Watching the dust-wreathed center stage, Cheng Shi's brow darkened.
The crisis wasn't over. President Gong certainly wasn't dead. So the priority now was guarding against hidden threats.
Cheng Shi inched back half a step, silently found a position equidistant from everyone around him, and began his vigilant watch.
As the central stage collapsed, the front-row players moved.
Mo Li sat utterly still. Seeing dust billow everywhere, he simply remarked:
"No dust permitted here."
The instant he spoke, every swirling particle in the venue froze mid-air, then plumted to the ground and never rose again.
Grand Marshal Hu Wei's expression was grim. From the shattering doors, he seed to have guessed who was present.
The Prisoner under his boot was intensely curious too, craning his neck to scan the surroundings — clearly searching for soone.
Before long, his roving gaze t Cheng Shi's wandering eyes dead-on.
"..."
Cheng Shi wanted to casually avert his gaze, but to his disbelief, The Prisoner seed to recognize him. One eyebrow rose, and he struggled under the Grand Marshal's foot to shout:
"Brother-in-law? Oh, brother-in-law is here too!"
"???"
'Brother-in-law?'
'?'
'Hold on — your sister wouldn't happen to be...'
"..."
'Who the hell is your brother-in-law?!'
Cheng Shi's face darkened. His first reaction wasn't anger — it was a sudden pang of sympathy for his big brother.
'Poor guy. Keeping this number-two most cursed individual pinned down for so long — how did he even endure?'
The Prisoner's shout naturally drew every eye to Cheng Shi, including Mo Li and Hu Wei.
Realizing he could no longer hide, Cheng Shi cursed internally. Outwardly, he could only smile and wave at his big bro.
"Brother Hu! So it really is you. Long ti no see."
Hu Wei hadn't witnessed Cheng Shi's door-breaking trick. He couldn't yet drop his guard. But that didn't stop him from putting on a friendly facade.
So he laughed heartily and called back:
"Hahaha, Cheng Shi!
Finally eting you in the flesh!"
'Nice emphasis on "in the flesh"!'
'Actually, last ti was also
in person.'
But obviously he couldn't say that, so Cheng Shi just smiled demurely.
Yet inwardly he was thinking: if he hit his big bro with a "hee~" right now, would the man explode on the spot?
'Tsk. Tempting, but not worth the risk...'
Cheng Shi let the thought pass. His gaze drifted past Hu Wei and briefly crossed with Mo Li's.
He wanted to study this legendary peak Arbiter more closely but feared that prolonged scrutiny would attract attention. So he settled for a fleeting glance.
This legendary Arbiter had eyes that seed to pierce human nature itself. He studied Cheng Shi with interest for a mont, then greeted him with a smile:
"So you're that Fate Weaver. I've heard much about you."
"..."
'What a loaded "heard much"!'
'I feel like every single one of you is being passive-aggressive, but I can't prove it!'
Cheng Shi couldn't exactly respond to that, so he managed an awkward laugh.
Just then, the scene shifted again.
On the dust-free stage ruins, spotlights blazed to life once more. The figure in the black tuxedo — lit up in their glare — crawled out from the wreckage in an unthinkably contorted posture, gasping for breath.
He was drenched in blood. His limbs looked twisted like pretzels. Yet despite everything, he sohow "squeezed" through the gaps in the debris and erged.
But the space was too tight. His mask was crushed off. Under the spotlights' harsh glare, the face of an acrobat greeted the audience.
Most people probably couldn't imagine what an "acrobat's face" looked like. Even Cheng Shi had never conceived that a profession could have such a literal face.
He stared at the face speechlessly, ninety percent certain this so-called President Gong was a Deceit warrior — an Acrobat!
Because tattooed across his forehead in four bold characters were the words:
ACROBAT!
"..."
Cheng Shi was lost for words. He felt he'd been speechless more tis tonight than in the past several months combined.
'Is Silence really starting to watch ?'
'And... he's not Zhen Xin?'
'Then who is he?'
