Chapter 2956: Known by Reputation for a Long Time

Excellency Kelin? Sure enough, a person should trust their first impressions.

He had just described her facial skin as so fake it looked sewn on, and the very next moment, she proved to be a master of needlework.

Faced with this sudden self-introduction, what came to Fu Qian's mind was a philosophical truth of life.

Asking for a card in a temple, only to have its supposedly aloof distributor greet him so warmly—it had to be said, the contrast was sharp.

Not to mention she was well aware of his promotion to full professor.

But once her self-introduction was finally out, everything made perfect sense.

"An honor to finally meet you."

Fu Qian maintained his manners and politely returned the pleasantry.

And here, this standard social pleasantry happened to be the absolute truth.

Needle Witch Kelin—that name was truly thunderous to the ears.

Within a massive organization like the Night Watchers, if Yuan Shan and Su Gao were the ones he dealt with the most...

...then right after them was this Tier 2 with her bizarre methods. Dealing with someone didn't necessarily require meeting them face-to-face.

As early as the beginning of his administrator career, when he helped Eldest Miss Wen advance to the Mid Tier, he had evidently already entered this woman's line of sight.

In fact, Wen Li's critical situation back then had very likely been a trap to wait by the stump for a hare.

Later, during the battle over the Record of True Transcription in West Plain, he had accidentally stumbled upon her unlawful activities...

And then there was the Prison Archangel...

Following that was watching the meteor shower together at the Academy...

Jia Keke transforming into a mount...

In short, they had known each other by reputation for a very long time in the truest sense of the word.

They had already tried to figure out what was going through each other's minds time and time again.

And adjusted their own moves again and again based on the other's actions.

Throughout this entire process, even Chief Yuan and Su Gao had been forcibly dragged into it.

Ultimately, thanks to his special technique with alternate personas and Excellency Needle Witch's restraint, this balance—so fragile it could break at a breath—had staggered its way to the present. This seemingly empty greeting had not been easy to come by—just like the Hongmen banquet before him.

Furthermore, Needle Witch Kelin just so happened to be in charge of distributing the Playing Cards?

Perhaps it suited her image, but in Fu Qian's eyes, that possibility was extremely slim.

Just like Excellency Logan being in charge of reception, this was clearly high-level treatment targeted specifically at him as an honored guest.

Even Logan didn't show any surprise at this exchange of pleasantries.

This reaction alone was enough to prove that things like the "trap to hunt an administrator" involving Eldest Miss Wen were likely not considered top secret within the Night Watchers.

Indeed, one shouldn't take everything to extremes.

Given Old Man Logan's style, he wouldn't necessarily have had the chance to become Excellency Kelin's accomplice.

And if he wasn't an accomplice, yet found the long-standing connection between Fu Qian and Kelin unsurprising, there had to be another factor allowing him to understand—such as the matter concerning Wen Li.

"Oh, for how long?"

Facts proved that Excellency Kelin was also quite an interesting person.

A bold greeting was exchanged for a bold response, yet she still seemed unsatisfied.

While gesturing for Fu Qian to sit across from her, she actually continued to nitpick his words.

"Not too long. I only learned the name from the Shangjing Chief."

Fu Qian really did sit down, continuing to speak the absolute truth and selling out Chief Yuan in the process.

...

The art of advance and retreat lay entirely in residing in a single mind.

At first glance, Fu Qian's statement was tantamount to exposing himself, because on the surface, he shouldn't have had any intersection with the name Kelin.

Back when he discussed this with Yuan Shan, they had even specifically closed the door to her office.

But that was only at first glance.

Kelin's behavior was undoubtedly a probe—even a table-flipping one.

Hoping to deceive her simply by playing dumb would be far too naive.

The key was that even if he managed to avoid exposing any flaws, he would be left entirely passive afterward. Pushing and pulling—that was his consistent social strategy when dealing with the Night Watchers.

Take exposing his discussion with Yuan Shan about the name Kelin, for instance. Aside from the truth of discovering her illegal activities in West Plain and seeking Yuan Shan to confirm the owner of the Burlap Doll, there was actually another perfectly valid explanation—

As an administrator, he had noticed the initial trap surrounding Wen Li and, out of safety concerns, sought Yuan Shan to verify some information.

Consequently, he learned of Needle Witch Kelin—a special character who, despite being a dignified Tier 2, had run off to such a small place—and even the Night Watchers' possible trap.

It was entirely reasonable and logical, even fitting perfectly with the atmosphere of this Hongmen banquet.

In short, the ball had been kicked back to the Needle Witch. She needed to guess which of these two possibilities was actually true.

And considering her past habit of repeated probing, this Excellency likely had an optimistic side to her.

"Yuan Shan... she's done well."

Facts proved that, despite being deep in thought, Kelin truly didn't smash the item in her hand over Fu Qian's head.

After softly muttering the Shangjing Chief's name, she sounded as if she were evaluating a rookie who had finally grown up.

"Draw a card."

And this time, asking no further questions, she directly lifted a box from the table in front of her, signaling it was time to get down to business. ...

Why did it seem even cruder than Kisaragi Chie's setup?

Matte brass with fine leaf-like flowing patterns, the square container actually looked quite exquisite.

Upon opening it, unsurprisingly, it revealed a tall deck of the same style of Playing Cards as the ones in Yuan Shan's hands, placed face down on the table.

And the dark curtain of starlight on the card backs appeared even more stylish in such a setting.

The problem was that while the items were all excellent, the method of use seemed a bit unworthy... just drawing one raw like this?

Fu Qian shook his head inwardly, taking the opportunity to notice the hand holding the box.

Even covered by a long sleeve, the small exposed portion still packed quite a visual impact.

It similarly gave off no sense of flesh and blood, yet the knuckles weren't prominent either; its five fingers were exaggeratedly slender.

And as she gripped the box, one could easily see that her fingers had at least double the normal number of joints.

Such a pair of hands seemed even more fitting for the title of Needle Witch.

'Of course, now I'm a bit curious. How did a pair of hands so suited for tailoring manage to sew a Burlap Doll that ugly?'

"Alright."

Grumbling inwardly, Fu Qian didn't stand on ceremony. He drew a card from the deck at random—oh?

Given that the Needle Witch hadn't warned him not to look, Fu Qian naturally flipped it over, his gaze falling on the pattern on the front.

It was even a familiar pattern.

Shaped like an old-fashioned hurricane lamp, its glass belly held no wick, but was instead filled with pink eyeballs of varying sizes...

If he remembered correctly, the name of this card should be—

"Guansi. It suits you very well."

Across from him, the Needle Witch helpfully supplied the Playing Card's name, even offering a fake smile and a positive review.

That was right. It was the exact same card he had drawn during that mission where he teamed up with the five seniors to stroll through The Abyss.

Speaking of which, he had specifically looked into the deck of cards Mask had used back then after getting out. The conclusion was that although they weren't common, they were still popular in certain places where divination prevailed.

So the cards in front of him weren't exactly custom-made either.

But it was precisely because they weren't custom-made that this scene appeared all the more coincidental.