Eldritch Horror Theatre

Weilong’s sudden accusation sent a shockwave through the room.

Everyone present knew how to read a room. From the moment he sat down, the old man had been visibly displeased yet stifled his anger. He hadn’t even voiced support when another demigod from Linghui stepped forward.

His silence offered no reassurance. Instead, it only bred anxiety—he was a ticking time bomb, and everyone was just waiting for him to explode.

That fear had been entirely justified. But the target of his outburst... why aim it at one of their own?

Ni Huayuan, who had just single-handedly raised suspicions, now wore a truly spectacular expression.

”Why would you think that... I don’t understand...”

”You really don’t understand? Heh...”

Faced with Ni Huayuan’s gritted, almost aggrieved question, Weilong gave a cold smile, completely unmoved.

”You had potential yourself. Although your personality was a bit extreme, before Yi’an arrived, you were one of the people I thought most highly of in all of Linghui. Who could have imagined you were this narrow-minded!”

”Weilong, what is that supposed to mean?”Blindsided by the accusation, Ni Huayuan stood completely dumbfounded. Professor Yang, who had been told to shut up earlier, finally couldn’t hold back.

”I just don’t want to be used.”

Weilong cast a cold glance at Professor Yang. His gaze was so fierce and overbearing that it forced the professor right back into silence.

”You knew your talent couldn’t compare to Li Weixuan’s, and you kept a low profile on various occasions over the years. But Yi’an’s arrival... that, you couldn’t tolerate.”

Turning back to Ni Huayuan, Weilong’s words had clearly struck a nerve. The man’s face flushed red.

Meanwhile, Li Weixuan—having caught Weilong’s subtle compliment—was frowning thoughtfully, in no hurry to halt the rapidly spiraling situation.

”That banquet Professor Fu mentioned just now... you were the one who orchestrated it, weren’t you?”

With the stage set, Weilong didn’t hesitate to lay out his theory of what had happened.

”I was blinded by my own obsessions before, but thinking about it now, it makes perfect sense. Those desperate for success yet lacking in confidence often resort to underhanded methods.”

”You tried to use this scheme to force yourself a step above Yi’an. Everything was going smoothly, until you discovered the Disciplinary Department was investigating in secret.”

”And you just revealed your own response to that.”

”Considering the severe consequences you were facing, you had a stroke of genius and decided to kill two birds with one stone.”

”Familiar with every detail of Yi’an’s life, imitating him was incredibly easy for you. You might even have been doing it subconsciously from the very beginning.”

”In the end, Professor Fu followed your false trail, his suspicions drawn toward Yi’an step by step. You even deliberately engineered the situation to seem critical, leaving him with no time to think things through.”

”What meticulous planning. Truly worthy of the Linghui Courtyard’s great name!”

Weilong sneered repeatedly as he spoke.

”But Professor Weilong, Professor Fu explicitly stated earlier that Yi’an personally confessed to it...”

The reversal was incredibly vicious. Ni Huayuan, the target of this tirade, seemed momentarily at a loss for how to defend himself.

Instead, the person beside Li Weixuan pointed out the glaring contradiction in Weilong’s theory, making the crowd’s eyes light up.

They had a point!

After all, that line about a lover remaining immortal in memory had left a deep impression on them all.

”Heh...”

Faced with their doubts, Old Man Weilong let out a desolate laugh.

”That is the terrifying part of being plotted against by one of your own.”

”Yi’an seemed gentle, but he had the pride of a genius. Faced with baseless accusations, he was never going to just sit down and explain himself. Couple that with the critical situation, and a conflict was almost guaranteed. But most importantly...”

Weilong glared at Ni Huayuan, his eyes now filled with murderous intent.

”To ensure nothing went wrong, a meticulous planner like you would have already tampered with Yi’an in advance.”

”It wouldn’t have been difficult. Ask him to help test an idea, and he most likely wouldn’t refuse. And some subtle psychological suggestions? Unless he actively suspected something, the chances of him noticing afterward were incredibly slim.”

”In the end, the crisis is resolved, and you eliminate a troublesome rival. A perfect ending, isn’t it?”

”Impossible... I would never do such a thing!”

Faced with such a severe accusation, Ni Huayuan—who had been stunned silent—finally exploded. His voice was sharp.

”Hold your tongue.”

Of course, his meaningless cries of innocence were quickly shut down by someone on the main dais.

After directly signaling Ni Huayuan to shut up, the figure turned and frowned at Weilong.

”But if what you’re saying is true, Ni Huayuan had no reason to jump out like he did just now.”

It was a glaring hole in the theory. If this truly was Ni Huayuan’s conspiracy, the matter had already been all but settled. He should have been wondering where to celebrate, not suddenly jumping out to fiercely oppose the conclusion.

”That is because he knew perfectly well that Linghui would never accept that conclusion...”

Old Man Weilong didn’t hesitate for a moment; he had clearly already thought this through.

”No matter how settled things appeared, we were always going to search for the truth. That meant he risked exposure at any moment. But most importantly... Professor Fu Qian suddenly vanished after fulfilling his duty.”

”I believe that over this recent period, Ni Huayuan must have agonized over this countless times.”

”This situation was clearly slipping from his control, forcing him to prepare for the worst. Ultimately, he chose to repeat his old trick... and we all became his pawns.”

Staring daggers at Ni Huayuan, Weilong spoke harshly.

”The moment the news of Professor Fu’s return spread, your reaction was the most explosive in all of Linghui. At first, I thought you were just desperate to clear Yi’an’s name...”

”When the others merely suggested we seek out Professor Fu ahead of time to get to the truth, you outright proposed that even if he denied it, we should go in for a penny, in for a pound. You wanted to forcefully brand that narrative into his mind to minimize the fallout for Linghui... Do you dare deny you suggested that?”

Something like that had actually happened? That truly was Professor Ni’s style!

Fu Qian, who had been enjoying the drama from the sidelines this entire time, quietly clicked his tongue in admiration.

Judging by their prior encounter at the Kamakura Family, the man was indeed decisive and ruthless, caring only about the final result.

Furthermore, the power of the mind was truly formidable. Spurred on by the Lucid Dream, Old Man Weilong’s mental gymnastics were absolutely flawless!

”But do you know the biggest mistake you made in all your careful planning?”

Weilong’s imposing aura had reached its absolute peak as he pointed at Fu Qian.

”You used someone you never should have used. As for that irrefutable flaw in Professor Fu’s story you thought you’d found? The answer is actually quite simple: someone in the Demigod Realm striking with full power could easily kill Yi’an that quickly.”