Eldritch Horror Theatre

This didn’t fit Yuan Shan’s character at all. It felt a bit like a Hongmen banquet.

That was Fu Qian’s first reaction upon reading Yuan Shan’s letter.

After a moment’s thought, however, he decided against putting the letter back and pretending he hadn’t seen it.

For one thing, he had practically maxed out his contributions during this Divine Emissary incident.

Even if she did mean him harm, Yuan Shan’s injuries hadn’t likely healed yet. She wouldn’t be in such a rush.

Most importantly, even if they ambushed him at the Practitioner Base, he could simply take off his mask and walk away at any time.

So, there was no harm in going to see exactly what she was up to.

...

”Mister Fang, please follow me.”

Surprisingly, after his arrival was announced, the person who came out to receive him was Yuan Shan’s secretary. What was her name again? Xiao Mingyue?He remembered that she had gone in for psychological treatment after falling victim to that sneak attack. She seemed to have recovered quite quickly.

However, the Xiao Mingyue before him stood in stark contrast to how she used to be.

Not only was her demeanor far more subdued, but she also spoke with the utmost respect, not even daring to meet Fu Qian’s eyes.

It seemed she had learned quite a lesson from this incident.

Fu Qian didn’t say much. He merely gave a noncommittal hum to play the part of a seasoned expert and let her lead the way.

”You’re much more diligent than I expected.”

Soon enough, Fu Qian saw Yuan Shan, who still looked a bit lethargic.

She was leaning lazily back in a Deck Chair, greeting Fu Qian with a smile.

”You too.”

Fu Qian didn’t stand on ceremony, sitting directly across from her.

”How’s old Logan doing?”

”He’s already been sent back to headquarters.”

Hearing Fu Qian ask about Logan, Yuan Shan’s expression dimmed.

”The situation isn’t optimistic, however. Excellency Logan’s mind is in a state of near-total collapse.”

”Right now, all they can do is keep his condition from worsening.”

Even the Night Watchers couldn’t do anything? That bunch from the Origin Council really did have some extraordinary methods!

If all else failed, the Night Watchers could just take a page out of their book and convert old Logan into a state like Ariel’s.

Although old Logan’s human form had collapsed, Fu Qian had a feeling that before Ariel turned into a Chinese room, he probably hadn’t been much better off.

”Is it that serious? I thought he’d woken up and wanted to cause trouble, and that’s why you called me over.”

”...Don’t worry. The Night Watchers aren’t that ungrateful.”

Fu Qian’s words left Yuan Shan speechless for a moment before she shook her head with a bitter smile.

”Considering the severe consequences, I’ve already given headquarters a detailed report on the entire sequence of events.”

”So they are very clear about the role you played. They even wanted me to express their gratitude.”

”The reason I called you over is for something else entirely.”

As she spoke, Yuan Shan’s smile turned peculiar.

”A colleague just arrived. After hearing what happened, she said she wanted to meet with you to learn the details.”

Before she even finished speaking, a knock sounded at the door.

Xiao Mingyue immediately went to answer it.

The door slowly opened, revealing a tall silhouette standing outside.

Dressed in black with a narrow hat, she had skin as white as snow.

It really was a small world—where in life do paths not cross!

Fu Qian rubbed his temples, letting out an inward sigh.

He had to admit, this scene unfolding before him was entirely unexpected.

That’s right, this belated helper was none other than Classmate Su Gao.

There was no longer any trace of White Porcelain on her face, and her entire aura felt completely reborn.

Obviously, she had truly lived up to his cultivation. Not only had she managed to escape smoothly, but she had also steadily advanced to the Demigod Realm.

The moment Su Gao saw Fu Qian, her gaze also shifted, flashing with a mix of surprise and confusion.

It seemed she had recognized him.

But that wasn’t strange. Even though he had changed his face, he hadn’t deliberately tried to hide anything else.

Under the watchful eyes of the three of them, she walked into the room.

She looked slightly hesitant, clearly analyzing the current situation and figuring out how to greet him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fu Qian could see Yuan Shan watching them with great interest, observing his reaction to meeting Su Gao.

She really had arranged this on purpose. Was it because he had looked up Su Gao’s file earlier?

She was in good spirits. To think she still had the leisure to test him at a time like this.

It seemed he hadn’t struck hard enough back then.

Judging by Su Gao’s expression, she had been completely unaware beforehand.

Calmly withdrawing his gaze, Fu Qian greeted Su Gao in a completely natural tone.

”Reached the Demigod Realm?”

His tone was as casual as bumping into a neighbor on a stroll and asking if they had eaten yet.

...

Yuan Shan’s reaction was relatively composed, but beside her, Xiao Mingyue stumbled and nearly face-planted.

Just what was this guy’s deal? How could he act so familiar with this newly advanced demigod?!

”Mhm.”

Hearing Fu Qian say this, Su Gao visibly relaxed and gave a gentle response.

”I still have to thank you for your help.”

”It was just a trivial effort. You mostly did it yourself.”

Fu Qian didn’t try to hide anything and admitted it directly.

”I know very well that it would have been difficult on my own.”

Su Gao smiled softly.

”If Mister Fang hadn’t been there, it really would have been dangerous this time—”

The next moment, however, her gaze suddenly froze.

What was wrong? Fu Qian followed her line of sight, only to realize she was looking at his hand.

The White Ring?

It instantly dawned on Fu Qian.

He had previously slipped the reward from this mission onto his finger.

The atmosphere suddenly turned a bit strange.

Fu Qian looked down at his new Ring.

Even though the physical abnormalities on Su Gao’s body had faded after she reached the Demigod Realm...

...she had lived as a half-doll for so many years. It was impossible for her not to react upon seeing the material on his hand.

The problem was that this thing was genuinely a bit hard to explain.

Fortunately, one of Fu Qian’s greatest strengths was his complete ignorance of the concept of embarrassment.

”Are you here on a mission?”

Under her complicated gaze, he opted to offer absolutely no explanation.

What else was he supposed to do?

Take it off and give it back to her? That would be even creepier!

...

”No, I just finished my previous assignment. I heard about what happened here while passing by, so I thought I’d come over to help.”

Su Gao averted her eyes and shook her head.

So that was it. It seemed the timing of her previous mission wasn’t too long ago.

”You two actually know each other! That’s wonderful!”

Seeing the atmosphere fall silent, Yuan Shan, whose brain had momentarily stalled, finally snapped back to reality, standing up to invite Su Gao inside to take a seat.

”If I had known, I wouldn’t have troubled Mister Fang to make a special trip here. I could have just asked Executive Yama Su to go look for you at The Bookstore.”

She didn’t actually know much about this newly advanced demigod. For Su Gao to respond to her call for help this time had been completely unexpected.

Although the situation with Ariel had concluded too quickly for Su Gao to intervene in time, the moment she heard her introduce herself, Yuan Shan had immediately remembered something else—Fu Qian had specifically looked up this woman’s file before.

Struck by a sudden whim, she decided to arrange a meeting between the two of them to take the opportunity to observe Fu Qian’s reaction.

It was originally just a convenient move. Who would have thought these two actually seemed to share quite a history?

And that conversation they just had—it was as if no one else was even in the room!

”You have a bookstore?”

To Yuan Shan’s surprise, Su Gao didn’t move an inch upon hearing her words. Instead, her eyes lit up as she looked at Fu Qian.

”Yes.”

”May I go take a look?”