Chapter 3014: Mark of the Blasphemer

Birthday Party, Drifting Street, inspiration forty-one.

"It suits you quite well, Professor Fu. If you like it, don't stand on ceremony."

This was no empty flattery. Seeing Fu Qian draped in the fur cloak, even Chaumont—a man with absolutely no motive to suck up—let out a sound of admiration and signaled he was free to take it.

"As for the money, since I don't know the price either, just pay whatever you see fit."

However, that follow-up sentence immediately threw the value of his approval into question.

His Excellency Chaumont had blatantly made it clear that the item wouldn't be given away for free; money still had to change hands.

He had even dropped that legendary, ruthless phrase: pay whatever you see fit.

"Of course."

Fortunately, Fu Qian was prepared for this. He casually reached into his coat and actually produced some cash.

He had been constantly careful not to ruin his formal suit. Beyond preserving the Academy's image, the funds prepared by Eldest Miss Wen happened to be tucked inside.

Having navigated the sea of commerce for so long, how could he not know that shopping required money?

His Excellency Chaumont's demand for payment actually verified a previous deduction: the Night Watchers used an alternative method of containment, relying on the concept of "merchandise" to keep these transcendent items quiet. Chaumont certainly didn't lack money, but giving it away for free would violate the item's property as "merchandise," which might negatively impact the business environment of the entire Drifting Realm.

As for when the Needle Witch fetched the Karmic Bond blade earlier, hadn't she taken it without paying?

That wasn't a contradiction. Considering they were all internal personnel, and given the card in her hand, she might have just been deducting points or something similar.

In short, nothing in the store could be taken for free. That was the principle.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Fu Qian actually counted out two banknotes and placed them in front of Chaumont.

"This is for you."

Not only that, a moment later he pulled out another bill and stuffed it into the Puppet Demigod's hand.

Where there was a will, there was a way. With Eldest Miss Wen's logistical support, his grand ambition of tipping the Night Watchers had finally been successfully achieved.

...

It was obvious that Professor Fu's generosity had brought considerable shock to the Night Watchers. After all, not everyone tipped fifty percent.

Staring at the bill in the mannequin's hand, the two old men remained silent for quite a while.

"Professor Fu?"

When someone finally spoke again, the voice came from yet another old man.

Following the sound toward the store entrance, they saw a familiar figure standing there, peering inside with a rather complicated expression.

"What a coincidence, Your Excellency Logan."

Fu Qian's expression remained perfectly normal as he greeted him with a smile.

That's right. The newcomer was none other than Old Man Logan, who had dumped the reception duties onto Su Gao and hurried off.

It was just slightly inconsistent with his previous posture. Not long ago, he looked as if he were attending to myriad affairs daily, but now he was actually here shopping?

"...It's not really a coincidence. I should have guessed you might come here."

Of course, as everyone knew, slacking off was one thing, but admitting to it was absolutely impossible.

After steadying himself, Logan coughed lightly and offered a brief defense.

"I was originally supposed to be stationed here today. After finishing the tasks at hand, I decided to come take a look anyway."

His excuse was completely reasonable and even consistent with what had been said earlier.

When they first arrived at Drifting Street, they heard that Logan was supposed to watch the shop today, but his shift had been changed because he was recovering from a severe injury. This chance encounter now made it look as though the old man simply had an overly strong sense of responsibility, feeling he needed to do more during this autumn of many troubles.

"I see. Welcome."

His Excellency Logan might be a bit hot-tempered, but there was nothing bad to say about his willingness to step up when needed.

For the moment, Fu Qian didn't question him, and even extended an invitation on Chaumont's behalf.

...

It was evident that Logan held a great deal of respect for His Excellency Chaumont.

Faced with Professor Fu overstepping his bounds to play host, Logan didn't move forward right away, but cast his gaze to the side first.

"Have a seat inside."

Fortunately, the powerful law of "since you're already here" was still in effect. Although Chaumont's face showed absolutely no sign of a warm welcome, he still gestured for Logan to come in and contribute to the foot traffic.

"...It looks like you've had quite a harvest, Professor Fu."

He had received official permission, and he had indeed walked inside to find a seat.

But once he actually sat down, the atmosphere was still somewhat awkward. The main reason was that, other than Fu Qian, nobody else was particularly talkative.

After sweeping his gaze over the group in the silence and realizing he had no other choice, Logan bit the bullet and forced some awkward small talk with Professor Fu.

"I am indeed very satisfied. Do you happen to know the origin of this item, Your Excellency Logan?"

Having already paid, Fu Qian didn't bother being subtle. He casually stroked the fur cloak draped over him, wanting to find out its story.

'So you don't even know its origin... You couldn't have just bought it because it looked good, right?'

As it turned out, Old Man Logan wasn't very good at awkward small talk either.

Faced with Fu Qian's statement, he was still trying to weigh his words, but his facial expression had already exposed his true thoughts.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be one of the five variations of the Mark of the Blasphemer."

Seeing that Chaumont had no intention of stopping him, Logan weighed his options for a moment before finally taking it upon himself to introduce it.

"Although it possesses a faint trace of divinity, it is an out-and-out cursed item. It condensed from the bodies of people who attempted to ascend to a High Tier using the wrong methods."

The information he provided was undoubtedly interesting.

Even though there were no obvious traces of claws or a head left on it, anyone seeing such an item would immediately assume it was the product of poaching—the spoils of hunting some transcendent creature with divinity. Yet, according to this explanation, it was actually human skin?

"No wonder..."

Re-examining the long fur that was so soft it felt somewhat greasy, Fu Qian nodded slightly, a hint of emotion hidden in his tone.

'No wonder what...?'

Naturally, this Riddler-esque style was incredibly aggravating. His Excellency Logan looked as though he once again had no idea how to respond, leaving him to simply furrow his brow.

A normal person would feel at least a little unsettled after hearing the true origin of this thing, wouldn't they?

Even if he viewed human life as worthless, having no reaction at all would still be somewhat understandable. But how was one supposed to interpret this sigh of nostalgic reminiscence?

In fact, he wasn't the only one; a similar silent criticism could more or less be seen on the faces of the other two old men.

How time flew.

Of course, what they didn't know was that Professor Fu had indeed recalled some events from the past.

Thinking back to that time when he teamed up with a few seniors to stroll through The Abyss, he had once tried to handcraft a human-skin vest to evade the omnipresent color distortions.

It was even during that very instance that he had drawn the "Guansi" card for the first time. Was this destiny?

Although Excellency Serpent of Destiny was far away in the Nightmare Corridor, the act of guiding him toward the Seedbed of the Palace suddenly became a bit more intriguing.

"To think it was actually something like that. It seems I ought to sterilize it, then."

However, the past was firmly in the past, and Fu Qian didn't let himself get lost in the beautiful memories of his time spent with those seniors.

After learning the origin of the item he was wearing, he finally broke the silence, casually snapping his fingers and activating the Decree of Return.