Eldritch Horror Theatre

Leaving was out of the question, of course. The unexpected changes before him had successfully turned Miss Winslow into a fascinating case.

In Fu Qian’s view, figuring out the underlying cause here was likely far more meaningful than setting the task aside to investigate The Order.

Because coincidentally enough, even with these new changes, he still couldn’t detect any trace of curses or contamination on Jane.

Although the Eternally Lucid Mind was temporarily unavailable, this trait made it easy to deduce that the situation was still inextricably linked to a commandment.

Given this, not only could he not leave, he also had to do everything in his power to ascertain exactly what had happened to her during his brief absence.

But guiding a conversation required skill; one had to clearly understand what the target truly wanted.

Combined with Nathalie’s previous revelations, the reason the Winslow Family had invited him here was crystal clear: the changes in their daughter made them fear she had been contaminated. Before being forced to face the cold, ruthless Order Hunters, they wanted to try resolving the issue themselves.

That was why they had sought out a medical practitioner like him, someone who walked in the gray areas.

The best possible outcome for them would be diagnosing a clear, ordinary human illness, then prescribing the right medicine to cure Miss Winslow.

The next best thing would be confirming it was indeed a Transcendent Tier contamination, but finding a way to quietly deal with it without angering the hunters.This explained why Winslow had reacted so strongly when he delivered the diagnosis that everything was perfectly fine.

Earlier, after he used the Blood-Drinking Handbell, Miss Winslow had recovered at lightning speed, which had already ruled out the first possibility.

And the anomalies revealed during this recent diagnostic process shattered any hope for the second-best outcome.

Suddenly claiming she was fine and acting ready to leave right then would only mean one thing in Mister Winslow’s eyes.

It would mean he knew the situation was beyond his capabilities and was subtly warning them that Miss Winslow did not have a normal illness—and that they should consider how to deal with The Order.

Driven to such desperate straits, how could they possibly let him leave?

”Don’t be nervous. You look fine, but since your father insists, we’ll continue with a detailed examination.”

Unable to refuse their earnestness, Fu Qian finally sat back down and offered Miss Winslow a few comforting words.

Unfortunately, she was clearly adept at reading the room; her smile was incredibly stiff.

This was for the best. A high will to survive coupled with a high level of trust meant that any casual question he asked next would yield an answer with the effectiveness of a Lucid Dream.

Even ones that strayed beyond the scope of a medical exam.

...

”You never left the room?”

Fu Qian began a new round of the four diagnostic methods of looking, smelling, questioning, and pulse-feeling.

”No.”

Jane answered quickly and firmly.

”Did anyone come in?”

”No. I was alone until my mother came back, for about ten minutes. As soon as she walked in, she pointed out my changes.”

Jane shook her head again, recalling the events very earnestly.

In just a few sentences, the childish lilt in her voice had grown noticeably stronger.

Ten minutes.

Fu Qian glanced at Mrs. Winslow; to think she had been gone that long.

”I wanted some quiet... so I asked my mother to leave me alone for a bit.”

Mrs. Winslow grew visibly uneasy under his gaze. Noticing this, Jane hurriedly spoke up to explain.

This explanation was perfectly reasonable. In situations like this, not wanting to see anyone was completely normal.

Even when he first arrived, Mrs. Winslow had been sitting outside alone.

Fu Qian nodded slightly, in no rush to speak.

Based on the current situation, the conclusion seemed easy to deduce—

Jane’s eyes reverting meant the original commandment’s influence had vanished.

The current physical changes indicated that a new commandment’s influence had taken hold.

All of this had happened in less than ten minutes.

And it seemed the only influencing factor was his prior use of the Eternally Lucid Mind.

Had its effects startled something?

Yet even after being startled, it had maintained the status quo initially, waiting specifically until everyone else was gone before reacting.

Wasn’t that a bit too human-like?

It was somewhat different from the cold, unfeeling nature he imagined a commandment to have.

