Chapter 3022 Guide to the Abyss

It certainly possessed a unique presence.

Imagining how Classmate Su Gao must have felt walking through these places, Fu Qian let his gaze settle on the large doors before him.

This was no longer a matter of practicality. Even for a religious structure, a design that was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom hardly made for a pleasant sight.

Just as Su Gao had described, this less-than-exquisite door was massive, its top noticeably wider than its base.

Even the lines tapering downward weren't straight; they were warped by unsettling, flowing patterns.

"Why aren't you going in?"

Faced with such tightly shut doors, it was easy to see why Madam Three-Eyed—whose strides had been so resolute the entire way—was now hesitating.

Fu Qian, however, showed no such consideration. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her, he simply urged her on.

...

Sure enough, he received no answer.

Madam Three-Eyed must have heard him, but her reaction was so minute that she didn't even turn her head.

Looking on the bright side, at least she hadn't vanished on the spot this time. That...

Beyond that, Fu Qian's completely natural tone and demeanor were clearly still battering at Chief Yuan's sanity.

But the latter's reliability at critical moments was also evident. Not only did she refrain from interrupting, she even acted like Su Gao—keeping her distance and trailing behind from the very beginning so as not to disturb Professor Fu's conversation with thin air.

"Because the door is closed? True, this thing does look a bit heavy."

Professor Fu didn't let her down. He genuinely continued his conversation with thin air, even asking and answering his own questions.

Hmm...

Sincerity pays off, as they say. The tireless conversationalist finally seemed to achieve a result.

While Madam Three-Eyed still didn't make a sound, she raised her grotesque left arm and pressed her half-clenched claws against the door.

So she really had sensed something from here and tracked it all the way over?

For Fu Qian, the moment Madam Three-Eyed stopped dead in her tracks here, this "unchanging landmark structure" undoubtedly grew even more mysterious.

And her current action only further linked it to that terrifying element—The Abyss.

If the previous guess was correct and Madam Three-Eyed was the Wanderer's wife, then during his years of searching, she had also been waiting bitterly here.

Then whether it was the grotesque scars on the left side of her body or the Pocket Watch in her hand, it was entirely conceivable that they were symbols of some kind of bond.

Furthermore, her action of seemingly trying to open the door with the Pocket Watch only further proved that this bond pointed to whatever lay behind it.

Was The Abyss here?

Given that they were standing right in the Night Watchers' headquarters, the very idea was rather shocking.

But if it were true, it seemed like good news regarding Old Man Henry's disappearance.

For someone genuinely tainted by The Abyss, suddenly running off and vanishing because he was drawn in by a related aura was undoubtedly a logical explanation.

In short, this door looked very much worth opening.

It was just a pity that Madam Three-Eyed's method didn't seem to work very well.

She held the Pocket Watch against the door for a moment, but not a single unusual reaction occurred.

"Let me do it."

Having watched the entire process, Fu Qian felt a brief pang of pity and didn't pass up this chance to perform. Click—

In fact, to avoid startling anyone too badly, Fu Qian refrained from violently kicking the door down.

Instead, he walked all the way around to Madam Three-Eyed's right side, raised his hand, and pushed open a much smaller side door.

Yes, like most religious buildings, the main doors weren't the only entrance.

And obviously, this miniature entrance had recently been opened by someone.

And Professor Fu's flexibility was clearly mocking the stubborn but mindless Madam Three-Eyed.

"Thank you..."

And it earned him a word of thanks.

...

Hoarse and dry, yet possessing a calm rhythm that couldn't be concealed.

The eyeballs on her cheeks tracked Fu Qian's movements the entire way; obviously, Madam Three-Eyed didn't mind the implicit mockery.

After confirming that the door really could be opened and the path ahead was clear, she spoke her first words since they met. It was even a polite phrase.

Though her voice was predictably unsettling, an underlying sense of good upbringing still bled through.

But that was it. She had absolutely no intention of deferring to him. The next moment, Madam Three-Eyed retracted the hand pressed against the door and walked straight toward the path Fu Qian had opened—

[SAN Value -1, inspiration +1]

It even came with a familiar notification.

Madam Three-Eyed's resolute figure vanished on the spot after taking a single step, ultimately failing to pass through that small door.

"That didn't look like a good omen."

It gave a somewhat poignant feeling of life's impermanence, but Fu Qian wasn't too surprised. In that moment, he just shook his head and sighed.

"It is indeed a very unique structure—shall we go in?"

As the saying goes, the ignorant are fearless. Beside him, Yuan Shan reacted almost instantly.

Professor Fu's "acting skills" were so good that it wasn't hard to imagine a terrifying incident had just occurred there.

But eager to save her master, she had clearly been struggling to hold herself back even before Fu Qian opened the door. And now, facing this series of changes, Yuan Shan's attitude was even more resolute.

Her specific reaction was to not badger Fu Qian about the source of his "ominous" remark, nor to obsess over whether someone had actually been there, but instead to forcibly interpret his words as a critique of the scenery behind the door.

Mainly because the sight behind the door really was a bit unnatural—

As a convenient passageway beside the main door, logically it should have connected to the same area, leading to the same Great Hall or courtyard.

However, behind this side door lay a long corridor that stretched deep into the distance, appearing to have absolutely no connection to the space beside it.

"It feels more like a tomb passage... Let's go."

Fu Qian completely understood Chief Yuan's determination. After a casual remark, he signaled them to set off.

Or rather, to follow.

Because in just the time it took to exchange those two sentences, another familiar figure had impressively materialized deep within the "tomb passage."

Even without crossing through the door, Madam Three-Eyed still hadn't lost her way; she was resolutely guiding the path forward.

...

Sure enough, one shouldn't make random metaphors; it was looking less and less like a place for the living. The corridor wasn't particularly cramped, so much so that Fu Qian and Yuan Shan had no problem walking side by side.

Unfortunately, walking side by side didn't last long. Very soon, continuous forks in the road forced Chief Yuan to fall a half-step behind and consult their guide with her eyes.

This really couldn't be blamed on her. Just walking this short distance was enough to be suffocated by the undisguised malice in the passageways.

It was designed almost entirely in the style of a labyrinth, its complexity rivaling a ghost-built wall.

Even the scattering of flickering candlelights on the walls was arranged in an intricate, disorienting mess.

Although, as a dignified figure in the Demigod Realm, she wouldn't need much effort to tear this place apart if she really wanted to.

But because Old Man Henry's situation was unclear, Yuan Shan obviously still wanted to minimize variables as much as possible.

"This way."

True to form, Professor Fu didn't let her down. His gaze fell upon his own guide, Madam Three-Eyed, and he made his choice without the slightest hesitation.