Eldritch Horror Theatre

Indeed, the situation was visibly growing tense.

A leader was a leader for a reason. Her ability to summarize and deduce was exceptional.

Even in such a complex situation, she managed to point them in the right direction flawlessly.

Seeing Yuan Shan draw everyone’s gaze back to him with just a soft sentence, Fu Qian marveled inwardly.

She wasn’t wrong, either. The symptoms really were remarkably similar.

He was currently turning this place into his own personal Temple of the Five Viscera, while the rest of the group was being digested by it.

It wouldn’t be long before they could just barely be considered fellow Daoists, right?

Despite possessing the only ordinary human constitution among them, Fu Qian’s wealth of project experience—combined with feeling it literally in his own heart and stomach—meant he had undoubtedly noticed this consistency early on. He simply hadn’t been in a rush to point it out.

He knew keeping it to himself wasn’t exactly a team player move, of course. But he was hardly the only one acting uncooperatively. Out of the corner of his eye, their premier torturer, Excellency Nepheli, undoubtedly wore the most peculiar expression of anyone present.

A mix of surprise, interest, and profound implication...Yet even though Fu Qian’s gaze was entirely discreet, someone else caught on a moment later and turned to look at her.

”Did you poison us? Did you use what just happened as a cover? Is that why you were the first to step forward?”

The first to speak up was Madam Number Seven, who hadn’t made a peep since the literary competition. And right out of the gate, she unleashed a Three-Stage Questioning.

...

Now this was imperial statecraft.

Madam Number Seven’s questions seemed abrupt, but a moment’s thought revealed just how perfectly reasonable they were.

The group was currently being digested because they had been poisoned, and the strange changes in his own body were the result of his recent torture. In theory, they were all ”victims.”

But given how similar their symptoms were, a single question naturally leaped to mind: was it possible the perpetrator was the same person?

Namely, the overly eager, self-volunteering Excellency Nepheli.

When she pointed out the similarity between the poison and his own condition, Chief Yuan’s words were a classic case of the old drunkard’s intent is not in the wine. She had been hinting at exactly this.

”That sounds very reasonable.”

As the accused, Excellency Nepheli seemed perfectly aware of what was going on. Neither surprised nor trying to flee, she simply nodded to show she found the logic sound.

”Furthermore, stepping up first would effectively prevent Professor Fu from being tortured too miserably... it looks like I must be the traitor.”

Without needing anyone else to elaborate, she directly laid bare the unspoken subtext.

”But you don’t seem to agree with it.”

Madam Number Seven was entirely dissatisfied with this flippant attitude and let out a cold snort.

”If those are the only points on the table, then yes, I don’t agree with it. How about you provide a few more reasons?”

When it came to passive-aggressive mockery, how could a seasoned veteran of the jianghu like Excellency Nepheli ever lose out? She immediately fired back with a smiling barb.

The implication was simple: aside from venting your emotions, shouldn’t you present some actual facts?

Either provide more evidence, or abandon due process and attack right now. It wasn’t so easy to be the nail that stuck out.

”Evidence is indeed hard to find, but the similarity in effects is a fact...”

Madam Number Seven was a bit too green for this, struggling heavily to parry the verbal blow. A moment later, Wen Li finally spoke up to bail her out, refusing to let them waste any more time on this pointless bickering.

”While this might not count as hard evidence, I did just recall a small detail. You were the last one to get in the vehicle, weren’t you?”

She didn’t wait for Nepheli to defend herself, seemingly lost in her own memories.

”That’s correct.”

Nepheli clearly took Wen Li seriously enough. She frowned slightly and acknowledged the claim.

”I had a vague feeling at the time that you were deliberately avoiding sitting next to him.”

Wen Li pointed straight in Fu Qian’s direction.

...

See, Professor Nepheli? Bad habits will get you killed.

As previously mentioned, what Wen Li provided was merely a small detail, and one heavily colored by subjective assumption at that.

But in delicate moments like this, details often played a crucial role.

The moment those words left her mouth, for instance, Nepheli’s suspicious image instantly sharpened by an order of magnitude.

Even if the underlying logic wasn’t perfectly airtight, it didn’t stop the listeners from piecing together a cautious character desperately trying to hide her relationship with the captive.

The previous coincidences suddenly sprang to life, slotting perfectly into place like missing puzzle pieces.

Under these circumstances, Fu Qian was arguably the one person most certain of Excellency Nepheli’s innocence.

Unfortunately, he clearly had no interest in clearing her name. He merely sighed inwardly.

A distaste for close physical contact with the opposite sex was truly just a personal preference. There was nothing to condemn about it.

But those destined for greatness needed to minimize these self-imposed shackles as much as possible.

Otherwise, it was far too easy to stumble into unexplainable situations like this one.

Just come right out and say she hated men? Someone would actually have to believe her first.

Given Nepheli’s high-class persona throughout their journey, an excuse like that would sound far too clumsy to convince anyone.

But if she couldn’t explain herself clearly right now, her situation was going to turn rather dire...

”Very sharp observation skills.”

As it turned out, Excellency Nepheli was surprisingly unabashed.

After a brief pause, she chuckled, practically admitting that it was true.

She didn’t even bother attempting an explanation. Sure enough, there was no point in expecting others to understand one’s personal little quirks.

”But you don’t want to talk about that, do you?”

Wen Li clearly picked up on that, expressing her confusion.

”I don’t. I am, however, perfectly willing to discuss a different issue: unlike the rest of you, I’m actually not that desperate to leave.”

...

Just as I thought. Didn’t I say you possessed an extraordinary bone structure?

Nepheli’s words were nothing short of shocking. She openly admitted that her previous tense posture was merely to fit in with the group, and that she didn’t actually care whether the exit was sealed off or not.

To be perfectly honest, at first glance, this excuse wasn’t even as convincing as simply saying she didn’t want to sit next to a man.

But in that moment, Fu Qian nodded inwardly, feeling that things suddenly made much more sense.

Even if the people and things before him were very likely manifestations of his own will, he couldn’t forget the single greatest characteristic that separated Nepheli from the rest of them: theoretically speaking, she was dead.

Under such extremely hardcore parameters, wasn’t it perfectly normal for her to be placing life and death outside consideration?

Though if that were the case, the true purpose behind Nepheli’s previous actions required a much deeper explanation. Otherwise, it would be terribly difficult to convince anyone.

”But you not only got in the vehicle, you also followed us all the way here?”

Though Wen Li held back from attacking directly for the time being, she still voiced her doubts.

”Correct. I was simply curious to see what you wanted to do.”

Nepheli looked almost languid now, openly admitting that she had only tagged along for the spectacle.

”Then why were you so eager to step forward just now?”

Madam Number Seven found this attitude even more grating, chiming in once again to press the issue.

”Exactly. I wanted to see what he would do.”

Nepheli continued to answer without missing a beat, pointing a finger directly at Fu Qian.