Chapter 2950: Advising to Lie Flat

By the time Fu Qian returned to his loyal Bookstore, not a trace of the moon could be seen in the night sky.

It was the same even outside the second-floor window.

He hadn't returned specifically to open for a midnight shift. After entering, Fu Qian headed straight upstairs and opened the window beside the bed.

The last time he returned from the Half-Step Moon, the Red Moon had left a door here.

The viewing angle was strange, but he could more or less still see some of the scene on the other side.

With the matters in the Bottom Layer of the Dream concluded, the Burial Scroll's cooldown was still far from over, leaving him temporarily unable to use Homecoming.

But coming back to check on the activity here was obviously an option.

It was just a pity—

As the window creaked open, Fu Qian noted that not a sliver of crimson could be seen outside. It had been replaced by the standard Shangjing nightlife.

It had actually closed the reserved door. It seemed the Red Moon really had no time to spare for him right now.

Gaining nothing was also a kind of harvest, so Fu Qian wasn't overly disappointed by this result.

Clack! After quietly sensing the area for a few minutes, he casually shut the window and turned to open his wardrobe.

Politeness went both ways. Since this was an invited formal visit, he needed to pay some attention to his attire to show respect.

Coincidentally, out of the outfits Eldest Miss Wen had helped prepare, the last casual one had just been ruined during his previous outing.

The remaining suit wasn't overly flashy, but it was more than adequate for attending a meet-and-greet or a press conference.

It even had more money inside. After changing clothes, Fu Qian patted his pockets and once again appreciated Eldest Miss Wen's meticulous care.

Given the formal nature of the attire, it seemed an extra allowance had been left specifically for handing out tips.

Sighing in appreciation, he did a final check on the utilities before quietly leaving the commercial empire he had been running to this day.

...

"You're here earlier than expected."

Even though he had taken a slight detour, Chief Yuan still looked a bit surprised when he arrived at the Night Watchers Shangjing Base.

Indeed, deferring to the host's arrangements, the meeting place had still been set on the Night Watchers' turf.

Yuan Shan had clearly given instructions beforehand. Classmate Xiao Ming, who seemed to have matured quite a bit, had been waiting at the entrance the entire time. After making contact, he didn't utter a single word of nonsense, quietly leading Fu Qian straight to the leader's office.

"Fewer things make it easier to get ready. Is the old man not ready yet?"

Sitting down directly across from her, Fu Qian merely pointed at his clothes in response to Chief Yuan's surprise and casually asked the question.

Old Man Henry's condition had been unstable before, and he had been busy all night. If he wasn't here right now, it most likely wasn't because he was hiding away to gnaw on dried fish.

"My teacher does indeed need a little more time..."

Clearly holding no extravagant hopes of hiding it from Fu Qian, Yuan Shan sighed softly with a worried look on her face.

"Speaking of his condition, wouldn't it actually be better for him to make a trip to the headquarters?"

Although they hadn't interacted for long, he had some grasp of the old man's personality. Words he spoke were highly unlikely to be taken back.

Therefore, Fu Qian didn't bother with any superficial pleasantries, merely curious if the Night Watchers had a way to help.

"That's true, and they even require him to return regularly. But my teacher has never been very enthusiastic about it."

She agreed with Fu Qian's point, though her tone remained somewhat heavy.

"Why? Is the treatment process particularly painful?"

Fu Qian pressed out of curiosity.

"My teacher didn't explain that part to me. He only mentioned that he doesn't like the smell over there."

The answer he received was rather abstract. Complaining about the smell of the Night Watchers Headquarters? Could it be that bases developed an 'old person' scent after being around for too long?

"So his condition is a bit unstable right now? Has the lingering impact from that previous incident still not cleared up?"

It was hard to imagine the reason was that simple, but Fu Qian didn't pry further, focusing instead on the old man's condition itself.

"Not exactly. By the time I returned from the Sacred Night Capital, my teacher was already mostly fine."

Knowing Fu Qian was referring to their previous trip to the Sacred Night Capital, where the old man had ultimately been forced to reveal his true form, Yuan Shan simply shook her head, indicating that the responsibility did not lie with him.

"I asked him for the reason when we met this time. It doesn't sound like he ran into a conflict, but rather some sudden change occurred, abruptly making it difficult for him to maintain his state—this is exactly what I'm worried about."

Heaving a long sigh, Yuan Shan made no attempt to hide her concern.

"Worried about influence from a higher tier?"

Fu Qian understood this perfectly, especially after learning of the old man's tactic of drawing from two opposing sources. How could fighting poison with poison be that simple? Normally, no matter which side gained the upper hand, the person serving as the battlefield was guaranteed to be the loser.

The old man's condition was entirely a tightrope walk; even the slightest fluctuation was enough to cause him immense suffering.

And from Chief Yuan's tone, Henry hadn't elaborated on what exactly that fluctuation was.

"There's no need to worry too much. Since he actively offered to accompany me on this trip, it means the old man is still confident," Fu Qian said. "By the way, did he ever mention to you any thoughts of taking another step forward on the transcendent path?"

Seeing Yuan Shan sink into a depressed silence, Fu Qian offered a rather hollow word of comfort before abruptly shifting the subject to a more positive question.

"...Another step forward?"

It was clear that Yuan Shan was momentarily stunned. It took a second for her to realize what she had just heard, and she looked at him as if doubting reality itself.

"What makes you think he's that ambitious? Don't tell me you think everything he did in the Sacred Night Capital was purely to alleviate his physical and mental pain?"

Through her incredulous questioning, it was obvious she had absolute faith in her teacher's moral character.

"As far as I can tell, he has absolutely no such thoughts. He even advised me a while back that the world is in chaos right now, so there's no need to rush to advance."

...

'Not in a rush to advance because the world is in chaos?' The old man truly exemplified how great wisdom resembles stupidity. Although it sounded abstract at first, in that moment, Fu Qian seemed to understand his painstaking intentions.

He might possess immense strength and numerous methods, but the old man had clearly suffered deeply from the transcendent path. He didn't want his student to rush forward recklessly and repeat his own mistakes.

Even his claim about the world being in chaos perfectly coincided with Fu Qian's own research over the past few days. The foundation of the transcendent world was simply too fragmented; one careless misstep could land you in a pit.

"That is for the best."

Fu Qian gave a slight nod, expressing his deep agreement.

"If the old man needs it later, I actually have a potential treatment plan on my end. It's just that the side effects are rather severe—the person will permanently lose all possibility of advancing."

Exactly. He was referring to the "Eternal Lock," that lead-gray metallic pill with a maximum efficacy up to Tier 2, which could grant a person immunity to distortion and loss of control.

The price was that they could never take another step forward on the transcendent path.

A hopeless path forward was unacceptable to many, so although the item was incredibly powerful, its applications were somewhat narrow.

However, it seemed remarkably suitable for Henry's situation.

Furthermore, he had already tested its efficacy himself, and the conclusion was that it absolutely worked.

In fact, the old man was even the one who had helped him run the test.