Eldritch Horror Theatre

Old Man Huang works fast!

Now? And he’s coming straight to the Base?

Captain Qiao’s message piqued Fu Qian’s interest.

Old Man Huang was being a little too proactive!

”Did the Huang Family find something?”

Lu Jun asked, unable to hold back.

He hadn’t accompanied them to the Huang Family yesterday, but judging by his reaction this morning, Captain Qiao had clearly briefed him.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have looked at Fu Qian like he’d seen a ghost.

”Most likely!”

Captain Qiao also seemed energized. Out of everyone, he was the most eager for the Huang Family to turn up a clue.The situation had spiraled somewhat out of control, but as long as they discovered something, he would have a proper explanation for Su Gao.

If things ended in a deadlock, he had no idea how they would handle the fallout.

Fu Qian offered no comment, simply exchanging a glance with Su Gao.

”Old Man Huang has gone to a lot of trouble. Let’s go greet him.”

...

Unsurprisingly, Huang Leji wore a heavy expression as he stepped out of the car. Seeing Fu Qian’s group, he only managed to force a faint smile.

”Executive Yama Su, Mr. Fu. You’ve worked hard.”

”Greetings, Old Man Huang.”

Su Gao merely gave a slight nod, while Fu Qian greeted him with a beaming smile, casually returning the pleasantry.

”No hard work at all.”

...

That casual dismissal nearly made Huang Leji cough up blood.

According to the intel he’d received, the man really hadn’t worked hard; he had gone straight to sleep the moment he got back.

Because of a single sentence from him, the entire Huang Family had been thrown into utter chaos overnight. Hardly anyone got a moment’s rest, yet this bastard had slept perfectly well.

Heh!

Drawing on his years of discipline as the family head, Huang Leji quickly adjusted his mood. Acting as though he hadn’t heard a thing, he casually forced out a few more pleasantries.

”Family Head Huang, you came over so early—did you find anything?”

Once the group took their seats inside the Base, Captain Qiao was finally the one who couldn’t resist asking.

Phew!

Huang Leji let out an inexplicable breath of relief.

During all that back-and-forth nonsense at the door, he had originally intended to remain reserved, waiting for Fu Qian to ask about their progress first.

Who would have thought the guy would just keep spouting pleasantries, stubbornly avoiding the main point? He had almost given himself a heart attack holding it in.

”To tell you the truth... we haven’t found anything yet.”

...

The disappointment on Captain Qiao’s face was almost impossible to hide.

If you didn’t find anything, why come here so early?!

Huang Leji, however, shook his head and let out a long sigh.

”Our entire family mobilized yesterday. We used every resource at our disposal to investigate, but unfortunately, there were too few clues. We failed to find any valuable leads. I came here specifically today to apologize to Executive Yama Su.”

”But please rest assured, Executive Yama Su. This concerns the family’s reputation. We will absolutely not give up on investigating this matter... it’s also to prove our own innocence.”

Huang Leji waved his hand, and a man stepped forward from the entourage behind him.

”Moving forward, Lezhan will lead the family’s elite personnel to continue the investigation.

With this series of vicious crimes occurring in West Plain City, the Huang Family, as a local fixture, is duty-bound to assist. If Executive Yama Su has any orders, please don’t hesitate to ask. We will cooperate with all our might.”

Huang Lezhan? That name looked familiar.

Fu Qian studied the man who stepped out. He was similarly thin as a rail and considerably younger than Huang Leji, but their facial features were quite similar. They were likely brothers.

If he remembered correctly from the roster, this Huang Lezhan was currently the top fighter of the Huang Family in West Plain City.

A Tier 5 Transcendent, a gold-medal enforcer, a double flower red pole.

To bring out their number one enforcer and offer him up to be dispatched at will—they were certainly putting on a thorough show of compliance.

The Huang Family definitely knew Su Gao had been tracking Ill Omen, but they had previously been content to sit entirely on the sidelines.

After being ’slandered’ by him yesterday, and finding themselves with no easy way to prove their innocence, it was human nature to proactively show goodwill by dispatching the family’s forces to assist.

But... was that really the case?

Captain Qiao and the others clearly grasped the underlying meaning in Huang Leji’s words: it was basically an admission that they hadn’t been proactive enough before, but would now cooperate fully.

To force the Huang Family to such lengths... Consultant Fu’s actions yesterday might have been unreasonable, but it didn’t seem like a bad thing now.

Having said his piece, Huang Leji stared straight at Su Gao, only to realize that she was looking at Fu Qian.

Cough, cough!

Fu Qian cleared his throat.

”Old Man Huang is very thoughtful. Having the Huang Family’s elite assist in the investigation is indeed a great help. However, the situation has changed, and I’m afraid it’s no longer necessary!”

Huh? Why was it no longer necessary?

Confusion, shock, anger—the moment those words fell, Fu Qian was instantly subjected to all sorts of glares.

Before anyone could process his meaning, Fu Qian shot out of his seat.

Light flashed across Huang Lezhan’s body as he materialized in front of Huang Leji almost instantaneously.

Just as everyone thought Fu Qian had lost his mind and was launching an attack, he unexpectedly darted outside, tearing through the air in a flash.

A hundred meters away, a figure suddenly sprang up, sprinting madly into the distance.

But Fu Qian was as fast as lightning. He closed the gap in a few breaths and raised his hand, firing off several Air Bullets.

His cultivation realm was no longer what it used to be, and the power of his Air Bullets had increased exponentially.

Unable to dodge in time, the figure shuddered mid-air and suddenly turned ethereal, transforming into a cloud of smoke.

The Air Bullets whistled right through the cloud, failing to cause any substantial damage.

Fu Qian had already caught up, however. Stomping his foot on the ground, he unleashed a terrifying shockwave that instantly swept the surroundings.

The black mist trembled. In the next moment, it dissipated, revealing the figure’s true form.

Clang!

Fu Qian slapped away the Pitch-Black Dagger she thrust at him and grabbed her by the back of the neck with his other hand, hoisting her up like a chick.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Fu Qian carried her all the way back to the Base and dumped her in front of Huang Leji.

That shockwave had clearly injured her heavily. With almost no reaction, she hit the floor directly, her hair scattering loosely around her face.

It was, astonishingly, a young, petite woman.

”The reason it’s no longer necessary is that I have already discovered a suspicious individual.”

Fu Qian casually sat back down in his seat.

”I noticed this person sneaking around and tailing me all day yesterday. She even infiltrated the Base at night. Her behavior is extremely suspicious. Following this lead, we’ll definitely be able to track down Ill Omen’s whereabouts.”

To think something like this had actually happened!

It was the first time the trio of Night Watchers had heard of this, and they were immediately taken aback.

This made the situation extremely serious!

Huang Leji’s expression shifted several times. He stared at Fu Qian for a long time, his gaze complex.

”I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

At this moment, the woman on the floor finally spoke.

”I was just passing by outside. I don’t understand a single thing you just said.”

”Is that so? Then why did you run when you saw me?”

Fu Qian shot her a glance.

...The woman was momentarily speechless.

”Consultant Fu!”

Amidst the awkward silence, Huang Leji finally spoke.

”I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood. Xiao Ying is a bodyguard for the Huang Family. How could she possibly do something so offensive? Besides...”

He took a deep breath.

”I just received a message. We’ve discovered someone related to yesterday’s case. I’ll have him brought over shortly.”