What does it feel like when you're pretending to be insane to intimidate soone, only to discover your opponent is genuinely insane?
Cheng Shi was starting to get that exact feeling.
'Oh no. I hyped her up too much. I've unleashed the crazy lurking inside Baldy's heart.'
But it didn't matter. This had always been a grand performance. If the actors weren't a little unhinged, they couldn't even take the stage.
So Cheng Shi maintained his enigmatic smile, first tucking away the Fate token, then spoke to Hong Lin, carefully enunciating every word:
"I'll take that as a yes. When we win this gamble, this die is yours."
Hong Lin hadn't been bamboozled into stupidity. She didn't let Cheng Shi keep painting pie in the sky. Curling her lip, she said:
"Cheng Shi, you should know—embracing a second faith isn't sothing the god who hasn't yet beco a Benefactor can decide alone. It requires my Benefactor [Prosperity]'s approval.
Even if I get the Destined Ones' die afterward, [Prosperity] might not agree to let
set foot on [Fate]'s path.
The reason I'm interested in the Destined Ones is because this organization has you—a friend worth having—and you happen to be sowhat interesting. That's all."
"Then shall I start by thanking you for this friendship?"
"Tch. Say sothing useful." Hong Lin looked faintly disgusted by Cheng Shi's fake smile.
Cheng Shi nodded, his expression turning solemn:
"Are you afraid to die?"
Hong Lin frowned: "What a boring question. Setting aside whether soone buffed by [Prosperity] can even die—if you're asking
to fight Eposka to the death, I can tell you: if the enemy is only that thing, I won't die. So naturally, I'm not afraid."
"No, no, no—you've got it wrong. Our plan has absolutely nothing to do with fighting Eposka. If you're sure you want in, I'll lay it all out!"
A flicker of hesitation crossed Hong Lin's eyes. But once it passed, no trace of indecision remained on her face.
Cheng Shi understood instantly. Without a mont's dawdling, he revealed the entire plan.
"I don't think simply correcting the Mushroom-Footed People's faith qualifies as a prairie fire."
Hong Lin frowned but didn't interrupt.
"A Tribe of a few hundred to a thousand in this vast forest is negligible in both numbers and territory. It can't possibly match the the of 'prairie fire.'
And we can't find more Mushroom-Footed People to worship [Prosperity] either—after all, they follow [Prosperity], not [Birth]. You can't breed a batch of new Mushroom-Footed People in a few days.
What's more, the [Prosperity] they're currently worshipping is actually Eposka. The more of that kind of worship there is, the greater the blasphemy against [Prosperity].
So that definitely can't be the answer.
Which led
to another thought: is it possible that your 'hard-hearted' Benefactor doesn't even need these few hundred or thousand followers?
Or to put it another way—maybe the prairie fire He wants isn't a salvation at all, but a...
Retaliation?"
"!!!"
Hong Lin was stunned. She hadn't stopped being shocked since this conversation began. Her eyes went wide as if she'd suddenly guessed Cheng Shi's plan, and she exclaid in disbelief:
"You an... a base raid?"
Cheng Shi laughed heartily and gave a thumbs-up:
"Well said! A base raid it is!
Since Eposka used Faith Grafting to steal [Prosperity]'s power, why can't we use the sa thod to steal [Decay]'s power?
Think about it—in this Sighing Forest, [Decay]'s followers are everywhere! Especially at night, when even the trees and grass co alive as His followers. If we can graft all that faith onto a [Prosperity] follower, wouldn't that ignite a fire of 'retaliation'?!"
The words had barely left his mouth before Hong Lin believed him!
Because she knew [Prosperity] was precisely that kind of god. Whether from in-ga evidence or scraps of recorded history, He was almost incapable of tolerating betrayal. Every single Oathbreaker who defected had been struck with His vicious curses and punishnts!
But... wait!
The [Prosperity] follower who'd have to bear this Faith Grafting...
Surely he didn't an her?
Hong Lin's mind went blank for a second. She recalled Cheng Shi's earlier question: 'Are you afraid to die?'
"..."
'I've honestly never been afraid—but you literally want
dead!!!'
Her expression hardened. She fixed Cheng Shi with a heavy stare, suppressing the urge to punch him, and ground through clenched teeth:
"No [Decay] follower is going to worship [Prosperity]. And certainly not one that's already a [Prosperity] follower. I'll admit your analysis has so rit. But this plan is impossible to—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Because she watched Cheng Shi pull a contract out from behind his back!
