Eldritch Horror Theatre

”What an enviable young person.”

A visit had come to an abrupt halt in an unexpected manner.

Watching the two depart, Professor Fu remained silent for a few seconds. When he finally spoke again, he hadn’t lost an ounce of his grace, a smile still resting on his face.

”Thank you for the praise.”

Glancing at the Ear Stud in his palm one last time, he offered that remark before finally putting the jewelry away and turning to look at Yuan Fang.

”I’ve already had the tea.”

The latter was clearly a shrewd man as well. He immediately chuckled and raised his cup, signaling that accepting the hospitality meant his lips were sealed.

Besides, right or wrong as the young person’s spiritedness might be, seeing this man get thoroughly rejected was a rare treat, well worth the price of admission.

Of course, for Fu Qian, the purpose of his recent performance certainly wasn’t just to add a little dramatic flair to the tea party.

Wen Li understood his intentions quite well. Inviting her over in this manner made it clear that he had no immediate plans for meeting an old friend in a distant land.Furthermore, everyone present knew that Professor Fu was as open-minded as an empty valley, disdaining the act of openly poaching a student just to slap someone in the face.

The goal behind this series of maneuvers, aside from turbocharging the Linghui Courtyard and pushing them to pour more resources into Wen Li, was to provide Wen Li with actionable advice.

As mentioned earlier, Linghui’s actions appeared slightly more aggressive than normally expected.

While this was theoretically a good thing, given Wen Li’s cautious style, she was likely already considering whether to find an excuse to pay Lanaya a brief visit—perhaps to apologize for the earlier disturbance.

As for how this advice would actually be delivered?

Just now, right in front of Ni Huayuan, he had perfectly played the role of an arrogant figure who was gradually won over by a young person’s talent and spirit.

Then, right as the atmosphere reached its peak, he had been successfully rejected, highlighting Wen Li’s resolve.

The Ear Stud he brought out at the very end was undoubtedly a crucial prop in this.

On one hand, it served as a contrast: this genius student had turned down such a transcendent gift just to continue her current tutelage. Could Linghui really afford not to show their appreciation after that?

More importantly, Wen Li knew exactly what he had retrieved during that Ear Stud incident and subsequently gifted to her.

That Divine Trait originating from their senior, Liliana, still hadn’t been fully deciphered for practical use since she acquired it.

At the same time, it went without saying that Wen Li chose to carry such a precious item on her person; his perception had already confirmed as much just a moment ago.

And he had not only revealed the Ear Stud but also instructed her to ”use it as she pleased.”

In other words, she shouldn’t hesitate to leverage the Linghui Courtyard’s research capabilities to unlock that item’s true value.

He had even prepared the perfect excuse for her: unable to stomach the attitude of Apocalypse’s interim spokesperson, she had decided to bring out a serendipitously acquired treasure, aiming for maximum results as a countermeasure.

To sum it up, it came back to his usual saying: never underestimate the professionals. The Linghui Courtyard’s expertise was worth acknowledging.

Of course, if his relationship with them hadn’t been so terrible, he wouldn’t have needed to go through all this trouble. He could have just set up a joint departmental training program.

...

Being a busy man, Brother Yuan Fang didn’t stay long despite their pleasant conversation. After a few more rounds of tea, he stood up to take his leave.

Soon, only Su Gao and Classmate Liushuang were left in front of him.

”Professor Fu, I came back early because there’s a lead on the item we’re looking for. Do you want to go take a look?”

Su Gao hadn’t said much while her colleague was present, and she spoke even less now.

Seeing this, Classmate Liushuang didn’t hesitate. As she packed her things, she took the initiative to explain why she had returned.

”This quickly? Of course.”

Although he had vaguely guessed this possibility, Fu Qian didn’t hide his surprise.

The item was naturally the Hand Axe he had sketched on paper earlier, which he had asked Excellency An Gui to help find.

It really hadn’t been that long since then.

”I’m heading out for a bit. Make yourself at home.”

A moment later, Fu Qian stood up decisively. He left a quick word with Su Gao, casually having a Night Watcher of the Demigod Realm watch the door for him.

”Alright.”

She agreed quite naturally, not feeling that anything was amiss.

...

”What’s wrong?”

Following Ji Liushuang out, Fu Qian asked directly a moment later.

Her polite and sincere demeanor earlier aside, her insistence on a private conversation had been unusually resolute compared to the past, as if she really didn’t want anyone listening in.

Fu Qian wasn’t foolish enough to think Ji Liushuang had some grievance with Su Gao. It was obvious that the investigation into that item had hit a peculiar snag.

Hmm...

Sure enough, Classmate Liushuang, walking beside him, looked a little hesitant.

”An Gui sent word back that very night, saying he likely knew of its whereabouts.”

Her hesitation only lasted a moment before she softly explained.

”It’s just that the item is a bit special, and he was curious about why I was looking for it.”

”Special how?”

Knowing Classmate Liushuang wasn’t the type to be needlessly cryptic, Fu Qian played along and asked.

It was just a search for a transcendent item. Why would An Gui be extra curious about what Ji Liushuang wanted it for? Could it be...

”After Jia Keke relayed the message to me, I spoke with An Gui directly. He didn’t dwell too much on my intentions afterward, but he did tell me that the Hand Axe should still be with the Ji Clan...”

Oh?

”And then he asked if I should have a chat with Mother first.”

Lowering her head, Ji Liushuang’s voice dropped even softer.

...

This actually led back to Ji Xue?

While the situation was indeed as fishy as he had guessed, this was simply too bizarre.

An item left behind in the mortal world by Old Man Ji Feng, suspected to be the ancestor of the Ji Clan, had been taken by a mysterious person—only to somehow find its way back into the hands of the Ji Clan here.

Explaining it away as fate or karma was barely plausible. But from what An Gui was implying, suggesting she speak to Ji Xue first definitely wasn’t just because Ji Xue was the theoretical current family head.

”I asked why, and he said he wasn’t entirely familiar with the details himself. He only knew that Mother, who had never been interested in supernatural powers, once grew very fond of that item. She accidentally cut herself on it once... and the very next day, she ran away from home.”

Without waiting for Fu Qian to ask, Ji Liushuang continued her explanation.

To think such a thing had actually happened...

What was this? An Axe of Rebellion?

An item he had only decided to look for out of sheer amusement was actually directly tied to the Ji Clan’s famous incident of the missing heir.

Putting it that way, Classmate Liushuang’s earlier request made perfect sense.

There was perhaps no need to hide the item they were looking for from Su Gao, but since it was faintly tied to her own origins, her firm insistence on a private conversation was undoubtedly human nature.

Even An Gui’s hesitation was entirely understandable.

The previous family head had suffered a minor cut and immediately run away from home.

And now, the theoretical next family head—the budding talent they had just placed their bets on—had suddenly, for reasons unknown, taken an interest in that very same item.

Anyone’s heart would skip a beat over that.