Chapter 2975: Pantomime Performance

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

As it turned out, the audience truly couldn't see the "Talking Emissary."

Fu Qian wasn't hiding his movements at all. Anyone paying the slightest attention could tell he was placing something on Aike's face.

Yet even as Aike cooperated by sitting perfectly still, she voiced her genuine confusion.

"I don't think there's any rule saying I can only resolve my own karma, so I'm trying to help you forge a connection too."

Fu Qian's response remained as honest as ever.

He was staying true to his original aspiration, just as he had repeatedly emphasized. Regardless of whether he was actually achieving several gains with a single action, on the surface, he had been invited here to treat Excellency Aike.

"I figured as much. I appreciate the gesture."

Still sitting motionless, Aike sighed. She didn't seem surprised by the explanation.

No matter how bizarre the earlier scene had been, who among those present was the type to give up easily?

Having a doctor examine a patient with the actual goal of reverse-treating the doctor during the process—such an approach wasn't all that rare.

Not to mention, Professor Fu had already stated outright that his method was to prove the divination results inaccurate.

"But I really don't have any problems. There's truly no need to use these voodoo soul-calling tricks on me."

Understanding was one thing, but Aike clearly disliked this role reversal.

One second she was the master offering guidance, and the next she was the patient having a shamanic ritual performed on her.

Of course, she had to admit that Professor Fu was adapting to local customs very well, perfectly embodying the style of the charlatans in Loss.

While patiently respecting these folk customs, Aike still repeatedly emphasized that this was truly unnecessary.

"Shifting fate onto someone else won't get you the reward... and you shouldn't be someone this soft-hearted."

She wasn't even the only one emphasizing it; the other face overlapping with hers said the exact same thing.

The "Talking Emissary" seemed a bit surprised by Fu Qian's actions as well, offering gentle advice.

"Are you trying to examine her reactions using this method? Even though she is a Demigod, this woman is truly boring. She won't bring you anything special."

Its evaluation of Aike was clearly quite low.

"I know."

Fu Qian's words and actions grew increasingly unrestrained as he spoke to it without any pretense.

"But did you know? It's said that denying your own pleasure is, in essence, also a form of pleasure—just like what the two of you are doing right now."

...

The advantage of playing the charlatan was that talking to thin air didn't feel out of place at all.

Theoretically, Fu Qian's rhetorical question could easily be interpreted as addressing Aike.

It was just that the phrase "the two of you" sounded a bit creepy at first listen.

Was there someone else there besides Aike? Of course there was—hadn't Professor Fu placed a mask there?

In that moment, Professor Fu's act of speaking to two people was naturally interpreted as part of his shamanic performance.

At least judging by Excellency Stoss's reaction, he didn't doubt for a second that this was a pantomime performance.

"Denying pleasure is also a form of pleasure..."

Not only that, he even murmured Professor Fu's quote under his breath.

"Denial is admission..."

Influenced by his words, the previously confident Aike couldn't help but mutter to herself, refining the concept into something even more concise.

"I had thought you two would possess a more personal understanding of this," Fu Qian said.

Fu Qian shook his head, expressing regret over the two high-ranking Night Watchers' lack of theoretical research regarding the Transcendent Tier.

In the face of pleasure, denial and restraint were usually powerless.

He had clearly experienced this truth back at the White-Headed Sanctuary.

One of the core reasons Ecstasy was so difficult to deal with was the sheer uselessness of willpower.

Once the seed was planted, all self-restraint and tenacious perseverance would only become nourishment for the thrill.

The harder one fought, the further they fell. The only thing struggling accomplished was making the forms of pleasure richer and more varied.

He had originally thought that after completing the strangulation of Excellency Father's Amnion, the participants would have formulated some sort of complete theory.

Now it seemed these two were strictly combat personnel who still needed the Academy for technical support.

As for why he was so certain the hidden danger within Aike was related to the Seed of Ecstasy?

First, of course, was because of their previous actions.

Even if Excellency Father's Amnion had perished, according to what he had learned, the Divine Path itself remained unaffected. That meant Ecstasy and pleasure wouldn't just disappear.

On the contrary, the aftershocks of the battle made the participants even more susceptible to infection.

Secondly, the characteristics matched perfectly. Not even realizing that something was wrong with oneself fit the symptoms of the Seed of Ecstasy to a tee.

"Then doesn't that mean I can never prove my own innocence?"

Excellency Aike hadn't lost her logical reasoning. After the initial shock faded, she didn't panic. She merely frowned, pointing out that Professor Fu was truly leaving her no way out today.

First, the earlier divination had been framed so that neither an accurate nor an inaccurate result helped her.

And now, she couldn't admit to it, but couldn't deny it either.

"Of course."

Professor Fu even nodded, openly admitting that his approach was just that absolute.

"Then what's the point of you doing all this?"

Confusion showed in Aike's eyes.

'Alas, they really aren't kidding when they say the daily grind dulls the mind.'

Fu Qian sighed as he listened, glancing at the pile of documents out of the corner of his eye.

"Since you can't prove it yourself, of course I'll prove it for you. Haven't I been doing exactly that this entire time?"

...

Baseless, but perfectly logical.

In a clash of charlatans, presence and momentum were simply too important.

Even though he hadn't produced a single shred of solid evidence, in just a few words, Excellency Aike was still firmly pinned into the role of someone destined for a bloody disaster, left completely speechless.

But it didn't matter; the mask was still there to speak for her.

After a long silence, the "Emissary" finally spoke again to confirm Fu Qian's purpose. "So are you planning to use me to prove this woman's problem? Or to prove that I've also caught that thing? After all, I was denying it earlier too."

"It does sound a bit absurd, but I want to confirm more than just that. I also want to know why you're here."

Fu Qian's response was as unrestrained as ever, so much so that even Stoss wore a strange expression. Regardless of what Fu Qian had placed on Aike's face, hadn't it appeared here solely to diagnose her? What was there to investigate?

Roar—

Unfortunately, Fu Qian had no intention of explaining things to these combat personnel. In that instant, he simply locked onto the Emissary and ruthlessly blasted it with a full-power Gospel Shockwave.

'Hmph, this master is compassionate at heart, but if you are truly stubbornly incorrigible, I also know a thing or two about the arts of exorcism.'

Providing massive enlightenment to one's spirituality while accumulating madness, this move from the Mother of Gospel—who was also the Mother of Tilanqi—was simply too perfect for this situation.

Besides, Professor Ian had already helped verify that attacks aimed at targets only he could perceive possessed almost the same level of concealment.

Even so, Fu Qian still specifically opted for a silent cast, doing his best to be mindful of public courtesy.

Even the "Emissary" proved to be quite well-mannered. Although it trembled the moment the attack struck, it forcefully held back any sound—

"Heh... hehe..."

But that restraint only lasted for a split second.

Soon, a distinct laughter poured from that inhuman mouth, shifting rapidly from suppressed to wild.

"Heh... hehe..."

And then it echoed from Aike's mouth as well.