Eldritch Horror Theatre

He had only let his mind wander for a second to glance around. Was such a massive reaction really necessary?

Fu Qian had good reason to harbor doubts about his current identity.

Even now, though he had clearly returned to a state of quiet contemplation, a reflection off to the side revealed that the female churchgoer with the coiled hair was still watching him, refusing to give up.

If she was just policing his lack of focus, she was being far too strict—especially since she hardly seemed devout herself.

Fu Qian was absolutely certain that when he first glanced over, her posture had been incredibly relaxed, even more casual than the person beside her.

Was this a double standard? Strict with others, lenient with herself... It wasn’t impossible.

As he pondered quietly, a sudden thought struck him.

What if his current identity was simply different from theirs? What if he genuinely wasn’t allowed to lose focus?

And could that be the reason he had manifested in this body?

A zealot? A mindless living corpse?Considering they were in the realm of bliss, the latter felt a bit out of place. The former was far more likely.

A devout believer who sat here year-round, never allowing himself to be distracted.

Although he still didn’t know what they worshipped, it was a plausible explanation.

Of course, this was just an extremely rough deduction. To find out more... he could just test it.

Smoothing the sleeves of his red and blue robes, Fu Qian stood up.

...

She actually stood up too. Wasn’t this female churchgoer a little too reactive?

Fu Qian had undoubtedly been paying attention to the movements behind him, and he successfully confirmed that the woman staring at him had risen to her feet almost instantly.

Inside the Church, a place of cultivation.

She copied whatever he did, reacting to his every move. Could this be the legendary dual cultivation?

Even as he marveled at the thought, Fu Qian kept his eyes fixed straight ahead and walked directly toward an open side door of the Church...

Sure enough, he had arrived in this auspicious land once more.

He met no resistance, even though the female churchgoer looked as if she were itching to interfere.

Stepping outside, he was greeted by the blinding radiance of Bright Light, a crystalline sky stretching out overhead.

Although he had never been to this specific area, it was easy to tell that he was still within the City of Bliss.

While there weren’t many pedestrians around, someone noticed him immediately.

They looked somewhat surprised, though not to the same extreme as the female churchgoer.

Observing the reactions around him without batting an eye, Fu Qian quickly reached a conclusion.

His current identity was indeed somewhat special. More than one person was shocked to see him step outside.

At the same time, the female churchgoer’s identity was likely special as well, given her unusually intense reaction.

In fact, as Fu Qian continued forward and finally turned the corner of the Church, he saw that she had followed him outside. She stood quietly by the main entrance, watching him, her expression as indifferent as ever.

Fu Qian ignored her, maintaining a steady pace as he slipped out of sight down the side of the Church, walking a full lap around the building.

That was right—he hadn’t actually left. He had simply made an appearance on the street.

He was observing his surroundings, and allowing his surroundings to observe him.

One straightforward takeaway from his stroll was that the exterior of the Church was just like the interior—lacking any distinguishing marks or even a unique architectural structure.

Of course, he couldn’t exactly say that to his fellow churchgoers.

When he finished his lap and returned, the female churchgoer with the coiled hair was still standing there, looking as if she were analyzing everything that had just happened.

Fu Qian merely gave her a slight nod of acknowledgment and walked right back inside without a word.

The seating area was still empty save for the lone male churchgoer. Finally disturbed by the commotion, the man stared at the returning Fu Qian for a moment, but otherwise offered no major reaction.

The female churchgoer, on the other hand, never returned.

...

So, had she been playing the role of a monitor?

Taking his seat once again, Fu Qian perfectly replicated his original posture.

Rather than believe that the female churchgoer who had been so unusually fixated on him had suddenly lost interest and left, he suspected a much larger reaction was brewing.

For instance, perhaps she was a lookout ordered to monitor him, and because her target’s actions had been too startling, she had run off to get backup.

Admittedly, such a plotline felt somewhat out of place in the Land of Bliss, but it was absolutely perfect for the City of Sin.

No matter how fundamentally different its underlying driving forces might be, this place presented itself as a city fraught with legitimate gangs and a thriving sex industry. It was perfectly normal for things to play out with typical jianghu flair.

Screech—

And the facts quickly proved Fu Qian right.

The Small Chapel didn’t remain quiet for much longer. All at once, things got lively.

Even from his seat inside, he could hear multiple vehicles pulling up and stopping outside in unison.

Accompanied by the commotion, a chaotic flurry of footsteps marched right into the Church. One of the newcomers didn’t say a single word, coming over to take a seat directly beside him.

”Finally done playing pretend?”

Alas, this was Expert Fu they were dealing with. He had roamed the circles of faith for years, bewitching minds, blaspheming Deities, and usurping holy thrones. Sitting in a church was like being right at home for him. No matter how tense the atmosphere grew, he remained as steady as Mount Tai.

Soon enough, the figure beside him lost his patience and spoke first.

His voice was mild, but his words were fiercely aggressive.

”I thought you planned to sit here forever... but what a pity. Leaving the Brotherhood has never been easy.”

...

So washing one’s hands in a golden basin really was no easy task, was it?

Once your hands were stained with blood, you could forget about ever truly leaving the jianghu.

From the sheer swagger of this group’s arrival, Fu Qian could already sense the heavy stench of the underworld.

But even for this rather frail and bookish-looking fellow beside him, the sheer jianghu grit that spilled from his lips was staggering.

Specifically, the name ”Brotherhood” stirred up memories from one of Fu Qian’s past lives in samsara.

Kako had once said that in the City of Bliss, one should never get involved with the Brotherhood unless absolutely necessary. While they weren’t the largest faction, they were undoubtedly the most relentless.

Unfortunately, it sounded like his current identity was already a registered member of the Brotherhood who was simply trying to wash his hands in a golden basin.

With that in mind, everything that had happened earlier made perfect sense.

Desperate to get out but fully aware of the Brotherhood’s terror, this ”self” of his had ultimately sought sanctuary in faith. He had planted himself in the Church, masquerading as one of the Saints and acting as if he had forsaken the secular world.

Alas, even then, the Brotherhood refused to let him go, going so far as to plant someone here just to watch him.

The moment he showed any sign of cracking, disaster would strike.

It was all so very jianghu. This City of Bliss was truly surreal.

Sighing inwardly, Fu Qian finally turned his head. He calmly gazed over the mobsters who had just packed into a third of the seating area.

It was fine. Handling jianghu affairs with jianghu methods was exactly what he did best.

Not to mention, his little stroll outside had been intended to invite them in to begin with.