"They weren't dead — but their bodies were 'dead.'
They existed in an extrely subtle state. A state that let them blend into the environnt while still retaining consciousness.
Dolgod truly is a remarkable place. If not for His blessing, I never could have detected their presence."
"Impressive. And then? How did you think to send Turadin to them, and how did you pull it off?" Cheng Shi clapped his hands in admiration and pressed on.
"Initially, I had no such plan. But after you and Scorpio departed this morning, and after I extracted intelligence from those n, I suddenly realized the Child Stealing Brotherhood was quite interesting.
They kidnapped citizens' children and expectant mothers, yes — but they didn't use them as leverage for extortion or dark rituals. They simply took them in. Children who needed to be born were delivered. Children who needed raising were raised. Just like the Church, they brought these children up safely, then indoctrinated them and recruited them as fresh blood for the organization.
That's how this underground blasphemous organization has survived all this ti — they've passed the tragedy down, generation after generation.
What's more, I even found that children raised within the Brotherhood had far higher levels of happiness and sense of belonging than ordinary Dolgod citizens.
Their attitude toward these children, their thods of upbringing — they were even better than those of the children's own parents or the Church.
This baffled . I kept wondering: what was the point of an organization that looked more like a charity than a kidnapping ring going to such lengths to antagonize the Church?
They had no ulterior motive. They seed to exist purely for the sake of existing.
It wasn't until you told
about Lis Field that I realized it was nothing more than the Church's tool for controlling the underworld.
And once I knew the Brotherhood only stole but never killed their 'hostages,' I thought of a way to turn the 'extraordinary' back into the 'ordinary':
Let them guard Turadin in our place.
The Inquisition wasn't safe. Since a God Descent could obliterate houses and the library at the Head of Church's whim, there was nothing stopping it from obliterating a burned-out Inquisition too. So to protect Turadin, I decided to 'deliver' her to the Child Stealing Brotherhood.
I had Gou Feng alter the gestational aura on Turadin's body to make her look like a mother still far from delivery. After a bit of disguising, I swapped her for a pregnant woman at the sa stage and placed her inside soone else's house.
And that particular house just happened to have a Brotherhood spotter nearby.
So as of last night, Turadin had already been moved into a Brotherhood safehouse..."
Cheng Shi listened with his jaw on the floor. He ntally upgraded Squinty Eyes' steadiness rating yet again.
He shook his head in marvel, then asked after a pause:
"You can do makeup too?"
"..."
"..." Scorpio stiffly turned to stare at Cheng Shi, seemingly wondering why this man always fixated on the strangest details.
Zhang Jizu also chuckled. He nodded with mild exasperation:
"Before my gig guarding the cetery gate, I did a stint as a mortician. Did plenty of dead people's faces — living ones were a first, though."
"..."
'Truly His Chosen One!'
'Full-spectrum service, one-stop shop.'
Cheng Shi was floored.
"So, as expected, Turadin has already been taken by the Child Stealing Brotherhood?
I admit, your thinking was genuinely solid. But letting her leave your sight — isn't that a bit risky?
Don't look at
like that — even if I have a way to track her location, that's all it is. I have no idea what she's experiencing in there. So...
Old Zhang, I'm putting a lot of trust in you. Don't screw
over!"
Zhang Jizu showed no hint of concern. He smiled, eyes squinting again.
"Relax. If I dared let her out of my sight, I naturally have a way to ensure she won't die from any accident.
I've already linked her life to mine.
Funny enough, this is actually a rather uncommon Prosperity item."
With that, Zhang Jizu produced a long, blood-slicked cord.
Everyone stared at the cord in his hand — which looked suspiciously like an umbilical cord — and froze. They all shared the sa thought: 'This is supposed to be a Prosperity item?'
Only Cheng Shi knew it genuinely could be a Prosperity item, because that deity was itself an existence of hybridized flesh and wood, living in symbiosis.
Only now, that existence had beco Void.
Still — pulling out an umbilical cord right now, in the middle of a Birth scenario? The vibe was profoundly unsettling.
"..." Cheng Shi couldn't control his expression. His face locked up for an instant, but he quickly broke into a sly grin. "You're an Uma Sinner too?"
Zhang Jizu gave him a withering side-eye and explained on his own:
"Symbiotic Ribbon. Consumable. It links two living beings, allowing the recipient to share the user's vitality and life force.
One caveat: the recipient must be willing. And once the link is established, their life or death hangs entirely on the user's will."
"Great stuff. Got any more?"
"...No. It's a one-ti consumable. Even the best items can't survive being wasted."
'Liar!'
'Squinty Zhang is lying to !'
A glint flashed through Cheng Shi's eyes. He looked at Zhang Jizu's narrow little slits and pursed his lips.
'The world is going to hell. My own bro is playing mind gas with .'
'How is normal use 'wasting' it? I feel like that was aid at soone, and it had better not be .'
"Alright, alright. I never imagined my plan would already be in motion before I even set it up.
But it's a good thing, actually. At least we can see the finish line now, right?
Tomorrow, I'll trouble our assassin brother to go spread the word. Once the rumors are flying, and the mont Turadin is about to go into labor — we win.
All praise to Birth! All praise to Corruption! All praise to Prosperity!
It's finally about to end. I hope everyone sleeps well tonight.
Good night, Makabaka."
"..."
...
Cheng Shi did indeed sleep well.
Early on the third day, when he opened his eyes, a black-faced Lis Field had already kicked open the players' door and stord in, seething with fury.
"Was this your doing?!"
Cheng Shi, still groggy and grumpy, dug a finger in his ear, then tilted his head and leaned it forward, pretending he hadn't heard:
"Lord Lis Field, what did you say? I didn't quite catch that."
'Didn't catch that?'
Hmph!
Seeing Cheng Shi's attitude, Lis Field was about to explode — but then he thought of Go Lis, forced his rage back down, and growled:
"Today's treatnt had better continue. If anything goes wrong, I'll rember all of this when the reckoning cos."
'I hope we're still around for your reckoning, Big Beard.'
Cheng Shi shrugged it off and obediently followed him down to the underground lake for the day's treatnt session.
It wasn't really "treatnt" in any aningful sense — just dragging Zhang Jizu along to hit Go Lis with a few healing spells. As long as Go Lis perked up, Big Beard and the Head of Church would believe she was on the nd.
The truth, of course, was that the players hadn't even deployed any divinity-based asures yet.
They were saving that for the final day — just in case sothing went wrong before then.
And so, under this tacitly cooperative arrangent, the players drifted through the four most comfortable days of the entire trial.
No external threats. No internal fractures. Food, shelter, and basic needs all accounted for. An entire Church full of NPCs helping them complete their objective. And they could even enjoy the occasional spectacle of the Folly follower humiliating herself. It was absolute bliss — perfectly aligned with Cheng Shi's ideal of "coasting."
But tragically, just as he'd finally achieved the pinnacle of "coasting," he no longer wanted to coast.
The speed-run hadn't panned out, but the trial itself would succeed — of that he was certain.
Or so every player believed, as the plan proceeded without a hitch and everyone expected to welco the child's birth on the seventh day. That was when the accident happened.
...
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