But Qin Xin hadn't misjudged. His eye was startlingly accurate.
To protect the Torchbearers, The Prisoner actually fell silent.
It was hard to imagine that this reckless, unlucky-aura troublemaker would shut his mouth over a threat that barely sounded like one—simply because the threat ntioned the Torchbearers.
A flicker of surprise entered Cheng Shi's gaze. It seed this Silence follower wasn't entirely unreliable after all.
The two continued exploring the town in silence. Cheng Shi didn't explain his objectives, and The Prisoner didn't ask, simply trailing behind Cheng Shi lost in his own thoughts.
Along the way, they ran into city-wide patrols and learned that the six escapees had made it onto Redi Core's wanted list.
Luckily, they'd both changed clothes by now. The only identifying feature matching the wanted posters was The Prisoner's bald head.
But The Prisoner was well-versed in the concept of a blind spot hiding in plain sight. When he saw officers carrying sketches and searching everywhere, he didn't hide—he strolled right up and helpfully pointed them toward the direction Mo Shu and Zhao Xishi had vanished.
The Folly Prohibition Guards didn't suspect the bald man could be a fugitive. After all, Folly's wisdom dictated that escaped fools would never dare approach them so brazenly.
Watching these so-called Folly Prohibition Guards perform a textbook foolish act right before his eyes, Cheng Shi was speechless. After a few more rounds with The Prisoner that turned up nothing new in other districts, he decided to double back and investigate the dead Executioner, Koshna.
The town was full of "Eyes of Mockery," and yet there was no actual intel about the real Eye of Mockery. To gather as many clues as possible, he had no choice but to redirect his attention to the trial's puzzle, hoping that within Folly's riddle he might find that mask fragnt that sounded like a Folly creation.
As they passed through the town center again, soone was being publicly punished beneath the massive Fool Hunter statue!
The two exchanged a glance, imdiately recognizing this as an excellent opportunity to observe local justice, and pushed through the crowd. By the ti they reached the front, they found Ji Yue already standing in the first row, watching the proceedings with a faint smile.
Cheng Shi froze, wanting to avoid her, but The Prisoner cheerfully squeezed forward and asked without a trace of restraint: "Don't tell
you arranged this?"
Ji Yue frowned slightly at The Prisoner's arrival, but when her gaze swept past him and landed on Cheng Shi, her eyes flickered for a mont before she nodded:
"That's right. I believe this statue hides a secret—likely connected to... the trial. So I employed certain thods to make a few of them commit Knowing Folly."
"You've got nerve. You're wanted and you still waltz up to watch? Aren't you worried about being dragged back by these guards?"
The Prisoner studied her with an odd expression: "You're not worried, so why would I be?"
Ji Yue glanced at his bald head and smiled:
"First, I don't have such a conspicuous feature as yours. Second, I'm not on the wanted list."
The Prisoner blinked: "Why not?"
Ji Yue smiled: "Because I'm the one who reported all of you and provided your portraits. I drew myself as a different woman, so naturally I wouldn't be wanted."
"???"
The Prisoner was floored. He turned to look at Cheng Shi, his wide-eyed expression practically screaming: 'You can do that?!'
Then he spun back around: "Why would you do that?"
"I kept feeling our identities are linked to this trial, but I couldn't dig up any clues. So I figured I'd let the clues co to ."
"Whoever is most interested in our identities naturally becos my lead."
"..."
The Prisoner scratched his head. He was about to say more, but one look at those eyes brazenly sizing him up made him close his mouth. He retreated to Cheng Shi's side and whispered:
"This woman is trouble. Sothing about her feels off every ti I see her. Do you know her?"
Cheng Shi avoided Ji Yue's probing gaze and nodded:
"Ji Yue. An Erudite Scholar."
"Truth's way of exploring the world is through experintation. So it wouldn't surprise
if she used anyone as a test subject—including herself."
"Just stay alert. Don't beco her expendable."
While they were talking, the punishnt had begun.
Since the previous Executioner had died unexpectedly and the town hadn't held elections for a replacent, the punishnt was being administered by several Folly Prohibition Guards.
Supervising them was Kandert—the runner-up from the last election who'd been nad deputy—and now the most popular candidate for the upcoming one.
But at this mont, Kandert's face bore not a trace of a smile. He kept looking up at the statue as if in prayer, then turning to whisper urgently to the guards maintaining order. Anxiety was written all over his face.
