Chapter 2967: In the Same Frame

Sure enough, people always grew much bolder on their own turf.

It wasn't that Professor Fu was maliciously speculating or twisting the good intentions of His Excellency Needle Witch.

The main issue was that the situation before him was no longer as simple as being in a melon patch or under a plum tree. His Excellency Needle Witch's actions were practically the equivalent of smacking his lips right in front of him.

Not a moment sooner or later, they had deliberately jumped ahead right after learning of his visiting schedule, rushing over to treat Lily.

This meant it didn't matter what the patient claimed to feel, or whether the treatment actually worked.

The red-and-green doll in her hands was almost certainly left there specifically for him to see.

His Excellency Needle Witch hadn't even tried to hide this fact, completely omitting any reminder for Lily to keep it a secret.

As for the motive, that was painfully obvious as well—

Ever since the battle in the West Plain, the mutual probing between the two sides had only ever paused; it had never truly ended.

The Night Watchers undoubtedly harbored a deep vigilance toward the recently rising star, Professor Fu.

If one were to ask who within this group was the most guarded against him, Kelin was absolutely in the First Echelon.

...This Hongmen banquet would likely not end peacefully. Fu Qian had long been prepared for that.

However, if the events in the West Plain were dragged out into the open during certain special occasions, given the Night Watchers' current factional conflicts, certain individuals wouldn't have an easy time of it either.

Thus, in a sense, the Needle Witch viewed his decision to attend this banquet with a mixture of pain and pleasure.

There was certainly a chance to eliminate a hidden threat once and for all, but it carried the simultaneous risk of popping a festering sore.

In short, the stunt currently playing out in front of him, just like the maneuver that sent Su Gao to the Academy, was an open scheme shoved right in his face.

And the doll in Lily's hands was like a needle lodged in his throat.

It almost certainly maintained a connection to Kelin, meaning that if he wanted to do anything to Lily, he would be acting entirely under surveillance.

Any untoward actions would become damning evidence when the time came.

Yet doing nothing didn't seem like a good option either, because no matter how one looked at it, inaction reeked of a guilty conscience...

He could only admit that the Needle Witch lived up to her reputation; these petty parlor tricks were played to absolute perfection.

"It really is quite nice. At least it looks better than that Circlet from before."

What a pity. Even though that person was exhausting all clever schemes, they still couldn't understand the vision of an academic. The reason he had made Lily's place his first stop was never to set up some life-saving contingency plan, nor was it to strike a pose; it was simply because he was genuinely curious about this case.

At that moment, Fu Qian neither attempted to examine the doll nor turned to leave. Instead, he gestured toward Lily's head and casually brought up the past.

...

Before she was sent here, Lily had seemed to quite like that masterpiece crafted by Cass.

Even now, the faint scars left by the thorns could still be seen on her forehead.

"Actually, I really liked that one too... but it was taken away after I arrived here."

Sure enough, Lily reached up to touch her forehead, a hint of regret in her voice.

"After all, that was only a temporary measure. It was still a bit too crude. Would you mind describing how you feel right now?"

A drowning person would develop a special attachment to any straw they grasped. Fu Qian offered a few comforting words as he continued to gently coax her.

"Hmm... I just feel lighter, both in body and mind. It's like someone else is here to help shoulder a lot of my burdens."

The question was a bit profound. Lily thought about it seriously for a moment before gently stroking the doll to make her point.

Judging by her words, the object in her hands had truly taken the concept of spiritual sustenance to the extreme.

"For instance?" Fu Qian asked. "If you can't describe it accurately, you can try using a metaphor."

Fu Qian pressed on, hoping to confirm more details.

"After taking off that Circlet, I'd sometimes feel as if an extra version of myself had grown out of my body, constantly sprouting and growing taller... but now, it's sprouting inside here instead."

She was a truly gratifying patient. Not only did Lily not refuse to answer, but after some thought, she had actually employed a metaphor just as he had asked.

The scene she described made it all too easy to recall that fateful night—specifically, the monstrous form she would have morphed into inside her lover's Laboratory.

"But I'm sorry, she's quite timid, so I can't let you examine her."

She was actually apologizing. Hugging the Small Doll to her chest, Lily offered this specific explanation with a gaze as clear as water.

"That's perfectly fine. Your explanation was very clear. Your condition looks good, so just keep doing what you're doing."

Fu Qian didn't mind in the slightest. He didn't even try to deny the treatment's efficacy just because Kelin was targeting him—

"Heh... Now that hardly seems like your style."

Yet in the very next moment, a voice actually rang out to raise an objection.

That distinctive chuckle even carried the flavor of an old acquaintance. Glancing up, Fu Qian saw a figure dressed entirely in black, exuding a heavy scholarly air, standing right beside the doll.

Flanking the doll alongside Lily, the scene almost looked like a family portrait—

In all fairness, Lily had probably fantasized about exactly this kind of scene.

Yes, it was none other than her lover, Ian—the genius professor of the Linghui Courtyard.

"You've already killed her master once, yet you refuse to lay a hand on a doll?"

Staring at Lily with "deep affection," the young man clearly couldn't comprehend Fu Qian's choice, harshly condemning him for actually showing mercy.

"You don't understand anything at all..."

Faced with this surreal scene, Fu Qian merely let out a soft sigh and shook his head.

...

That, of course, wasn't the real Professor Ian.

Even if it had been the real him, he shouldn't possess any memories of Lily being killed.

As for where this miraculous resurrection had come from?

The answer was simple: it came from Fu Qian himself.

In that moment, Fu Qian was absolutely certain that the other party's manifestation was triggered by a faint disturbance within his own body.

Returning to the Birthday Party, no matter how leisurely and tranquil things appeared on the surface, that maddening, tearing pressure hadn't lessened in the slightest.

Just the short walk to visit a patient was nearly more than a Tier 2 Health Bar could withstand. He was already being forced to draw upon the underlying strength of the Mechanical King of the Abandoned Prison just to stay upright.

However, this cycle of decay and rebirth actually aligned perfectly with the visions the Blasphemy Monarch had shown him back then.

And it wasn't just that. Though it hadn't been quite as corporeal, Ian's manifestation just now felt eerily similar to the moment the King of the Abandoned Prison had been purged from Fu Qian's own body.

The execution was just far more abstract. It skipped the soul-separation phase entirely. Instead, it was as if his own rotting aura had drifted over and catalyzed the birth of this very figure.

There was even a glaring piece of evidence right in front of him: Ian, who had abruptly appeared and started speaking, had clearly gone entirely unnoticed by anyone else in the room. He was only visible to Fu Qian, a man with a Transcendent Perception of absolute zero.

"I truly don't understand what you mean. Don't tell me you actually think you can still walk out of here?"

Even as a mere projection-like existence, the phantom still retained all the arrogance of the original owner.

Faced with the Academic Leader's dismissal, Ian's smile instantly vanished.

"You can't even manage to focus on the problem at hand."

It was a pity that his sarcastic retort was met with only a deeper layer of dismissal.

"Who are you talking to?"

As Ian fell silent, Fu Qian's tendency to speak to thin air had finally drawn Lily's confusion.

"He's talking to me."

Unfortunately, the voice that answered a moment later didn't belong to her lover. Amidst the sound of the door opening, yet another voice suddenly rang out from behind him.