Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Yes... The Jiang Clan has likely given up on him completely. What is this?”

Clearly not expecting a walk to be on the itinerary, Wen Li answered absently. She cradled the small, transparent bottle in her palm and asked curiously.

It was only slightly larger than a thumb and completely devoid of markings.

She could see it was mostly filled with a viscous liquid and could intuitively feel its burning heat, like molten wax.

”A thank-you gift.”

Casually putting away the Typhoid Terror, Fu Qian stood up.

”For his help earlier? Then for Jiang En, this definitely counts as a pleasant surprise.”

Wen Li was quick to catch on. As she stood up to follow him, her gaze toward the object in her hand grew increasingly solemn.

She clearly wasn’t averse to this kind of midday stroll, nor did she harbor any doubts about the claim that it was a gift.

After all, in her mind, Mr. Fu had always been generous.But what exactly was this thing used for... Drinking it?

”Could this help Jiang En solve his bottleneck issue?”

A moment later, she started, suddenly realizing something, and snapped her head up to look at Fu Qian.

...

The girl was quite perceptive.

Appreciating her sharpness, Fu Qian gave her an approving look, not bothering to be cryptic.

”The Deception Ritual Elixir. You don’t drink it; you smear it over your eyes.”

He then pointed at the small bottle and explained the correct usage.

”As for its effect, it allows a transcendent to advance using a ritual that doesn’t belong to them. I’m not sure if there are any side effects.”

”This style of defying the heavens and altering destiny—I suddenly felt just now that it perfectly suits Brother Jiang En’s character. I hope he can gain something from it.”

That was right. The Deception Ritual Elixir Fu Qian had handed to Wen Li was exactly the reward he had obtained earlier.

Given that its effect only worked on the Mid Tier and below, it was obviously useless to him now.

And during this calamity invasion, Brother Jiang En could be considered a pawn who had made great contributions. There was no harm in gifting him a lucky opportunity.

Of course, that was the presentable reason.

As for the less presentable one?

From yesterday until now, he had successively given the Greed Worms hope, deterrence, and Chastisement. Next, it was time to give them a visible success story.

Unlike his predecessors, Brother Jiang En still held on to a bit of persistence in certain aspects.

This made him an anomaly within the Insect Swarm, or perhaps the black sheep.

For example, after realizing that the operations for his advancement ritual were becoming increasingly inhuman, he ultimately chose to give up, go home, and forge a new path, attempting to find a different way of defying the heavens and altering destiny.

Of course, what Jiang En didn’t know was that this rebellion had always been under his predecessors’ control.

At the same time, due to the mission’s requirements, after all his painstaking effort reaching alone into untrodden realms, his hard work had still been ruthlessly crushed by Fu Qian, rendering his advancement utterly hopeless.

Under these circumstances, the family abandoning him was actually a wise choice.

But what if such a character experienced a nirvana-like rebirth under the enlightenment of a great existence?

What kind of role model effect would that create?

Not only would it greatly benefit the entire team’s confidence, but it wouldn’t even be purely spiritual encouragement.

Jiang En’s nature as a Covenanter determined that once he advanced, he wouldn’t be the only one benefiting. Everyone would receive a share of real benefits.

When that time came, let alone purging him to find a newcomer, the Greed Worms would probably instantly dub him a rising star and study his advanced experience in every aspect.

...

Advancing by using a ritual that didn’t belong to him...

It was evident that, despite having vague guesses, the effect of the Deception Ritual Elixir still gave Wen Li a slight shock.

So much so that even as she walked out the door side by side with Fu Qian, she couldn’t help but scrutinize the unmarked concoction in her hand.

Such an effect went far beyond simple opportunism.

Although she was already a rising star in the transcendent realm, Wen Li had not forgotten the slightest bit of the torment before advancing to Tier 6, especially after comparing herself to her many peers in Shangjing.

Between different types of abilities, the difficulty of advancement was sometimes not even on the same conceptual level.

If it really could be swapped, or if it could give those who originally had no hope another chance to try...

Even if the method was slightly bizarre and might leave behind some hidden dangers, she believed few would refuse it.

As expected of Mr. Fu, he always had such wondrous items.

”So you gave it to me—are you planning to have me deliver the gift later?”

Her mood growing increasingly relaxed, Wen Li played with the elixir in her hand and even cracked a joke with a smile.

”Of course. Weren’t you the one who made use of him earlier?”

However, to her surprise, he nodded seriously, his tone completely matter-of-fact.

’...That is true, but wasn’t I acting on your orders?’

Becoming the prime culprit so suddenly left Wen Li temporarily dumbfounded.

”Alright... But we can’t exactly give it to him under that pretext later, can we?” she asked meekly a moment later.

”Of course not. That would likely scare Brother Jiang En to death. Giving gifts requires tact. Everyone has their own comfort zone.”

Fu Qian patted his chest, indicating he already had a plan.

”According to my intelligence, Brother Jiang En leans toward relying entirely on himself, something along the lines of heaven helps those who help themselves.”

...

”He was pretty much exactly like that when I came over earlier.”

Appearing unhurried and actually being unhurried, the two of them on their lunch break completely lived up to the concept of resting. They hadn’t even taken a car, just strolling and chatting the whole way.

By the time they reached their destination, the bright sun was well and truly high in the sky.

Unfortunately, even such intense light was surprisingly unable to dispel the decadent air lingering here.

Proving that near ink, one gets stained black, Eldest Miss Wen had also taken on the bearing of a habitual offender. After leading Fu Qian to a hidden corner, she easily bypassed the defensive net laid down in Jiang En’s home and slipped inside.

Not long after, she gestured at a certain tightly shut door and spoke in a hushed voice.

”Self-isolated, with a decadent posture.”

”But I noticed that the thing he’s wearing on his arm is very unique. It seems to be forcibly keeping his body vitalized, to the point that it feels a bit jarring compared to this posture.”

”Toothed Throat.”

Giving a slight nod in approval of Wen Li’s intuition, Fu Qian provided the name of Jiang En’s transcendent item.

The scene behind the door was naturally clear to his senses.

The legendary Northern Jiang En was lying blankly on his side, half-asleep and half-awake, looking like a sleeping arhat.

At the same time, however, a ring was still tightly clamped around one of Jiang En’s upper arms. It was exactly what he had gained from that exclusive auction.

It was agonizing to wear, but it vastly increased flesh vitality. Its side effect, however, was a shortened lifespan.

Speaking of which, Laywoman Tooth-Throat had earned her name from this as well.

Of course, the reason Jiang En was allowed to acquire this item back then was to aid in his rapid recovery, thereby completing the ritual with maximum efficiency.

With him wearing it even while lying down in broad daylight, no matter how one embellished the explanation, it seemed it could only be considered sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall.

But that was enough. As the saying went, the painstaking person is not failed by heaven.

Instantly finalizing Northern Jiang En’s comeback script, Fu Qian activated the Lucid Dream.