Eldritch Horror Theatre

”You ran into her at the prison?”

Despite her faint disbelief, Tina also looked palpably relieved.

Having remained silent the whole way while leading him, she finally couldn’t help but ask for confirmation as they stepped into the building she had just pointed out.

”Yeah. She has her own room over there to focus on her art.”

Fu Qian replied casually, taking in their surroundings.

It truly lived up to being the prized spot he had chosen. It possessed an extraordinary air from the outside, but stepping inside revealed that was only a superficial impression.

It was more than just a temporary morgue; it felt qualified to be a full-fledged cemetery.

Despite the brick-and-wood structure and materials that didn’t look particularly ancient, it still stubbornly exuded a chilling aura that pierced straight to the soul.

Even the echoes of their footsteps sounded exceptionally crisp and resonant.

”I’m actually not that surprised. It sounds like something she would do.”Her professionalism shone through here. Though she frowned, it didn’t stop Tina from commenting on Fu Qian’s claim.

”Are you close with Rachel and her husband?”

Her tone piqued Fu Qian’s curiosity.

”Not really. I’ve heard Hake mention them a few times.”

Tina shook her head. After her instinctive reply, she seemed slightly uncomfortable at the mention of Hake’s name.

”How did Hake describe them?”

She sounded quite familiar with his partner. Her reaction of leaving the house in the morning and then immediately hiding back inside suddenly made sense.

Reaching a silent conclusion, Fu Qian didn’t press the issue and kept his focus on the original topic.

”That they’re a perfect match... though I don’t see it.”

Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Tina casually repeated this rather surprising evaluation, along with her own disagreement.

”Whether it’s her or Ed, neither seems very satisfied with their marriage. Yet they both hold on with this strange persistence, as if they’re competing to see who can endure it longer.”

Ah, young people. It seemed the Old Man was as sharp-eyed as ever.

At Tina’s lack of understanding, Fu Qian could only sigh inwardly.

”What else?”

”What else? That’s it. Like I said, we aren’t that close—and Hake is my uncle, though I don’t know if he ever told you that.”

Tina sighed, evidently having no intention of discussing other people’s relationship issues any further. After a moment of hesitation, she offered up a piece of personal information.

...

So that was it.

So her huge reaction this morning wasn’t just about being seen by an elder, but by a relative?

Tina’s revelation gave Fu Qian a much better understanding of what had happened that morning.

It even explained Hake’s lack of understanding toward today’s youth.

With things turning out this way, however, it seemed his roundabout journey was still heavily tied to the Old Man.

Could his partner really be the one strategizing within the command tent?

It was still hard to say, but looking on the bright side, the chances of something interesting waiting for him had seemingly increased.

”Strange, it isn’t here.”

The place wasn’t large, and they had reached their destination in the blink of an eye.

However, as Fu Qian refrained from commenting, Tina stepped forward to search around, only to return empty-handed with a frown.

”Do you want to wait here for a while, or should we try a different approach? Does Hake know about the corpse?”

A ’different approach’ naturally meant a more formal method of negotiation.

That would grant him more cooperation, but the process would inevitably be complicated.

”I haven’t told him yet... Let’s wait a bit. It’s quiet here, and it’s a good chance for you to rest.”

Shaking his head slightly, Fu Qian simply found a spot and sat down.

Who comes to a place like this to rest? It’s quiet, sure...

For a moment, she almost voiced the complaint aloud. After a brief hesitation, however, Tina sat down next to him to wait.

She hadn’t thought much of the environment at first, but Fu Qian’s deliberate emphasis made it impossible not to focus on their surroundings. The silence soon became rather difficult to bear.

”You have good skills. I have you to thank for being able to keep my head clear today.”

As Tina’s gaze swept over him, Fu Qian seemed to remember something and pointed at the back of his hand.

...

Even though the gratitude was sincere, Tina was clearly still reluctant to bring up the events of yesterday, leaving her with an awkward expression.

”However, there seem to be some side effects.”

Fortunately, he didn’t need her to respond. Fu Qian continued on his own, extending a hand.

”It’s been changing color for a while now. Could you take a look and see what’s going on?”

Huh?

The topic had shifted, but it had escalated straight into a medical dispute.

Tina was momentarily stunned, though she instinctively shook her head.

”That’s impossible. What I injected you with barely even counts as medication. Are you sure your hand didn’t touch something?”

Unfortunately, the vivid splash of natural green that greeted her eyes still gave her a start.

She couldn’t be blamed for her reaction. His entire hand looked as though it had been thoroughly soaked in green dye, spreading all the way to the wrist to form a stark boundary, looking exactly as if his Glove had bled its color.

”Probably not. The pain is coming from the inside. But I trust a professional’s judgment. If it isn’t an issue with the medicine, then maybe it’s because I drank fake alcohol last night.”

While indicating that it wasn’t that simple, Fu Qian was nonetheless highly accommodating. He didn’t press the issue, blaming the problem on himself instead.

”You did drink a lot last night. Whether any of it was fake, I don’t know... just like I don’t know why I insisted on giving you an IV drip at the time... Maybe I drank fake alcohol too.”

The old matter was brought up again, but he didn’t fixate on the embarrassing aspects of it.

In the end, within this rather private environment, Tina was finally able to shake her head in natural frustration.

”So, giving me the IV was your idea?”

What Tina had just mentioned was clearly quite interesting to Fu Qian. He hadn’t demanded it; she had voluntarily offered the medical service.

”You don’t remember?”

Tina’s eyes widened as she looked at him, trying to confirm if he was maliciously teasing her.

”I don’t remember.”

Unfortunately for her, Fu Qian’s expression showed not a hint of pretense.

”It really was me... You were actually against it at first, and your final condition was that I had to change clothes...”

After a long silence and a heavy sigh, unable to find any flaws in his act, and assuming Fu Qian truly couldn’t remember any specific details, Tina surprisingly let down her guard and shared the events of that crazy night.

”Then I had to find a friend at the bar and borrow that outfit... The clothes I was originally wearing are still at her place, and I still don’t know how I’m going to get them back.”

The sheer amount of information dropped was a bit much, but the story was so absurd that it couldn’t possibly be fake.

So he really had forced her to wear that outfit, but only on the condition that she had first forced him to accept the IV treatment?

”So why did you go drinking in the first place?”

Fu Qian didn’t question Tina’s story; he simply followed up with a natural question.