But history could never truly bury a real Historian.
Because they were history's researchers and recorders—never its participants.
They were the ones who'd pieced together a land's past from scattered words and fragnted texts, assembling the tapestry of history. So even if a Historian truly died, they would only die within the history they themselves had composed.
The Zhao Xishi whose neck Shadow Cheng Shi had snapped was a stand-in.
Anyone who'd managed to tangle with Zhen Yi was no ordinary person—especially Zhao Xishi, who'd co from the History School.
The reason she'd been expelled wasn't a lack of talent. It was because she'd stubbornly insisted on using later generations' wisdom to fill in history's gaps. In short, she wanted to fabricate history!
But her fabricated history differed from the kind peddled by certain unscrupulous officials. She didn't consider what she wrote to be false. In her eyes, history was always a story written through the will of later generations. She was rely adding her own personal seasoning to these dull tales, making them more "flavorful."
Coupled with the History School's "authority," once these stories spread widely and beca generally accepted, what wasn't true would effectively beco true.
This way, history would beco a resource under Zhao Xishi's control—not re data—and the History School's power and prestige would soar even higher.
The History School had been doing exactly this all along. The disagreent between Zhao Xishi and the current School was rely a matter of how much water versus how much rice.
The current History School served a porridge called "history." Granted, it was mixed with dirt, blended with mud, and possibly even laced with filth—but at least it could fill the stomach.
Zhao Xishi, however, believed outsiders didn't need to eat their fill. So she wanted to eliminate all the rice entirely, feeding everyone nothing but mud and filth.
That was also why Zhen Yi had vetoed her.
Of course, history was biased. Whether the one who'd actually vetoed her was Zhen Yi—or whether the History School's true leader had actually awoken her sister before casting the deciding vote—that was another question entirely.
Regardless, all of the above proved Zhao Xishi was exceptionally talented at constructing historical narratives. So from the mont she'd left the Folly Prohibition Office at the start of the trial, she'd woven herself a false stand-in within Redi Core's history—a "Zhao Xishi" who existed in this era.
Thus, what had fallen to history wasn't the real Historian, but the Historian's fabricated history. Even though Cheng Shi, ever cautious, had driven his Flaying Bone Knife into her corpse, what failed to resurrect was still just the decoy.
When the historical Zhao Xishi collapsed, Mo Shu had already locked into combat with The Prisoner again.
You could disdain this Silence follower's chattering, but you couldn't deny his strength—otherwise he'd never have lived this long.
The sa applied to Mo Shu. You could question his pastry-making skills, but you couldn't underestimate the capabilities of an Oblivion Chosen.
Even when Cheng Shi and Shadow Cheng Shi simultaneously closed in, Mo Shu was still able to obliterate the surrounding threats, managing a temporary one-against-three standoff.
Ever since Cheng Shi had tricked him and blown him up inside a house, Mo Shu had paid special attention to Cheng Shi's attack thods. He'd even developed a defensive technique against lightning: wrapping himself in Oblivion power to obliterate all projectile attacks.
But this defense drained ntal energy at an alarming rate. Without Zhao Xishi's support, he couldn't sustain it for long.
So when he saw his teammate fall, Mo Shu had no choice but to retreat and seek another approach.
But Cheng Shi was done tolerating harassnt. He had no intention of letting Mo Shu escape. The instant Mo Shu had appeared, Cheng Shi had already marked the pastry chef.
He felt Aph Ros's cook was subpar—the long table at the terrace banquet didn't have a single decent pastry. So he'd decided to send Aph Ros a new chef.
But to his surprise, just as he was about to activate Sinner Redemption, the mark on Mo Shu was obliterated by an unknown force!
The source of that power felt disturbingly familiar. Cheng Shi's pupils contracted. Sothing was wrong. He imdiately turned and pulled back.
The Prisoner had been enjoying the fight. When he saw his brother-in-law suddenly withdraw, alarm bells sounded in his gut. He vanished right after.
