To explain everything before them, one had to rewind the clock a bit—back to the mont Poison and "Su Yida" confronted each other.
A teammate who skulked behind Cheng Shi, hiding from sight, probably wasn't a friendly. What's more, Poison had detected a faint "hostility" from the figure directed at Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin.
So the otherwise "idle" Poison had seized an opportunity to intercept this skulking enemy, intending to lighten the burden for her little priest.
But when she actually engaged the opponent, she realized this was no ordinary fighter.
Indeed—in a trial with this many Chosen Ones, the remaining teammate could never be ordinary. The problem was this one was far too formidable.
As the cream of the crop, her identity as an Another Day Assassin compensated for the villainess's weakness in head-on combat. Yet even after running so many simulations within "another day," her opponent had seen through every single one of her moves, escaping from every stranglehold and ambush with ease—and even counterattacking.
This kind of godlike timing and fluid physical responsiveness simply didn't seem possible for a "mage."
That's right—the opponent hadn't revealed his true identity. He was still clumsily pretending to be a "mage," deploying those inconsequential illusions in an apparent attempt to confuse her.
After several exchanges, Poison finally realized she wasn't facing a Ti follower disguised as a mage, but a master of another faith who had fused with Ti.
And given the target's physical flexibility and reaction speed, the most likely identity was—an acrobat!
An acrobat blessed by a Pointer Knight?
No wonder he was this strong.
But if a deceiver was trailing the little priest... what was his aim?
Who could possibly deceive the little priest—himself a deceiver?
Poison wasn't stupid. She imdiately realized this might not be Cheng Shi's enemy at all, but one of his arrangents. So she lowered her weapons, pretended nothing had happened, and casually asked:
"The little priest's helper is impressive, as expected. Might I know your na?"
"Su Yida" was equally baffled. He knew his cover was blown—the half-baked Master of Trickery role sustained by a single mory artifact couldn't possibly withstand Poison's assault. He'd given it everything, and while he couldn't lose, he hadn't won either.
At minimum, his disguise had failed—every trick in his arsenal was now exposed.
Long Jing of course recognized Poison, but the Poison he'd known was never this strong.
In the past, Long Jing had rarely engaged with Poison—not because he couldn't win, but because he steered clear of all things Corruption. Yet today's Poison was clearly no ordinary villainess. She, too, wielded the power of Ti!
'Strange—since when did Ti beco so common?'
'My Ti was personally guided by Lord Yu Xi, granted by the grace of Lord Shi Zhen—the most orthodox Ti there is. Surely you can't top that?'
Poison was thinking along the sa lines.
She had found the thod of fusing with Ti through Aph Ros, guided by Yu Xi. So how had this acrobat been so lucky?
The number of acrobats capable of being placed in a trial like this was extrely limited. Factoring in the wild rumors swirling about the tangled relationships among deceivers, Poison connected the dots. She raised an eyebrow: "You're President Gong?"
Long Jing coughed lightly: "Ahem—long ti no see, Miss Villainess. Your progress has been remarkable."
"Likewise." Poison's eyes spun. She laughed gently. "You're following Your Lordship around like this—are you also repaying His Lordship's kindness?"
"?" Long Jing froze. "What lordship?"
"You don't know?" Poison feigned surprise, delicately covering her mouth. "Then I won't say anything."
"..."
'Is your surna Cheng or Zhen?'
Long Jing was speechless. He'd been chased down and fought for no apparent reason, and now the attacker was playing riddler. 'Do you really think President Gong is a pushover?'
He squared up, his gaze darkening: "Talk. Otherwise, we keep sparring."
Poison naturally refused. She looked toward where Cheng Shi had disappeared, thought for a mont, then looked up:
"You're working together?"
"Cut the nonsense. Either talk business or fight."
"Relax—you're so jumpy.
I've got a plan. Help
lure the little priest out here, and I'll tell you what 'lordship' he is. I'll even toss in a big Corruption secret as a bonus. Sound fair?"
"?"
Long Jing's pupils contracted. He looked at Poison: "You're serious?"
"I'm not a deceiver. And besides—could I really fool you, President Gong?"
'Ah, true enough.'
Long Jing agreed.
And so this scene had co to be.
...
The two weren't putting on a particularly convincing performance, nor were they trying to fool anyone. It was rely an excuse to summon Cheng Shi. Anyone who fell for it was an idiot; anyone present would find it awkward.
