"Ahem, with the Grand Marshal charging at the front, I doubt there's room in the squad for an acrobat like . The next circus show's about to start, and I've got preparations to make. I'll take my leave."
With that, Long Jing cupped his hands toward the group, then turned back to spit a sarcastically venomous farewell at "Zhen Yi." Just as he'd arrived, he donned a mask and vanished in an instant.
"Cheng Shi" darkened at seeing soone bail, and quickly protested:
"Brother Hu, I've got rice cooking back at the rest area. Can't leave it unattended. How about... next ti?"
Hearing such a stiff refusal only deepened Hu Wei's confidence in his identity. He clapped "Cheng Shi" on the shoulder once more and roared with laughter:
"Hahaha, what's the rush? I would never screw over my own brother. This is the real deal— sothing sensitive I can't talk about yet.
"But don't worry, brother. If we pull this off, I guarantee you'll thank .
"You saw for yourself— my team really does need a priest."
"..."
With the pitch laid on that thick, "Cheng Shi" could hardly refuse. So he could only chuckle stiffly and stand there in silence.
Mo Li stepped forward, officially joining the group. The Prisoner was itching to tag along, but he'd barely taken two steps before the Grand Marshal flung a blade into the ground at his feet as a warning:
"My squad is short one more person, but it's not you.
"You and Zhen Yi haven't seen each other in a while. Why don't you go have a nice chat? As for the last spot...
"Heh, you've been listening long enough. Are you coming or not?"
Everyone followed Hu Wei's gaze in surprise toward the distant spectator seating, where among the wary "diocre" onlookers, a hooded player slowly lifted his head to et Hu Wei's stare. He pushed back his hood, revealing a weathered face— skin sagging, wrinkled, carved by ti.
Cheng Shi had expected the audience wouldn't be entirely composed of nobodies, but he hadn't imagined that amid such an intelligence-laden bombshell of a scene, soone could resist their curiosity and remain hidden in the crowd without joining the discussion.
Wasn't he afraid the peak players on the floor might actually seal everyone's hearing?
Then again, anyone Hu Wei would invite probably had their own thods. This "old man" was most likely one of [Decay]'s peak players.
So who was he?
That question didn't linger long. The Prisoner, ever the motormouth, imdiately identified him:
"Well well, Old Yu's here too? Still alive, are we?"
The old man called "Old Yu" chuckled and fired back in a raspy voice:
"As long as nobody beats you to death first, I'm not going anywhere.
"Today's been a roller coaster for this old heart. I thought my Benefactor was gone, but turns out it was the rival who bit the dust. Good— good indeed.
"With [Prosperity] fallen, can [Decay]'s triumph be far behind?
"Since the Grand Marshal deems this old thing worthy, then this old man naturally won't be the ungrateful sort. I'll go— these creaky bones could use the exercise."
With that, the black-clad old player rose cheerfully and shambled toward the floor.
Cheng Shi's eyes narrowed as he watched. This had to be YuMu, [Decay]'s number-two on the ladder.
He knew the man's ID matched his real na, but he hadn't realized Yu Mu was this old. Moreover, this didn't look like aging caused by [Decay]'s influence— Yu Mu appeared to have been elderly to begin with.
As Yu Mu descended, his gaze swept over "Zhen Yi." He snorted with amusent, speaking as he walked:
"The Zhen girl's here too. What a coincidence. How co you're not offering to make
a walking stick today?"
Cheng Shi blinked— he hadn't expected Zhen Yi to tornt even soone this old. With no choice, he plastered on a grin and replied:
"Hee~
"From the looks of it, you old fossil don't have many days left anyway. How about when you kick the bucket, I collect your bones and whittle them into a couple of canes for charity? What do you think— isn't that a brilliant idea?"
No sooner had the echo faded than soone in the room applauded enthusiastically:
"Brilliant!
"I call dibs on a pair!"
Everyone turned to find the speaker was, of course, none other than the Prisoner.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Yu Mu's face went black. His smile instantly froze, but then he stopped in his tracks and extended a pair of withered, wrinkled hands, grinning a grin that never reached his eyes:
"Grand Marshal, since we're all here, why don't we change things up a little?
