The three of them huddled together and studied the thing for ages, but for the life of them couldn't figure out what the Eye of Mockery actually did. If you had to na an ability...
It was really, really good at insults.
Using it to psychologically demolish an enemy's ntal defenses — sure, that was decent. But that was about it.
Cheng Shi went silent. He finally couldn't endure the endless barrage of contempt, stowed the Eyes of Mockery, and looked at his two fellow unfortunate souls:
"Why exactly did we stand here getting roasted for several hours?
Are we masochists?"
"..."
Zhang Jizu said nothing. Li Jingming shook his head with a sigh — probably genuinely dazed from the verbal beating. He shook the fog from his brain and gave a rueful laugh:
"Now that the Eye of Mockery is in hand, the next target should be the Mask's nose, right?
I don't believe I've ever heard anything about that particular piece. Do either of you have sothing to share?"
Zhang Jizu remained quiet, though after hearing the question, he looked at Cheng Shi — his gaze carrying the certainty that the other man absolutely knew sothing.
Cheng Shi didn't hide it. But the intel had co from his scarred alternate self, so when he ntioned the na "Nose of Verification," a barely perceptible flicker of sadness crossed his eyes.
"The Nose of Verification...
Interesting. [Deceit] never distinguishes truth from falsehood. So why would He create a Nose of Verification?
Could it be related to [Existence]?"
"Not impossible." Zhang Jizu squinted and thodically counted the pieces he'd already encountered, analyzing coolly: "The Secret Peeping Ear spawned the bizarre tales of 'silence' in San Dales. The Eye of Mockery was venerated by [Folly] followers as the Fool Hunter's divine gift. By that logic, if [Deceit] shattered this Mask, there's every reason to suspect He intended to use the fragnts to siphon other gods' authority. A so-called Nose of Verification being linked to [Existence] wouldn't be strange at all."
"Sharp as always, Laozhang!"
Cheng Shi had long suspected that Crown's Mask wasn't just a key to unlocking [mory]'s lost mories. Hearing Zhang Jizu's analysis, he felt it was very likely true.
The power struggle between gods never stopped. If the Fun God wanted to rebel against Origin in that kind of environnt, He'd naturally need more power. Using mask fragnts as diums to undermine other faiths' foundations... He would absolutely do sothing like that.
The only question was which [Existence] god the Nose of Verification was connected to.
Cheng Shi naturally hoped it was [Ti], since [Ti] was his Benefactor and wouldn't have ti to obstruct his search for the nose.
But if it was [mory]... Cheng Shi glanced at the Dragon King. 'This is probably going to land squarely in Dragon King's lap.'
He didn't pressure the man though. Instead, he grinned at Zhang Jizu:
"You're unusually sharp lately, Laozhang. Have you been finding new sources of information behind our backs? Care to share?"
Hearing the sarcastic jab, Zhang Jizu squinted, shot him a sidelong look:
"See the big picture from the small details, the whole leopard from a single spot. When you have enough known facts, deducing unknowns cos naturally.
I refuse to believe neither of you thought of this — I simply said it first.
If you want to ask sothing, just ask. Get sarcastic with
again and I won't mind burying you in a grave to cool off."
He even raised his shovel for emphasis.
Cheng Shi's eyebrow arched, his tone growing more peculiar:
"Such dedication to cetery managent. But do you really think patting so dirt around fools us?
We're not blind. Even in this dim light, we can spot which tombstones have been changed.
I can see the Dragon King's been holding it in and can barely contain himself, so I'll ask on his behalf — why the new tombstones?"
His eyes swept the front row of divine tombstones. It was plainly visible that two of the fifteen had been replaced with more elegant versions.
If it were just regular swaps, Cheng Shi wouldn't think twice. What made it suspicious was which two tombstones had been changed.
He glanced at Zhang Jizu again, aningfully:
"And why, of all gods, did you happen to replace [Prosperity] and [Truth]?
Mi Laozhang — what have you learned?"
Indeed, Zhang Jizu had co here specifically to swap tombstones. He'd painstakingly carved fine new tombstones for the fallen gods, yet placed them here at the Joker Gathering Place rather than in his own cetery.
His purpose wasn't idle beautification — it was his way of alerting Cheng Shi that he'd learned certain things.
He knew Cheng Shi was the sharpest among them. He'd see through the oddity imdiately, and working backward might deduce where the information had co from.
Zhang Jizu had no idea why the Fun God had chosen him, and he couldn't defy the Fun God's will. But he still wasn't sure whether [Deceit] was trying to save the world or destroy it. If it was the latter, he didn't want to beco the Fun God's accomplice in deceiving his friends. So he'd set this trap — a trap that exposed himself.
But he obviously couldn't say outright that sothing was wrong with him. So when Cheng Shi pressed, Zhang Jizu squinted and replied:
"I've had a lot of free ti lately. Figured I'd replace the rough tombstones with polished new ones. Sothing to pass the ti — give myself a project in these strange tis."
"Oh~ I see. Just happened to finish [Prosperity] and [Truth]'s tombstones first. So you swapped those. Right?"
Zhang Jizu nodded: "Correct. No deeper aning."
Cheng Shi pursed his lips. 'I don't believe you for one second, you squinty little skeleton. You're up to no good. You definitely know [Truth] has fallen.'
But this didn't strike Cheng Shi as particularly strange. [Death]'s boss had retained His mories through the world reset. Given how much the boss favored Mi Laozhang, it made sense He'd pass along the information.
What Cheng Shi didn't realize was that when the information gap was too wide, Zhang Jizu's intended ssage lost fidelity before it reached its target. Cheng Shi failed to pick up on the warning signal from his fellow "steady" strategist, and instead spent his ti deliberating whether to share the divine fall news with the other Jokers.
But on second thought — before retrieving the [War] authority from the real universe, it was probably best to keep things quiet, lest unforeseen complications arise.
He didn't doubt the Jokers, exactly. It was just that so of them still had living Benefactors — like [mory]. Given the vote [mory] had cast, He didn't seem fully aligned with [Void] yet. So so things were best avoided where possible.
Cheng Shi mulled it over, then grinned:
"This shows your lack of ambition, Laozhang. If you've got the craftsmanship for this, why not think of your own Benefactor first?
That boss has seen more death than anyone — a new tombstone design probably wouldn't impress Him much. But what about the Fun God? Didn't you think to give Him a new one first?"
Hearing this, Zhang Jizu fell silent. His tightly squinted eyes flicked upward, and both n followed his gaze.
They looked up — and saw that the Fun God's tombstone, serving double duty as the Gathering Place's "lantern," had already been swapped for a new design. And it was just as freshly carved as [Prosperity] and [Truth]'s.
"???"
'Wait — Mi Laozhang, you're actually serious about this?'
Cheng Shi gaped at the new tombstone above their heads, montarily speechless. The symbolism felt... distinctly inauspicious.
At that mont, Zhang Jizu added in his trademark flat tone:
"Want any others replaced? Half price on the fourth."
"..."
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