So when the black-robed "Su Yida" saw two people arrive instead of one, his tone turned odd: "Didn't I say to co alone?"
And the "captive" Poison beside him, upon seeing arrivals, first brightened—then imdiately paled. Her eyes reddened as she turned her face away, choking back tears:
"Little priest, go! Leave!
Don't worry about —he's too strong, you can't beat him. Run! Get out of here! Go!"
"Oh."
From a considerable distance away, Cheng Shi—extrely compliant—turned on his heel and walked off without a second's hesitation.
The decisiveness of it startled even Zhang Jizu. He narrowed his eyes, certain Cheng Shi would co back. To avoid wasting effort, he stayed put and lazily stood his ground.
But the scene still left both "Su Yida" and Poison completely dumbfounded.
"?"
"Su Yida's" face darkened. He gnashed his teeth and threw his voice: "This is the 'close relationship' you were talking about?"
"..."
Poison was montarily stunned—then she dropped face-first onto the ground and started laughing.
"As expected of the little priest.
See? I told him to go and he went. If that's not a close relationship, what is?"
"!!!"
"Su Yida" was livid. "Poison! We're running a con here, not putting on a clown show to make him laugh! Get him back!"
Poison's eyes rippled with amusent, her laughter unstoppable: "Alright, alright—I'll get him back. But could you please stop talking to
with your butt?"
"???"
"Su Yida" whipped his head around, grinding every word through his teeth: "This is ventriloquism. Ventri. Lo. Quism!!!"
"Well, I don't want to talk to your stomach either." Poison freed herself from her bindings without even pretending anymore, stood up, waved a greeting to Zhang Jizu in the distance, then called out toward the hill Cheng Shi had ducked behind:
"Little priest, I know you haven't left. I have sothing here you'd find interesting.
Co over. Take
with you. We'll find sowhere private and have a little talk—I'll tell you whatever you want to hear."
So the person who had arranged this eting wasn't Su Yida at all—it was Poison.
Unfortunately, in response to such a brazen invitation, the hill gave no reply. Zhang Jizu stood there on standby. "Su Yida's" face looked constipated.
Seeing Cheng Shi ignore her, Poison's eyes spun. She smiled again: "If you don't co out, I'll reveal your Yu—"
Before she could finish, Shadow Chengshi materialized behind her without warning.
As the ga's top-tier assassin, Poison's perception was razor-sharp. The instant she sensed soone behind her, Dance With Desire shot toward the intruder's heart, and she simultaneously lted into shadow.
But mid-thrust, when she realized the dark figure behind her actually carried Cheng Shi's aura, she was startled. She rotated the dagger 180 degrees and drove it into her own shoulder instead, then let out an "Ah!" and swooned toward Shadow Chengshi's arms.
Shadow Chengshi, expressionless, stepped aside. Poison crumpled to the ground. Once the dust settled, he clamped a hand over her mouth and said softly:
"I've never committed any foolish act.
And you can't na one either."
Poison blinked her eyes, smile brimming, tacitly accepting Cheng Shi's statent.
But nobody present was foolish enough to believe the "Yu" she'd been about to say was "foolish act."
The farce had gone far enough. "Su Yida's" disguise was completely untenable now. Long Jing shot a disgusted glance at the two on the ground, thinking: 'Fine, you don't need to find sowhere private—I'll leave. I'm the one who'll leave, okay?'
'Chat about whatever you want. This place is unbearable.'
'Absolutely revolting.'
"Ptoo!"
"Su Yida" stalked off with his chin high, and as he passed Zhang Jizu, he tossed out:
"Just because your eyes are small doesn't an you should lack all awareness. You coming or not?"
"?"
Zhang Jizu had watched the entire spectacle from start to finish. He couldn't help but feel this "Su Yida" bore no resemblance to the enemy Cheng Shi had described—he seed more like a certain lively "clown" from the Joker.
He narrowed his eyes, nodded, turned around, and walked alongside "Su Yida." After a few steps, he asked with a smile:
"Su Yida?"
"Pleased to et you. And you are?"
"Long Jing." Zhang Jizu smiled, his eyes nearly invisible slits, completely ignoring the person beside him whose steps had faltered. "You can also call
clown, because I'm exceptionally good at making people laugh."
"..."
...
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