Eldritch Horror Theatre

”When did I kill anyone?”

Fu Qian asked mildly, unfazed by Tan Mingxue’s accusations.

”Still playing dumb?”

Tan Mingxue sneered.

”Everyone knows about the conflict here yesterday. You killed a transcendent with your own hands. Don’t tell me you’re trying to deny it?”

”I’m sorry, but we have jurisdiction over everything related to transcendents. Since this involves the death of a transcendent, you’ll need to come with me.”

”Oh, is that what this is about?”

Fu Qian didn’t look the least bit panicked.

”Someone did die here yesterday, but he fell from the fourth floor and died on impact.”

”You can take your time explaining that after you come back with me.”Tan Mingxue spoke coldly, a flash of murderous intent passing over her.

”My patience has limits. If you remain stubbornly incorrigible, don’t blame me for getting rough.”

”Team Leader Tan!”

Wen Li was getting a little anxious now.

”Mr. Fu is a bodyguard we legitimately hired. The conflict only happened because an assassin tried to harm me. Mr. Fu was just fulfilling his duties. How can you be so unreasonable?”

Seeing Wen Li’s distress, Tan Mingxue’s expression softened slightly.

”We only need Mr. Fu’s assistance to verify a few things. If there are no issues, he’ll be back shortly. Since this involves a severe fight and the death of a transcendent, we have to be responsible for everyone’s safety. Please understand.”

It seems this woman won’t let the matter drop until she takes me away today.

Fu Qian thought to himself.

According to the information he had looked up on the Night Watchers, they did indeed have the authority to intervene in any conflict involving transcendents.

But the incident had only happened yesterday, and right here in the Wen Family estate. For her to show up so soon—Fu Qian didn’t believe for a second that there weren’t other factors at play.

Thinking about how Eldest Young Master Ye hadn’t shown his face at all today, Fu Qian had a vague guess.

That guy still couldn’t swallow his pride!

It was highly likely that after secretly investigating his background and finding nothing, Ye simply leaked the incident to make the Night Watchers cause trouble for him.

Even if he couldn’t borrow a knife to kill, he could at least use the Night Watchers to feel out Fu Qian’s background.

As it stood, he only had two choices.

Option one: Go with Team Leader Tan, leave Eldest Miss Wen here, and rely on that group of bodyguards and Eldest Young Master Ye’s party to keep her alive for a while.

Since the Ye Family was considering a political marriage, they obviously wouldn’t want their future daughter-in-law to die.

Option two: Refuse to cooperate, activate Asura Mode, directly kill Team Leader Tan Mingxue, and then take out the endless stream of Night Watchers that followed, dealing with them one by one until no one was left to bother him while he completed his task.

That felt a bit too extreme!

Although Eldest Miss Wen’s life would likely be in danger if he left, the success rate of option two clearly wasn’t high either.

More importantly, Wen Li would probably be scared out of her mind and do something unpredictable.

In the end, Fu Qian decided to cooperate for now to feel out the local Night Watchers’ true strength.

After all, if he really had to go down the Asura route, he should at least have a clear idea of his opponents’ capabilities.

”No problem. I’ll go with you.”

Under Wen Li’s worried gaze, Fu Qian followed Tan Mingxue and drove out of the Wen Family Luxury Estate.

In the crowd, Fu Qian spotted Mister Ji, who had exchanged blows with him twice yesterday, but Eldest Young Master Ye was nowhere to be seen.

Afraid he would kill someone in a fit of rage?

Fu Qian instantly understood the reason.

That guy clearly had the guilty conscience of a thief. Worried that Fu Qian would guess he was the culprit and take him out in a desperate final act before leaving with Tan Mingxue, Ye simply hid himself away.

Come to think of it, the guy was probably watching him from some window right now.

What a cowardly yet audacious man!

The journey was quite long. The car took a meandering route, and just as Fu Qian was about to lose his patience, it finally stopped.

”After you.”