His unusual behavior was quickly noticed by the players in the crowd. Both Cheng Shi and Ji Yue were wondering: could this so-called candidate be connected to Koshna's death? Could he be a lead to what they were searching for?
The punishnt itself was unremarkable. The players had already gotten a firsthand taste of the local penalties when they'd woken up at the start. When it was over, the guards dispersed the onlookers and returned to Kandert for orders.
The candidate Executioner rattled off instructions to several guards. Since they were too far away to hear, Cheng Shi glanced at The Prisoner.
As everyone knew, controlling sound was a Silence follower's specialty—and they didn't just snuff it out. A second later, perched on a rooftop, the pair could hear Kandert's conversation with the guards from a great distance.
"Are you certain only one person fell from the cliff?"
"Sir, we haven't confird yet. Prisoners in other cells only heard one crash. We can't rule out two people hitting the ground simultaneously, but any more than that would have produced multiple sounds."
"I've sent n down the mountain to investigate. We should have results within two days."
"Bring the bodies back. There's sothing suspicious about Koshna's death. I don't believe those people could have killed him."
"Yes, sir!"
"Also, round up every outsider in the city. Until we find the cause of Koshna's death, we cannot overlook a single suspicious target."
"Yes, sir!"
"However—sir, his death isn't exactly bad for you. You..."
Kandert's gaze turned razor-sharp:
"There won't be a next ti. Don't make
execute you personally for Knowing Folly."
"Koshna was one of our lord's devout followers and an outstanding Executioner. His passing is a loss for Redi Core and for the Folly Prohibition Office."
"Though he was my rival, I refuse to claim victory by such an accident. Investigate with everything you have. Don't let a single trace go unexamined."
"Yes, sir!"
Kandert sounded like a fair and righteous law enforcer. But the mont his words faded, Cheng Shi and The Prisoner exchanged a look, their expressions turning odd.
He'd been lying.
This Kandert really was suspicious!
Cheng Shi thought briefly and decided to tail the man, hoping to dig up sothing more. But just as he was about to leave with The Prisoner, Ji Yue—who'd disappeared into the crowd only monts ago—reappeared before them. She stood at the base of a townhouse, looking up at the two on the roof, and said with a aningful smile:
"Fate Weaver, there's sothing I'd like to discuss with you. If you wouldn't mind, could this... skill—um, this kung fu Ascetic Monk step aside for a mont?"
"You were about to say 'unlucky,' weren't you?" The Prisoner's head popped over the roof's edge, his gleaming bald scalp dangling like a streetlight from the eaves. "Don't think I didn't hear it. We Silence followers have sharp ears."
"..."
Ji Yue's smile stiffened. She eyed The Prisoner with an odd look and said with "candid honesty": "Then could the unlucky one please leave for a bit?"
"?"
The Prisoner blinked, then instead of getting angry, he grinned.
"You seem to be deliberately provoking . Are you looking for a fight?"
A flash of excitent crossed Ji Yue's eyes, but then the fist she'd been clenching behind her back loosened. She shook her head: "No."
Unfortunately, that was a lie—and both Cheng Shi and The Prisoner caught it.
They both froze for a beat.
'Since when did Truth followers beco this reckless?'
Cheng Shi thought: this did match his mory of Ji Yue's fiery temper, but did she even know who she'd be facing?
Second only to Zhen Yi in bringing bad luck. The Chosen One of Silence. An Ascetic Monk whose mouth ran dense enough to crush a person to death!
'Did you really think the reason he'd survived this long despite his catastrophic luck was just because nobody wanted to catch it? Dead wrong—it's because he can fight, sister! What are you thinking?!'
If not for that earlier encounter, Cheng Shi wouldn't have spared Ji Yue a second glance.
But her dead-serious expression suggested whatever she wanted to discuss might actually be important. Listening wouldn't cost him anything—might as well freeload so intel.
So after a mont's thought, Cheng Shi agreed and sent The Prisoner away.
The Prisoner stared at Cheng Shi in utter disbelief, looking positively wronged: "n truly can't be trusted. You et a new woman and just toss
aside?"
"..."
Cheng Shi's face darkened. He silently raised his hand, lightning crackling at the ready. The Prisoner took one look and, without another word, bolted two miles down the road.
Ji Yue shook her head with a laugh and turned to Cheng Shi. After confirming no one was around, she asked a question that made Cheng Shi's scalp prickle.
"Fate Weaver, do you know what it ans to pass the torch?"
"?"
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