"You're saying Qin Xin and An Mingyu recruited you together?"
Ji Yue studied The Prisoner with a furrowed brow. So doubt remained, but she'd largely accepted his identity.
After all, soone who knew both Qin Xin's na and the forr Fire Seeker An Mingyu couldn't possibly not be a Torchbearer.
The Prisoner nodded vigorously: "The mont they laid eyes on , they declared
a genius. They practically begged
to join the torch-passing cause. Kindhearted soul that I am, after so pushing and shoving, I gave in."
"..."
'Am I supposed to believe that?'
Ji Yue rolled her eyes in disdain:
"What, you've been famous in the peak circle for ages—and those two are only just now seeing you for the first ti?"
"If not, why the sudden 'genius' declaration?"
"And honestly, aside from that forehead of yours being reflective enough to bounce sunlight, what exactly about you screams 'torch-passer'?"
Ji Yue's real question wasn't about Qin Xin's judgnt—it was about Qin Xin's intentions. This was her first ti learning the Torchbearers truly had hidden cards.
Then besides The Prisoner, were there others?
Like... that Fate Weaver who was so desperately trying to distance himself from the Torchbearers.
Could he also be so kind of hidden card?
The Prisoner hadn't expected to be mocked by a colleague for his appearance. He pointed at himself indignantly:
"I carry gasoline on . How am I not suited for passing the torch?"
"?"
A chicken talking to a duck. Casting pearls before swine.
Ji Yue took a deep breath and decided to save ti: "If you have sothing to say, say it fast. No nonsense—only business!"
"The business is that Cheng Shi has disappeared, and we have to find him!"
Ji Yue was stunned, then laughed in frustration:
"You risked blowing your cover to make contact with —just so I'd help you find the Fate Weaver?!"
"The Prisoner, have you ever done any self-reflection? If you'd just talked a little less, maybe the Fate Weaver wouldn't have ditched you!"
"I reflected on it. That's not why." The Prisoner said with absolute certainty.
"..."
"You—" Ji Yue wanted to leave. She had no desire to beco a piece of whatever inexplicable ga these two were playing.
But then The Prisoner dropped all pretense and said with dead seriousness:
"He's connected to Yu Xi."
Ji Yue's footsteps halted. She frowned: "Who is Yu Xi?"
"Qin Xin says Yu Xi is the key to the Torchbearers' God Creation Plan. He specifically assigned
to investigate. Now I've found out: Cheng Shi knows Yu Xi."
"!!!"
Ji Yue finally took this seriously. She seed to connect several loose threads and nodded: "So that explains why my prayer matched
with him."
She turned to The Prisoner with newfound appreciation: "My apologies. War ruined my temper. I shouldn't have questioned a Torchbearer's professional judgnt. Tell —how did you find this out?"
"Intuition."
"...?"
Ji Yue's expression reverted instantly. She blinked, needing several seconds to confirm she hadn't misheard.
"You... based this entirely on a guess?"
The Prisoner shook his head with absolute gravity: "Not a guess. Intuition."
"...Fine. I suppose that's not entirely unacceptable. A peak player's intuition is a legitimate ability." Ji Yue sighed, then thought carefully: "So what we need to do now is find Cheng Shi, learn about Yu Xi from him—maybe even make contact with Yu Xi. Correct?"
"Right! And ideally, pull him into the Torchbearers!"
"But how do you know he isn't already one?" Ji Yue raised an eyebrow.
"?" The Prisoner blinked, rubbed his head, and mused: "Could it be that when I doused him with gasoline, he was already initiated?"
"..."
Helpless. Completely helpless.
Ji Yue hadn't felt this powerless even on the day the world ended and the Faith Ga descended.
For a mont she suspected Qin Xin's only purpose in recruiting The Prisoner was to keep this outrageous weapon of bad luck from being aid at the Torchbearers. But reality proved that weapons like this were AOE—they hit friend and foe alike.
Ji Yue was at a loss. She sighed: "What's your plan?"
"My plan was to find you first."
"And then?"
"Then find him."
"How?"
"That's your departnt."
"..." Ji Yue's fists clenched. "What exactly is inside your head?"
The Prisoner sheepishly pointed at his gleaming scalp and declared with sacred reverence: "A torch waiting to be passed. And a brilliant light."
"..."
'Why does Fang Jue suddenly seem kind of adorable by comparison...'
Ji Yue wasted no more words and spun on her heel. The Prisoner followed in quick little steps, chattering: "As expected of a Scholar—already thought of a plan! Where are we going to find my brother-in-law?"
"We're not going to find your brother—the Fate Weaver!"
The Prisoner rubbed his head, confused: "Then what are we going to do?"
"Eliminate the problem."
Ji Yue swung her spear with surging battle intent:
"You said it yourself—the biggest danger to the Fate Weaver cos from the Scavenger and the Historian."
"So why not remove the danger first?"
"Take those two out. With the external threat gone, the Fate Weaver can be found anyti—or maybe he'll show himself on his own once it's safe."
The Prisoner's pupils contracted. He saw the logic, but still had reservations.
"The Historian's nothing special, but the Scavenger is dangerous. This won't be easy."
Ji Yue walked into the moonlight, laughing heartily:
"No matter how hard..."
"Can it be harder than passing the torch?"
"!!!"
War's indomitable spirit ignited sothing in The Prisoner at that very mont. He nodded fervently, deeply inspired:
"Right! Can anything be harder than passing the torch?!"
"Truly worthy of a Torchbearer's Fire Seeker—a few words and I'm fired up!"
"Let's go! Take them down!!"
It should have been a mont of surging heroism—War's will made manifest in reality's finest hour. But Ji Yue froze mid-stride, the color draining from her face as her eye twitched violently:
"PUT OUT THE FIRE ON YOURSELF!"
"It's pitch dark and you set yourself on fire—WHAT FOR?!"
"Do you WANT them to see us?!"
"I'd rather not have my teammate turn into a charred corpse before we even find the enemy!"
"The Prisoner! PUT IT OUT! NOW!!!"
In that mont, The Prisoner looked like a scolded schoolboy being called out by the teacher.
"You're the one who fired
up in the first place..."
"..."
'Can this torch really be passed on?'
Ji Yue, who had never once wavered, now felt a flicker of doubt.
...
anwhile, on the other side.
While two Torchbearers danced with fire, a sudden scream erupted from a quiet alley on the opposite side of the plaza.
But the scream had barely surfaced before it was smothered. What followed was a quiet, sinister chuckle from the alley's depths.
"Tsk tsk tsk. I knew tonight would be productive—just didn't expect the harvest to co so fast."
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Shadow Cheng Shi gripped the drunk by his hair while covering his mouth. Cheng Shi held a scalpel, its edge kissing the bulging vein on the man's neck, and spoke with enigmatic nace:
"Don't even think about lying. I can tell you were faking sleep."
"Interesting—a man who pretends to pass out drunk at the foot of the statue... If I said you knew nothing about the statue's ravings, even you wouldn't believe that, would you?"
The instant the words "statue ravings" left his mouth, the drunk sobered completely, cold sweat pouring from his scalp.
Seeing this, Cheng Shi's smile widened.
"It seems you're ready to talk?"
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