On the other side.
Two cold-faced figures stood atop a building, gazing toward the direction Cheng Shi had vanished, neither speaking.
After a long while, Mo Shu said gravely:
"The fact that we were matched with him—does that an Jie Shu's deduction was correct? The secret of that matter lies either with Wei Mu or the Fate Weaver?"
Zhao Xishi nodded:
"I'm more inclined to say it's the Fate Weaver. Otherwise, given Jie Shu's intelligence, he would never challenge Wei Mu's authority."
"Outsiders already look at Wei Mu like gazing up at an unclimbable mountain. But only Folly's followers themselves know what their Chosen One truly represents."
"I'm not belittling Jie Shu. Among peak players, he's practically a summit of intellect. Unfortunately, not every summit is called Everest. The fact that he can't match Wei Mu is simply indisputable."
"But this Fate Weaver..."
"I keep hearing his na lately. An interesting person."
"I've also heard that Zhen Xin has been quite close with him. Heh—that fox never does anything without gain. I refuse to believe she's cozying up to a con artist for sothing as naive as friendship."
"Her capacity for friendship was spent entirely on the Blind One."
Mo Shu pondered briefly, offering no comnt, then continued:
"Could either of the other two be a lead?"
"The Prisoner..."
At the ntion of The Prisoner's na, Mo Shu's eyelid twitched. He fell silent for several seconds, skipped right past the topic, and went on: "That female player is no pushover, either."
Zhao Xishi glanced in another direction and smiled: "Why do you think so? Just because this is a Folly trial?"
Mo Shu nodded:
"Precisely. In His eyes, everything is a foolish act. Countless past experiences have proven that in the trials He bestows, we can only ever act out foolishness."
"So I'm wondering—could our entire line of thinking be wrong?"
"No need to overthink it. Who's to say the counter-logic you're toying with right now isn't itself the foolish act?"
"Though that beauty is probably a Truth follower..."
"She's composed and asured, acts with discipline—obviously not low-ranked. By my read of people, she's likely a mber of so organization, here with a mission."
"And Truth has nothing to do with the truth we're searching for."
"If Truth could actually deliver truth, why would He keep putting His followers through such misery?"
"It shouldn't be her."
"As for The Prisoner..."
"Jie Shu once said that Silence probably knows this universe's greatest secret. As His follower, if The Prisoner knows sothing, I wouldn't be surprised."
"But if it really is him, then what we're doing truly is a foolish act."
"Nobody can pry anything from Silence's mouth. Not even Folly."
"Jie Shu said that too. I think it makes a lot of sense."
Mo Shu gave Zhao Xishi an odd glance, thinking she really did "trust" Jie Shu.
He'd always suspected that Zhao Xishi's adulation of Jie Shu stemd entirely from the fact that Jie Shu was one of the rare players who could surpass Zhen Xin in at least one area.
Of course, surpassing Zhen Xin wasn't what mattered. What mattered was suppressing Zhen Yi.
As a mory follower, being expelled from an organization devoted to studying history and mory—especially one controlled by a follower of Deceit, her rival faith... this was an obsession Zhao Xishi could never put down.
But voicing such speculation would only invite trouble, so he simply nodded:
"Then we proceed as planned."
"I'll carry out our Benefactor's edict. You investigate the secret he's hiding."
Zhao Xishi cast her gaze once more toward where Cheng Shi had disappeared, eyebrow raised:
"I've always been curious—why would a god lower Himself to issue an edict for His followers to obliterate one mortal?"
"Do you think it's related to the secret he carries?"
"Is your Benefactor also searching for the truth that Jie Shu spoke of, just like us?"
Mo Shu's gaze sharpened, but he didn't respond.
His heart held only devotion, never doubt. Besides, he'd already received that lord's promise. Soon, he would take the next step and widen the gap between himself and ordinary mortals.
Seeing Mo Shu fall silent again, Zhao Xishi gave a dismissive snort and said no more—until he spoke up with "Let's go, ti to move," at which point she followed his silhouette and vanished from the rooftop.
The mountain wind swept past, leaving behind only a few fragnted lines of conversation:
"The cakes you gave —they don't have a hidden trick in them too, do they?"
"That depends on whether you stand with ."
"Heh. Honest, at least. And utterly dull."
...
Cheng Shi pulled back his arm, fought down the urge to turn the charred corpse into a Screaming Servant, sighed, and used the Lush Horn Crown to resurrect The Prisoner.
It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to heal him—after weighing his options, he'd concluded that killing him first and then reviving him cost far less ntal energy than direct healing.
So at The Prisoner's most agonizing mont, Cheng Shi had granted him a quick death—using the fear extracted from interrogating a passerby in the alley.
But when The Prisoner leapt up, seized Cheng Shi's hand, and started shouting "miracle doctor" nonstop, Cheng Shi imdiately regretted it.
He should've turned him into a skeleton. At least bones wouldn't be this clingy.
Cheng Shi shook off The Prisoner's grip and headed toward the alley's exit. This ti, The Prisoner actually didn't stick to him. Instead, he trailed behind, studying the ground beneath Cheng Shi's feet with an uncertain expression:
"Your shadow... was it obliterated by the Scavenger?"
Cheng Shi blinked. 'Here I was worrying about how to explain this, and he cos up with an excuse all on his own.'
So he kept a grave face and nodded:
"Yes. I trust you're aware of the divine edict that Oblivion's followers have received. They're hunting
with everything they have."
The Prisoner's curiosity only deepened. To most people, this would be a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions. But in The Prisoner's eyes, this was cool beyond words!
Being hunted by a god!
What could possibly be more thrilling?!
"Why does He want to obliterate you?" The Prisoner asked eagerly, hurrying to keep up.
Cheng Shi answered honestly:
"I made a face at Him, He got embarrassed and furious, so He issued the edict to obliterate ."
"What do you an, 'made a face'?"
"I blasted Him with a bolt of lightning right to His face. Like the one I hit you with earlier."
"..."
The anticipation in The Prisoner's eyes collapsed in an instant. He rubbed his bald head, eyed Cheng Shi, and said with dissatisfaction:
"Lying is no fun."
"We've literally been through life and death together. Can't you level with ?"
"You think I'd blab? You've seen it yourself—I'm reliable!"
He thumped his chest for emphasis.
"..."
'In what universe are you reliable?'
Cheng Shi rolled his eyes, thinking the only thing reliable about this man was how reliably unreliable he was.
"I am telling the truth. Whether you believe it is your problem."
"Fine, fine, I believe you—happy? Is that good enough?" The Prisoner nodded furiously, then, still unwilling to let it go, pressed on: "Besides that lightning bolt you hit Him with, what else happened between you and Him?"
"Are you conducting a census?"
"Not really. Is Oblivion your family?"
"..."
'Is Oblivion your family!'
Cheng Shi clenched both fists. He'd truly reached his breaking point. He stopped, turned, and spoke to The Prisoner word by word:
"Option one: shut your mouth and follow ."
"Option two: leave here and babble to your heart's content."
"Pick one. Otherwise, I'll tell everyone you're a Torchbearer."
"!!!"
The Prisoner's pupils contracted. Seeing that Cheng Shi didn't seem to be bluffing, he scratched his head with so embarrassnt: "But then wouldn't you be exposed too?"
Cheng Shi sneered: "I'm not a Torchbearer."
"...Oh right. So, is it too late to quit?"
"..."
Cheng Shi took a deep breath, now absolutely certain that Qin Xin had misjudged this one.
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