The two set off again. Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin walked side by side, heads down in silence.
Zhen Xin had sohow learned Old Zhang's story and didn't seem opposed to sharing it. But the question was—should he be hearing this?
Digging into soone's past without their consent felt sowhat unethical.
With that thought, Cheng Shi didn't hesitate for even a second. He spoke up imdiately:
"Well, if you know sothing, just say it already. What's with the suspense?
Don't tell
you're planning to trade it for sothing like the Dragon King does?"
Zhen Xin wasn't the least bit surprised by Cheng Shi's "greed." She glanced at him and smiled:
"If you have other people's stories to share, I wouldn't mind an exchange.
But if your bargaining chip is your own story... it's worthless. I already know it all."
"..."
Having his mories swindled away was the very first loss Cheng Shi had taken at the threshold of the peak rounds. Though he'd ultimately used Brother Mouth to expose the other party's identity—so consolation, at least—he hadn't truly profited from the ordeal.
Zhen Xin bringing up old business clearly ant she intended to treat Old Zhang's story as compensation.
Cheng Shi didn't mind. He listened attentively.
Zhen Xin smiled and asked: "Haven't you ever had even the slightest doubt about Old Zhang?"
"What doubt?"
"With his composure, his knowledge, his bearing, and his temperant—the work clothes aside, I'm talking about that quality so reminiscent of Truth—he's clearly soone who received excellent education. So why on earth did he beco a security guard?"
"?"
Cheng Shi blinked. He had genuinely never thought about it from that angle.
'But what's wrong with being a security guard? It's an honest profession—no stealing, no robbing. In fact, you prevent stealing and robbing. What's not to like?'
Though admittedly, nobody was exactly robbing a cetery.
He scoffed, accusing Zhen Xin of occupational prejudice: "Everyone makes their own choices. I don't see anything wrong with it."
Zhen Xin nodded:
"Indeed, everyone makes their own choices.
I'm not looking down on any profession. I'm questioning sothing that clearly defies common sense.
Death serves as camouflage—its aura keeps many players at arm's length from the Gravekeeper. But once people stop fearing Death—once you lift that veil—and look at this Death Chosen One again, you'll find a very different... Gravekeeper.
His father was an outstanding young forensic doctor. His mother was an authoritative safety expert. How could such an exceptional household produce an ordinary child? Old Zhang was once a top student at a prestigious university, expected to achieve great things..."
"?"
'Old Zhang betrayed the revolution?'
'He rolled that well in the birth lottery?'
But the better the birth, the less he should look like his current self. Cheng Shi knew all too well how fate could twist. He blinked, said nothing, and kept listening.
"He dropped out.
In his final year, right before graduation, he chose to quit and beco a security guard at that cetery. Small wonder his colleagues were always snide about it.
When soone suddenly appears in a place they clearly don't belong, rumors naturally follow.
But fortunately, the Gravekeeper's will was iron. He didn't care about any of that."
Even Zhen Xin grew a bit emotional as she spoke. As soone who understood cold glances and the ways of the world better than most, she knew the Gravekeeper's days during that period couldn't have been easy.
"Why?" Cheng Shi seed to have guessed the answer, but he wasn't sure.
Zhen Xin's smile faded, replaced by an expression of quiet respect.
"Because his parents are buried in that cetery."
"..."
'As expected.'
"They were brilliant. But they pushed too hard—always wanting to see as much of the world as possible within their limited lifetis. The more they wanted to see, the more they did. And grinding a body past its limits only makes a limited lifespan even more limited...
They both collapsed in the sa year—even the sa month. The rest of the story is the answer to the question I raised.
So Old Zhang wanting to live forever is probably one final act of 'rebellion' against his parents.
And that might also be why the Fun God took notice of him.
He loves rebellion, doesn't He?"
"..."
Cheng Shi fell silent.
He rembered what Old Zhang had once told him—"Live longer, see more." He had always assud the first half was what mattered to Old Zhang. He never realized the second half was equally important.
'Was he commorating his parents through those words?'
'Then what's with his obsession with burying people?'
'Eagerly "forwarding" the world's little monts to his mom and dad on the other side?'
'Huh—you know what, that's actually pretty filial.'
Everyone carries their own misfortune. Cheng Shi had grasped this truth about the world a long ti ago. He didn't feel offended by learning Old Zhang's past. He simply raised an eyebrow at Zhen Xin, sothing clicking:
"You got this from the Dragon King?
This Li Jingming—always going on about respecting the Joker mbers' personal mories—then turns around and sells Old Zhang out?"
Zhen Xin just smiled. She didn't speak, didn't confirm, didn't deny.
Cheng Shi's face turned deadly serious:
"That won't do. I need to teach him a lesson.
If he won't tell
sothing new, I'll expose his loose lips and make him die of sha!"
"..."
Zhen Xin rolled her eyes at Cheng Shi, knowing when enough was enough, and dropped the subject.
They had arrived at the venue of that theatrical performance. Not far ahead in the crowd, Zhang Jizu stood quietly, silently watching the show.
Noticing the movent behind him, he turned to face the two, surprised they'd found him so quickly.
The pair walked up beside him. Watching the performance onstage, Cheng Shi suddenly thought of Old Jia, and for a mont didn't know what to say. Zhen Xin, on the other hand, had no particular reaction to the subject of "parents." She smiled and asked:
"You've actually got the leisure to watch a show? That tells
you've found sothing. Go ahead, Old Zhang—what's the deal with Morning Joy?"
The tone clearly couldn't belong to An Mingyu. Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes, unsurprised by her true identity.
Seeing this, Zhen Xin's face fell.
'Sure enough—these two deceivers had seen through my disguise long ago.'
Zhang Jizu nodded as a greeting, then gave a clear and organized summary:
"Morning Joy's background is complicated, and Mada Freud's identity is anything but simple. She's not just a circus ringmaster—she's also a mber of the Extre Desire Brotherhood."
"???"
'What the—?'
Cheng Shi whipped his head around in shock: "She's one of Corruption's people?"
"Yes. To explain all of this properly, we have to start from when Mada Freud rallied the young perforrs to leave the Sunset with her.
Mada Freud was restless from a young age, born with a rebellious heart. But it was precisely that rebelliousness that drove her to constantly question and reform traditional circus arts—once even bringing a breath of fresh vitality to the Sunset.
But the conservative old ringmaster refused to embrace these innovations. Gradually, Mada Freud was pushed to the margins. After enduring prolonged suppression, she finally couldn't take it anymore. She took the perforrs closest to her and broke away from the Sunset.
They had nowhere to go. Fortunately, on their journey in search of a new life, they encountered the Extre Desire Brotherhood, which was at the ti infiltrating the surface world.
What Corruption represents hardly needs explaining to you two. It resonated perfectly with Mada Freud's spirit, and she joined them without hesitation. Through sheer force of action, she beca the leader of this particular surface unit.
Perhaps as her desires continued to swell, her restless heart finally erupted one day. She confronted her true desires head-on, gathered the perforrs around her, and returned to Canlival—swearing to defeat the Sunset and make the people here acknowledge that her art was the greatest circus of all.
And so Morning Joy was born."
...
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