Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Something else?”

Fu Qian glanced at Wen Li, gesturing for her to continue.

”I received word that someone is quietly investigating a bookstore owner named Fang Xun.”

She didn’t beat around the bush, explaining in all seriousness.

”When I heard about it, I worried there might be something fishy going on, so I wanted to come let you know. Luckily, you were here today.”

So that was it.

Hearing Wen Li’s news, Fu Qian looked thoughtful.

For them to know that name and identity, it was likely because of his questioning at the hospital.

Furthermore, since he hadn’t deliberately disguised his appearance back then, tracking him to the bookstore would be quite easy.

Fu Qian was actually well prepared for this.But for them to come knocking so impatiently—these people really were reacting fiercely.

He wondered if all of this was within Gan Zuoxun’s expectations.

The man seemed to be using himself as bait to fish out potential threats.

Just like back at the hospital, the hyper-sensitive reaction from Daria and her group made it seem as if they were terrified people wouldn’t find out about Gan Zuoxun’s condition.

Looking at it that way, Gan Zuoxun’s probing made perfect sense.

On the other hand, for Wen Li to catch wind of this so quickly and come deliver a warning, it was obvious she was gradually establishing a firm foothold in Shangjing.

”Did something happen?”

Seeing Fu Qian lost in thought, Wen Li waited a moment before asking cautiously.

”Relax.”

Fu Qian shook his head, knowing the recent anomaly in the sky had indeed been rather dramatic.

With her personality, it was easy for her imagination to run wild.

”The situation isn’t serious at all.”

”That’s good.”

Receiving Fu Qian’s affirmation, Wen Li visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Speaking of which, she was a dignified Mid Tier, after all, yet she completely lacked the self-awareness of a powerhouse.

In fact, even though her abilities were rather special and her Combat Power was difficult to measure, the physical nourishment alone from being a Mid-Tier Transcendent gave her a certain level of Combat Power.

”That aside, what’s going on with you?”

Wen Li pointed at him.

”Your complexion looks a bit poor.”

Her phrasing was far too conservative. It was far more than just ’a bit.’

Fu Qian was well aware of his current appearance, knowing Wen Li was using the most tactful words possible.

Actually, Yuan Shan had been looking him up and down right until she left, clearly very confused by his appearance.

It was just that her energy had been entirely focused on the trouble at hand, so she hadn’t bothered to ask.

”It’s nothing. Just fading, that’s all.”

Fu Qian gave a thoroughly honest answer.

Fading...

Hearing his response, Wen Li paused in surprise before covering her mouth to giggle.

”Now that you mention it, you really do look like you’re fading.”

Judging from her tone, she clearly thought Fu Qian was hiding something he didn’t want to explain and was using this joke as a deliberate deflection.

Such was life—the truth was rarely believed.

Fu Qian felt a profound sense of melancholy over this.

”Do you know who is investigating?”

”From what I’ve gathered, it should be people from Gulade. This group has been gaining immense momentum in Shangjing in recent years. They’re considered one of the major giants, though they haven’t secured an absolute dominant position.”

Wen Li quickly explained.

”I don’t think you need to worry too much. With a little digging, they should be able to discover your connection with Chief Yuan. Surely they wouldn’t want to bring trouble upon themselves.”

”Not necessarily!”

In the face of Wen Li’s deduction, Fu Qian only drawled lazily.

And as if to verify his words, a car pulled up outside the very next moment.

The doors quickly opened, and people stepped out, heading straight for the bookstore.

”This...”

Wen Li watched the scene in obvious surprise.

However, before she could voice any thoughts, the newcomers were already knocking on the door.

”Come in.”

Facing the aggressive trio, Fu Qian didn’t even lift his rear off his seat. He merely called out casually.

The door swung open from the outside. The three of them rushed in, uniformly maintaining stiff expressions as they strode up to Fu Qian.

”Fang Xun?”

The leader asked coldly.

”That’s me.”

Fu Qian answered, sizing the group up.

Unsurprisingly, the three were clearly wearing the uniforms of the Shangjing police force.

In this world, although various large and small organizations fought and clashed, they were still nominally under the same Federation. Therefore, the most common violent apparatus within the realm of ordinary people was basically just the police.

These men definitely weren’t impersonating officers, and it was obvious they hadn’t come with good intentions.

”You are suspected of disturbing public order. Please come with us.”

The leader said quite bluntly.

Quite the clever idea!

Fu Qian secretly praised them in his mind.

If this Gulade Group truly had grievances with Gan Zuoxun...

Then they naturally hoped that the Night Watchers’ investigation into Gan Zuoxun’s mental state would become as widely known as possible.

And the reason Yuan Shan had thought of him was precisely to avoid this, wanting him—an uninvolved ordinary person—to confirm Gan Zuoxun’s condition without causing too much negative fallout.

Now, it seemed the other party had investigated, vaguely guessed this, and decided to fight magic with magic by bringing in the police to handle matters officially.

He had to admit, it was a brilliant move.

If he resisted violently, he would undoubtedly fall right into their trap. Killing two minor cops meant nothing to him, but it would give them the perfect excuse to make a huge fuss.

And if he played nice, choosing not to resist and going with them instead, they would likely try every possible method to drag the Night Watchers into it.

Of course, that was assuming he actually went with them.

”You—”

Fu Qian reached out to stop Wen Li, who was about to speak, and directly tossed a card over.

These men carried themselves so calmly; they had probably only been instructed to take away a bookstore owner, ignorant of the actual circumstances.

Feel the power of privilege.

...

The facts proved that these men’s reactions were remarkably consistent with those of the two at the hospital.

”You guys stay here and stand guard.”

The leading officer caught the card in a flurry. After a moment of confusion, he finally realized something.

Leaving his two subordinates to keep watch, he hurried out the door with a grave expression to make a phone call.

A short while later, he returned, his expression deeply conflicted, and handed the card back to Fu Qian under the watchful eyes of his colleagues.

Although the magnetic card only granted special transit clearance, anyone with a bit of sense would know what such a card represented, and thus understand that they were being used as pawns.

Besides, if he remembered correctly, Yuan Shan had mentioned that, when necessary, he could use this card to demand the assistance of police personnel.

”Speaking of which, you arrived at the perfect time.”

Fu Qian pointed outside as if he had suddenly remembered something.

”Starting now, your vehicle has been requisitioned.”