Eldritch Horror Theatre

For Fu Qian, leaving a bit of demigod blood on Tan Ying’s bracelet had been a spur-of-the-moment decision; he hadn’t actually expected it to yield any discoveries.

He had already checked it repeatedly at the time, confirming that while the bracelet now fell into the transcendent category, it wouldn’t have any adverse effects on the wearer’s health.

Tan Ying’s vibrant, energetic complexion at this very moment was proof enough. It was a far cry from the bracelet that had once drained people’s vitality.

The issue was that while he knew Tan Ying and Pei Yanqing were close, it still felt a bit strange for her to so readily give away such a clearly beloved item.

Although today was supposed to be a day off to hang out with friends, Fu Qian didn’t mind satisfying his curiosity.

”Ying insisted that I wear it.”

Under his stare, Pei Yanqing grew momentarily shy. She subconsciously pulled her hand back and answered on Tan Ying’s behalf.

”She said I looked a bit drained, and that wearing this could calm my mind.”

Is that a thing?

As the creator of the transcendent item in question, Fu Qian was momentarily stunned.”I’d better give it back to you. I wouldn’t be able to afford a replacement if I broke it.”

Pei Yanqing carefully reached to take the bracelet off, but Tan Ying firmly held her hand down.

”Just keep wearing it. Besides, who says you can’t afford it?”

At the same time, Tan Ying used her other hand to pinch Pei Yanqing’s cheek, her lecherous demeanor provoking a shriek.

”But seriously, I’m not making it up.”

After a bit of joking around, Tan Ying reined in her expression, looked at Fu Qian, and spoke seriously.

”Ever since you brought up that ’nourishing jade’ concept last time, I’ve actually felt much more relaxed and comfortable when wearing it, even if it just sounds like a placebo effect.”

”So when I saw Xiaoqing looking a bit haggard, I lent it to her for a couple of days.”

After explaining, Tan Ying sighed.

”I never used to believe in those old sayings, but looking at it now, some of them actually make a bit of sense.”

Girl, you’d be better off sticking to science.

Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

The origin of the matter was simple enough, and it seemed perfectly normal. After all, Tan Ying and Pei Yanqing were close enough to swap clothes, so borrowing jewelry wasn’t strange.

Besides, since the bracelet was tainted with demigod blood, providing a slight refreshing and mind-clearing effect was to be expected—it was just that for him, the effect was so weak it was negligible.

But with certain things, analyzing them in reverse was what really raised concerns.

The bracelet had absorbed his blood, and Pei Yanqing, who was currently wearing it, was, strictly speaking, a bit different from other people. She had been affected by his Commandment Residue, and for a considerably long time.

It was just that she hadn’t displayed any obvious anomalies afterward. Even during the fight with Yasui Tokiyuki last time, her will hadn’t been distorted under the effects of the reversed The World like Young Master Qin and the others. Therefore, he had concluded that the influence could be ignored.

But that was in the normal scope. What about the transcendent scope?

It was an undeniable fact that Pei Yanqing possessed the constitution of an ordinary person, but could she have some special trace that made her unique to transcendent items?

Or rather, unique to transcendent items originating from him?

If that was truly the case, it unavoidably brought the so-called law of convergence to mind.

Just like the mysterious karma between the Divine Trait and himself in that other world, could there be a similar connection among transcendent items here?

That would explain why he had encountered several transcendent items in a row over the course of just a few short months.

It wasn’t that the world was overflowing with similar items, but simply that they had a tendency to appear before him?

Just like Tan Ying’s slightly abnormal insistence on forcing the bracelet onto Pei Yanqing.

......

He hadn’t expected a casual test to yield a somewhat meaningful result.

Was Madam Sissi in the same situation?

Was it because items like the Bronze Madam tended to appear before him that he had ended up in that series of interactions with its collector?

Wasn’t that a bit too convoluted?

Furthermore, it didn’t seem to explain the cause of Madam Sissi’s current psychological predicament.

Jumping to conclusions now was still a bit arbitrary; it would be better to wait until the Bronze Madam was delivered before making any judgments.

”Your complexion really does look better than ever.”

Ending his internal analysis, Fu Qian looked at Tan Ying and nodded seriously.

”But mostly, it’s just the invincibility of youth. Every time I see you all, it reminds me of my own green school days.”

Green school days, my foot! You’re about the same age as us right now!

Since Fu Qian’s demeanor wasn’t as perfunctory as Young Master Qin and the others, Tan Ying had initially felt a sense of kinship with him, but hearing that last part, she simply couldn’t hold back.

”I can tell. Your mental age is seriously deteriorating.”

She sneered, mocking him directly.

”It can’t be helped. Being an expert consultant is taxing work.”

......

It had to be said, some things truly manifested the moment they were mentioned.

Just as Tan Ying was thinking up a retort, Fu Qian frowned and pulled out his phone.

A message had come in.

[Still the usual place?]

Huh?

The number was unfamiliar, yet not completely unknown; he had just seen it on a business card yesterday.

Isn’t this a little too fast?

It wasn’t strange that Madam Sissi could get his number; he hadn’t made any special effort to hide it.

The key point was that from confirming his compensation yesterday until now, barely twenty hours had passed... Although she had indeed said it would be ”delivered before the day after tomorrow.”

[Sure, but it’ll take me a while to get there.]

Fu Qian replied quickly, not standing on ceremony.

[It’s fine, I can wait.]

I?

Not only could he name his own price, but the employer was personally delivering the goods to his door?

Instantly realizing the implication behind that single pronoun, Fu Qian felt deeply moved for a moment.

Model capitalists really do only exist in the world of actors!

Fu Qian called the number right back as a sign of respect.

”Mr. Consultant.”

The call was answered almost instantly. Madam Sissi’s sweet and gentle voice came through the line, sounding like she was in a good mood.

”Thank you for your hard work.”

”It’s only proper. After all, this is one of my most precious collections.”

”If you haven’t had dinner yet, how about I recommend a good place?”

......

”A friend?”

As he hung up, Fu Qian found himself the center of the other four’s attention. Young Master Qin couldn’t help but ask.

He knew Fu Qian very well; this guy would never casually invite an ordinary person to a gathering like this.

The problem lay right there: other than the people sitting at this table, what other friends did he have?

”A psycho beauty.”

Fu Qian shook his head, answering concisely.

”Sister Sissi?”

Instantly catching onto Fu Qian’s meaning, Tan Ying was startled.

”Didn’t she go back?”

”She went back, but now she’s come back again to pay my salary.”

Fu Qian shook his head once more.

”I can see you guys are very interested in her, so I asked her to come over and hang out with us. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

This consultant is putting on way too many airs...

The group felt as if they were listening to a fairy tale, their four faces twisting into bizarre expressions.