Eldritch Horror Theatre

Eldest Miss Wen's shout was full of genuine emotion, but because it lacked any real substance, it felt a bit like background noise in a TV drama.

Under normal circumstances, the conflict wouldn't just continue—it would escalate into a dazzling display of violence, accompanied by increasingly shrill screams.

But that was under normal circumstances.

As a calculating schemer, Herbert proved extremely receptive to advice. He instantly dropped his combat stance and sat right back down to enjoy the feast.

Soothed by the food, his seething rage dissipated at the speed of light.

"What's going on?"

Suddenly devoid of an opponent, Chief Yuan felt the awkward discomfort of a fight halted right at its peak.

While keeping her guard up against Fu Qian, she subconsciously spared a sliver of attention for Wen Li.

That single glance made her instantly realize something was off.

Yuan Shan could clearly sense that Wen Li's state had shifted. It was as if a switch had been flipped, and she was rapidly transforming into an entirely new form—or rather, ascending.

Realizing this, Chief Yuan's heart jolted. Her mind went into overdrive, rapidly re-examining their entire prior conversation.

That included zeroing in on an irrational shift in her own emotions right after Fu Qian smashed his cup.

"A ritual... your advancement ritual?"

A crystal-clear flash of insight hit Yuan Shan, and she asked the question before Wen Li could even speak.

"Yes... Mister Fang said smashing the cup was the signal. I am so sorry for offending you."

Looking somewhat unstable, Wen Li apologized profusely.

"Digest your gains first."

Realizing the true explanation for what had just happened, Yuan Shan gave a slight nod, gesturing for Wen Li to stay silent.

She stared at Fu Qian, who was actually still eating, as the Black Light Wheel behind her finally began to slowly recede.

"Wen Li's ritual required the cooperation of two Demigods..."

Meeting her gaze, Fu Qian rubbed his face, quickly dropping his disguise to restore his true appearance as the Bookstore Owner. He then gave a detailed explanation of Wen Li's ritual requirements.

"So that's the gist of it. Considering that if two Divine Beings were fully aware of the ritual beforehand, the success rate would be incredibly bleak. I had no choice but to have you help without knowing it."

"The requirements for this ritual..."

Yuan Shan was listening with utmost focus.

Given her good relationship with Wen Li, she had no objections to helping the girl advance.

However, the sheer extremity of the situation's rapid flip-flopping was jarring, leaving her with lingering doubts she couldn't immediately dispel.

Still, the transformation currently taking place within Wen Li was undeniable, lending a great deal of credibility to Fu Qian's explanation.

And if the ritual's requirements were truly as he described, then his stunt just now was arguably the most viable plan...

For a moment, Yuan Shan found herself believing him.

"So everything you said earlier was just complete nonsense?"

The next second, however, she glared at Fu Qian, expressing her blatant displeasure at him for wasting her emotions.

"Of course not."

Fu Qian denied it with a smile while handing her a set of utensils.

"Let's eat while we chat. Wen Li is probably going to need a little time."

This guy...

One second he was ready for a fight to the death, and the very next he was casually handing over chopsticks. The whiplash of this shift left Chief Yuan somewhat taken aback.

But after a brief hesitation, she reached out and took them.

Regardless, if Yuan Shan had to choose, she definitely preferred things to play out this way.

Fighting tooth and nail against this bastard was absolutely one of the last things she ever wanted to do.

"Like I said earlier, I have always been an honest person. For instance, this thing is indeed not Ancient Reminiscence."

Seeing this, Fu Qian looked gratified as he toyed with the orb on the table.

"And it truly has fulfilled its mission."

"Hmph!"

Yuan Shan wasn't in a hurry to retort.

In fact, after asking her previous question, she had already formed a few guesses of her own.

They were both veterans in this line of work. Using specious descriptions to misguide someone into a conclusion completely contradictory to the truth was a standard tactic—even for her.

Let alone for a shameless guy like him.

"The emotion Wen Li was guiding earlier... was it anger?"

Even as she silently roasted him in her mind, she didn't forget to analyze herself.

His timing for smashing that cup had been far too perfect, serving as an excellent cover for Wen Li's actions.

Thinking back on it now, her emotional response at the time had indeed been abnormal. The anger had even begun to cloud her judgment.

"Yeah. Wen Li and I debated it for a while, but ultimately decided that compared to happiness, anger is far more contagious."

Fu Qian confirmed her suspicion.

"And the facts prove that the results were quite excellent."

"...The ritual requires the emotion to reverberate multiple times, which means you needed to have a relatively intense feeling of anger as well."

Yuan Shan frowned slightly, eyeing Fu Qian up and down.

"Where did your anger come from?"

"Alas... fools are not worth scheming with!"

Fu Qian let out a long sigh and slammed the table in feigned fury.

"To think that despite not even having an official position, I have still been giving my utmost with total devotion for the stability of Shangjing! Yet alas, those in power are blind and incompetent, utterly incapable of telling loyalty from treason! Just because my words were a little vague, you instantly branded me a traitorous rebel and sought my death! How could my heart not seethe with righteous indignation!?"

"...This really is a stunt only you could pull off."

Seeing Fu Qian's face genuinely flush with fury as he spoke, as if he had suffered some monumental injustice, Yuan Shan fought back the urge to punch him and gave him a mental thumbs-up instead.

If anyone else had said that, she would have brushed it off as total nonsense. But with this guy... she honestly believed his anger was real.

And amid his long sigh, certain details she had overlooked earlier began to surface in her mind.

She had dealt with this guy more than enough times. The theory of him being some behind-the-scenes mastermind seemed reasonable at first glance, but upon closer inspection, a lot of it didn't hold water.

But because his timing had been so impeccable, her emotions had been completely detonated before those discrepancies even had a chance to surface.

Now that she had calmed down, Yuan Shan was seventy or eighty percent convinced that this truly was just Wen Li's ritual.

And although being used by this guy left a sour taste in her mouth, she was ultimately helping Wen Li, and a potential bloodbath had been defused into nothing.

Her emotions slightly complicated, Yuan Shan popped a piece of fish into her mouth to soothe her wounded soul.

"So, what was the point of you running around causing trouble dressed as Dayun Mingwang over the past two days?"

She immediately remembered another pressing matter.

"To share your burdens, of course. Brother Taylor has already returned home, hasn't he?"

Fu Qian had already prepared an answer to this question.

"You were the one behind that last body-snatching?"

Yuan Shan was startled once again.

"No, that was just Brother Jiang En's cultivation."

Fu Qian then recounted some of the scenes he had witnessed.

"Though, naturally, I was the one who left certain traces behind."

"To think it was actually like that..."

Yuan Shan listened, entirely engrossed.

"It seems you really don't have any prejudice against that guy Taylor. Serana wasn't the one who asked for your help, was she?"

"Of course not. My involvement with her is an entirely different story."

Fu Qian answered fluently, showing off his severed arm.

"I accepted Serana's invitation to cooperate on exploring an ancient secret."

Gasp!

A long, sharp intake of breath interrupted the conversation as Wen Li finally opened her eyes.

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