Eldritch Horror Theatre

It was here!

He knew there wouldn’t be much time to search at a leisurely pace. His decision to push forward aggressively had been the right one!

This was a task runner’s intuition.

Fu Qian nodded to himself.

At that moment, Huang Leji’s words, brimming with grief and indignation, left the room in shock. The atmosphere grew visibly heavy.

This was especially true for the Huang family. As a powerful local aristocratic clan and a transcendent family, they had likely never suffered such an offense.

They had assumed that even if the killer was completely insane, he would have limits. At most, he would target a few unaffiliated stragglers outside.

Who would have thought he’d actually dare to stir earth on Tai Sui’s head!

Outrage immediately boiled over. Everyone radiated murderous intent.

Fu Qian completely understood their feelings. He exchanged a glance with Su Gao.”We shouldn’t delay. Let’s go take a look right now.”

”Alright!”

Huang Leji clearly couldn’t sit still any longer, and the large group hurriedly set out.

...

Compared to when they visited yesterday, the atmosphere at the Huang Manor was much more tense.

Following the manor’s path all the way up, almost reaching the very peak of the estate, the group finally arrived at the crime scene.

It was a relatively isolated small courtyard. A group of people was already waiting outside. Aside from their visible grief, a trace of fear lingered among them.

Not far ahead, the door to the room stood wide open, revealing an incredibly brutal scene inside.

On the white bedsheets, two corpses were flattened like tomatoes crushed by a hydraulic press. They were spread out in a nearly flat paste across the bed, the blood splattered in all directions dyeing everything in sight red.

Not only that, but hundreds of tangled, fleshy tendrils had grown between the two bodies. They coiled and intertwined, making it completely impossible to separate them.

These tangled flesh tendrils fused firmly with the bed beneath them while simultaneously stretching upward in dense, lush clusters, looking like a patch of dark red shrubbery.

”Bastard...”

Witnessing this highly shocking scene, Huang Leji was initially startled before his eyes split with rage.

”Sixth Uncle hasn’t involved himself in worldly affairs for years. To think he would actually use such a vicious method against him...”

No wonder this place was so isolated. It was a retirement spot for the elderly.

The scene was well cordoned off. Su Gao walked into the room without a word.

After carefully examining the hellish scene, she nodded to everyone.

”It’s the Ill Omen’s handiwork.”

”The killing method isn’t exactly the same as before, but some common traits can be seen. In comparison, this is even more brutal. The scent of sacrifice is also growing stronger.”

As the hunter who had tracked him all the way here, Su Gao’s words carried a great deal of weight.

”Ill Omen...”

Huang Leji’s eyes were bloodshot. The sound of him grinding his teeth set people’s teeth on edge. It was hard to say whether he regretted just watching from the sidelines earlier.

”Consultant Fu...”

Fu Qian was sizing up his surroundings when Captain Qiao walked over and quietly handed him a piece of paper.

”We’ve investigated it. These are Lu Xing’s recent movements. I have to say, it’s quite suspicious. He just came back from out of town not long ago, and the timeline matches the Ill Omen.”

Was it really such a coincidence?

Fu Qian took the paper and glanced at it without saying a word.

Huang Leji, however, had sharp ears and turned to look over.

”Consultant Fu, is there a clue related to the Ill Omen?”

Fu Qian handed the document over without a word. Old Man Huang snatched it up. After just two glances, his face turned livid.

”The Night Watchers had such important information. Why didn’t you inform us earlier?”

Huang Leji stared at Fu Qian, questioning him in a deep voice.

”Or is it that you don’t trust our Huang Family?”

By the end, his voice and expression were severe. It seemed he was truly enraged.

”He’s merely a suspect. It’s far from confirmed.”

Fu Qian was completely unmoved by the Huang family head’s thunderous fury. He turned to the servant standing nearby.

”Were you the one who discovered the bodies?”

The servant froze for a moment.

”No. Sixth Master dislikes being disturbed. He rests until close to noon every day before getting up.”

”Then who discovered them?”

”It was a younger member of the clan who noticed something wrong while passing by. He went directly to Jianyuan.”

Huang Lezhan interjected from the side.

This leading figure of the Huang Clan also wore a very dark expression.

”Where is he?”

Fu Qian suddenly became interested.

He had previously narrowed the target range down to within the Huang Family. And as everyone knew, the first person to discover a crime scene was usually highly suspicious.

”Where is he now?”

”What do you mean?”

Huang Lezhan looked at him with displeasure.

”After the incident, he and Jianyuan took some people and chased after the culprit.”

”What is his name?”

”Consultant Fu seems to have a deep prejudice against our Huang Family. Such a tragedy happened here, yet your first reaction is to suspect our own people?”

Old Man Huang let out a heavy snort. His patience had clearly reached its limit.

However, before he could continue venting his dissatisfaction, someone rushed forward in sheer panic. The next moment, Huang Leji froze on the spot.

”Jianyuan...”

Huang Jianyuan died too? Or was the entire team wiped out?

Fu Qian recalled Huang Leji’s hot-tempered son, and a strong premonition of dread welled up in his heart.

He subconsciously looked up. The next moment, an incredibly bizarre scene appeared in his line of sight.

Directly above the mountain peak, a giant rust-colored tree slowly emerged.

From the branches thrusting straight into the sky from the crater, formless tentacles stretched and squirmed. Crisscrossing mouthparts bloomed like flowers, constantly tearing and rotting.

The instant this image entered his vision, Fu Qian felt as if his head had been struck by a heavy hammer, his consciousness churning violently.

[SAN Value -1]

[SAN Value -1]

[SAN Value -1]

...

Amidst the terrifying notifications, Fu Qian seemed to hear whispers originating from the depths of his soul, enticing him to keep looking and let his consciousness sink into it.

Finally, right before his mind completely collapsed, Fu Qian forcibly resisted the impulse from the depths of his soul, wrenching his head away and retracting his gaze.

He let out a heavy breath.

Was this the legendary calamity?

Fu Qian shook his head, which felt like it was about to explode, and swept a glance at his surroundings.

Of the group of people in front of him, over half of them were actually staring toward the mountain peak, including Huang Leji and his brother.

These people all stood there rigidly, silent and unmoving.

Such bizarre behavior naturally drew the attention of the others.

The first reaction of those who noticed the anomaly was to follow their gaze and see if there was something in the sky.

And so, in the span of a single breath, the rest of them also fell victim.

”What’s going on outside?”

Su Gao, who was still in the room, had clearly noticed the abnormality.

”Don’t look up!”

Fu Qian blurted out a warning, then slapped the sky-gazing Huang Lezhan, seizing the last sliver of time.

”What is that person’s name?”

Fu Qian looked at him and asked again.

”What person?”

Huang Lezhan lifted his head vacantly and muttered.

”The person who discovered the bodies.”

”Huang Yuanchang...”

There was no light in his eyes. His consciousness seemed to have already shattered into pieces.

[Calamity Descent, Containment Failure]

[Current SAN Value: 42]

The notification sounded in his ears, and the scene before his eyes rapidly blurred.