Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Because I am looking for the sea, too.”

They had finally managed to strike up an interaction—and were even chatting quite pleasantly—only for the situation to completely reverse a moment later.

Faced with Fu Qian aggressively demanding accountability, Liang Shangjun was clearly nervous and hurriedly offered an explanation.

Not that one could see much of an emotional shift on that pathetic face.

”Then you have even less reason to stop us.”

Unfortunately, while he might have shown the right attitude, it still failed to satisfy the Templar Knight.

The stark gap in their exaggerated facial expressions was vividly displayed the next moment. Fu Qian furrowed his brow, perfectly projecting a profound irritation that screamed, ’Are you messing with me?’

”If it were that simple, why would I still be here? I only told you not to rush because I thought there were some things you’d better know first.”

Liang Shangjun, however, didn’t like remaining too passive. He quickly adjusted his mood, letting out a long sigh and even withdrawing his blocking arm, looking for all the world like someone respecting the fate of others.

However, he quickly discovered that while the other party didn’t continue down the cleared path, neither did they cooperate by asking what exactly those ’things’ were. Their attitude remained thoroughly terrible.”...We are in the minority here. Most of the other guys don’t believe the sea can be found outside. On the contrary, they think that what permeates that place is a calamity waiting to destroy everything.”

After a brief hesitation, Liang Shangjun finally chose not to put on airs anymore and directly elaborated.

’The legendary opposing factions? Interesting.’

”Outside?”

Only then did Fu Qian finally give a slight nod, casually tossing out the question.

His cold demeanor along the way wasn’t because he had suffered qi deviation while trying to display the style of the Dark Moon Cult.

While Liang Shangjun’s opening remarks had certainly been interesting, communication was a skill, and dealing with different characters required different approaches.

If you followed the rhythm of someone who loved being deliberately cryptic like him, there was a high probability he would start spouting nonsense with astonishing efficiency, making communication incredibly strenuous.

Even the Witch clearly shared this view, directly choosing to carry her aloofness through to the end.

It might have seemed a little rude at first glance, but to borrow an old saying—it was truly all for his own good.

After all, Liang Shangjun was clearly a character they could communicate with, and they couldn’t just casually waste that.

If they hadn’t used this method to urge him to efficiently provide the hard facts, they would have had to switch to a more violent approach.

Not to mention that, in theory, he and the Witch had already taken the initiative to greet him—

Liang Shangjun had hidden himself well, but he wasn’t invisible. Neither the Witch nor he had casually disposed of him upon entering; instead, they had freely chatted about Transcendent secrets right there. Wasn’t that posture sincere enough?

Under these circumstances, if you didn’t demonstrate your own value, it would actually be too impolite.

”Yes, this is already the final stretch of the Ruins leading outside. Keep following it, and you can leave this place.

”However, the sea of mind lies just beyond the end. I am practically the only one who believes this, so if you truly want to open that passage, you will face fierce opposition.”

It proved that under their continuous guidance, Liang Shangjun was finally getting on track. Even after receiving his expected interaction, he didn’t forget to minimize the meaningless fluff.

”Fierce resistance from who? Them?”

Highly satisfied with the results of the communication, Fu Qian used a glance to indicate the almost omnipresent bugs inside the passage.

”No, they only attack on instinct, because you are intruders... As long as you remain in here long enough, they won’t care about your actions anymore.”

Liang Shangjun even crawled down a bit further, poking half of his massive head directly into the passage, watching the scene inside as he explained.

Not only that, but a moment later he even took a deep breath and opened his mouth wide.

Accompanied by a strong, rancid acid smell, a dark green ball of liquid traced an arc and landed with pinpoint accuracy deep within the passage.

...

Considering the density of the bugs, it undoubtedly hit more than one target.

The targets of the attack didn’t show any struggle or anger; instead, they wriggled rapidly with a joyous willingness as they bathed in the putrid liquid.

It wasn’t just them. Every insect in the vicinity seemed drawn to the spot, so much so that the ”waterfall” began to flow backward, converging layer upon layer in the blink of an eye.

And along with this change, an astonishing scene appeared—

The area originally covered by the bugs was exposed, revealing that piled up underneath were crisscrossing steles of all sizes.

The very end was stuffed completely tight, with only trickles of red sand flowing down through the gaps.

So the giant porters from earlier—their original destination was here?

It was hard to say how long they had been working, but they were clearly giving it their all. Just the portion visible here was already packed with quite a few steles.

”They’ve been doing this all along, tirelessly collecting steles from the Ruins to block the passage.”

Beside them, Liang Shangjun continued explaining, a hint of mockery slipping into his tone.

”It is understandable. After all, to them, if they don’t do this, the pouring red sand will destroy everything. These formless bugs that spawn alongside it are the proof.

”So if you want to clear out these steles, it will be absolutely intolerable to them—”

”Their concerns are valid.”

Just as he was reaching the most impassioned part, an unexpected voice chimed in.

Liang Shangjun’s mockery of those ignorant fools was actually casually interrupted by the Witch.

Although the latter still wasn’t looking his way, instead discussing things with her Knight.

...

”It is an incredibly fragile balance. Whether we clear away these steles or force our way out through other means, it will most likely cause this dreamscape to collapse entirely.”

Clearly unconcerned with what Liang Shangjun might think after hearing that, the Witch continued explaining her discoveries to her Knight.

”However, the outside is indeed unusual. Even from this position, I still cannot sense anything.”

”Is it really that magical? In that case, it feels like we should definitely go take a look at the sea.”

Fu Qian’s attitude was completely different from before, offering his commentary with deep, theatrical emotion.

”I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Those guys are right? Is this a joke? Do you really want to find the sea that represents the spiritual world or not?!”

Liang Shangjun, off to the side, finally couldn’t hold it in anymore, unleashing a Three-Stage Questioning in a single breath.

Even as he spoke, his body shrank back a little, seemingly growing wary of the capricious duo.

”Of course we’re looking for that sea; haven’t we been talking about it this whole time? The question is, are you?”

His mustered courage, however, did win him a slight response.

While pondering the information the Witch had provided, Fu Qian shot Liang Shangjun a glance and casually tossed the question back.

”What does that mean?”

At that moment, the latter’s pathetic face finally underwent a shift in expression for the first time.