Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 158: Legacy of the Sword Heart (Part 5)
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Lanaya explicitly told him to "find Vice Dean Li and report." The meaning was clear: he absolutely had to see the man in person.
With his plan set, Fu Qian wasted no more time and headed straight for the Sword Institute's territory.
Although they operated as independent systems, regular interactions were still permitted. That was why Fu Qian could walk right up to the entrance of the Sword Pavilion.
However, core areas like the interior of the Sword Pavilion were not open to outsiders.
Even though he had procured a uniform earlier, he had only been moving around the perimeter.
At this moment, the vast majority of the students were still inside the Sword Pavilion meditating and seeking enlightenment. The Sword Institute itself was surprisingly quiet.
He had to admit, compared to Revelation, the atmosphere here felt entirely different.
He had left in a hurry earlier and hadn't observed carefully.
The Revelation Institute basically looked like a massive laboratory, with a highly modernized layout.
The Sword Institute, on the other hand, featured exquisite architecture and was brimming with a profound aura. It inexplicably evoked thoughts of comprehending the Dao through the sword.
Looking around as he walked, Fu Qian soon found a secluded spot.
Ensuring no one was around, Fu Qian first put the uniform back on, then closed his eyes.
He recalled the students he had encountered earlier inside the Sword Pavilion and picked out the most inconspicuous one.
In the next moment, his facial features began to shift rapidly, and in less than half a minute, he had swapped to a completely new face.
After days of practice, Fu Qian's face-changing technique was now flawless.
As long as he had seen the person, he could mimic them with near-perfect accuracy.
According to the data he had checked, the Sword Pavilion opened once a year, lasting for seven days each time, with a five-hour entry window each day.
Given such a rare opportunity, and considering the time wasn't up yet, hardly any students would be willing to come out early.
So no matter who he transformed into, the chances of running into the real person were astronomically low.
All he needed to do was sneak in during this window, find Li Weixuan's retreat, and confirm his presence.
Everything proceeded incredibly smoothly.
The transformed Fu Qian quickly slipped into the core area of the Sword Institute and began searching for Li Weixuan's cultivation quarters.
Having nailed down the general direction and with his destination practically in sight, Fu Qian spotted someone unexpected.
Ji Liushuang? What is she doing here?
His former teammate was walking slowly ahead of him, looking somewhat distracted and absent-minded.
On a grand occasion like the opening of the Sword Pavilion, a star student like you isn't inside meditating properly, but slacking off out here?
Although he found it odd to see Ji Liushuang here, Fu Qian had no interest in finding out why. He had proper business to attend to.
Concealing his aura and maintaining a steady pace, Fu Qian walked forward as if nothing was amiss, quickly passing Ji Liushuang.
Hm?
Yet, the very second they brushed past each other, Fu Qian felt an aura lock onto him.
The previously distracted Ji Liushuang suddenly looked up, as if realizing something.
"Stop right there. Who are you?"
Ji Liushuang's icy voice rang out from behind.
*Isn't your intuition a bit too exaggerated? You can recognize me even like this?*
Fu Qian stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to face Ji Liushuang.
The confusion in her eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a stern glare fixed squarely on him.
"You are not Tong Minghui."
"Who are you? Why are you impersonating a student of the Sword Institute to sneak in here?"
Fu Qian looked down at Ji Liushuang's hand; she was already gripping her Sword Bell, looking ready to activate it at the slightest disagreement.
From their previous interactions, he knew this girl was decisive and ruthless. This wasn't an empty threat.
If there was anything remotely suspicious about his answer, she would absolutely summon backup.
And getting caught looking like this would undoubtedly be troublesome.
Kill her to silence her? Unnecessary!
Fu Qian thought for a moment, then simply wiped his hand over his face, reverting to his original appearance.
Just as he expected, the look in Ji Liushuang's eyes returned to confusion. This face was a complete stranger to her.
Because of the Angel of Tranquility incident, the "student" identity Fu Qian had used before had been completely erased from her memory.
*It's better that you don't know me. Gives me plenty of room to improvise.*
"Sigh!"
Fu Qian didn't answer Ji Liushuang's question. Instead, he let out a long, heavy sigh.
"I just wanted to take one look and leave."
"Liushuang, truly a beautiful name."
He gazed at Ji Liushuang with eyes full of profound affection mixed with a touch of melancholy.
"Time flies. You've grown up so much in the blink of an eye."
"Your mother... is she doing well?"
...
Hearing Fu Qian's words, Ji Liushuang was clearly stunned. She never expected this person to ask about her mother.
"Who... exactly are you?"
Ji Liushuang's brows remained tightly knit, but her tone softened.
Fu Qian still didn't answer her. Instead, he looked Ji Liushuang up and down, his face full of deep emotion.
"I never thought she'd actually use Liushuang as your name!"
"Back then, it was her favorite flower. She loved taking walks under the moonlight so much that I couldn't even call her back."
"I joked back then that we should just use it to name our future child. I didn't think she'd actually take it seriously."
...
It was working!
Looking at the bewildered Ji Liushuang, Fu Qian nodded inwardly.
Not too long ago, when he used the "Envoy" mask to enter this world, he had spent an entire afternoon in a bookstore.
He used that time to casually gather information about this world, and in a piece of tabloid gossip, he spotted the name of his former teammate.
The eldest princess of the Ji Clan—one of the Federation's largest conglomerates—who held the primary right of inheritance: Ji Xue. Dissatisfied with an arranged marriage, she ran away from home and returned several years later carrying an infant.
Although the Ji Clan later acknowledged the child, they still considered it a profound humiliation. As a result, Ji Xue was placed under house arrest and rarely made public appearances ever since.
That infant was Ji Liushuang, and the identity of her father remained unknown to this day.
Combined with the wish she had spoken of inside the Angel of Tranquility, this information was more than enough to bluff her.
"I even made a special trip to the Sword Pavilion earlier, but unfortunately, I couldn't find you before I was kicked out."
Fu Qian smiled, a look of profound relief on his face.
"I didn't want to give up, so I sneaked back in... Thank goodness I sneaked in!"
...
Ji Liushuang was completely baffled.
*With this story... is he implying that he is my father?*
*But he looks even younger than me! This is too absurd!*
Yet, he knew her mother loved Liushuang flowers, and even knew about her walking under the moonlight.
"Is it because I look like this?"
As if realizing something, Fu Qian gestured to his face.
"Just a minor dark art to make me look younger than my actual age. Especially to you folks in the Sword Institute."
"You are doing well now... very well."
Fu Qian stared "deeply" at Ji Liushuang.
For some reason, he felt that compared to their last meeting, there was something... extra about her presence.
Comments
Post a Comment