Though Hu Wei wasn't a [Deceit] follower yet, his "privileges" in the Void far exceeded Cheng Shi's.
Nobody knew how many backdoors the Fun God had opened for this "best enforcer." He could pinpoint Mockery and Jeering's location every ti without fail.
While Hu Wei led the way with Zhang Jizu up front, the trailing An Mingyu asked Cheng Shi a curious question:
"He... when did he co back?"
An Mingyu had clearly changed since Cheng Shi's departure. Shifting allegiances within the [Fate] path again and again seed to have returned her to the image of that cold, enigmatic Prophet.
Sensing the change, Cheng Shi shook his head with a strange expression.
"I didn't know he was back either until I saw a second .
As far gone as he'd been, I thought the tombstone I prepared for him might actually see so use."
"...?"
An Mingyu's pace faltered. She tilted her head slightly in surprise: "Is this the change that cos from fusing [Deceit]? You never used to say things like that, Zhang Chosen."
Cheng Shi smiled aningfully, glancing at her:
"People change."
Cheng Shi's remark killed the brief conversation dead. He stopped paying attention to the Blind One and began ticulously reviewing every detail of the journey — a post-mortem of the Real Universe trip.
An Mingyu lowered her head, lost in her own thoughts.
Before long, Hu Wei located Mockery and Jeering. A downward sword strike split open the kaleidoscopic fabricated [Existence].
He laughed heartily, leveling his blade ahead:
"Brother Cheng, after you?"
"Cheng Shi" paused mid-step, not rushing to jump. He waited for the real Cheng Shi behind him, then turned with a grin:
"Let Old Zhang go first. Scout the path. If Mockery and Jeering has beco dangerous from whatever upheaval happened, at least the Gravekeeper can keep himself alive. Un-killable."
"..."
Cheng Shi's eyes vanished into slits.
'Thank you so much!'
Though he knew the man was faithfully following the impersonation playbook, did he really have to nail it this well?
The steadfastly cautious "Zhang Jizu" naturally wasn't going to rush in. He stopped at the breach's edge and waited.
Fortunately, everyone was familiar enough to know these two wouldn't move without a clear path ahead. Hu Wei didn't bother haggling and took the initiative — he jumped straight in.
"I'll be waiting below. Priests, keep up."
Watching the burly man flatten into a pancake the instant he made contact, the corners of everyone's mouths twitched with amusent.
Cheng Shi and "Cheng Shi" still didn't move. Clearly, these two "Zhang Jizus" had things to discuss. An Mingyu read the room, gave a slight nod to both, and leapt in herself.
When only Cheng Shi and Mi Laozhang remained in the Void, they exchanged no words.
Two cautious minds wouldn't say anything aningless in an insecure location and risk their cover. Zhang Jizu rely looked toward where An Mingyu had disappeared, his expression questioning.
Cheng Shi understood. He glanced at Mockery and Jeering and shook his head with a smile.
Clearly, he didn't think it was a problem.
Doubt resolved, Zhang Jizu nodded. They exchanged one look — synchronized like a person and his shadow — and jumped in together.
But the mont they entered, Cheng Shi discovered that An Mingyu, who'd just "gone under," had vanished!
He never imagined the [Fate] Chosen's form inside Mockery and Jeering would be invisible, intangible "air"!
Mi Laozhang, on the other hand, was surprisingly true to form — he'd beco a tiny skull whose eye sockets were narrowed to re slits.
Seeing this, Cheng Shi nearly burst out laughing. But trouble arrived imdiately.
The pancake "swam" over to Cheng Shi. First it studied him suspiciously, then probed:
"Brother Cheng?
How'd your spider web get so big?
And what's that mask on the web?"
Cheng Shi didn't hesitate for a single second. He fired back:
"It's my devotion.
This is what you call devotion made manifest.
Apologies — I guess my devotion was a bit much for everyone."
"..."
"..."
"..."
'Your devotion didn't scare us. Your shalessness sure did.'
The pancake twitched twice and offered no comnt. The squinting little skull didn't even listen — it just stared at the mask in the web's center, thinking: 'Looks like Cheng Shi was right. The Nose of Verification really is in here.'
Seeing everyone's attention stuck on Cheng Shi, An Mingyu helpfully spoke up to divert focus:
"I don't seem to sense any change in Mockery and Jeering. Could its disappearance have been just a temporary damming by [Fate]?
Now — where should we head?"
A Prophet who could illuminate the path ahead was asking her teammates where to go?
Hu Wei felt today's Blind One was acting stranger than usual. But he didn't dwell on it. After a pause, he asked back:
"What does [Fate] say?"
Silence fell briefly. Everyone guessed the Blind One was rolling her dice. Sure enough, they soon heard An Mingyu say, tentatively:
"Seven o'clock direction. Worth a try?"
Hu Wei looked in that direction, considered for a mont, and deed it viable.
Cheng Shi's eyelid twitched. He had a feeling a certain soone's chosen direction carried deeper aning.
'Defying fate again?'
'Well, at this point, one more blasphemy won't make a difference.'
'Besides — this is Mockery and Jeering. No matter how vengeful [Fate] is, would He really co onto the Fun God's turf to make arrests?'
The group set off toward seven o'clock. Cheng Shi expressed considerable curiosity about the Blind One's form. He didn't understand what "shapeless and invisible" implied. Could it be that in [Deceit]'s eyes, [Fate] simply didn't exist?
Cheng Shi couldn't help himself. He asked.
An Mingyu answered — though her answer was as good as none:
"This is [Deceit]'s creation, not [Fate]'s. Nobody knows what He's thinking. But His definition of
does grant
the convenience of traveling through Mockery and Jeering. I just don't co here often."
A [Fate] follower avoiding [Deceit]'s road made enough sense. But after hearing this, Cheng Shi asked another peculiar question:
"What about your good sister Zhen Xin? What does she look like in here? Don't tell
she's..."
He paused for a long ti before continuing slowly: "...a magic card?"
Before An Mingyu could answer, Hu Wei interjected in a haunted tone:
"She can transform into anything. She's even turned into you, Brother Cheng!
More than once, I thought I'd run into you. But... never mind, that's ancient history.
Zhen Xin is [Deceit]'s Chosen, after all. That level of favoritism is unmatched."
"???"
'Say what?'
'She can transform freely?!'
'No wonder Old Hu got tricked by
back then. Zhen Xin's been cheating this whole ti.'
'Hang on — we're both part of the Collection. How is number two this much worse than number one?'
'All the suffering is mine; all the perks are hers?'
'Is that fair?'
Cheng Shi gnashed his teeth.
An Mingyu also fell silent after hearing this.
The four embarked on a long exploration. And just after they set off, at the Void breach that had yet to seal, another figure suddenly appeared.
That figure slipped through in the last second before the gap closed, transforming into a dark-green seed that looked like solidified liquid. It glanced toward the direction the four had gone, then quietly slipped away in the opposite direction.
...
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