Eldritch Horror Theatre

Clearly, Fu Qian's reaction left Taylor genuinely flattered.

Fortunately, his innate Blood Clan pride won out, allowing him to finally straighten his back and maintain his composure.

"Mister Fang, I came by today primarily to apologize for my previous rudeness."

Yet once he sat down, the cautious undertone in his voice was impossible to hide.

"Don't mention it. Those of us running a business don't take these things to heart."

South Taylor hadn't come to settle old scores. In fact, his apology sounded quite sincere. Surprised, Fu Qian naturally maintained an agreeable tone where harmony fosters wealth.

Besides, it was the truth. He had profited handsomely from their past few interactions, so why would he hold any negative feelings?

...

Fu Qian's attitude was so different from what he had expected that Taylor visibly lost a bit of his confidence.

"A couple of days ago, the family elders sought me out for a talk. It was my first time learning the details of the recent events here in Shangjing... Thank you for the help you provided our family throughout the entire incident."

Between the apologies and the thanks, Fu Qian didn't exactly doubt his sincerity, but given Brother Taylor's personality... Fu Qian frowned slightly.

"You're too polite. Did Grantham send you?"

"...Yes."

Caught off guard by the accurate guess, Taylor hesitated for a moment before admitting it.

Just as he thought. Serana must have spoken with Grantham, letting the Gulade representative in Shangjing know what she had hinted at through Taylor.

It wasn't surprising. As someone who had personally experienced the entire incident, how could Grantham fail to notice Yuan Shan's measured leniency in enforcing the law? He was bound to investigate the reason behind it.

And theoretically speaking, his knack for hearing the melody and grasping the intent—understanding Serana's hint—was indeed quite important to Gulade this time.

Grantham clearly knew what he was doing. However, having witnessed Fu Qian's low-key style, he wasn't likely to send someone over just to harass him...

"Actually, I also came to convey a decision from the family."

Sure enough, Brother Taylor had a limited vocabulary when it came to acting humble. Under Fu Qian's scrutiny, he quickly got to the main point.

"The Abyss Notes you... purchased from me earlier... The family is very pleased that we could reach an agreement, and we hope the book proves helpful to you. Also, regarding some of the Blood Clan secrets written within, it would be wonderful if you could keep them strictly confidential on our behalf."

Taylor had clearly chosen his words with great care.

So that was it. Was this a show of goodwill from Gulade? He was directly stating that the Abyss Notes belonged to him now.

Although he had never intended to return it anyway, the sincerity was still appreciated.

As for the Blood Clan secrets, he did indeed know quite a few, and some of them certainly damaged the Blood Clan's prestige.

Since he wasn't much of a gossip anyway, maintaining an appropriate level of secrecy was hardly a difficult request.

"Understood. Give my regards to Grantham."

Without any hesitation, Fu Qian nodded.

His interactions with Gulade had suddenly taken a healthy turn, fully embracing a vibe where the dust settles, melting away past animosity.

"Then I won't disturb you any longer."

Having conveyed his family's decision and found Fu Qian's attitude unexpectedly easygoing, Taylor let out a breath of relief and decided to quickly take his leave.

What shocked him next was that the notoriously abrasive Bookstore Owner actually stood up to personally see him out, walking him all the way to the door.

"Taylor?"

Still in a daze, before he could figure out what was happening, a young woman rushed over from the side and called out to him with a sob.

Already caught off guard, Taylor completely lost his composure and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Who are you?"

After examining her tear-stained face, Taylor's first reaction was sheer bafflement, and he instinctively started explaining himself to the onlookers.

"I don't know her."

Unfortunately, the young woman's tearful cry had been far too emotionally infectious. The crowd of onlookers drawn by the commotion was clearly buying none of his excuses.

That included Fu Qian, who was watching the unfolding drama with keen interest.

Noticing Fu Qian's expression, Taylor suddenly seemed to understand why the man had insisted on walking him to the door.

He had noticed her earlier. He just wanted to watch the show.

"Taylor..."

Before Taylor could express any further outrage, the young woman let out an even more sorrowful cry and lunged forward to grab his hand.

Naturally, against a prepared Mid-Tier Transcendent, she never stood a chance.

Seeing Taylor flash eight meters away to stand on guard, the young woman finally gave up. She gave an utterly heartbroken smile and murmured to herself.

"Why wasn't it you... why..."

A victim of the prowler?

While Taylor was still baffled, Fu Qian, happily enjoying the show, realized what was going on.

Even earlier, Fu Qian had noticed her peering into the bookstore, looking emotionally unstable.

Because Brother Taylor had been equally unstable, he hadn't noticed her in time and walked right into the ambush.

Fu Qian was inclined to believe Taylor's claim that he truly didn't know the woman. Combined with her bizarre lines, could she really be one of the prowler's previous victims?

Oddly enough, she didn't seem angry about the incident. Instead, she looked deeply disappointed that it hadn't been Taylor who did it.

As a legendary Blood Clan member with a handsome face, it wasn't entirely surprising for South Taylor to have fans like this.

Fu Qian clicked his tongue in marvel as he analyzed the situation. By this point, Taylor had finally caught on.

"That had nothing to do with me," Taylor declared. "The Night Watchers have already clarified the matter. It was a man named Daneta, and they've already put out a warrant for his arrest."

Taylor seemed quite experienced at handling this sort of thing. His tone was perfectly calm, firmly shutting her down and leaving no room for any lingering fantasies.

Chief Yuan was quite a ruthless figure as well. She was exceptionally smooth at pinning the blame on a dead man.

...

Taylor's approach was clearly effective. Heartbroken, the young woman reluctantly tore her gaze away from his face. Covering her face, she burst into sobs and sprinted away.

"I really was framed..."

Although he knew Fu Qian was just enjoying the show, Taylor couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed about him witnessing the whole scene.

"Even now, I can't understand why anyone would do such a thing. That Daneta is truly inexplicable!"

Taylor visibly gnashed his teeth at the mention of the name.

"The last time, he even purposely left behind claw marks. Fortunately, I was already with the Night Watchers by then, so it turned out to be a blessing in disguise."

"Anyway, he had better stay hidden. If I ever run into him, I won't spare him... I can say with absolute certainty that I have never been intimate with any human woman!"

"It's fine. There's nothing wrong with a little intimate contact."

Facing Taylor's frantic defense, Fu Qian remained entirely noncommittal and offered a helpful life hack instead.

"Just remember to use garlic."

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