The contract between Eposka and the Mushroom-Footed People had sohow been swiped and hidden on his person without anyone noticing!
"You..."
Cheng Shi declared with utmost solemnity:
"What about ?
Sothing this valuable was just lying around in Eposka's vegetable garden. What if it got lost?
I'm just holding onto it for safekeeping!
Free of charge, no less. Sigh—I really am a saint."
Hong Lin was so infuriated by this display of Great Righteousness that she actually laughed: "Let
guess—you're also going to help proofread it? Fix a few typos?"
"Bravo!" Cheng Shi clapped enthusiastically. "Baldy, you truly know your stuff! Yes—exactly! We fix the typos!
All I need to do is change 'Mushroom-Footed People' to 'Twisted Night Python' on this contract, and swap out 'Eposka' for your na, Baldy...
Then disguise you as an envoy of [Decay], and voila—Copy Cat, job done!"
At this, Hong Lin's smile froze.
She twitched the corner of her mouth, seemingly struggling against this "destined" arrangent.
"Setting aside whether you can actually modify a mystical contract that involves divine faith—let's talk about the 'faith' part. How do you plan to achieve it?
The Mushroom-Footed People worshipped Eposka because the first patriarch deceived them. But what about us?
How would you trick the countless Twisted Night Pythons in this Sighing Forest?
Acting? Disguise? Advertising?
They're not stupid. They can tell whether my aura belongs to [Prosperity] or [Decay].
So this plan simply won't—"
Once again she stopped mid-sentence.
Because she watched Cheng Shi pull out a stone radiating endless [Decay] power from behind his back!
The dense, oppositional faith aura clinging to the stone almost reminded her of the [Decay] followers' Pilgrimage Site deep within the Sighing Forest!
"What is that?!!"
She jerked her head up to stare at Cheng Shi, who was grinning ear to ear:
"Tomb End Stone. A single piece is enough to corrode away all the [Prosperity] on you and disguise you as 'an envoy who's co from that place'!"
Yes—the Tomb End Stone!
The mont Cheng Shi had heard the na "Septic Final Tomb," he'd connected it to the origin of this stone in his possession. He just hadn't realized the Tower of Logic had already penetrated deep into the Sighing Forest and excavated the stone beneath those tombstones.
But this only reinforced another deduction: the Tower of Logic's understanding of the Sighing Forest was far deeper than he'd previously imagined.
And that, in turn, strongly suggested that the Mushroom-Footed People's existence was almost certainly an experint backed by [Truth]!
Hong Lin had absorbed more shocks today than in the past month combined. She took two deep breaths and said earnestly:
"You've been in there too? You've seen the Septic Final Tomb?! Or has soone in the Destined Ones been inside?"
Hearing the question, Cheng Shi chuckled to himself.
If Selius counted as one of the Destined Ones, then the Destined Ones might indeed have been inside.
But the scholar wasn't actually a mber. Even though his fate had been literally written into history, the Destined Ones... were all living people.
"That question can wait. You'll find out eventually.
So Baldy—I'll ask you one more ti. Are you afraid to die?"
Hong Lin frowned, her expression conflicted.
"Are you sure you can alter this contract's contents?"
'?'
Cheng Shi shook his head internally. 'I definitely can't. But just because I can't doesn't an my mouth can't!'
Brother Mouth, as the Land of Hope's resident know-it-all, certainly knew how to modify the contract. So even before he'd started hoodwinking Hong Lin and [Fate]—back when he'd first obtained the contract—Cheng Shi had already asked.
After being pestered beyond endurance, the Fool's Lips had told Cheng Shi a simple thod to alter the contract, and that was...
To ask the Tongue of Eating Lies!
It told Cheng Shi that the Tongue of Eating Lies could directly consu the nas of both contract parties, because the contract itself was also a fraud—well within its edible range!
'Edible range—what a concept!'
So the Tongue of Eating Lies really did eat lies. aning that slap it gave people was actually its way of licking off the lies clinging to them?
The mont he heard this, Cheng Shi knew he'd been right about one thing: the Fool's Lips were definitely connected to the Tongue of Eating Lies!
So what exactly was the relationship between Brother Mouth and this newly arrived tongue?
'Surely they weren't...'
'Hmm... just thinking about it isn't a cri, right?'
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