Eldritch Horror Theatre

The rolling red dust of the mortal world, tangled in romantic and karmic debt—Fu Qian actually rather appreciated this turn of events.

His primary goal in coming here to handle the incident was to deepen his involvement with the Brotherhood, but he didn’t mind taking the opportunity to observe this popular method of seeking the Dao within the City of Bliss.

Especially now that Madam Silk Scarf and her companion had proactively offered up a version 2.0 upgrade, aided in no small part by his own push.

Faced with such a creative program, Fu Qian naturally didn’t mind helping them push it even further.

”Right now?”

Unfortunately, the involved parties’ receptiveness seemed to have a limit.

Before Madam Silk Scarf could speak, Brother Guest—who had been the first to accept the situation—now looked like he couldn’t quite hold his composure.

”Here and now. Otherwise, how will you prove your feelings?”

Giving a textbook cold sneer, Fu Qian leaned fully into his thuggish persona, practically demanding they put on a live broadcast on the spot.

”The brothers in our gang wouldn’t mind broadening their horizons.”As he spoke, he even glanced back over the crowd, letting his gaze linger deliberately on a few faces that showed hesitation.

The end result was a silent but successful alignment of the gang’s ideology. From Brother Thick Eyebrows to Tailing Sister, no one voiced a single objection.

His sheer, overbearing presence was clearly leaving a growing impact on them all.

At the same time, it had to be admitted that this brought an unexpected perk.

A minor incident of extorting prostitution fees had taken such a bizarre turn, undoubtedly making things far more entertaining.

So much so that more than a few members were already eagerly living up to the idea of ”broadening their horizons,” their expressions filling with genuine interest.

”Now you owe me even more...”

That even included the other party involved.

While Brother Guest was left speechless, Madam Silk Scarf’s hands were already slipping beneath his clothes, gently unfastening them to bare his muscular physique as her voice turned seductive.

Her receptiveness was clearly much higher. Since she couldn’t resist, she seemed fully prepared to just enjoy it and go with the flow, using this as an opportunity to explore the next realm.

”Want to join in? Free of charge.”

More than that, she displayed an impressive leap of imagination, turning her head to extend a polite invitation to Fu Qian.

”No need. The rules of the jianghu dictate we keep distinct matters separate.”

Fu Qian’s expression didn’t so much as flicker as he casually turned her down.

...

Madam Silk Scarf’s offer was quite good, mostly because rejecting it yielded far greater returns than accepting it.

As noted more than once before, the actions of these people in the City of Bliss were fundamentally just performance art.

Their words and actions were constantly misaligned with their actual inner drives. In the end, all they sought was to forge an unconventional karmic bond amid infinite samsara to aid their path toward the Dao.

Under these circumstances, accepting Madam Silk Scarf’s proposition would certainly deepen their karmic entanglement, but that was where it would end.

Refusing her based on gang principles, however, would elevate his inner state to a whole new tier.

She might not have realized the depth of the gesture when she made the offer, but Madam Silk Scarf had undoubtedly done him a favor.

As for Brother Guest, those who seek karma are inevitably burdened by it. His current predicament could best be described as seeking the Dao in the mortal world while entirely at the mercy of circumstances.

In fact, ”at the mercy of circumstances” was quite a literal description.

As clothes pooled on the floor, the situation before them quickly escalated from karmic romantic entanglement to physical entanglement.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the air in the room seemed to grow hot.

Madam Silk Scarf was clearly putting in a tremendous amount of effort, and infected by her enthusiasm, Brother Guest quickly got into the mood as well.

Fu Qian, who had single-handedly pushed the current situation forward, gave them plenty of face by watching their lip-locked exchange intently, contemplating the ultimate truth of how to reach an even higher realm.

For instance, what exactly did the ”joy far beyond the mundane” that Madam Kake had mentioned actually entail—

At a certain moment, Fu Qian actually felt something.

It was a bit abstract to describe, but it essentially boiled down to ”becoming aware that he was unaware.”

To be more specific, there was a fleeting instant where his perception was severed by some force—a severance that included the very concept of perception itself.

It did feel slightly similar to the sensation of entering the Inhuman Samsara back then.

Not only could he not see, but the very concept of ”sight” was degrading.

Of course, it was merely similar. The subtle difference was that this absence had a ”shape.”

That was even harder to put into words. In fact, if he didn’t have his previous experiences to use as a baseline, Fu Qian wouldn’t have even been able to confirm this anomaly.

To use a simple metaphor, it was as if a distinctly shaped vortex suddenly appeared in his mind for a split second, tearing at and swallowing everything through that very concept.

Given how fast it flashed by and how unpleasant the sensation was, an ordinary person wouldn’t possess the ”refined taste” Fu Qian did to carefully savor it, let alone stubbornly memorize the shape of that absence.

Even the highly stimulating live performance right in front of him couldn’t distract him in the slightest.

Indeed, after that momentary daze, everything returned to normal.

The two on the embroidered bed were thoroughly entwined. Patches of flush spread across fair skin, and a heavy air of obscenity—both visual and olfactory—saturated every corner of their intimate space.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could clearly take in the myriad reactions of the Brotherhood members.

Some remained as completely calm as an ancient well without ripples, some stared unblinkingly, while others looked joyful and intoxicated... Regardless of their demeanor, none of them were willing to let this karmic event easily slip by.

”Excellent. We in the Brotherhood have always abided by the rules. It’s time to go.”

Facing such a grand spectacle, Fu Qian gave his verdict.

”Wishing you two a long and happy union. Our debt is wiped clean—consider it a wedding gift from the gang.”

Leaving no room for argument, he waved a hand and turned to lead the way out.

...

Interesting.

What was that just now? What triggered it? And why was it so similar to the Inhuman Samsara?

Was it a unique experience belonging solely to him, or did all the lucky souls in the Realm of Bliss experience it?

It was truly bizarre, and definitely counted as an unexpected harvest for this trip. It was worth looking into deeply.

Of course, that didn’t mean he needed to stick around and dwell on it here.

Time was precious. The climax of this karmic encounter had passed, so it was time to quit while he was ahead and prepare to storm the Brotherhood’s main headquarters.

Click!

As he pondered, the door was gently pulled shut behind him.

A heart of a bodhisattva wielding the methods of a thunderbolt. He had dominated his way through a complex situation and ultimately made a remarkably magnanimous decision.

Fu Qian’s actions thus far clearly showed he had flawlessly fulfilled his role as team leader. The proof was in the pudding: after his earlier declaration, no one had voiced a single objection. They had all trailed out after him, even taking care to gently pull the door shut.

Naturally, the group’s movements drew plenty of attention.

A sizable crowd of onlookers had already gathered out in the hall, featuring no shortage of men and women in exceedingly skimpy attire.

It seemed this place operated as some sort of industry cluster.

”The two people inside—I don’t want them disturbed.”

Facing their scrutinizing stares without an ounce of politeness, Fu Qian met their eyes and slowly spat out an order, exuding the absolute dominance of a mob boss.