Eldritch Horror Theatre

”A mask...”

Wen Li was clearly a bit puzzled by Fu Qian’s additional request.

After all, as far as she knew, he could change his appearance at will.

”Bring me pen and paper.”

To save Eldest Miss Wen from wasting any more brain cells, Fu Qian simply waved a hand, radiating the demeanor of a master.

She raised no objections and quickly made the arrangements.

”Brush, ink, paper, and inkstone?”

A moment later, however, Fu Qian paused when he saw the items brought before him.

Wasn’t this taking it a bit too seriously?

”Ah, is this no good? Should I have someone change them?”Wen Li, who was carefully spreading the paper out for him, asked hurriedly.

”No need. I just wasn’t clear enough.”

Fu Qian reflected on his phrasing and reached out to take them.

These were actually quite suitable for drawing. Seeing Wen Li’s practiced movements, he noted she truly came from a scholarly family.

Fu Qian recalled the Paperweight he had used to smash someone at the Wen Family Luxury Estate.

It was a pity he hadn’t touched such tools in so long.

The next moment, he lifted the brush, dipped it in ink, and after a brief thought, rapidly sketched the outline of a mask design.

Under Fu Qian’s precise control, a striking face design soon leaped onto the paper.

It bore the glaring eyes of a wrathful guardian deity and a solemn, imposing presence. Although painted only in black and white, it radiated a commanding majesty, leaving Wen Li nodding repeatedly in admiration.

”Do you want me to find a mask with this design?”

”No need to be too particular. Just buy a blank one and paint something roughly like this on it.”

Fu Qian set the brush down, his posture relaxed.

”I see...”

Unexpectedly, Wen Li’s expression turned rather odd.

”What is it?”

”I actually have blank masks right here...”

Fu Qian fell silent for a moment.

Looking down at his ink masterpiece, he realized he had still underestimated the sheer amount of free time a capitalist like Wen Li had.

...

Wen Li wasn’t bragging. She quickly had someone bring over several blank white masks, even thoughtfully offering different facial contours.

Fu Qian didn’t stand on ceremony. He casually picked a relatively wide one, wielded his brush once more, and quickly painted the design onto it.

A moment later, he lifted the finished product. Though the artwork wasn’t particularly lifelike, it carried an inherently fierce aura. Fu Qian was highly satisfied.

As for his clothes, Wen Li had previously custom-made a trench coat for him when he helped Yuan Shan confuse Ariel.

Now, at Fu Qian’s request, Wen Li had someone alter the coat’s other arm into a wide, flowing sleeve as well.

Fu Qian took it and put it on. As he walked, his two wide sleeves fluttered lightly.

Although he lacked any deformed limbs, the coat and mask made him look every bit the eccentric stranger—a striking presence.

”It actually comes together with an inexplicable sense of harmony.”

For a moment, even Wen Li couldn’t help but voice her approval, though she also expressed concern.

”But going out dressed like this... won’t it attract a bit too much attention?”

After all, in her view, conducting an operation in a bustling city like Shangjing while wearing such an eye-catching mask would be just as conspicuous as streaking bare-faced down the street.

”So what!”

Fu Qian, however, was already fully immersed in his character. He snorted coldly and stood with his hands behind his back.

”I have long heard of Shangjing’s grand reputation. I have come this time precisely to seek guidance from heroes of all paths.”

”...Then should I give you Jiang En’s address now?”

Wen Li’s expression looked as if it had turned to stone. Only after a moment did she manage to force those words out.

”No rush. We’ll talk about it after dark.”

Unexpectedly, Fu Qian simply took off the mask and pointed outside.

”I also need Taylor Gulade’s.”

”...Alright.”

Although taken aback by his eccentric attire and confused as to why he was focusing on Jiang En and Taylor, Wen Li wasn’t overly worried.

In her time dealing with Fu Qian, she had seen him handle far too many major incidents.

Moreover, setting aside his relaxed attitude, Yuan Shan was clearly aware of his interest in those two.

No matter what, surely he wouldn’t do anything too terrifying right under the nose of the Night Watchers’ chief, right?

Fu Qian’s subsequent behavior seemed to confirm this guess.

Not only did he continue drinking tea at his leisure, but he even accepted Wen Li’s invitation to stay for dinner.

He didn’t know if Old Man Wen and his companion had come over to lecture the kitchen staff again, but the chef’s culinary skills seemed to have improved once more.

Both guest and host thoroughly enjoyed the meal. It wasn’t until night fell that Fu Qian finally rose to head out.

Recalling the addresses of the two young talents Wen Li had provided, he pinpointed his direction and vanished into the vast night.

...

Choosing to act at night, of course, had nothing to do with his attire being too eye-catching.

Ever since Yuan Shan finished outlining the information on those two, Fu Qian had basically made up his mind.

The reason was quite simple. His first target wasn’t Jiang En, but his renowned counterpart, Taylor.

Given the wealth of information he had gathered from Yuan Shan and Wen Li, he already had a solid grasp of the targets’ situations.

Theoretically, all he had to do next was find out exactly what Jiang En’s ritual entailed.

Approaching him directly and subjecting him to harsh interrogation was certainly an option, but Fu Qian wasn’t planning on taking such extreme measures.

As for the reason—to put it nobly—it was an Autumn of Many Troubles, and he wished to ease Chief Yuan’s burdens.

To be completely honest, he simply didn’t want to strike the grass to startle the snake.

Fu Qian was incredibly curious about why someone who hadn’t even reached the Mid Tier had attracted the Warehouse’s attention.

If his approach was too direct, he risked scaring away crucial clues, or might even accidentally complete the task before figuring it out.

Therefore, before taking any drastic steps, he might as well make initial contact using a much gentler approach.

His reason for choosing Taylor was also quite simple: an opponent is often the one who understands you best.

Both Yuan Shan and Wen Li had confirmed that Jiang En and Taylor were frequently compared to one another. It was highly unlikely there was no secret rivalry between them.

And considering that the Blood Clan was generally active at night, Fu Qian decided to accommodate Taylor’s schedule.

...

According to the information Wen Li provided, because the corpse-collecting incident had caused such an uproar, even though Taylor hadn’t been taken in for questioning, he was likely being monitored and forbidden from leaving Shangjing.

When Fu Qian arrived at the destination, he found the situation was exactly as expected.

The area surrounding the courtyard—which was similar to Ambor’s residence but significantly smaller—was perfectly quiet.

Yet, Fu Qian easily spotted a certain Mid Tier sitting inside a parked car.

The watcher appeared to be dozing, but in reality, they were keeping a constant, vigilant eye on Taylor’s residence.

The Night Watchers were being quite cautious, assigning a Mid Tier directly to stakeout duty.

However, it seemed they still underestimated the foundation of an ancient family.

Fu Qian didn’t rush inside. Instead, he observed a patch of slightly deeper shadow lingering in the darkness.

Compared to its surroundings, it was a profound black that even seemed to slowly ebb and flow.

This concealment effect was only slightly inferior to Serana’s. It was likely the effect of some transcendent items.

Even after Fu Qian had bought his notebook, Brother Taylor still possessed such impressive items. As expected of a pure-blood heir!

Just as Fu Qian sighed with emotion, that mass of black quietly slipped away into the distance, completely breaking away from the Night Watchers’ surveillance.

The next moment, the darkness writhed and rapidly materialized into a human figure.

He possessed a tall, straight posture and pale skin. Even hunching his back, he hadn’t lost his innate elegance.

Sure enough, it was Brother Taylor.