Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 68: Omen Must Die (14)
Amidst the alarms, Fu Qian could sense people converging from all directions, quickly surrounding the small courtyard so tightly that not even water could seep through.
Under these circumstances, he could never clear his name even with a hundred mouths.
The good thing, though, was that Fu Qian never liked explaining himself anyway.
Therefore, without even looking back, Fu Qian stood with his hands behind his back, striking a pose of looking up at the starry sky.
"Who are you? Why did you commit such a vicious act?"
Huang Leji's furious roar came from behind, and one could almost picture his eyes practically splitting at the seams.
Pretty impressive. The timing here is impeccably calculated.
He rushed to kill the people right before I arrived, escaped before I got here, and then the Huang family discovers the anomaly and surrounds me, making me take the blame.
A single slight miscalculation in timing, and he would have completely botched it.
Truly pulling chestnuts from the fire. Did this Omen start out running badger games?
Under the current circumstances, there was absolutely no way the Huang family would let this go.
The one who just shouted was Huang Leji. From their auras, he could distinguish that Huang Lezhan and Huang Jianyuan were all present.
This was also deep inside the manor; fighting his way out would be quite difficult and highly time-consuming.
And whether he went on a killing spree or got delayed here, both were exactly what Omen wanted to see.
A very disadvantageous situation! Good thing I prepared a backup plan.
"You ask who I am?"
Fu Qian scoffed and slowly turned around.
During that brief moment, his facial features had rapidly readjusted, returning to his original face.
"Fu Qian, Night Watchers Special Operations Consultant."
Night Watchers?
The moment his words came out, the crowd was both shocked and suspicious, scrutinizing his unfamiliar face.
"How come I've never heard of the Night Watchers having a 'Special Operations Consultant' title?"
Huang Leji naturally wasn't that easy to fool. He immediately frowned and raised his doubts.
"Furthermore, how did you get into my Huang Family's grounds?"
"What makes you think... you have the right to know the Night Watchers' affairs?"
Fu Qian completely ignored his question, didn't even shoot him a glance, and turned his gaze back inside the room.
"Omen..."
"Are you saying Omen did this?"
Huang Leji was startled, surveying the bloody scene inside the room.
"Who else? Me?"
Fu Qian sneered.
"So the Huang Family actually knows about Omen too. I thought the number one family in Xiyuan had already turned a deaf ear to the outside world!"
...
Huang Leji's old face flushed red.
"We also only recently learned of Omen's existence and haven't had the time to contact the Night Watchers."
"I wouldn't dare trouble you. Aren't we already here knocking on your door?"
Fu Qian stared at the tragic state of the room.
"Executioner Su and I split up to track down Omen. I rushed over at top speed after receiving intelligence that your Sixth Uncle might be his next target. I didn't expect to still be a step too late..."
Executioner Su...
Huang Leji pondered for a moment, shot a look to the person beside him, and then took a step forward.
"Mr... Fu, I didn't expect Omen to be this ruthless, infiltrating my Huang Family to commit such a toxic act..."
"I've already sent someone to invite Executioner Su. How about we wait here for her to arrive?"
As Huang Leji spoke, he carefully observed Fu Qian's reaction.
"Fine, we'll talk once Su Gao gets here."
Fu Qian gave a slight nod and pointed toward the courtyard.
"Secure this area. No one is to touch anything inside. In addition, compile the whereabouts of every Beyonder in the Huang Family over the past month and give it to me."
What is the meaning of this?
Huang Leji's gaze sharpened, but before he could speak, Huang Jianyuan behind him couldn't hold back.
"Why must Mr. Fu investigate this? Don't tell me you suspect someone from our Huang Family?"
Not suspect, I'm certain.
Fu Qian glanced at him but didn't speak.
Conversely, provoked by the look, Huang Jianyuan subconsciously took a step back. Upon realizing it, his face instantly flushed red.
"Jianyuan! Go prepare what Mr. Fu requested."
Huang Leji placed a hand on his son's shoulder, stopping him with a stern gaze.
This guy couldn't run away anyway. Whatever he wanted, give it to him!
If the Night Watchers proved later that this guy was just posturing, there would be plenty of chances to grind his bones to dust.
...
Just as I thought, he also recently returned to Xiyuan!
Fu Qian flipped through the documents handed over by Huang Jianyuan; on them were the recent travel records of everyone in the Huang Family.
And unsurprisingly, when he turned to Huang Yuanchang's section, Fu Qian discovered that he too had only returned to Xiyuan within the last week.
The suspicion is growing larger. But why does he look so familiar?
As requested, photographs of everyone were attached to their itineraries.
Fu Qian stared at Huang Yuanchang's face, faintly feeling that he had seen him somewhere before.
A feeling of being both familiar and foreign, as if falling into a cognitive blind spot.
There weren't many Beyonders in Xiyuan City; logically, it shouldn't be like this.
Fu Qian's brain spun rapidly, every scene since entering Xiyuan City flashing through his mind.
Wait, it was here!
Fu Qian's memory suddenly locked onto a specific frame.
It was after he had infiltrated the Huang Family Manor disguised as Huang Jianyuan.
In order to prevent anyone from noticing anomalies, he had advanced rapidly with an almost arrogant demeanor, ignoring everyone.
During that process, he had brushed past several people, and the face of one of them was particularly blurry in his memory now.
This situation was abnormal.
Could this also be an effect of the survival instinct?
Huang Yuanchang had indeed already fled.
Impressive. He truly didn't miss a single blind spot to lure and mislead.
But it didn't matter.
Fu Qian wrung his memory cells, forcing that blurry scene to clear up little by little.
Good. I've memorized the aura.
Su Gao arrived even faster than expected.
Still wearing black clothes and a narrow hat, with her sword never leaving her side.
Her expressionless face, coupled with the fractured scars on it, made her look like a ruined doll.
Yet, the moment she appeared, almost everyone's breathing hitched slightly.
"It is indeed Omen's style."
Stepping into the blood-drenched room, it took Su Gao only ten seconds to make a judgment, speaking to Huang Leji.
The next moment, feeling something, she looked up at Fu Qian sitting off to the side, and her body abruptly halted.
In that instant, dozens of gazes swept back and forth between the two.
Fu Qian blinked at her.
Without needing to ask, Su Gao's reaction clearly indicated that Huang Leji hadn't told her about her "colleague" here.
Too bad Old Master Huang didn't understand that this didn't matter at all.
"Mr. Fu is here too."
After locking eyes with Fu Qian for a few seconds, Su Gao bowed slightly in greeting, a flash of vitality in her eyes for a brief second.
"Long time no see. It's truly wonderful that you're alright!"
"Thanks for the concern. Just call me Fu Qian."
Mhmm.
Su Gao nodded.
"Are you in Xiyuan this time for Omen as well?"
"Yes."
"That's wonderful!"
The corners of Su Gao's mouth curled up slightly, seemingly making a smiling expression.
There's definitely a problem! Judging by the conversation, the two haven't seen each other in a long time. This guy surnamed Fu was spouting complete nonsense just now.
"Executioner Su, this Mr. Fu claimed to be the Night Watchers' Special Operations Consultant..."
Huang Leji, his face livid, interrupted their conversation that proceeded as if no one else was there.
"Is that what Mr. Fu said?"
"Indeed. Furthermore, when we arrived just now, Mr. Fu was the only one present, which is highly suspicious—"
"That's right, Mr. Fu is a Special Operations Consultant for the Night Watchers."
Keeping her eyes on Fu Qian, Su Gao said flatly.
Comments
Post a Comment