Foolish Game of the Chapter 1149: Even a Mosquito Leg Is Still Meat

"You cried?"

"I did not!"

"Then what's this?" Cheng Shi nudged The Prisoner's foot aside and pointed at the wet spot on the floor beneath it.

"Gasoline."

"?"

"Ji Yue said she wanted to die in fire. I was getting ready to burn her."

"..."

There was no possible response to that, because Cheng Shi could actually see The Prisoner holding a barrel of gasoline.

'Dude—?!'

'How did you manage to cry and pull out a gasoline barrel at the sa ti?'

'And where do you keep getting all these gasoline barrels?!'

'Did you rob a gas station?!'

Cheng Shi had expected to encounter a different side of The Prisoner. But reality proved he'd overthought it.

The Prisoner was still The Prisoner—just with a little less of the chatty camouflage.

He shoved The Prisoner aside with an irritated huff, sat at the bedside, and carefully examined Ji Yue's injuries. Hidden from The Prisoner's view, he quietly traced an Order symbol on Ji Yue's back.

Her wounds were genuinely severe. Any Priest would take one look and shake their head. Healing alone couldn't save this Torchbearer—not unless a Gravekeeper personally sustained her life force.

But Mi Laozhang hadn't been matched into this trial, and Cheng Shi wasn't a Gravekeeper today. So he could only use another thod to share her burden.

Justice Official!

An Order Priest could balance vitality between two people—functioning just like the Symbiotic Ribbon Mi Laozhang had once used. And as luck would have it, Cheng Shi had conned an Order follower in his previous session. So the mont Shadow Cheng Shi relayed news of Ji Yue's critical condition, Cheng Shi already had a plan.

He blasphed a certain Benefactor once more, borrowing temporary Order power. Then, using his Endless Life ability, he slowly eroded the threats within Ji Yue's body. After relentless effort, he finally pulled her back from the brink, and she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Drenched in sweat, Cheng Shi exhaled deeply and gave The Prisoner a nod.

Seeing Ji Yue saved, The Prisoner's tension drained out of him. He collapsed onto the floor.

Cheng Shi shot him a half-amused glance, stood up, and casually surveyed the room:

"What were you two trying to do?"

"The commotion was a bit much, don't you think? Since when is night brighter than day?"

"You... didn't hear everything?"

"Hear what? I'm just a Priest. Getting here already took everything I had—you think I had ti to eavesdrop on your deathbed drama?"

The Prisoner's expression turned peculiar. He stared at Cheng Shi and blurted: "If you didn't hear anything, how do you know it was dramatic?"

"I guessed." Cheng Shi held back a grin, but sighed inwardly.

This was exactly why he preferred City Defenders over City Builders. You couldn't say the Builders were wrong, but they truly would "stop at nothing" for their goals.

It reminded him of Zhao Qian.

When City Builders believed hope lay within themselves, they could disregard everything else in the world. But the mont they learned hope rested in soone else, they'd sacrifice every last thing they had—like Ji Yue just now.

Qin Xin commanded both the City Defenders and the City Builders. Two conflicting wills clashing daily—did the man never get a splitting headache?

Cheng Shi's thoughts wandered, and the room fell silent.

After a while, he smiled, shook off the tangent, and continued:

"I know you were looking for ."

"I suspect even people not in Redi Core could see the sky change color over here, let alone —the person she was trying to signal with her flas..."

"Tch. The Scholar plays a an ga. Creative way to find soone, I'll give her that."

"But those thods were too aggressive. Use them less from now on, or it'll end badly."

"So what did you need

for?"

"Wait—before that, Ji Yue's house call fee. You Torchbearers should settle that first, shouldn't you?"

"House... call fee?"

The Prisoner blinked, staring at Cheng Shi: "You charge your own teammates for healing?"

"Hey now, who said anything about money?"

The Prisoner's eyes flickered. He thought maybe he'd misjudged after all.

But then Cheng Shi added:

"Equivalent items work too."

"..."

The Prisoner's expression beca exquisitely complex. He stared at Cheng Shi for a long, long ti—long enough to make Cheng Shi avert his eyes in mild embarrassnt—before finally drawling:

"Fine. I'll pay."

Cheng Shi's eyes lit up. But suspicion crept in as he looked at The Prisoner: "Pay with what?"

"I'll owe you."

"???"

'Running a tab?!'

Cheng Shi said disdainfully: "How is that different from not paying? Do I owe you sothing?"

The Prisoner shook his head vigorously: "No, brother-in-law. I owe you."

"..."

One sentence silenced Cheng Shi completely.

Bad news: freeloaded again.

Good news: The Prisoner seed to have snapped out of his earlier mood.

Then again, the latter might not actually count as good news either.

Cheng Shi dragged over a chair, sat down, and rolled his eyes:

"Go on then. Tell

what two broke Torchbearers accomplished during this earth-shattering night. Let —the Priest who'll never see his paynt—have my eyes opened."

"..."

For a fleeting mont, The Prisoner felt his brother-in-law had been infected by this Folly town's atmosphere—everything he said reeked of sarcasm.

But he still laid out everything he and Ji Yue had done, and at the end fixed Cheng Shi with a burning gaze:

"You know Yu Xi. Don't you?"

Cheng Shi blinked. His smile was unreadable.

'Know Him? I even know what underwear He's wearing today.'

But no matter how much he knew, he wasn't about to be freeloaded a third ti. Did they think the intel he'd risked his life gathering outside was free?

He needed to earn a margin.

Cheng Shi's current smile was peculiar—so peculiar that The Prisoner read his "needs" at a single glance. After a mont's hesitation, as if steeling himself, The Prisoner pulled a palm-sized wooden puppet from his personal storage. He didn't hand it over imdiately, but cautiously tested:

"Family discount?"

"Sorry. I don't have family."

"That's too cruel, brother-in-law. Just this afternoon, wasn't Oblivion your family?"

"..." Cheng Shi choked, then laughed despite himself: "Fine, fine, fine. Family discount it is. Outsiders get face value. Family gets 110%. Now what you're holding isn't enough."

"?"

The Prisoner's eyes went wide. A second later, he lobbed the wooden puppet into Cheng Shi's lap and imdiately distanced himself:

"Zhen Yi and I don't have any kinship. We're outsiders. This is more than enough."

"Brother-in-law, hurry up and talk."

"..."

Hearing this, Cheng Shi snarled through gritted teeth: "Then why are you STILL calling

brother-in-law?!"

"You don't want

to call you Cheng Jie either."

"..."

"Besides, even if she's not my biological sister, we can call it honorary kinship. By that logic, you're still my brother-in-law. Perfectly reasonable."

'Reasonable my *!'

Cheng Shi wanted to call off the whole deal, but when he squeezed the little puppet in his arms, he couldn't bear to let go.

After all, it was for spreading Yu Xi's divine na. A little humiliation... he could endure it.

"What is this?" Before opening the Yu Xi lecture series, Cheng Shi asked one more question.

For once, The Prisoner explained with genuine seriousness:

"Descending Silent Puppet. S-class Sacred Artifact. I received it as a blessing from my Benefactor through personal prayer. Think of it as Him sealing my 'All Things Return to Silence' punch inside this little puppet. When you shatter it, it silences everything around you."

'Good stuff!'

Cheng Shi's eyes lit up—then imdiately narrowed with suspicion: "Including myself?"

The Prisoner nodded: "Naturally. You're not a Silence follower, so you can't avoid it."

"..."

'How is this good stuff?!'

Cheng Shi's face went dark. But he rubbed the puppet again and thought:

'Even a mosquito leg is still at. I'll endure it. At least it beats being freeloaded.'