”Doctor, what exactly is wrong with Jane?”

Seeing that Fu Qian wasn’t asking any more questions, Mister Winslow finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up to confirm.

Whether it was the doctor’s earlier methods or the successive changes in his daughter, everything clearly exceeded the bounds of normality. He no longer held out hope for the best-case scenario.

While speaking, Winslow didn’t even shy away from using her name, demonstrating his honesty and resolve on the matter.

Unfortunately, the response he received was—

”Didn’t I say earlier there wasn’t a problem? We’re now in overtreatment time, so let’s run another test and try our luck.”

Amidst his shameless remark, Fu Qian actually pulled two more tools from his Medical Visit Box.

...

He hadn’t expected the man to be this principled. Even now, he was still unwilling to spell it out, adding to the risks should things actually go south.

Mister Winslow clearly wasn’t a simple-minded man. After a few seconds of shock, he realized the doctor’s painstaking intentions, feeling deeply assured that he had made the right decision today.

Reassuring his wife, he said no more and quietly watched the two new tools the doctor had brought out.

Compared to the previous ones, these two were undeniably larger and more alarming. One of them was outright a small spiked hammer.

”Look here.”

Just as he was worrying about how they would be used, he saw the doctor cross the two tools and call out to his daughter.

Hm?

Though she found it deeply strange, Jane obediently complied without resistance.

<

Leaving was out of the question, of course. The unexpected changes before him had successfully turned Miss Winslow into a fascinating case.

In Fu Qian’s view, figuring out the underlying cause here was likely far more meaningful than setting aside the task to investigate The Order.

Strangely enough, even in the face of these new changes, he still couldn’t detect any trace of curses or contamination on Jane.

Although the Eternally Lucid Mind was temporarily unavailable, this characteristic made it easy to deduce that her condition was still inextricably linked to a commandment.

Given this, not only could he not leave, but he had to do everything in his power to ascertain exactly what had happened to her during his brief absence.

But guiding a conversation required skill; he had to clearly understand what his targets truly wanted.

Combined with Nathalie’s earlier revelations, the Winslow family’s reason for inviting him here was crystal clear. The changes in their daughter made them fear she had been contaminated, and before being forced to face the cold, ruthless Order Hunters, they wanted to try resolving the issue themselves.

That was why they had sought out a medical practitioner like him, someone who walked in the gray areas.

The best possible outcome for them would be a diagnosis of a clear, ordinary illness, allowing them to prescribe the right medicine and cure Miss Winslow.

The next best thing would be confirming it was indeed a contamination of the Transcendent Tier, but finding a way to handle it quietly without drawing the ire of the hunters.

This explained why Mister Winslow had reacted so strongly when Fu Qian delivered the diagnosis that everything was perfectly fine.

Earlier, after he used the Blood-Drinking Handbell, Miss Winslow had recovered at lightning speed, which already ruled out the first possibility.

And the anomalies revealed during his most recent diagnostic process shattered any hope for the second-best outcome.

So, suddenly claiming she was fine and preparing to leave would only mean one thing in Mister Winslow’s eyes.

It would mean the doctor knew the situation was beyond his capabilities, subtly warning them that Miss Winslow did not have a normal illness and that they should start thinking about how to deal with The Order.

Driven to such desperate straits, how could they possibly let him leave?

”Don’t be nervous. You look fine, but since your father insists, we’ll continue with a detailed examination.”

Unable to refuse such overwhelming hospitality, Fu Qian finally sat back down and offered Miss Winslow some comforting words.

Unfortunately, she was clearly adept at reading the room; her resulting smile was incredibly stiff.

This was for the best. A strong will to survive coupled with a high level of trust meant that any casual question he asked next would yield an answer with the effectiveness of a Lucid Dream.

Even those that strayed beyond the scope of a medical exam.

...

”You never left the room?”

