Chapter 2997: Blade of White Heat

Was this the legendary fate of brushing past each other?

Narrow streets, high doors. As mentioned earlier, the architecture on Drifting Street was generally magnificent, which meant very few shops actually operated directly across from one another.

By comparison, this place was quite orderly. The shop Excellency Kelin had pointed out was offset from old brother Chaumont's entrance by less than half a door's width.

But this also directly led to the earlier misunderstanding. He couldn't even pretend out of sight, out of mind; the customers had walked right into the shop opposite his.

If old man Chaumont were a businessman desperate for a sale, he would have coughed up three liters of blood by now.

Though in Fu Qian's eyes, the shop on the left was indeed theoretically more suited to a customer like himself.

Cold edges and bloody gleams, Curved Blades and Heavy Hammers—the place was packed to the brim with lethal weapons.

Furthermore, one glance was enough to tell that none of them were ordinary. Toss any random piece into the Sword Pavilion, and it would earn a display on at least the fourth floor.

A good portion of the divine weapons confiscated by the Night Watchers were probably gathered right here.

As for why it suited him?

Simple. How could a Hongmen banquet be complete without swords, spears, and halberds?

Perhaps once they went inside, Excellency Needle Witch would even perform a sword dance to liven things up.

"What a pity. Let's go get the item first," Fu Qian said.

Filled with anticipation, he took one last look at old man Chaumont, who was peering out through the window, signaling that he would watch the sword dance first and catch up with him later.

Although, unbeknownst to others, the shop overseen by old man Chaumont was actually the one that theoretically suited him best.

Eyeballs, finger bones, sharp horns, and spiky hides—the old man was surrounded by a pile of transcendent biological tissues. For a moment, it brought to mind the Grafting Laboratory on the Archipelago.

And for the current person in charge of the Rebirth Club, equipping these items matched his profession much better than mundane weapons.

The comparative downside was probably that when these items gathered together, the smell wasn't so great. Excellency Chaumont already looked like he was about to fall asleep from the fumes.

Even though he should have heard their conversation clearly, he merely cracked his eyelids to offer a greeting.

Naturally, the highly empathetic Professor Fu didn't mind. With a slight nod, he turned and stepped into the cluster of mundane weapons.

Old man Chaumont was quite the character. His Demigod Realm puppet genuinely stood off to the side draped in a pelt, looking just like a mannequin.

"Please wait a moment. You can take a look around first," she said.

The layout inside the weapon shop was slightly different from other places.

For one thing, the shopkeeper was the youngest-looking person they had seen so far; for another, there was actually a customer present.

Moreover, he likely wasn't a hired shill. The rather tall individual standing outside the counter was clearly a member of the "travelers" at a single glance.

When Fu Qian's group entered, a woman who looked slightly older than Chief Yuan, but of a similar height, was patiently attending to the customer.

Even as her gaze swept over the group, she was in no hurry to neglect her current customer. Instead, she smiled and signaled for them to wait a moment.

"No rush," Fu Qian said.

He greatly appreciated this professional dedication and immediately waved his hand, signaling her not to worry about them.

"It's not like that. 'Blowing hair to test the edge' doesn't mean you actually blow air at the blade," the woman said.

Watching a Night Watcher serve a customer was actually quite interesting.

By comparison, the lady on duty was probably the one with the lowest Rank among the shopkeepers on this street, roughly at the level of Old Man Logan.

However, her professional attitude was indisputably the highest. Facing a somewhat muddle-headed customer, she patiently explained that his testing method was incorrect.

"You can face the edge upward, pluck a strand of hair, and let it fall onto the blade," she explained.

But that was as far as it went. She clearly had no intention of plucking her own hair for a demonstration.

"Um—I'm just looking around."

The slightly bashful customer still looked a bit discouraged.

After freezing for a moment, he didn't actually pluck his own hair. Instead, he straightened up in a flustered manner and delivered that classic line.

"Alright, just call me if you need anything," she replied.

The lady on duty didn't mind. Without dropping her smile, her gaze naturally fell back onto Fu Qian.

Even the "traveler" customer followed suit and glanced over. Seeming to feel the pressure from Professor Fu's unique aura, he finally lost the energy to "just look around" and walked out the door without a word.

Yet the moment they brushed past each other, a lock of hair on the side of his head slowly fell away, as if sliced by an invisible blade.

So he couldn't escape having his hair cut after all?

This peculiar scene inevitably brought to mind their earlier conversation, leaving Fu Qian clicking his tongue in marvel.

In his view, the suspicion that she had assaulted a customer over a failed deal was quite low. The lady on duty genuinely hadn't seemed to do anything.

Not to mention that after this happened, her eyes fell on the severed hair on the floor, and she let out a soft sigh, as if dreading having to sweep it up again.

Unfortunately, her dread was useless. Just before the "traveler" stepped out the door, Fu Qian watched another lock of hair fall.

"This is already a relatively good outcome. I've seen heads shaved directly flat until they looked like eggs," the woman said.

Noticing Fu Qian's interest, the lady on duty let out a soft sigh and offered a casual explanation.

"Because they came into contact with these things?" Fu Qian asked.

He imagined the "egg" scenario and gestured around the room.

As a former swordsman, he had to admit that this scene carried much of the flair of being injured by sword intent.

The slash that does not slash. The surface remained intact, yet fate had already been torn to shreds.

Of course, in layman's terms, it was simply because "travelers" had a special form of existence, making them extremely susceptible to their surroundings.

Walking into a place with such an overwhelmingly murderous aura and being "cut" by a similar concept wasn't actually too strange of a development.

"Yes," she confirmed.

The lady affirmed his statement, her gaze even carrying a hint of approval.

"But you can't just close the doors and keep them out?" he asked.

Growing increasingly aware of the marvels of the Birthday Party, Fu Qian continued his questioning.

"We cannot."

Sure enough, she shook her head, proving that "opening a shop to do business" was indeed a principle that had to be upheld.

"Then this really is quite a good outcome," Fu Qian said.

He agreed with her initial sentiment.

"We need to pick something up," Kelin interrupted.

Unfortunately, harmonious exchanges were always brief. Professor Fu, who would chat anywhere he went, had barely finished speaking before Kelin cut him off.

"This is Excellency Fairhaven. As for this gentleman—"

After directly stating their purpose, she even remembered to make brief introductions for both sides.

"I know. Professor Fu of the Academy Apocalypse Institute."

However, the woman called Fairhaven had clearly already recognized their esteemed guest, looking him up and down.

"You've arrived earlier than expected."

How many times had he heard this now? Did the higher-ups of the Night Watchers universally assume that Professor Fu was socially anxious?

Fu Qian wasn't too surprised that Fairhaven recognized him; rather, he was just inwardly sighing at her reaction.

"That item isn't on display out here. You'll have to wait a moment," she said.

Moreover, he couldn't help but marvel at their professionalism once again. After Kelin handed over a card, Fairhaven quickly signaled for them to wait.

She returned a moment later, bringing back a square box of the same style as those in the other shops, and opened it right in front of them.

This was—

The item that immediately caught his eye left Fu Qian deeply intrigued.

The size of a palm, with a flowing Curved Blade, it was an excessively pocket-sized Dagger.

But the most striking aspect was the flash of pure white flowing brilliantly across it.

He even felt as though he had seen this white somewhere before—the Albino of the Knights of the Apocalypse?