Eldritch Horror Theatre

'Is this Brother Jiang En?'

To Fu Qian, neither the darkness nor the hoods mattered much.

From his perspective, he could easily tell this person was quite young, forming a stark contrast with everyone else present.

And though the young man seemed calm while making his bid, a slight hint of nervousness still leaked through.

In Fu Qian's judgment, this could naturally be explained as an absolute determination to win the materials, leading to anxiety over potential loss.

But at the same time, it could also be interpreted as caution regarding his situation, a fear of exposing his true background.

After all, even in Shangjing, gathering over a dozen Mid Tier experts at once was absolutely a massive undertaking.

Especially the host sitting up front, who felt to be roughly at Tier 4.

Whether in strength or age, the suspected Brother Jiang En seemed somewhat out of place at this gathering, making one wonder how he had even snuck in.

It wasn't exactly a rare storyline.

Of course, these were just his own conjectures. Fu Qian chose to be quietly observing changes for the time being.

"Alright."

Facing the young man's inquiry, the person acting as the host hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Good."

The young man looked relieved, signaling his willingness to accept the price.

And this Underground trade seemed rather honest. No malicious bidders appeared to drive up the price, and he easily secured the serum.

"A quick reminder. This is Shangjing, and we do not wish to stir up any trouble. If this item is discovered, explaining its origin will be very troublesome," the host warned after announcing the item belonged to the young man.

"Thank you for the reminder. I have my own ways of handling it."

The young man gave a slight nod. His tone was unfathomable, putting on a posture of having everything completely under control.

Although, in Fu Qian's eyes, this looked very much like he was puffing himself up to appear impressive.

"Heh. Good."

Seeing this, the host gave a low chuckle and said no more.

Next, he brought out several more items in succession, ranging from artifacts to materials. Compared to the first two, these were clearly much more popular and quickly found their Fated owners.

Fu Qian greatly appreciated this efficiency. After all, to him, watching the show consumed his Health Bar.

But the event was clearly not over yet. The host immediately announced that the guests could now trade freely among themselves, and the atmosphere instantly livened up.

The young man suspected to be Jiang En wasn't in a hurry to speak up, but Fu Qian sensed that he seemed to be anticipating something.

"I brought this again. Toothed Throat."

Soon it was a woman's turn to present, and this guest seemed somewhat absentminded.

She held up an item that looked like a spiked collar, except the ring of pinky-length spikes pointed inward.

"A transcendent item. The main body is the larynx of a Deep Sea Licker. Wearing it greatly increases flesh vitality. As long as it isn't a mortal wound, a good night's sleep will basically heal it."

"That isn't called increasing vitality; it's called overdrawing life."

Before she could even state her price, the first discordant voice of the night emerged.

Someone in the crowd scoffed, directly undermining her pitch.

"Yes, and this really isn't suitable for you. After all, you don't even have the energy to use your own wife right now."

The owner of the Toothed Throat clearly wasn't a pushover either. She instantly fired back with sarcasm, making it obvious that the two of them knew each other.

And this highly lethal counterattack shattered the foul-mouthed man's defenses in an instant.

He looked ready to lash out, but under the host's warning gaze, he ultimately stayed silent.

The owner of the Toothed Throat let out a similar sneer. A moment later, she lazily continued her introduction.

"The side effect is exactly what was just mentioned. Beyond that, it also makes the user somewhat irritable, so I suggest thinking it through clearly before making a decision."

"I brought the item you asked for."

However, the moment her voice fell, someone spoke up.

The young man, who had been silent for a while, actually stood up, stepped forward, and handed a box to the woman.

He had attended more than once and had come prepared.

Fu Qian silently drew his conclusion from the sidelines.

His actions clearly shocked the entire room, yet he calmly signaled for the woman to open it and check.

"It's the right item."

The woman took only one look before taking a deep breath and confirming it.

"You are aware of the side effects?"

"I am."

The young man's tone remained composed.

"Good."

Seeing this, the woman decisively shoved the item into his hands.

"You don't necessarily have to wear it on your neck. Your arm works too."

She even thoughtfully provided a small tip for its use.

"Thank you."

The young man calmly thanked her and returned to his seat, choosing to hide achievements and fame.

'That's about enough.'

Sensing how the young man, beneath his calm exterior, seemed to heave a massive sigh of relief, Fu Qian did not participate in the remaining garbage time. He quietly left the room and deactivated his Blood Crusade.

'My Health Bar isn't infinite, either.'

...

As it turned out, after he concealed himself nearby in his normal state, the trade ended not long after.

People began exiting the room one after another, which unsurprisingly included the young man who had gained quite a bountiful harvest on this trip.

The host seemed to intentionally let him leave early. The young man, who appeared entirely unafraid of the risk of being murdered for his treasures, soon disappeared into the vast night with his newly acquired loot.

Fu Qian didn't rush to chase after him. Instead, after most of the people had left, he activated his Blood Crusade once again and swiftly locked onto the host.

As the organizer of the gathering, this place was clearly his residence.

And in the next moment, Fu Qian saw him take out a dark wooden box and hand it to a guest who hadn't left yet.

That box was undoubtedly familiar. If he remembered correctly, it was the unsold Phantom Flower Sphere.

At the same time, the woman who had sold the Toothed Throat to the young man handed the young man's payment and another box to the Old Man.

Throughout the entire process, the two didn't even speak a word. After a slight nod of acknowledgment, they hurriedly left.

Seeing that soon only the Old Man was left sitting upright in deep thought, Fu Qian did not linger any longer. He turned and walked away.

'This private gathering really is a bit problematic!'

Stepping outside, Fu Qian headed straight for Brother Jiang En's residence without stopping, sighing inwardly.

The implications behind that scene just now were massive.

The guest who accepted the Phantom Flower Sphere could still be understood as someone unwilling to expose their identity, asking the host to help auction it off.

But the woman's actions were incredibly hard to explain no matter how you looked at it.

The young man's payment could barely be justified by saying the items originally belonged to the host and she was selling them on his behalf. But as for the other item, even if you were putting it up for consignment, you should at least state a price, right?

So was it possible that none of this had anything to do with consignment, and instead the participants had each contributed a little something, passing it from their Left Hand to their right hand to fake a trade?

This was Fu Qian's first reaction after witnessing that scene.

And the sole purpose of the gathering was just to let the young man obtain those two items?

The guy thought he had snuck into a high-end gathering to pick up bargains, completely unaware that a group of big shots had set up a trap just to gift him things?

'If that's true, what kind of Child of Destiny script is this?'

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