Eldritch Horror Theatre

”You’re insane!”

In a room so quiet a dropped needle could be heard, Fu Qian clearly read Yuan Shan’s thoughts right off her face.

In fact, it wasn’t just her. Even Wen Li sat completely dumbfounded after hearing his idea.

”It might seem a bit brutal at first glance, but if you really think about it, it makes for a perfectly logical story.”

Fu Qian paid their reactions no mind, confidently analyzing the current situation.

”Unlike your idea, if you just do as I say, no matter how paranoid Ariel is, he’ll be forced to suspect one possibility.

”That someone took advantage of this opportunity, fishing in troubled waters to seek revenge, and pinned everything on him.

”Under those circumstances, it becomes perfectly natural for the pursuers’ attention to be drawn away. At the very least, it’ll easily buy us another day or two.”

When he finished speaking, the air remained dead silent.

It really was a more logical story.Taking a deep breath, Yuan Shan felt genuinely tempted for a split second.

But she ultimately shook her head, rejecting the devil’s whispers.

”Forget it. The Chen Clan has suffered enough, and they haven’t committed any great evils over the years.”

”You won’t do it? What a shame!”

Fu Qian wore a look of profound regret.

It went to show that although Chief Yuan commanded an entire region, she still retained a shred of conscience. She hadn’t yet achieved the highest realm of a complete moral vacuum.

From a purely practical standpoint, his idea was undoubtedly more effective, but he had merely been testing the waters to gauge Yuan Shan’s reaction.

”Actually, when you said you wanted to change the plan earlier, I thought you were going to charge straight in regardless of the consequences.”

Fu Qian remarked as he saw Yuan Shan out.

”If it weren’t for my position, I really might have...”

Yuan Shan shot him a glance and let out a faint sigh.

”A Divine Emissary is terrifying, but with enough preparation, I wouldn’t necessarily be afraid of him.”

”Unfortunately for me, acting on impulse is a luxury I can no longer afford.”

...

”Mister... Fang, you’re already a Demigod?”

After Yuan Shan left, Wen Li finally spoke up, staring at Fu Qian with a stiff expression.

She had never once doubted Fu Qian’s strength.

But even though she had placed her estimates incredibly high, she still couldn’t connect this immensely reliable, mysterious expert with a word like Demigod.

That was an entity that truly possessed divinity—a fundamental metamorphosis of life itself. And yet, he looked even younger than she did!

Though a transcendent’s appearance couldn’t be trusted.

Look at how scared the poor girl is. She even switched to a formal address.

”You could say that.”

Fu Qian shook his head with a sigh.

Truth be told, her advancement had been remarkably fast. In just the few short months since she promoted to Tier 6, she was already a bona fide Tier 5 Transcendent, a progression as smooth as cruising down a highway.

Fu Qian deduced that this might have something to do with the dissipated Eve. Compared to others, Wen Li’s talent was clearly somewhat unique.

After smoothly crossing the hurdle of Tier 6, her path forward had obviously widened into a clear highway.

It was truly fitting for the script of a daughter of destiny.

...

Fu Qian’s answer clearly left Wen Li a little confused, but she didn’t dare press him further.

”Should I excuse myself for today?”

Wen Li gulped, changing the subject.

The earlier conversation between Fu Qian and Yuan Shan had been far too explosive. It involved numerous secrets, and just listening from the sidelines had left her heart pounding.

Unlike Fu Qian, she had systematically gathered information on transcendents, so one particular word Yuan Shan mentioned struck her as especially terrifying—Divine Emissary.

That mentally unstable Ariel was actually a Tier 2 Transcendent, an existence out of legend capable of manifesting the power of a Deity!

”There’s no need. Even if you excuse yourself, it won’t lessen their suspicions one bit.”

Fu Qian shook his head, then winked at Wen Li and pointed to himself.

”Simply put, you’re already on their radar because you’ve associated with me too much.”

”That’s fine.”

Wen Li paused for a moment upon hearing that, but a smile soon surfaced on her face.

”It’s my honor.”

...

”Are you sure you want to wear this?”

After lunch, Wen Li brought Fu Qian the clothes he had asked her to prepare.

However, when he stepped out wearing the new outfit, she hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up.

”Isn’t it a bit too conspicuous?”

No one could blame her for thinking that.

At that moment, Fu Qian was wearing a long gray trench coat. The craftsmanship was exquisite, perfectly accentuating his tall, straight posture.

Coupled with the fact that he had even reverted to his original appearance, he struck a truly extraordinary figure at first glance.

Wearing a trench coat during this season wasn’t strange. The problem was the design.

At Fu Qian’s request, the coat’s entire right arm had been tailored into a wide, flowing robe sleeve. It billowed lightly whenever he walked, making it incredibly eye-catching.

Logically speaking, even if someone wanted to deliberately expose their movements, they shouldn’t make it this obvious, right?

Did wearing such bizarre clothing serve some specific purpose?

Wen Li was deeply puzzled.

”Of course there’s a reason.”

To answer her question, Fu Qian turned around and headed back into the bedroom.

A short while later, beneath Wen Li’s utterly horrified gaze, a bald old man walked out.

He was emaciated and haggard. His deeply wrinkled face didn’t have a single strand of hair, lacking both eyebrows and a beard.

The previously fitted trench coat now hung somewhat loosely on his frame.

In stark contrast, however, the previously billowing robe sleeve was now bulging outward, as if hiding an arm entirely disproportionate to the rest of his body.

Indeed, Fu Qian had once again assumed the guise of Old Man Lu Ming, having transformed his right hand into a deformed, elongated beak lined with jagged teeth.

While it couldn’t actually breathe fire like the original, that wasn’t an issue.

I’ve advanced to the Demigod Realm now, so it makes perfect sense for my grafted limb to evolve a little, doesn’t it?

Mr. Fu really did have this planned out all along.

Wen Li’s mind was filled with nothing but awe; she had absolutely no desire to know what lay beneath that sleeve.

Her intuition screamed that the appendage was far from a pretty sight.

...

Hmph, rigid, foolish humans.

And those heretics from the Origin Council!

An hour later, Fu Qian stood concealed in a patch of shadow. Wearing a pair of sunglasses, his expression radiated absolute arrogance.

Today, my Rebirth Club is reborn once more!

At that moment, Shangjing was shrouded in an unspeakably tense atmosphere.

The Chen Clan’s reputation had just skyrocketed after producing a Demigod, only for their family head to be assassinated right in the middle of the night.

And despite such a massive incident, the former family head and Demigod, Chen Xing, who had vanished days ago, still hadn’t shown his face.

Anyone with a keen sense for trouble could already detect the bizarre undercurrents surrounding the situation.

Both the Night Watchers and the Chen Clan were frantically tearing the city apart in search of the murderer.

It all felt like an exact replay of the events from a little over a month ago.

Frustrated by their fruitless search, the pursuers were now desperate enough to snatch up anyone off the streets and torture them for answers.

Therefore, a mere patch of shadow couldn’t possibly conceal Fu Qian’s presence.

He hadn’t even held his pose for half a minute before drawing someone’s attention.

Catching sight of the approaching squad out of the corner of his eye, Fu Qian turned around without batting an eyelid.

However, someone had already darted forward to block his path.