"I believe this invitation from the 'future' wasn't sothing you relayed through the Blind One. Her prophecy doesn't have a perfect score, so the 'future' didn't necessarily have to co.
But in Zhen Yi's mories, I discovered that she seed to have sensed soone's presence above the Void, yet—just like
now—she couldn't find them.
She had zero patience and gave up. But I believe any 'future' capable of catching her attention must have done so deliberately.
You... are probably a Cheng Shi from the future?
I don't know which [Ti] you've co from, nor which specific [Existence] you belong to. But based on what I know of Cheng Shi—well, what I know from Zhen Yi's mories—his future probably won't be anything simple.
So if you truly wanted to hide yourself back then, my scatterbrained little sister would never have noticed a thing.
Therefore, Zhen Yi's suspicion was your invitation. You deliberately showed a single flaw without letting her find you—all to invite
here, correct?
It seems we'll cross paths in the future. And you know my unreliable little sister can't be counted on, right?
Hmm, I've said enough. My ti is limited. If you still won't appear, I'll consider this eting forfeit, and the invitation void."
Though Zhen Xin's reasoning was sound and well-argued, the Void offered no response. It remained unnerving in its silence.
Zhen Xin's brow furrowed deeply. Her heart lurched as she suddenly realized she might have been deceived—deceived by a "future."
"His" target wasn't her at all. She might be nothing more than a component of his invitation. He'd used her curiosity to lure her here, but only to complete "his" other invitation—and the intended recipient of that invitation was easy enough to guess.
Among the four people who'd been in the room during the incident, three could be directly eliminated: herself, Aunt Jing, and Hong Lin. So...
This "future" that was presumably Cheng Shi was extending an invitation to the present-day Cheng Shi!
He'd cast out bait and waited for a bite. And she was the idiot fish who'd snapped at it, becoming part of the invitation itself!!
'Fine! Fine! Fine!'
'As expected—a swindler through and through!'
Zhen Xin laughed. Unwilling to accept being fooled so easily, she prepared to do sothing in the Void that would utterly derail this covert invitation sche—
Attract [Deceit]'s attention!
She chuckled softly and began chanting a prayer:
"True and false, beyond discerning!"
But even after she finished the incantation, the Void remained perfectly still. Not a ripple of response!
Zhen Xin's smile froze on her face, and her heart sank.
What did a lack of response from the Void an?
It ant that Cheng Shi's "future"—or "future Cheng Shi"—already possessed the ability to shield against [Deceit] within the Void!
He really wasn't simple!
And it also proved he was right here. The person he was waiting for was definitely not her!
Now, being unwilling was pointless.
For a fish on the chopping block, not getting sliced up was already the best possible outco...
Thinking this, Zhen Xin bit her lip in frustration and dissolved into mist, exiting the Void.
And the mont she left, a faint, barely perceptible chuckle echoed through the Void—as if soone were stifling laughter in the dark. But listened to more carefully, it could also have been Zhen Xin's own laughter reverberating back from the depths.
...
The perspective shifted back to the present—back to the Sighing Forest, where Zhen Xin stood shoulder to shoulder with the mature woman puppet.
When Zhen Xin said "Perhaps not right now, but in the future—without a doubt," the mature woman puppet's expression flickered with surprise:
"You seem to know him quite well?"
"Not really. I didn't go through his mories in detail—I only looked at the parts I wanted to know. It was Zhen Yi who helped herself to quite a bit, without any restraint. She should've told you about it, right, Aunt Jing?
What do you think of him as a person?"
The mature woman puppet reflected for a mont, and a flash of sympathy crossed her eyes.
"Cheng Shi... he's a person who's as lonely as you."
Zhen Xin blinked, then smiled.
"I'm not lonely. I have you, Aunt Jing. And Ming Yu..."
The mature woman puppet shook her head, cutting her off: "We're not by your side very often."
"Then... at least I have Zhen Yi."
"It's precisely because of Yiyi that I think you're as lonely as Cheng Shi.
Sigh. Have you ever considered..."
"No!" Zhen Xin's tone turned firm. "She causes
nothing but trouble, but I think things are fine the way they are."
"Alright. As long as you two are happy with it." An Jing smiled gently and said no more.
"Let's drop this boring topic. Let
ask you sothing else—I'm curious. Cheng Shi has Master of Deception on him. Just now...
I was able to fool him because I borrowed Zhen Yi's Master of Deception. But how did you manage to fool him, Aunt Jing?
Little Cai Wei doesn't have Master of Deception too, does she?"
Zhen Xin grinned, winking as she stroked the little girl in the puppet's arms, then looked at Aunt Jing's eyes with curiosity.
"You an the God Worship Society thing?"
"Mm."
The mature woman puppet smiled candidly: "I didn't lie to him."
"Huh?"
Zhen Xin's expression changed. Her eyes went wide, as though sothing had clicked.
The mature woman puppet didn't wait for more questions. She ca clean on her own.
"I really did join the God Worship Society. And I really do want to see what's deep in this Sighing Forest."
"Aunt Jing, you..."
Zhen Xin's pupils contracted. She pressed her lips tightly together.
She never would have imagined that everything said in the Main House of the Tribe had been true—that her Aunt Jing genuinely wanted to lay eyes on the Septic Final Tomb. No one could say how dangerous that place was. Why would she want to go there...
"Aunt Jing, you lied to ."
The mature woman puppet smiled and ran her fingers through Zhen Xin's hair: "You know I can't lie to you. As you said yourself—you're one of the greatest deceivers in this world. And I'm nothing more than an ordinary [Silence] walker. How could I possibly deceive you?"
"Then why..."
"Shh. Let
finish. Ever since Cai Wei died, apart from you and Ming Yu, I have nothing left to worry about."
As she spoke, the mature woman puppet also stroked the little girl in her arms. The girl had her eyes closed, clearly enjoying the caress. But looking more closely, her expressions were already noticeably less vivid than the mature woman puppet's.
"And now you and Ming Yu have both surpassed . I truly have nothing to worry about regarding you two.
As for myself...
I've been silent for too long. So long that I've begun to feel myself peeling away from this world, becoming nothing more than a passing visitor in this ga. That's not good. It's making
lose my sense of being human. But most importantly—it will make Cai Wei lose her mother.
So it's ti I changed sothing about myself. Otherwise, I'll truly sink into eternal silence... until I die.
I'm not afraid of death. But I'd rather watch you all walk higher and farther—to see whether, in the future, I might have a chance to beco the Aunt Jing who can still take care of you."
"..."
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