Anyone bold enough to mount a stage and pull off this kind of show was no nobody. Cheng Shi looked to Hu Wei and Mo Li, hoping their expressions would reveal a clue. Just then, Hu Wei let out a cold snort:
"Long Jing. Of course it's you."
'Long Jing?'
Cheng Shi started. So that was why he'd had everyone call him "President Gong" — "龍 (Long)
井 (Jing)" combine into "龔 (Gong)."
'So, another peak player of Deceit. Just don't know his ranking.'
Every eye in the hall was fixed on the unmasked President Gong.
Everyone's except The Prisoner's. He'd been studying Cheng Shi the entire ti. Seeing Cheng Shi's slightly tense expression, he rolled his eyes and called out again:
"Don't worry, brother-in-law! The way I see it, my dear little sister is at most just collaborating with Old Gong. She definitely hasn't fallen for soone else!"
"..."
'Good god!'
'Listen to yourself! In any other setting, that one sentence would keep the neighborhood gossips fed for three months!'
'Dammit, my fists are tightening.'
Cheng Shi truly didn't want to engage, but his curiosity got the better of him. He couldn't resist asking:
"Zhen Yi is your sister?"
The Prisoner's eyes lit up the instant soone took the bait. He flexed out from under the Grand Marshal's boot in a flash and appeared at Cheng Shi's side. Under Cheng Shi's earthquake-grade stare, he introduced himself with a hint of pride:
"I'm a few years older than Zhen Xin, and Zhen Yi is Zhen Xin's younger sister. So by age hierarchy, calling you brother-in-law isn't really wrong..."
'???'
'Dude — so you have zero actual relationship with Zhen Xin either?!'
'Huh?'
'Being older than soone entitles you to claim family ties?'
'Fine — I'll admit your brain and Zhen Yi's brain are equally busted. You really could be family. But when you two play make-believe relatives, could you PLEASE leave
out of it?'
'I'm innocent here!!'
Cheng Shi was numb. He stared rigidly at The Prisoner standing right in front of him, pressed his lips together, wanting to curse — but not daring to.
But once the floodgates opened, The Prisoner couldn't be stopped.
He circled Cheng Shi with great interest, clicking his tongue appraisingly:
"So brother-in-law, you're a Fate Weaver?
But doing the math, a Fate Weaver and a Master of Trickery are... hmm, not really a match."
"..."
'Definitely not a match. Thanks.'
'And what kind of math are you doing? Are YOU the Fate follower or am I?'
But Cheng Shi realized he couldn't keep engaging. So he gripped a scalpel in one hand, touched his ring with the other, and stayed on guard — completely ignoring The Prisoner.
Yet that fleeting flash of exasperation had been caught. The Prisoner, as if he'd found a new toy, chattered on:
"You don't believe ?
It's my secret technique — reads careers, love life, future prospects.
I did a reading for 'my sister' back in the day. Predicted a rocky road but a blessed union. Looks like my divination was spot on!"
"..."
"But this union isn't perfect yet. Fate Weavers like to nd and stitch, while Masters of Trickery specialize in breaking things. Your temperants are complentary but also conflicting.
Let
think...
If you want marital harmony, maybe you should... oh! I've got it!
Maybe you, brother-in-law, should sacrifice a little for the family. Drop Fate's blessing and co walk my path of Silence for a while.
That way, no matter how long my sister stays out playing, there'll be a night watchman waiting at ho. Marital bliss achieved! Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"..."
Cheng Shi had never imagined that Big Cat's description of "even poorer than you" ant this kind of "poor"...
But this wasn't even "poor" anymore — his mouth ran so fast you could weave cloth from his words!
He still didn't respond. People like this were exactly like Zhen Yi — the more you engaged, the more liberties they took.
But to his dismay, The Prisoner could fill silence too.
He was supposedly a Silence follower — yet was the least silent person in the room.
Seeing Cheng Shi refuse to speak, The Prisoner's eyes lit up and he bead:
"Brilliant! Brother-in-law, your comprehension truly is remarkable!"
"..."
'Heh. Brilliant my ass.'
...
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