Tan Mingxue stepped out of the car first. Fu Qian followed, laying his eyes on the Night Watchers’ Base for the very first time.

This place was far more down-to-earth than he had imagined.

In stark contrast to the Wen Family’s beautifully scenic private villa, the Night Watchers’ Base was located right in the middle of a bustling downtown district.

It looked completely ordinary from the outside, though it occupied a sizable area.

It wasn’t until he followed Tan Mingxue inside that he sensed its uniqueness.

The building’s interior layout was clearly highly deliberate, with many areas constructed from special materials.

There weren’t many people walking around, but every single one of them naturally exuded a domineering aura, possessing considerable strength.

”Some other relevant personnel will be here shortly.”

Tan Mingxue led Fu Qian to an office, gestured for him to sit down, and pulled out an elegant notebook.

”Before that, I need to confirm a few simple questions with you.”

”Ask away.”

Fu Qian answered lazily as he looked around.

”Is Fu Qian your real name? Theoretically, all transcendent information must be registered with the Night Watchers, but I checked all of our records, and there’s no record of you.”

”Of course it is. As for why you don’t have my data, it’s probably because I haven’t been a transcendent for long.”

”Oh?”

Tan Mingxue rolled her eyes.

”Judging from our current information, your strength is at least Tier 6. Are you trying to tell me you went from an ordinary person to a Mid-Tier Transcendent in a matter of days?”

”Is that impossible? The other night, this old master observed the celestial bodies, felt a sudden inspiration in his heart, and attained enlightenment.”

Slam!

Tan Mingxue forcefully slammed her notebook onto the desk.

After taking a moment to calm her emotions, she picked the notebook back up.

”Do you know who you killed yesterday?”

”An assassin. And let me reiterate—I only injured him. He fell and died on his own.”

”Besides, as a professional bodyguard, I was merely fulfilling my duties.”

”Professional bodyguard.”

Tan Mingxue let out an exasperated laugh.

”A professional bodyguard with a monthly salary of a whopping twenty-five thousand? Your asking price really isn’t high, is it!”

”Small profit margins, high volume! We rely on word of mouth!”

...

”What’s going on?”

Just as Tan Mingxue was about to fly into a rage, the office door creaked open, and a bespectacled man in his thirties walked in.

”This guy is simply unreasonable. You question him.”

Tan Mingxue snorted and stood up.

”Experts always have distinct personalities!”

The bespectacled man took the notebook with a smile, flipped through it, and extended his hand toward Fu Qian to introduce himself.

”Mr. Fu, right? I’m Qi Xue.”

”Please don’t misunderstand. Troubling you to come down today is entirely because of our duties.”

”After all, a Mid Tier expert suddenly appearing in our jurisdiction is a situation we must keep under control.”

”As for the conflict, transcendents have abundant vitality. Fighting and killing is always inevitable, and it’s impossible for us to manage every little thing.”

Look at that. They were in the same line of work, but this guy’s professionalism was much better.

Fu Qian nodded.

”Sure, ask away.”

”We already have your basic information.”

The bespectacled man flipped through Tan Mingxue’s notebook.

”Then I’ll start with the question I’m most curious about. Why would an expert like you go work as a bodyguard for the Wen Family?”

”I was entrusted by someone.”

”By whom?”

The bespectacled man immediately perked up.

”No comment.”

...

After asking a few more trivial questions, the bespectacled man finally set the notebook down.

”Thank you for your cooperation. You can go now.”

”Hey!”

Tan Mingxue became anxious.

”How can you just let him go?”

”Based on our current information, Mr. Fu’s past is quite clean. The conflict was indeed within his line of duty. As for the lack of previous records, we have them now, and that’s enough.”

The bespectacled man waved his hand, signaling for Tan Mingxue to drop it.

He then turned his head to Fu Qian.

”If Mr. Fu has any questions, you can ask us as well.”

Questions?

Fu Qian thought for a moment, pointing at him and Tan Mingxue.

”Inside the Base, how many of you can fight like that?”