Chapter 2884: Catching Up

Was there a traitor among us?

In something crafted by a higher entity's own hand, Fu Qian refused to believe there could be an accidental color discrepancy—especially with a shade this sensitive.

Annalise's red.

Ever since he learned that vampires, as her kin, had been created to serve a specific purpose during the Long Night, their signature eye color could no longer be written off as a matter of personal taste.

Even if it had started out that way, the preferences of a figure at that level inevitably took on special meaning.

Here and now, given that Red Moon was clinging tightly to two Anchor Points to sever herself from the Annalise contaminating her, that abnormal eye color was far worse than merely serious.

"Do you really think so? That makes me so happy."

On top of that, there was no denying that Red Moon was currently suffering from an excess of humanity.

At Fu Qian's casual praise, her eyes curved into smiling crescents.

"You've been doing so well all along. I never imagined you'd do this well!"

Better yet, she was quick to return the emotional support, offering glowing praise for Fu Qian's performance over the past several days.

"Not even Annalise..."

...

The severing seemed to have gone pretty well.

Red Moon's last remark was a bit unguarded.

After all, when dealing with mental contamination she had barely managed to shake off, anyone lacking absolute confidence would normally avoid mentioning it at all costs.

By any measure, that reaction projected complete confidence that she had made a clean break.

Though that hadn't been Fu Qian's primary concern to begin with.

When a higher entity like Red Moon went all out without regard for the consequences, their execution was often terrifyingly thorough.

If some hidden complication kept even Red Moon herself from making a clean cut, anyone else stepping in probably wouldn't be able to help much either.

The fragility he had thought of earlier came mainly from worrying that Red Moon might take the blade to herself too ruthlessly and cripple what remained.

Leaving behind only the name Tilanqi and her identity as Mother to form the core of her self—for an Ancient Higher Being, it really felt like she had thrown away a bit too much.

The upside was that it left very few openings to exploit; the downside was that, stripped down this far, her integrity could hardly be guaranteed.

That was the main reason Fu Qian was treading carefully and was in no hurry to say too much.

Yet amid this warm, harmonious atmosphere, a much sadder possibility had emerged—even after such brutal measures, had she still failed to cut it all away?

Out of the corner of his eye, Fu Qian noticed that the eyes of that one particular Red Moon had grown redder still, leaving no room for wishful thinking.

Worst of all, what lay behind it wasn't even a living higher entity.

[Blood Clan Progenitor Annalise has fallen.]

That fact had been specifically verified in the Abyss Notes.

Although the notebook's lofty standing had faded somewhat after the battle at Demon Mountain, in Fu Qian's view it still held a fair degree of credibility.

Not to mention that with the Primordial Moon suspected of scheming behind the scenes, Annalise should have died a fairly clean death.

What plagued Red Moon seemed to be nothing more than that single line that had once appeared in the other notebook.

Just what was the True Word Notebook, for its power to reach this extent? It was downright inconceivable.

If Red Moon's ability to sever herself was to be trusted, she had essentially thrown away almost everything she had to start over from scratch.

And yet the name Annalise still clung like rot in the bone, surfacing when least expected.

How on earth was it pulling that off?

"Mostly, various old friends and seniors helped out a lot."

Fleeting as this bubble of warmth was, Fu Qian was in no hurry to pop it.

At Red Moon's flattering praise, he simply chuckled and said that beyond personal ability, connections had also played a major role in getting him to where he was today.

Snap—

At the exact same moment, he snapped his fingers in his mind, activating the Decree of Return.

"Yes, you really have made a lot of friends..."

At that, the maternal filter seemed to kick in once again.

More than one Red Moon nodded in approval of Fu Qian's wide network of connections, not breathing a word about the actual role her child played within it.

"But because of that, you're always so busy. When are you leaving this time?"

Unfortunately, happy times always had a way of reminding people of parting. Not long after turning into his personal cheerleader, Red Moon acted just like a mother whose child had finally come home—amid her joy, a touch of sorrow was inevitable.

"Very soon."

Quietly keeping an eye on the change, Fu Qian didn't go out of his way to lie just to humor his elder.

Within moments, those eyes had already turned as crimson as blood.

...

First health supplements couldn't be taken indiscriminately, and now this far-infrared therapy device didn't seem to be doing any good either.

Among the Four Rings, the Decree of Return had arguably the most wholesome effect.

Earlier on, in this very place, it had even genuinely calmed Red Moon's condition for a brief time.

And since it was low-key enough to have zero particle effects—making it unlikely to startle anyone—he had quietly switched it on to see if it might offer some slight therapeutic benefit.

Instead, just like all those gadgets that scammed the elderly out of their savings, once you stripped away the placebo effect, it did nothing at all.

The change behind those blood-red eyes clearly operated on a higher level than kneading Tilanqi into a moon.

"I know. You can never stay for long whenever you visit."

Fortunately, Red Moon still seemed fairly calm and didn't complain about their time together being too brief.

"It's all right, though. Before long, it'll be much easier for you to drop by. Do you still remember how to come back?"

More than that, she was already looking ahead to the future with optimism.

"Of course I remember."

Fu Qian nodded, his palm lifting to show a Ring set with a tear-shaped gemstone—none other than "Favor," Red Moon's gift to him.

Though he rarely had occasion to use it, he tried to keep small items like a Ring on him whenever possible.

"You've taken very good care of it... Thank you."

Seeing him carry his house key wherever he went clearly pleased Red Moon.

Her voice held undisguised delight, and she even made a point of thanking him.

The only issue was that all the Red Moons acted as a single coordinated whole, showing not the slightest disharmony and giving no clue who would speak next.

And as luck would have it, the one who spoke that last line was the very one with the differently colored eyes.

The moment the words fell, the entire Half-Step Moon plunged into dead silence.

So she had noticed after all? Then how had she pulled that off?

As the atmosphere turned icy in an instant, Fu Qian knew the moment he had been waiting for had arrived.

Yet from watching them just now, he had noticed something else: no matter where the Red Moons turned their eyes, their gaze never once landed on any of the others.

Which made him wonder how a voice with nothing discernibly wrong with it had given itself away.

"Wait for me a moment. I need to clean up some filth."

Unfortunately, his curiosity went unanswered; with that quiet word to him, the gazes of the Red Moons fell upon "herself" for the very first time.