Finding soone in deliberately engineered chaos might be difficult, but as long as you stripped away the irrelevant clues and peeled back the layers, you could still locate the instigator hiding behind it all.
The Lake who had led them into the tent was a phantom. And since Lake had never left their line of sight, that ant even back in the ringmaster's office, the figure had already been a phantom.
No matter how powerful a Master of Trickery's abilities were, his illusions couldn't operate too far from his real body. That ant the Master of Trickery had actually been lurking nearby the whole ti, maintaining his decoy, and had almost certainly spotted them long ago.
Viewed this way, the explosion hadn't been an improvised reaction—it was a preditated trap!
He had actually dared to strike at "Zhang Jizu" and "the Blind One" during a trial?
Had Su Yida lost his mind?
Whether he had or hadn't, one thing was beyond doubt: at the mont of the explosion, he had definitely been nearby!
He had very likely watched with his own eyes as Cheng Shi and his companion were blown away.
When deceivers "dueled," quite a few liked to personally witness their opponent's defeat. But such risky behavior also left behind vulnerabilities—once their position was narrowed down, who would be the last one standing was anyone's guess.
After all, between victory and defeat there was only one deception's difference.
And what that deception was—Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin had already guessed the answer.
Ringmaster Fate!
Strange, wasn't it? The clown's tent was tucked away in such a remote corner, yet the first person to arrive at the explosion site was none other than the Sunset's Ringmaster Fate!
He had only just parted ways with the clown in his office and was supposed to be summoning other perforrs for a eting. At that hour, all the perforrs were working throughout the park, and the rest area was nearly deserted. There was no logical reason for him to be anywhere near there.
For Ringmaster Fate to appear so quickly defied all logic.
But under a different logic, his appearance made perfect sense. For example...
What if soone had quietly taken control of Ringmaster Fate when he left his office, then used the ringmaster's identity to appear at the chaotic scene at the critical mont—openly confirming the results of the ambush while clearing himself of suspicion?
'What a perfect blind spot!'
No wonder he had dared to strike at "Zhang Jizu" and "An Mingyu"—he'd had everything planned from the start!
Unfortunately for him, the two people he'd truly been facing were the two most cunning deceivers of all. His sche had been laid bare from the very first mont.
Having reached this conclusion, Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin didn't rush to counter him. Instead, they shared a glance and wordlessly initiated their cat-and-mouse plan.
The chaos continued for so ti.
Before long, a royal investigator arrived at the scene with troops in tow. The fury on the investigator's face made it clear he was a Sunset fan. He found Ringmaster Fate with a grim expression, suppressed his rage long enough to hear the ringmaster's account, then imdiately rendered his judgnt: the explosion was an act of malicious competition that desecrated the honor of circus artistry.
He decided to first detain Morning Joy's key personnel, then convene a three-way tribunal with the emperor, the Sunset, and the public—nailing Morning Joy to Canlival's pillar of circus sha.
To this, Ringmaster Fate said nothing—but his silence spoke volus of approval.
He, too, believed Morning Joy was behind it.
After the official business concluded, the royal investigator didn't leave imdiately. Instead, he dismissed everyone else, leaving only Ringmaster Fate in the office. His voice turned heavy:
"Lake... is he really dead?"
Ringmaster Fate's eyes reddened instantly. Fighting back his grief, he shook his head, his clenched fists trembling as his voice ca out distorted:
"I don't know... but I can't bring myself to believe any of this is real."
The investigator shared in the sorrow. With a sigh, he stepped closer and placed a hand on Ringmaster Fate's shoulder in comfort:
"I can't believe it either... but death isn't necessarily forever."
"!?"
Ringmaster Fate's body went rigid. He looked up at the investigator in utter disbelief:
"What are you saying...?"
The investigator's eyes flickered:
"This world is far more extraordinary than we imagine. I've seen many people die, only to quietly co back to life.
For example...
you!
Su Yida—care to explain why you're still alive?"
