Eldritch Horror Theatre

He had to admit, Yuan Shan had truly brought a series of surprises today.

Not only was there an unexpected harvest of information regarding Nepheli, but she had actually heard of his mission's main target?

He had originally been trying to come up with an excuse to have the Night Watchers help conduct a dragnet search.

Besides, Shangjing was massive. Even if he limited the scope to transcendents, the probability of a shared name wasn't exactly zero.

For someone to be remembered by Chief Yuan, they had to be somewhat extraordinary. The chances of this person being his target were significantly higher.

"Oh? Who is it?"

Fu Qian didn't stand on ceremony, naturally following up on the topic.

"I've only heard the name. We haven't actually crossed paths."

Yuan Shan shook her head while looking at Fu Qian, her expression even stranger than when he had asked about Nepheli.

"Although the Jiang Clan isn't overly prominent, they do have some heritage. When it came to Jiang En's generation, they finally produced a highly anticipated young genius, a standout among his peers..."

Yuan Shan remembered something as she spoke.

"He was even as famous as your business partner, that little vampire Taylor."

Taylor Gulade?

Although in terms of a Blood Clan member's lifespan, calling him young wasn't much of a stretch, wasn't that guy only a Mid Tier right now?

The more Fu Qian listened, the more bizarre it sounded.

"Unfortunately, worldly affairs are hard to predict."

Yuan Shan's tone rose and fell dramatically, like a storyteller.

"Who would have thought the highly anticipated Jiang En would actually get stuck at the Mid Tier bottleneck? After years of absolutely zero progress, he wasn't just overtaken by his peers—he gradually became a laughingstock."

"Such a thing actually happened? Doesn't that mean he still hasn't reached the Mid Tier even now?"

Since Chief Yuan was so invested in the tale, Fu Qian naturally chimed in on cue.

"Absolutely not!"

Yuan Shan shook her head, her tone firm.

"Because of him, the Jiang Family has also suffered these past few years, almost reduced to the point where even their bloodline is mocked. If Jiang En ever advanced to the Mid Tier, it would be absolutely impossible to keep it a secret, whether he wanted to or not."

"Understood."

Fu Qian nodded, acknowledging Yuan Shan's judgment.

She was truly worthy of being a regional chief; she saw right through human nature.

Besides, a fallen genius and a promotion ritual... this scenario was hitting all the right notes.

But didn't that mean his target for this trip was at most a Tier 7 Peak?

Wasn't this mission a bit too much of a freebie?

"So why are you interested in him?"

Having satisfied her urge for storytelling, Yuan Shan's expression turned serious as she scrutinized Fu Qian.

"I absolutely cannot imagine how he could have offended you. You're a dignified expert of the Demigod Realm. Unless it's a matter of principle, you shouldn't lower yourself to the level of such a pitiful person."

Looking for someone just to kill them? Is my reputation really that bad?

Fu Qian felt rather indignant at this. A moment later, his face turned stern.

"How could he not have? How old is this Jiang En now?"

"...After wasting all these years, he should be twenty-four or twenty-five by now."

Yuan Shan didn't quite understand what Fu Qian was getting at.

"Twenty-four or twenty-five..."

Fu Qian repeated coldly, his expression suddenly turning arrogant.

"I, Mister Fang, am also merely twenty-five years old. Although I have achieved some minor success on the transcendent path, I have never dared to call myself a young genius. These people fish for fame and steal my prestige in the jianghu. How can you say they haven't offended me?"

...If you're fucking twenty-five, I'll smash my head into the curb right now!

Seeing Fu Qian's serious expression, Yuan Shan had genuinely believed there was some dark, hidden grudge between them. After listening with bated breath, she was completely dumbfounded.

It took her a long time to recover her senses, and when she did, she roared in her heart.

Li Weixuan hasn't even hit forty and is already poised for the Demigod Realm, earning him the title of a world-renowned genius. A twenty-five-year-old Demigod? If you're going to make up a lie, at least make it somewhat believable!

Of course, it wasn't as if demigods younger than Li Weixuan didn't exist—take her colleague Su Gao, for example. But she was clearly an anomaly and couldn't be judged by common sense.

"Shangjing is already chaotic enough right now..."

Wisely choosing not to dwell on the fishing for fame nonsense, Yuan Shan took a deep breath and stared earnestly at Fu Qian.

Chief Yuan really does understand me. She knows I'm not a vain person, so that excuse didn't convince her.

Seeing her reaction, Fu Qian sighed inwardly, understanding her underlying meaning.

"Don't worry, isn't Brother Taylor still alive and well?"

To dispel Chief Yuan's doubts, reasoning was rarely as persuasive as a concrete example.

Taylor?

Yuan Shan, who had been frowning miserably, caught a gleam of realization in her eyes upon hearing this. Her mood softened in the blink of an eye.

Indeed... speaking of giving offense, that dim-witted vampire Taylor had offended this man quite severely, yet in the end, he had only gotten his tools of the trade confiscated...

By that logic, unless Jiang En did something exceptionally outrageous, he probably wouldn't bring fatal disaster upon himself.

"Alright, as long as you know your limits."

Catching on immediately, Chief Yuan abandoned her futile preaching.

"I have to get going. If you want to know more of the finer details, you can always just ask Wen Li."

She downed the rest of her tea in one gulp and stood up.

"Although she hasn't been in Shangjing for very long either, she has a very wide social circle."

Eldest Miss Wen? Judging by past experiences, she was indeed quite skilled when it came to gossip. Chief Yuan's suggestion was genuinely worth considering.

Besides, they hadn't seen each other in days. He wondered how her practice with the Kaleidoscope was going.

Nodding, Fu Qian watched Yuan Shan leave without bringing up the ritual.

The chief was attending to myriad affairs daily. For such a trivial matter, it was better to just help share her burden directly.

...

Theoretically speaking, the difficulty of this mission genuinely wasn't high. It fit the classification of a Tier 3 Item perfectly.

The target was right there; find him and kill him, and the ritual would fail no matter what.

After seeing Yuan Shan off, Fu Qian didn't waste any time. He closed the bookstore and headed out.

Walking down the familiar streets, Fu Qian silently analyzed the current situation.

Regardless, from how things currently stood, not only was the mission target's Rank low, but even the tedious process of locating him could likely be resolved easily thanks to Yuan Shan's help.

A simple and brutal solution was now laid out right in front of him.

However, he had always been a man of mercy. Moreover, since Chief Yuan had provided so much information, returning the favor meant he probably shouldn't cause any more trouble for her right now.

In addition, his last mission had practically proven once again that more exploration meant a greater harvest of information.

And Fu Qian was still quite curious about the Greed Worm and the Carrion mentioned in the scenario briefing.

To sum it up, there was no rush to brute-force a solution.

...

"Mister Fang!"

Outside Wen Li's mansion, before Fu Qian could even announce his arrival, she came out to greet him.

"You knew I was coming?"

Her reaction was simply too fast; for a moment, even Fu Qian couldn't help but be curious.

"Chief Yuan just notified me. She said you had returned from your travels."

Eldest Miss Wen gave a slight smile and replied with a hint of embarrassment.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!