Eldritch Horror Theatre

Blue-gray stone surrounded him, its faint textures blending into a seamless, unbroken expanse.

He had clearly left the Huang Manor and entered the interior of the mountain.

This narrow passageway appeared to have been hollowed out along a natural crevice in the rock.

It was a highly practical choice. Expanding a natural fault line saved an enormous amount of time and effort compared to carving a new tunnel from scratch. The drawback, naturally, was the uneven terrain. The twisting route gave off a feeling that winding paths lead to a secluded place, offering ample cover for lawless intruders to hide.

That hardly mattered right now, however. Huang Jianyuan stood guard at one of the narrowest choke points in the passage—a position where a single man could hold off an army.

So while Madam Xiao Ying’s courage was commendable, the odds of her impulsive action succeeding were ordinarily quite low.

That didn’t apply to Fu Qian, of course. Unless Huang Jianyuan possessed the same special protection as that hidden voyeur outside the Night Watchers Base, casually strolling past him using the Blood Crusade would be no problem at all.

Trailing the loyal guard as she cloaked herself and crept closer under the cover of shadow, Fu Qian quickly confirmed that Brother Jianyuan did not, in fact, possess that sort of protection.

Yet he was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he stayed to see things through, observing this crisis that had, in a sense, been triggered by his own actions.

As a consummate professional, Madam Xiao Ying clearly grasped the danger of her situation. Her advance was a cautious navigation of peril at every step.Unfortunately, even with such care, Huang Jianyuan’s piercing gaze swept over to her exact location like a searchlight.

The lighting was dim and Xiao Ying’s concealment was exceptional, but Huang Jianyuan was clearly familiar with her abilities. He didn’t look away. Instead, he scrutinized the area with growing intensity—and found absolutely nothing.

Frowning slightly, he took two steps forward and double-checked the spot. It really was completely empty.

His suspicions finally assuaged, Brother Jianyuan silently breathed a sigh of relief and retreated to resume his post.

At that exact same moment, a thoroughly bewildered Madam Xiao Ying stood in that very spot, having completely dropped her stealth to glance around the empty passage.

...

’You really shouldn’t jump to conclusions about anything until the very last second,’ Fu Qian thought.

Watching the bizarre scene unfold a short distance away, Fu Qian sighed in genuine amazement.

From his vantage point, Madam Xiao Ying and Brother Jianyuan were practically standing face-to-face. They were so close that, under normal circumstances, they would have been breathing on each other.

Yet right now, both of them were staring blankly at empty air.

Brother Jianyuan hadn’t been granted the same protection as that voyeur after all. Instead, he seemed to possess an entirely different type of ward—one with an almost opposite effect.

It defied common sense, but armed with plenty of his own unconventional knowledge, Fu Qian easily arrived at an explanation.

The anomaly, he concluded, lay with Huang Jianyuan.

Back then, the voyeur had used an unreasonable method to forcibly strip away all stealth effects within a certain radius, essentially generating a Domain of Truth.

For Brother Jianyuan, however, this special protection seemed to automatically shift him into a dimension of Dislocation whenever an imperceptible target drew near.

In other words, the reason they couldn’t see each other was that his current state relative to Madam Xiao Ying was essentially like triggering a one-way Blood Crusade.

Even though the man himself remained completely oblivious to it, a little thought revealed just how formidable this protection could be in most situations.

That voyeuristic woman ensured no one could successfully ambush her. Brother Jianyuan’s protection ensured any would-be ambusher simply lost their target altogether—and the entire process triggered automatically.

The obvious drawback, of course, was that it made him woefully incompetent as a gatekeeper.

As for why, when the two of them were clearly dislocated from each other, he didn’t assume the anomaly lay with Madam Xiao Ying?

First, she had already used her concealment techniques around Fu Qian earlier, and everything had operated exactly as normal.

Second, Fu Qian could no longer see Brother Jianyuan, either.

Continuing forward in the Blood Crusade State, Fu Qian had already slipped right past the two of them. The direct result of this was that his perception could now only detect Madam Xiao Ying.

Even with his heightened senses, he couldn’t pick up a single trace of Brother Jianyuan’s aura.

He had to admit, the protection was remarkably effective.

He would need to be thoroughly prepared for whatever they were going to face deeper inside.

Praising the ability silently, Fu Qian drifted further down the tunnel.

...

’The interior layout is a bit complicated,’ he noted.

He didn’t have to travel far before he stopped in front of a lampstand burning with a faint, spectral light.

Although the Blood Crusade allowed him to ignore terrain, the sheer eeriness of this place made him opt for a normal path for the time being.

As he stopped, he canceled the Blood Crusade, allowing his physical body to materialize.

The light remained dim, but this lamp’s design was distinctly different from the ones he had seen earlier. It seemed to mark the entrance to a special section.

Sure enough, a chain suspension bridge stretched out before him, spanning the gap between two sheer rock walls.

It bore no elaborate decorations, appearing plain but incredibly sturdy, and it looked as though it had hung there for a very long time.

Having entrenched themselves here for years, the West Plain Huang Clan clearly believed The Mountain possessed excellent feng shui. Yet, rather than refusing to break ground out of fear of spoiling that geomantic fortune, they had actively excavated and explored the area.

Hard work didn’t always yield results, of course. Judging by the previous Ill Omen Incident, the West Plain Huang Clan’s efforts here had likely yielded very little; they probably had absolutely no concept of that particular tree.

Still, one had to look on the bright side. Their efforts were likely yielding substantial results now.

It was hard to believe that Huang Jianyuan, relegated to acting as a mere gatekeeper, would be the only one granted that bizarre protection.

The elites pushing deeper into the heart of the mountain were likely having a very thrilling time right about now.

As he studied the bridge, the unmistakable aura of Madam Xiao Ying rapidly closed the distance behind him.

Despite her obvious shock, the sudden disappearance of the gatekeeper hadn’t managed to scare off the fiercely loyal bodyguard.

Despite her rapidly approaching presence, Fu Qian didn’t step onto the bridge. He didn’t even reactivate the Blood Crusade. Instead, he simply reached up and pulled off the Emissary mask.

...

’It looks like there aren’t any restrictions just yet.’

The shift in lighting was minimal this time. Finding himself instantly transported back to the Warehouse, Fu Qian felt thoroughly satisfied that his Town Portal Technique still functioned perfectly.

Since he had completed this week’s task long ago, the Warehouse was completely silent. There were no leakage accidents to deal with, nor was there any commendation for his unprompted overtime.

A truly mature capitalist, it seemed, never encouraged scabs.

Shaking his head, Fu Qian casually swept up his equipment from the table, grabbing everything that was easy to carry.

Once he had packed everything away with practiced ease, he ignored the mask resting to the side and activated the Imprint on his wrist.

Bright sunlight greeted him.

Returning to his own place after being away for days, he found the air in the living room wasn’t too stuffy. A gentle, warm light filtered through the half-drawn curtains, pooling on the floor.

He didn’t linger to appreciate the quiet scene. After confirming there were no unusual summons echoing in his mind, Fu Qian headed straight for the bedroom, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and activated the Imprint once more.