Before the words had even fully landed, a mocking grin spread across the investigator's face. As Ringmaster Fate's pupils contracted in shock, the investigator's shadow tore free from his body, flashed behind the ringmaster, and locked him in a chokehold—arms threading under armpits and around the neck, clamping down tight!
Ringmaster Fate went white: "Investigator, what are you—!?"
Seeing Su Yida still putting on an act even at death's door, Cheng Shi scoffed and played along:
"Like I said—this world is beyond your imagination.
The one who needs to co back to life isn't actually you—it's . I'm the world's first Scarlet Hunter, trapped inside a human body. Once I devour you, I'll be reborn. Heh heh heh—"
With that, the investigator opened his mouth wide.
"..."
Ringmaster Fate's twitching face was on the verge of full-on convulsions. When pushed to the absolute limits of speechlessness, a person truly would resort to profanity.
Faced with this scene, the words burst from his lips:
"What the f—"
"CRACK!"
Before Ringmaster Fate could finish expressing his warm regards to the investigator, his limbs were snapped one by one by the investigator's shadow. Each crisp snap was accompanied by a howl, and the circus ringmaster crumpled to the ground, his supports knocked out from under him.
The investigator planted a foot on the ringmaster's chest and stomped him straight back to his true form.
Su Yida!
It really was Su Yida!
Looking at that face—familiar beyond any possible mistake—appearing in his field of vision, Cheng Shi... yes, Cheng Shi let out a cold laugh.
"Long ti no see, Archmage!
Not a bad plan—impersonating Lake yourself while sending the investigator to detain Morning Joy. One move to reverse both sides' endings. Pretty clever brain you've got there."
Su Yida's mouth overflowed with blood. Burning with hatred, he glared at Cheng Shi and cried out defiantly:
"Why is it always you!?
I refuse to accept this!"
Cheng Shi's cold laughter didn't stop:
"Between deceivers, it's always been you trick , I trick you. If you get tricked, you swallow it—and then trick them back. What good is shouting?
Unfortunately, it looks like you won't be getting that chance."
With that, Cheng Shi thrust his scalpel toward Su Yida's throat with lightning speed.
He didn't actually want to kill him. He was following Zhen Xin's suggestion—entering the ga personally to thoroughly flush out any contingencies the Archmage might have left behind.
But to his shock, faced with such a blisteringly fast strike, Su Yida—whose limbs had all been broken—raised his limp hands as if nothing were wrong, seized Cheng Shi's ankle, and hurled him across the room with inexplicable force. Then he snapped upright, launched himself at the ceiling, and blasted through the tent's roof at terrifying speed, escaping into the open air.
Cheng Shi was stunned. His pupils contracted as he tumbled to the ground. Watching the figure vanish through the tent, his expression turned strange as he sent Shadow Chengshi in pursuit.
But before Shadow Chengshi could catch up, the bloodied figure ca flying back through the hole in the roof and crashed to the floor.
"WHAM—"
Su Yida coughed blood as he hit the ground, accompanied by a rain of countless magic cards.
Miss Magician used a playing card balanced on her fingertip as an umbrella, drifting down with grace. Gazing at the equally disheveled Cheng Shi, she teased:
"What's the matter?
Did the cat get scratched by the mouse?
Though I can't really bla you—we both underestimated the Archmage of the Demonic Realm.
If you hadn't insisted on having
set up extra layers of nets outside, he might actually have gotten away."
Then Zhen Xin's gaze sharpened as she looked down at Su Yida:
"What I'm curious about is—where does a Master of Trickery get that kind of brute strength?"
Su Yida lay flat on his back, limbs twisted at grotesque angles, staring vacantly at the hole in the ceiling. He said nothing, as if he'd resigned himself to his fate.
Cheng Shi slowly rose to his feet. Rather than rushing to restrain the man, he dragged a chair over, dropped into it, and then jabbed a finger toward the figure on the ground, his tone far from pleasant:
"Hey—did you hear the question?!
Talk!
Explain to
why you're here, Long—Jing!"
"?"
"..."
...
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