Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Gan Zuoxun? Honestly, I don’t know your father much better than I know you.”

”Besides, as everyone knows, talking about someone behind their back is impolite.”

Faced with Gan Baobao’s request, Fu Qian sighed to himself. This was the price of diligence.

Not only was she an uninvited guest, but she had also come with an unreasonable request.

This was what he got for insisting on extending his business hours.

”What are your thoughts on Gan Zuoxun?” Even the phrasing of the question was classic.

The problem was that he didn’t know the man well enough; forcing an answer would only earn him a thumbs-down.

”He’s quite bold.”

Imagining the severe consequences, Fu Qian forced an answer anyway.

If nothing else, the recently appointed municipal officer certainly had an adventurous spirit.To break the deadlock in Shangjing, he hadn’t hesitated to use himself as bait, cleverly drawing in the Night Watchers’ power to strike at his opponents and seize more initiative.

The final outcome had been ideal, even if it had, to some extent, triggered the tragedy that befell His Excellency Ambor.

But for someone with an ordinary human physique, calling it dancing on eggshells was an understatement. He was truly bold.

”Bold...”

Yet, Ms. Gan Baobao didn’t seem entirely satisfied with this rather high praise, murmuring the keyword to herself.

”Like a little lamb daring to jump the fence?”

...

So that was why she was here?

Honestly, although Ms. Gan Baobao’s visit was abrupt, Fu Qian didn’t think she had been targeted by any evil spirits.

Even if the Needle Witch, with whom he’d been sparring in the shadows, suddenly took it into her head to play a trick, choosing someone like Gan Baobao as a tool would yield a pitiful return on investment.

The nature of an incident changed fundamentally depending on whether the victim was a transcendent or an ordinary human.

Wen Li, Jia Keke, even Miranda...

After all, despite holding a high position within the Night Watchers, hadn’t His Excellency Needle Witch exclusively chosen targets within the transcendent circle?

Matters of the transcendent circle were resolved within the transcendent circle; ordinary people were off-limits.

It seemed like an impossible goal, yet from what he had seen, the Night Watchers had forcefully enacted it as an ironclad law—

Naturally, they couldn’t catch everyone playing dirty tricks. They very likely couldn’t even catch the majority of them. But you had better hope you didn’t get caught.

Otherwise, Uncle Zhi would get very angry, and the consequences would be severe.

It was exactly this iron-fisted approach that maintained a social structure as fragile as a castle in the air.

Just as he had noted long ago, an operational model like this shouldn’t normally exist in this world.

Not to mention that while the consequences were severe, the expected payoff was truly minimal.

Given his shallow acquaintance with Gan Baobao, even if Old Man Gan himself came knocking, there was a huge risk he would simply shut him out.

Let alone using someone with her status to pry out some earth-shattering secret.

In short, Fu Qian was inclined to believe Gan Baobao; coming here was purely a personal action.

Since she clearly had little interest in reading, what was the motive driving this personal visit?

Simple. The question she had just asked already provided the answer.

Her father, who had executed a dangerous maneuver by entering the game as a piece, was compared to a ”little lamb” daring to jump the fence.

He certainly had the nerve, and breaking past one’s limits was not easy, but this supposedly incredible act ultimately amounted to a harmless, almost endearing little rebellion within the rules delineated by ”humans.”

Eighteen or nineteen was exactly the age for pondering life. Regarding how this world operated, Ms. Gan Baobao likely shared a sentiment similar to his own—that it was an unreal castle in the air.

”It’s a fitting comparison.”

Analyzing his customer’s true intentions, Fu Qian mentally compared Old Man Gan’s bathroom frequency to that of a sheep and genuinely nodded.

...

So, wasn’t this setting a bad precedent?

Although books were indeed the ladder of human progress, as a businessman, constantly providing free counseling for growing pains felt somewhat like a violation of professional ethics.

Seemingly unprepared for such a direct response, Gan Baobao fell momentarily silent, her polite smile freezing on her face.

Unfortunately for her reaction, Fu Qian didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed; he simply minded his own business and sipped the tea he had earned.

Let’s be reasonable here—she was the one who had been direct first.

The intensity of the self-reflection exercise had always been very high.

”I apologize for my rude question just now, but Your Excellency really is straightforward.”

Fortunately, before he finished the tea in his hand, Ms. Gan Baobao successfully snapped out of it and immediately apologized for her question.

”No wonder my father told me to be absolutely sincere when dealing with Your Excellency. Truthfully, I just found an excuse to come here because I wanted to speak with Your Excellency.”

The next moment, she offered a self-deprecating shake of her head.

”I don’t know if Your Excellency believes me, but I deeply admire my father, even if I only know a fraction of what he does.”

”But precisely because of that, the more I observe as a bystander, the more sorrowful emotions well up... Do those incredible feats truly mean anything?”

...

Was the world nothing but a playground for transcendents? Was the underlying foundation of any dignity afforded to ordinary humans just pity and mockery?

Honestly, in terms of basic interpersonal tact, there was a gap between Gan Baobao and Eldest Miss Wen.

She had just apologized, only to immediately sink back into self-indulgent venting.

Fortunately, her intentions and motives were truly not difficult to understand.

Nihilism. It was a hurdle many young people needed to overcome.

Ms. Gan Baobao’s dilemma lay in the fact that her father was truly exceptional, which made the question ”does any of this mean anything?” hit her especially hard.

”It’s fine to feel sorrowful. After all, ordinary humans are incredibly fragile in front of transcendents, whether in body or mind.”

But considering she didn’t even plan to buy a book on human weakness while she was here, Fu Qian had no intention of comforting the naive girl. He simply continued pointing out the cruel reality.

Well...

As a result, Gan Baobao nearly grabbed the wrong spot, reflexively jerking her hand back after being scalded by the teaset.

Her visibly reddening fingertips even served as a passing demonstration of the flesh’s fragility.

But after steadying herself slightly, she silently reached out and poured the Bookstore Owner another cup.

Not bad. Old brother Gan Zuoxun had still put some effort into his children’s education.

”However, from my observations, some things remain on the same magnitude. For instance, the fear of death.”

Fu Qian gave a slight nod before continuing to share.

”...Even with the resilient vitality of transcendents, they feel that strong a fear? From what I’ve seen, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

As expected, Gan Baobao’s eyes lit up.

”Resilient vitality only means they’re harder to kill. You know as well as anyone that even big shots among ordinary humans like to use their advantages to bluff others.”

Fu Qian shook his head.

Consider this payment for Old Man Gan’s assist during the recent Ambor incident.