Eldritch Horror Theatre

”So has Gulade made up its mind?”

Facing a battle of wits that genuinely involved feigning death, Fu Qian had to admit it was impressive to watch, but the core issue was still the underlying motive.

Taylor’s disgust for Dayun Mingwang was undeniable, but that alone wasn’t enough to give him this kind of room to maneuver.

After all, he had made it explicitly clear earlier that his assumption—that Dayun Mingwang would come—had been communicated internally within his family.

In other words, there was a very high probability that another acquaintance, Grantham, knew about it.

Furthermore, the philosophy of limb grafting that Dayun Mingwang upheld had been expressed during his very first meeting with Taylor.

Putting those two facts together meant it was almost impossible for Grantham, the person in charge of Gulade in Shangjing, to be unaware that the Rebirth Club was behind Dayun Mingwang.

Under these circumstances, it was no longer a question of whether someone would show up, or even what kind of trap was set. It was about what the action itself meant.

Was Gulade, a branch of the Blood Clan, already mentally prepared to confront a top-tier organization?

”As expected, your previous behavior was all an act. Looking for someone to spar with was just an excuse.”It was a highly threatening remark, yet Taylor showed the full composure of a prominent family, completely unfazed.

”You have always clearly understood the stakes, and you harbor ulterior motives. As for your question—”

Still sneering, Taylor tapped his head.

”Don’t treat the Blood Clan like fools. You were clearly the ones who struck first. At a time like this, did you think our family would harbor any wishful thinking, believing that simply backing down would keep us safe?

”Now, since you want to put on an act, we’ll play along. Even if we’ve locked onto your trail, Gulade won’t make a move. We’ll simply hand it over to the Night Watchers as a clue... a clue pointing to the mastermind behind the numerous incidents that have plagued Shangjing recently.”

...

Brilliant. It was a truly well-measured response.

Taylor kept his emotions in check, and his confident speech successfully earned Fu Qian’s admiration in that moment.

With the Rebirth Club’s reputation growing daily, rashly provoking them was definitely a bad idea.

Blindly retreating would likely only let the danger accumulate, but the current situation indeed provided the perfect conditions to execute the strategy of driving a tiger to devour a wolf.

No matter how overbearing the Rebirth Club was, could they outmuscle the Night Watchers?

Not to mention that a gray-area organization like theirs could never truly operate in the light of day.

Under these circumstances, even if they weren’t responsible for the numerous incidents that had occurred in Shangjing recently, it wouldn’t be easy for them to clear their name, would it?

If Gulade simply marked their people and handed them over to the Night Watchers, what could the Club really do about it?

”Grantham is truly steady. Your family was wise to have him oversee Shangjing.”

He didn’t just keep the praise to himself. The next moment, Fu Qian laughed aloud and explicitly mentioned the Shangjing supervisor’s name.

”...There is no need to probe. He isn’t here. Believe me, you really can just walk away.”

Since he wasn’t the target of the praise, the excitement on Taylor’s face dimmed somewhat. After a brief silence, he directly addressed Fu Qian’s sinister intent.

”Oh, I believe you. I also believe the analysis you just gave didn’t come from you.”

Unfortunately, Fu Qian was quite blunt and didn’t spare his feelings in the slightest.

He had just noted the severe implications of this behavior. Even if Grantham wasn’t present, this could never have happened without his approval.

What? Was Taylor just a rebellious kid who ignored orders and did things behind his back?

No. Rebellion had its limits.

Sneaking over the wall to hit the bars and pick up girls was one thing, but would he dare be reckless when dealing with a top-tier organization like the Rebirth Club?

This wasn’t about Taylor’s personal ideas at all. It was safe to say that if Grantham hadn’t approved, Taylor would never have had the chance to rebel in the first place.

So from Grantham’s perspective, he had most likely thought through the stakes in advance and chosen not to object.

As for Taylor deciding to lie in wait like this, Grantham had simply let him do as he pleased.

Of course, the conspiracy theory regarding the ’mastermind’ had likely been proposed by Taylor first.

Even though Taylor himself might not have known it, his judgment of people in this regard was dead-on.

What he knew even less was why Grantham doubted Taylor would actually catch anyone, to the point that he didn’t even bother keeping watch nearby.

A mastermind needed a motive, and Grantham clearly didn’t think Fu Qian had any reason to come looking for Taylor again.

Actually, you couldn’t blame him. How many people truly understood the thirst for knowledge?

Now, the timing was just about right.

...

”If you have nothing else to say, I’ll be leaving.”

He didn’t even try to pull off the cloak. Facing the silent Taylor, Fu Qian offered a blunt reminder.

Studying bloodlines didn’t mean he had to drag someone away to experiment on them.

What he wanted to observe was an entire species, searching for some hidden pattern within them.

Brother Taylor had simply been chosen as the entry point because of his pure bloodline.

But how exactly to make that entry?

As noted earlier, winds rise and clouds surge in Shangjing. Did South Taylor really think he could stay out of it?

His sole purpose in coming here today was to find the right leverage to force the Blood Clan to make a move.

They could only show their true colors once they stepped onto the stage, right?

Fortunately, Brother Taylor was always so cooperative. Without Fu Qian needing to do a thing, he had already taken the initiative to adopt an active stance.

Indeed, even when he saw that lump on the ground, Fu Qian hadn’t believed that Taylor had truly met with an accident. He only felt gratified.

”You still don’t believe what I said, do you?”

In response, Taylor simply looked as if he had been amused by a joke.

”You really can leave. I won’t stop you. If you can’t bear to part with it, you can even take that thing with you.”

Clearly confident in his ability to protect himself, Taylor spread his palms, openly displaying a lack of resistance while eagerly anticipating Fu Qian’s reaction.

”If you’re upset about today’s encounter, you could even try killing me first. Though I wouldn’t recommend it—”

The suggestion came to an abrupt halt, because the space across from him was now completely empty.

...

Just take it, don’t be shy.

Requests like that were quite rare in his professional career.

At that same moment, Fu Qian casually removed the Emissary. He was already leaning back in a chair within the Warehouse, pulling out the spoils he had swiped during the trip.

He had fully sensed Taylor’s confidence—the attitude of a fisherman looking at a fish that had already taken the bait.

Fu Qian even believed that if he took the item away, the Blood Clan would indeed have a way to track it. But what if he brought it into the Warehouse?

Honestly, Fu Qian was actually looking forward to seeing what the Blood Clan could pull out to threaten the Warehouse’s stability.

But if they couldn’t, then this seat would gladly accept the gift.

And he was confident that such a loss would provide Brother Taylor with even more motivation.

Of course, he couldn’t afford to fall behind either. Fu Qian looked up toward the depths of the Warehouse.

As he had said earlier, this week’s task was only just beginning.

[Warning, Leakage Incident]