Fu Qian began a new round of the four diagnostic methods of looking, smelling, questioning, and pulse-feeling.

”No.”

Jane answered quickly and firmly.

”Did anyone come in?”

”No. I was alone until Mother came back, which was about ten minutes. As soon as she walked in, she pointed out my changes.”

Jane shook her head again, recalling the events very earnestly.

In just a few sentences, the childish lilt in her voice had grown noticeably stronger.

Ten minutes.

Fu Qian glanced at Mrs. Winslow; it was surprising she had been gone that long.

”I wanted some quiet... so I asked Mother to leave me alone for a bit.”

Mrs. Winslow grew visibly uneasy under his gaze. Noticing this, Jane hurriedly spoke up to explain.

This explanation was perfectly reasonable. In a situation like this, not wanting to see anyone was completely normal.

Even when he first arrived, Mrs. Winslow had been sitting outside by herself.

Fu Qian nodded slightly, in no rush to speak.

Based on the current situation, the conclusion seemed easy to deduce—

Jane’s eyes reverting meant the original commandment’s influence had vanished.

Her current physical changes indicated that a new commandment’s influence had taken hold.

All of this had happened in less than ten minutes.

And it seemed the only catalyst for this was his prior use of the Eternally Lucid Mind.

Had its effects startled something?

Yet even after being startled, it had initially maintained the status quo, waiting specifically until everyone else was gone before reacting.

Wasn’t that a bit too human?

It was somewhat different from the cold, unfeeling nature he imagined a commandment to have.

”Doctor, what exactly is wrong with Jane?”

Seeing that Fu Qian wasn’t asking any more questions, Mister Winslow finally couldn’t hold back and pressed for an answer.

Whether it was the doctor’s earlier methods or the successive changes in his daughter, everything clearly exceeded the bounds of normality. He no longer held out hope for the best-case scenario.

While speaking, Mister Winslow didn’t even shy away from using her name, demonstrating his honesty and resolve regarding the matter.

Unfortunately, the response he got was—

”Didn’t I say earlier there wasn’t a problem? We’re now in the realm of overtreatment, so let’s run another test and try our luck.”

Amidst this shameless remark, Fu Qian actually pulled two more tools from his Medical Visit Box.

...

He hadn’t expected the man to be this principled. Even now, he was unwilling to spell it out, which would only add to their risks if things really went south.

Mister Winslow clearly wasn’t a simple-minded man. After a few seconds of shock, he realized the doctor’s painstaking intentions, and he felt deeply assured that he had made the right decision today.

Reassuring his wife, he stayed quiet and watched the two new tools the doctor had brought out.

Compared to the previous ones, these two were undeniably larger and more alarming. One of them was outright a small spiked hammer.

”Look here.”

Just as he was worrying about how they would be used, he saw the doctor cross the two tools and call out to his daughter.

Hm?

Though she found it deeply strange, Jane obediently complied without resistance.

But just as she secretly frowned at the shape of the tools, she watched the doctor gently tap them together.

Ding~

A melodious trill rang out, making Jane’s heart tremble. Her emotions instantly slipped into a bizarrely relaxed state, and even her surroundings seemed to lose their reality.

He even knew hypnosis?

The Winslows clearly noticed their daughter’s unfocused gaze as well. Completely unable to predict the doctor’s methods, they held their breath and made no sound.

”Relax. I want you to think carefully before answering my question.”

His voice seemed to carry a strange rhythm. Even though he was essentially just casually activating the Lucid Dream, Fu Qian played his part with absolute dedication.

”Why did you want some quiet earlier?”

If something overly human really did exist, then seemingly normal details shouldn’t be taken for granted.

As the Dream Dominator, suppressing the urge to answer was quite easy. After about half a minute, Fu Qian lifted the restriction.

”I really hadn’t thought about why before... But I just thought back carefully, and it seems like when it was just me and Mother, a voice whispered in my ear...”

”It told me I needed some quiet.”