Chapter 3051 The Fishermen

Corvos's decisiveness came as no surprise. The moment he casually dropped that explosive information, Fu Qian was already curious about the stage setting for this act.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings shifted once more. A quick glance confirmed that all five of them were still present, and this new location was quite distinctive.

For one, it clearly didn't belong in a port city like Moore.

It was classical and elegant, understated yet luxurious.

Compared to the library from before, this space was much smaller, but one could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary place.

Even the Candlestick nearby was elegantly shaped and forged entirely from gold—wait, why did that design look so familiar?

Just because he was devoted to his academic research didn't mean he couldn't appreciate art.

The moment the golden ornament entered his line of sight, Professor Fu felt a deep sense of familiarity.

"It looks a lot like the one in my Laboratory."

He even pointed right at it the next moment, introducing it to the rest of the group.

This...

Clearly, Professor Fu's comment had delivered another shock. Even Old Man Stoss, who usually took his side, struggled to maintain his composure at that moment.

The whole situation was simply too classic.

First came the observation of why it looked so much like the one at his place... only for everyone to turn around and realize they had actually been sent right into his home?

Was Professor Fu really this adept at his academic research?

"Though mine is a bit bigger..."

Professor Fu even doubled down, expressing his mild dissatisfaction with its weight.

"Is this Silver Mist Manor?"

Just as the atmosphere began to resemble an anti-corruption probe, Fu Qian seemed to finally reach a conclusion and looked toward Corvos.

...

No matter how strong the sense of déjà vu was, Professor Fu really wasn't lying.

He had genuinely seen a Candlestick with that exact design—right after the previous one was used to forge Sword Three Short of One.

Yes, the Golden Candlestick had been consumed during the forging process. Before he could even submit another requisition to the Academy, his Laboratory assistant had taken the initiative to replace it. He had guessed at the time that Classmate Liushuang might have brought it from home, and now it seemed that was exactly the case.

Although the overall architecture was a bit ambiguous, it did carry the distinct style of Silver Mist Manor.

Furthermore, this made Excellency Corvos's methods all the more astonishing.

The Ji Clan was immensely wealthy, with properties scattered everywhere, but Silver Mist Manor was the only one he had actually visited, and he hadn't even mentioned it earlier.

Could merely following the threads of fate pinpoint a location to such an accurate degree?

That meant lying in front of this excellency was going to be much harder than he thought.

"That's right, Silver Mist Manor."

Corvos confirmed the guess, his gaze shifting to a corner of the room.

A slender, graceful figure with her back to them was slowly materializing, her facial features reflected in the windowpane.

Did she look a bit familiar, too?

...

For a fleeting moment, one could almost mistake her for the research assistant he had just mentioned. But even through a mere reflection in the window, the differences were quickly apparent.

Her overall demeanor was far more mature and gentle, lacking the hidden edge that Classmate Liushuang possessed.

'Ji Xue?'

The name naturally surfaced in Fu Qian's mind.

Both her appearance and age matched. Could this actually be the theoretical, legitimate family head of the Ji Clan?

He could only marvel at how fate truly intersected in the most inconceivable places.

During his last visit to Silver Mist Manor, he had respected Classmate Liushuang's request and refrained from disturbing her mother, who had just recently fainted. Who would have thought they would end up meeting like this?

"You know who she is, don't you?"

Corvos spoke up to prompt him, seemingly under the impression that Professor Fu shared a deep connection with her.

"I'm not entirely sure yet—"

Fu Qian maintained his academic rigor, refusing to jump to conclusions immediately. A second later, he nodded.

"Now I know."

Right beside the woman, another figure of almost the exact same height materialized. With striking similarities in both facial features and physique, one glance was all it took to recognize her as Classmate Liushuang.

The moment she appeared, Ji Liushuang forcefully broke through the barriers of fate, her gaze locking directly onto the woman's back.

...

Was this the power of their bond?

Even though it was nothing more than a focused gaze, it didn't stop Fu Qian from marveling at Classmate Liushuang's reaction.

From the previous gospel incident, it was obvious that the roles between her and her mother had seemingly been reversed.

Classmate Liushuang had constantly been trying to ensure Ji Xue's safety, making her current reaction perfectly in character.

Of course, given his current research findings, this role reversal wasn't particularly difficult to comprehend.

She might be the mother in name, but theoretically, their connection was a form of budding reproduction, meaning the traditional parent-child dynamic was never that strict to begin with.

Furthermore, the theme of this gathering was gradually becoming clear.

Silver Mist Manor, and the two successive family heads of the Ji Clan.

Had Excellency Corvos actually taken his suggestion into consideration? Was the focus truly shifting to the Ji Clan, the party poised to reap the fisherman's reward? Even Classmate Liushuang standing before them had ties to the concept of the Academy.

It seemed like a tangent, but in reality, he had taken everything they had just discussed, thrown it into a melting pot, and cleverly distilled it into a single intersection point.

This also demonstrated that Corvos's power over fate allowed for a far greater margin of manipulation than what he had shown during the first act.

He hadn't even mentioned the names of these two individuals, yet they still ended up appearing at the first summons.

That being said, this lineup alone wasn't without its shortcomings.

"Although the two of them are the family heads in name, they can't be considered the ones actually in control, right? They're still a bit too disconnected from the organization's core interests."

After recognizing Classmate Liushuang and her mother, Fu Qian turned back to Corvos, pointing out that their current cast seemed a bit too thin.

"You make a fair point. They cannot fully represent the Ji Clan."

It was hard to say how much the audience actually bought Fu Qian's act of being unfamiliar with Ji Xue.

After all, from a bystander's perspective, Professor Fu's high regard for his research assistant was far too abnormal. There had to be an underlying reason.

However, Corvos did not dispute the issue he raised.

Tap, tap... As he spoke, Corvos tapped his fingers lightly, and yet another figure materialized in a different corner of the room.

"This one should suffice, shouldn't he?"

Clean-shaven and pale, it was a face whose age was incredibly difficult to determine.

Though upon closer inspection, one could still trace a faint resemblance to the other Ji Clan members he had seen back in Silver Mist Manor.

Excellency Corvos was clearly quite confident that Fu Qian wouldn't be a stranger to this face.

"The true person in charge of the Ji Clan right now?"

Unfortunately, Fu Qian was a complete stranger to him. He simply confirmed it with a tone of mild surprise.

Based on Corvos's tone, it was easy to deduce that this must be the person holding the real power within the Ji Clan, effectively making him one of the most prominent figures in the Bookstore World.

It was a pity that he had been so engrossed in his academic pursuits these past few days that he genuinely hadn't crossed paths with the man himself.

"...What about him, then?"

Beneath the incredulous stares of the group, Corvos neither confirmed nor denied Fu Qian's guess. He simply paused for a moment before gesturing in another direction.

A fourth figure had already appeared over there.

"Now this one I know. His name is An Gui."

Fu Qian had actually recognized him this time, nodding with absolute confidence.