anwhile, on the other side.
Zhen Xin and Hu Wei had swiftly infiltrated the Imperial City of Kurd.
After coming clean about their faiths, the two stopped hiding. Chaos energy surged and roiled, letting them move through the guard-filled palace as if it were empty.
Hu Wei was curious about why Zhen Xin had fused with Chaos, but that curiosity was tinged with more delight than anything.
After all, if Chaos had agreed to fuse with Deceit, it proved that Lord Ultraman's guidance was correct—Void could be approached. The only regret was that the first to eat the crab wasn't him, but Zhen Xin.
Along the way, he studied Zhen Xin repeatedly, probing in various ways: "You've already t that Lord?"
Zhen Xin was happy to tease him to pass the ti, so she answered: "Who? Ultraman?"
Hu Wei's pupils contracted. As expected of a Deceit follower—referring to that Lord by na so casually was a bit disrespectful. But understandable, really. Among players, calling gods by na was commonplace so long as it wasn't to their face.
"So you have t Him."
Zhen Xin smiled and shook her head: "I had the honor once. It was He who brought
to that temple."
Zhen Xin had been to the temple!?
Hu Wei's eyes went wide. Even he, the Chaos Chosen, had never set foot inside the temple. Every audience had been Lord Ultraman summoning him to the landing platform on the grand staircase. How had Zhen Xin, of all people, gained direct entry?
Could this be the "price of admission" for approaching Void?
The Grand Marshal was sour—but he masked it well, continuing in a breezy tone: "So you've already had an audience with my Lord, then."
He delivered the line with great confidence, like a veteran employee who was regularly summoned, checking in on a new hire who'd just reported to work.
Zhen Xin naturally heard the subtext—he was trying to pull rank on her through his closeness to Chaos. She didn't care about that. What this exchange did confirm for her was that the Grand Marshal had no idea Chaos was actually the Fun God.
If he'd known, he'd never dream of trying to outrank the Deceit Chosen in "piety."
This was interesting. A Chaos Chosen who was completely in the dark... What was the Fun God scheming?
"Naturally. He bestowed the second faith upon
with His own hands."
'With His own hands... bestowed...'
On the surface, Hu Wei wore a 'just as I expected' expression. Internally, he was exploding.
He had actually lost to Zhen Xin!
She was one of Deceit's people—by what right had she beaten him to an audience with Chaos?
Were all the things he'd done for the temple truly worth less than a single probe from soone of "Void origin"!?
It wasn't fair!
But on second thought—fairness was Order's domain. Chaos was Order's opposite, and fairness was never part of the deal...
Yet to have given so much effort and still co up short against a "Void pedigree"—the Grand Marshal was deeply unwilling.
Zhen Xin sensed the shift in his emotions. After brief consideration, she guessed what was going on, but didn't react outwardly. She simply filed it away, thinking it might beco leverage for future cooperation with the Grand Marshal.
And so, Zhen Xin fielded Hu Wei's probing while the two of them pushed deeper into the palace.
Kurd's Imperial City wasn't large. On top of that, the internal order wasn't as tight as the players had imagined. The patrol guards' discipline was remarkably lax. Before the two even started asking around, they overheard gossip from a pair of gate sentries that revealed Mada Freud's whereabouts.
"With that many prop boxes being hauled in, today's performance must be really grand! I wish I could go watch."
"Nonsense. It's just a few acts. All that show is just for buttering up the royals. Sa as us standing guard—the mont soone shows up, we straighten our backs to look dutiful."
"How do you know it's only a few acts? Did you see the program?"
"Are you stupid? Count the people. There are fewer perforrs than boxes. Where would all these acts co from?
Besides, Morning Joy is preparing for the Curtain Call performance in a few days. Why would they bring their real show to the palace now?
The royals need novelty too. If they've already seen everything, how would they enjoy it 'alongside the people'? And without 'enjoying alongside the people,' how do they solidify their rule?
You've been guarding this palace this long, and you still have zero political awareness?"
"What do I need political awareness for... I'm just a guard."
"Even guards should dream. What if soday you— Stand straight! Soone's coming."
The two guards snapped to attention, saluting the passersby with a ceremonial gaze. The passersby were, of course, Zhen Xin and Hu Wei, who walked past with peculiar expressions, following the guards' inadvertent directions toward the troupe's staging area within the palace.
Soon, they pinpointed Mada Freud's location and, the mont she was alone in the prop room, appeared before the circus ringmaster without warning.
Mada Freud proved herself a woman who had weathered storms. When two strangers materialized before her, she didn't panic—she rely furrowed her brow and asked:
"Who are you? What business do you have with ?"
Out of "respect" for the Deceit trial, the Grand Marshal refrained from his usual blunt interrogation thods. He extended a hand in a courteous "after you" gesture, ceding the floor to Zhen Xin.
Zhen Xin flashed a radiant smile, appraised Mada Freud for a mont, and got straight to the point: "Where have you hidden Masford?"
"?"
Mada Freud's frown deepened, but she showed no alarm. She shook her head:
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you two an. If you're looking for Masford, I'm sorry, but he's not on today's palace performance roster.
With the Curtain Call approaching, Masford is working hard on his new act. If you're fans of his, please give him so ti. I'm certain he'll deliver a spectacular show for you—for the world.
So please be patient, and don't go disturbing him at the circus."
Mada Freud's response was impeccable—gracious and flawless. As a forr clown herself, her ability to improvise was formidable.
Unfortunately, the people she'd run into weren't "people" like her. They were two players.
Zhen Xin applauded appreciatively, her tone playful:
"As expected of soone with a clown's background, Ringmaster Freud. Quick-witted indeed. That routine might work on the Golden House crowd, but for us, it's a touch too crude.
Running into two strangers in the Imperial City must be puzzling, yes?
You're probably trying to figure out where we ca from. Don't bother guessing—I'll tell you. We ca from Morning Joy. And it was Lake himself who showed us the way."
"!!!"
The mont she heard Lake's na next to Morning Joy, Mada Freud's composure visibly cracked. She retreated a step, preparing to flee, but Hu Wei's greatsword arrived at her slender neck a beat ahead of her.
The heavy blade's weight buckled her back. Just as she was about to cry out, Zhen Xin produced a magic card and pressed it against her lips, grinning:
"Shh!
Don't shout. Even when a clown botches the act, she should maintain her dignity, don't you think?
Let
guess. Since you employed such a drastic strategy against the Sunset, then whether Masford is dead or alive, you had to keep him hidden. He's the one flaw in this plan—he absolutely cannot be discovered.
But the world is full of surprises. No one can guarantee that a hidden thing will stay hidden forever. And as a busy circus ringmaster, you can hardly afford to constantly monitor your 'collection' to make sure it stays concealed.
So—how do you ensure the plan doesn't spring a leak?"
Zhen Xin smiled, tracing the card along Mada Freud's jawline, wiping away her cold sweat. She surveyed the room:
"If I were you, I'd keep the most important thing close at hand. That way, you'd notice imdiately if anything went wrong.
Masford ca to the Imperial City with you, didn't he?
I've been wondering since we got here—if there are so few perforrs, why bring so many prop boxes?
Now I understand. Tell —one of these prop boxes wouldn't happen to contain sothing that isn't a prop, would it?"
Zhen Xin chuckled softly, and under Mada Freud's panicked gaze, opened the prop boxes one by one—until she discovered, in the very last box, a corpse!
...
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