as the supposed doctor, he seemed to have absolutely no way to communicate with his patient.

'Wait a minute. Who says I can't?'

The next moment, Fu Qian recalled his first time entering the Grand Hall at the Center of the Lake—a sky teeming with specters chasing and intercepting him, every escape route sealed off one by one, ultimately leaving him with a single open path.

Wasn't that solitary path a kind of message being conveyed to him?

'Is this the patient's way of conversing with me?'

It was a bit abstract, sure, but since violent methods would only exacerbate the illness, communicating with the "patient" and guiding her toward self-purification seemed to be the only viable option.

But this presented a glaring paradox: if he didn't integrate with the world, he couldn't communicate with the patient and thus couldn't guide her. Yet, if he did integrate, it meant being bound by fate—the future Yuan Fang had witnessed would inevitably become reality, and his mission would be doomed to fail.

'An airtight dilemma. Is this the legendary power of fate?'

...

Regardless, his original conclusion still stood: the notification for mission failure hadn't appeared yet, which meant there had to be a way out.

Looking on the bright side, his decision to deal with the Natives had undoubtedly been the right call—Yuan Fang was the only person capable of revealing fate to him.

"So is this also the reason the Crystal Demigod harbors such a grudge against you?"

Having made up his mind, Fu Qian looked at Akasha with a beaming smile.

"Her close friend degenerating into a criminal... I can certainly understand how she feels."

"You talk too much nonsense."

It seemed that Akasha's confession had somewhat subdued the Crystal Demigod's volatile emotions.

However, in the face of Fu Qian's commentary, her tone remained icy.

"Makes sense. One must be fully focused while dining."

Unexpectedly, Fu Qian actually nodded in agreement.

As he spoke, he made a gesture. The Old Man from earlier was just poking his head out from a corner, his body visibly trembling.

The recent blast of freezing frost had clearly taken a toll on him, ravaging him both physically and mentally.

However, it was likely that Ballard had given him special instructions; despite his terror, the man had stuck to his post and hadn't fled.

"You can serve the food now," Fu Qian said, looking at him with a pleasant tone.

The five minutes were up.

Akasha and the Crystal Demigod clearly hadn't expected Fu Qian to be so fixated on this. For a moment, neither of them knew what kind of expression to make.

Fu Qian paid them no mind. Staring at the plate the Old Man placed in front of him, he shoveled a mouthful of food into his mouth, feeling incredibly satisfied with his decision to dine here.

"Are you two not eating?"

Seeing Akasha and the Crystal Demigod completely indifferent to the delicious food before them, Fu Qian felt they were recklessly wasting heaven's gifts.

"I'm not hungry right now. Watching you eat is fine," Akasha replied, forcing a stiff smile.

"That's a real shame." Fu Qian sighed regretfully. "Pretty soon, there won't be anything left to eat."

'It can't be that much of an exaggeration, right?'

His cryptic remark left Akasha feeling rather confused.

Was he mocking the Crystal Demigod for losing control of her emotions earlier and turning the restaurant into an icebox?

But the latter had clearly reined in her aura, and the frost was rapidly dissipating. Even if their food were to freeze over, it wouldn't happen instantly.

Fu Qian, completely ignoring her confusion, hurried to stuff another mouthful of food into his mouth.

...

Given that Akasha and the Crystal Demigod were each harboring their own motives, the restaurant was plunged into an eerie silence. Apart from the sound of Fu Qian chewing, there was absolute stillness.

And just as he swallowed his second mouthful of food, a figure abruptly materialized in the only empty seat at their table.

With vacant eyes and a deathly pale face, it was none other than Chaumont, the old man they had parted ways with just a short while ago.

He was clearly not in a good mood, sporting a cold scowl the moment he appeared.

And yet, Fu Qian's two makeshift bodyguards turned a completely blind eye to his sudden arrival, entirely lost in their own thoughts.

...

"Haven't gone back yet?"

While marveling internally, Fu Qian offered Chaumont a casual greeting.

The scene unfolding before him was somewhat reminiscent of Nepheli's sudden entrance, a trick capable of blinding even those in the Demigod Realm to any anomalies.

However, having experienced both firsthand, Fu Qian knew there was a fundamental difference between the two.

At this moment, the state Akasha and the Crystal Demigod were in was more akin to their cognitive perception being overridden by an illusion; what they were seeing wasn't reality at all.

It was just like a swapped-out security tape in a heist movie—and in fact, he was currently under the exact same influence.

Chaumont was simply making Fu Qian see him sitting there; it didn't mean his physical body was actually seated at the table.

After all, this was a meticulously designed trap. Aside from Akasha and the Crystal Demigod acting as his bodyguards, there were heavy forces keeping a watchful eye from afar.

Bewitching the three of them at this table was one thing, but could Chaumont really have cast an illusion on every single sentry outside, rendering them entirely blind to his presence?

As for how he knew he wasn't the only one caught in the illusion—that Akasha and the Crystal Demigod were actually fine—the reason was quite simple. Even if they couldn't see Chaumont sitting there, wouldn't they react if they saw Fu Qian casually chatting with thin air?

The only logical explanation was that they couldn't see this happening at all.

"Mister Andil."

Fu Qian's affable greeting clearly left Chaumont with a complicated mix of emotions.

However, recognizing the urgency of the situation, the old man quickly took a deep breath and explained.

"Our business here isn't finished yet. There's no rush to leave."

"Are you here aggressively demanding accountability? To be perfectly honest, I'm innocent in all this. And besides, didn't you all manage to escape safely?"

"Of course not to that extent. That was nothing more than a minor inconvenience," Chaumont said, slowly shaking his head. "I've come to ask you for some advice. Given that this location isn't particularly convenient, how about we move somewhere else to talk?"

'Are you planning to drag me somewhere to torture a confession out of me?'

Watching Chaumont extend a polite, inviting gesture, Fu Qian scoffed inwardly. A second later, he flatly rejected the offer.

"Sorry, but I'm still waiting for lunch. Let's just talk right here."

What a joke. He still needed to observe his patient's feedback through Yuan Fang. Following this guy would cause so much delay that the mission might just fail instantly!

As for what Chaumont wanted to discuss, Fu Qian actually had a pretty good idea.

As a seasoned leader, the chances of him risking his team members' lives over some petty grudge were practically zero, especially during such a critical moment.

The only possible reason the Hunting Squad had stayed behind instead of fleeing was that, even though Logan's treatment plan had failed, they still hadn't given up hope. They were determined to continue looking for a solution.

And given his own cryptic behavior, they likely suspected he was hiding some crucial secrets.

"You don't seem to understand the precariousness of your situation..."

Having been rejected, Chaumont narrowed his eyes slightly, making absolutely no effort to mask his displeasure.

"The only reason I'm even having this conversation with you is that I didn't want to waste any materials."

Already well-acquainted with Fu Qian's terrible attitude, he didn't waste another breath. Without hesitation, he whipped out another Flame Talisman and crushed it.

Almost instantly, that familiar, suffocating sensation of spatial confinement enveloped Fu Qian's entire body.

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