"Before we go grab what we ca for, let's warm up first.
"Both jinxes are present today— how about we get rid of one first? Clean up the ga's environnt a bit?"
With that, Yu Mu moved like a veteran general marching to war— he suddenly drew an invisible bow, nocking an arrow of thorny dried vine aid squarely at the Prisoner below.
Then ca a resonant hum— "THRUM"— and a gale too fast for the eye to follow scread toward the Prisoner.
Cheng Shi tensed, bracing for fresh trouble. But to his astonishnt, the Prisoner casually extended one hand, thrust it into the wind, and caught the wooden arrow with a single palm. He flipped his wrist, planted the thin branch on the ground like a walking stick, and clicked his tongue appraisingly:
"Too thin. Too short. As a walking stick, it's nowhere near as good as Old Yu's bones.
"Hey Zhen Yi, when are you going to finish making that cane? I'm actually looking forward to it."
"Zhen Yi" bead brightly:
"In a hurry?
"If you're that eager, why not pull out your own bones first? I'll make a pair from those. And since you won't be able to walk without bones, a set of crutches would be just the thing."
"..."
That one stunned the Prisoner into silence.
'Listen here, sister— the only person in this entire room willing to take your side, and you're tearing into him like this? Are you really not afraid of getting ganged up on?'
The Prisoner's lips twitched.
Seeing that "Zhen Yi" had no intention of siding with him— and that Yu Mu beside him was egging Hu Wei on to start a fight— he sized up the situation and decided retreat was the wisest option. He casually tossed an object at Cheng Shi, sighing with emotion:
"Only my brother-in-law doesn't despise . Here— it's a communicator. Let's keep in touch, yeah?"
"Cheng Shi" didn't dare respond, but Hu Wei had already snatched the flying object on his behalf.
The mont it touched his hand, he realized it was a perfectly wrapped piece of chewing gum!
The Grand Marshal was about to erupt when— BOOM— the entire venue shuddered.
Everyone spun toward the sound, only to discover that sowhere in the Void beneath the hall, an explosion had torn open a rift, revealing a hidden passageway underneath the seating area.
Cheng Shi's pupils narrowed. He recognized the location— it was precisely where the Prisoner had originally entered.
So that piece of gum the Prisoner had stuck to the wall earlier was actually a miniature explosive.
'This Chosen One of [Silence] is unexpectedly prudent.'
At the sa mont, while everyone gaped in astonishnt, the Prisoner vaulted high and landed before the blasted-open passageway. Feigning complete innocence, he planted his hands on his hips and bellowed indignantly:
"What kind of person hides explosives in chewing gum?! Absolutely no class!"
"..."
Then, utterly ignoring everyone's withering stares, he turned to Hu Wei's direction with unbridled excitent.
Faces darkened all around. Hu Wei, thoroughly disgusted, hurled the gum straight back at the Prisoner. But instead of dodging, the Prisoner's face lit up as he lunged to catch it.
Hu Wei's eyes sharpened— suspecting a trap— and he swung his greatsword to intercept the Prisoner's advance. But Yu Mu, standing closer, moved faster. His sleeve snapped open as he loosed a single shot, the vine arrow striking the fingertip-sized gum with pinpoint accuracy. An invisible force reeled it back toward his hand.
The Prisoner leapt with outstretched hand but missed. He frowned, gaze hardening, then imdiately pivoted and charged straight at Yu Mu.
Yu Mu only retrieved the arrow faster. Not only that— he had already drawn his bow again.
This ti, however, no arrow sat on the string. Yet the Prisoner's expression shifted the mont he saw it, and he pulled back without hesitation.
But in that instant of retreat, the trailing edge of his coat lagged by a fraction. An invisible force enveloped it, and the fabric aged, decayed, and crumbled to dust in the span of a heartbeat— all while he was still mid-retreat.
The Prisoner clicked his tongue and muttered sarcastically:
"Nice 'Sudden Dusk' you've got there. Looks like I ought to rebrand you. No more 'Old Yu'— from now on, you're 'Old Bow'!
"Mm, not bad at all. The old bow may be old, but it still has enough pull to hit the target!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
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