Instinct told him that when it ca to sensing danger, his brother-in-law's abilities far surpassed his own. He wasn't stupid—he wasn't about to risk his life just for a good brawl.
And so both sides disengaged on contact. Soon, the area outside the Folly Prohibition Office was left to nothing but a group of belatedly arriving guards standing in the alley, staring at the demolished buildings and cratered ground, exchanging bewildered looks.
"Soone dared attack the Folly Prohibition Office?"
"Report to Lord Kandert imdiately!"
"Captain, Lord Kandert has gone missing."
"...Forget what I just said. As enforcers, we must not commit Knowing Folly."
"Too late, Captain. Allow
to address you as 'Captain' one final ti. You are no longer fit to serve as an enforcer. n—arrest him."
...
After retreating, Mo Shu arrived at a house on the outskirts of town.
Zhao Xishi sat pale-faced at a table, working to collect herself.
Dying through a historical body wasn't without cost. She'd temporarily lost all combat ability. If Mo Shu turned on her now, she had no stand-in left to save her.
So from the mont Mo Shu walked in, her gaze was laden with suspicion.
Mo Shu glanced at her coldly and snorted: "If I wanted to obliterate you, you'd already be gone."
Zhao Xishi's expression shifted, though the wariness in her eyes lessened considerably. She said weakly:
"Of course I know you won't. Until we've verified the truth Jie Shu spoke of, we remain allies—don't we?"
'Allies?'
Mo Shu frowned, noncommittal.
"How long until you recover?"
Zhao Xishi's face darkened: "Nourishing my body with Ti of History... it'll take a while."
"So we just sit here and wait?"
"We could skip the waiting—if you can handle both of them alone. I'll be happy to cheer your triumphant return from right here."
"..."
Mo Shu shot her a frigid look and casually obliterated the chair beneath her. Zhao Xishi's legs gave out and she crashed to the floor with a thud.
"You—?!" Her face flushed crimson, eyes blazing.
Mo Shu ignored her:
"Failed fighters should watch their tongues."
"I'm not here to play house with you. If you ca just to prove how strong the Fate Weaver is, I'll consider finding Jie Shu a different ally."
"Put away your anger and your grievances. They're useless."
"And if you can't control them, I don't mind obliterating those for you, too."
"..."
In a world ruled by strength, everything the weak said was wrong.
Zhao Xishi knew this better than anyone. That's exactly why she wanted to grow stronger—to seize control of the narrative.
She fell silent. Then she pushed down every emotion and beca icily calm.
"When I recover, I've already identified soone who can help us deal with the Fate Weaver."
Mo Shu frowned slightly: "Wei Mu?"
"No—Ji Yue!"
"My trump card tells
her mories have been contaminated. And the one who contaminated them was the Fate Weaver!"
"So her hostility toward us makes perfect sense."
"Once I've recovered and 'helped' her retrieve her mories, we may gain a cannon fodder willing to charge to her death."
"That Purgatory Bishop is formidable. When the two of them destroy each other, we'll naturally reap the benefits."
"Why didn't you use this earlier?"
"The wonders of Existence's gods are beyond what Descent can fathom. If Ji Yue hadn't attacked , how would I have sensed the corruption in her mories?"
"But one sows and one reaps—such is destiny."
"She refused
once. I will not allow her to refuse
a second ti."
The plan sounded solid, but Mo Shu felt sothing was off. He frowned: "How can you be certain Ji Yue will turn to our side?"
Hearing this, Zhao Xishi smiled.
"People erase others' mories to cover their own sins."
"Let
ask you: if you'd done sothing beneficial for , would you want to erase my mory of it?"
"..."
'Why wouldn't I?'
'The little cakes I fed the world were helping them get closer to Oblivion—yet afterward, I made them forget .'
But thinking was one thing. Mo Shu conceded he wasn't exactly a normal person, so he admitted Zhao Xishi had a point.
In this world, even a villain might leave behind a false kindness just to survive. How much more so a good person?
And the Fate Weaver was certainly the good one here.
Reviews
All reviews (0)