Foolish Game of the Chapter 571: Back into the Trial

Though Cheng Shi still had countless questions, he knew many things couldn't be achieved all at once.

A Herald searching for lost mories might naturally stop by for information now and then. But interrogating soone relentlessly would be far too conspicuous.

He'd spent so long building his identity into sothing seamless. He couldn't create cracks just because of montary urgency.

So after so brief small talk, Cheng Shi took Big Cat and departed from Aph Ros's Dolgod.

As for where to go while the trial hadn't ended... naturally, back into the Prosperity trial.

Cheng Shi had already identified where the trial was set. It was Katouting — the capital of the Grand Tribunal. Because only in Katouting would the tribunal's banners bear nothing but the Grand Tribunal's symbol, with no other city or faction's seal.

Speaking of Katouting, he'd always been curious about the Iron Law that had replaced Order. Since they were already here, and had a free bodyguard beside him, Cheng Shi naturally wanted to explore.

So he asked Aph Ros to use Go Lis's thods to "deport" them back the way they ca. And then, inside a silent, deserted courtroom, two figures reappeared.

It was now the early hours of morning. Only five or six hours remained until the trial ended. The empty courtroom bore no trace of the dayti chaos. Not even Iron Law Knights stood guard outside.

Evidently, in this city perated with Order's presence, no one believed anyone could possibly break the law.

Cheng Shi looked around and clicked his tongue:

"Sha — our teammates are gone. Wonder how they're doing."

Hong Lin snickered: "I take back what I said about you being a good person. Thinking about your teammates only now — isn't that a bit late, Lord Yu Xi?"

"..."

Cheng Shi's expression froze. He scratched awkwardly at his feet.

'Here we go. Just finished handling Aph Ros, and now it's right on to the next round of fast-talking.'

Hong Lin watched him with a half-smile, saying nothing, quietly waiting for an explanation.

Cheng Shi hadn't intended to hide it from Big Cat. So he laid out the truth: he'd once coincidentally encountered a Deceit Herald who was impersonating him.

"He bore no ill will. Perhaps it was just for fun."

Right off the bat, he established the tone regarding Yu Xi's approach.

"In that trial, he seamlessly impersonated

— to the point where my teammates all believed I'd never left their side. But in reality, I'd slipped away alone many tis.

I don't know how He fooled my teammates. It wasn't until the last day of the trial that I noticed discrepancies in my teammates' words and realized soone had been playing

while I was absent.

And when I beca aware of His presence, He smiled and waved at

from the far end of the crowd.

From that mont on, I learned: Void also has servant gods. Deceit also has a Herald. And I was the... lucky one He chose to play with."

"Ha — are you sure 'lucky' is the right word?" Hong Lin scoffed.

Cheng Shi's expression crumbled: "I can't exactly call myself unlucky, can I? Besides, knowing about one more Void servant god than everyone else — how is that not a kind of luck?"

Having the experience of impersonating Yu Xi under his belt, this particular lie was watertight. No matter how many questions Big Cat asked, he answered them all with perfect fluency.

And then — Big Cat believed him.

Or rather, she'd have believed no matter how he explained it.

Of course, she had her own shrewdness. Perhaps she didn't believe every word Cheng Shi said. But she believed in this person.

"So let

get this straight — after discovering He was impersonating you, you started impersonating Him?"

"Uh... that's roughly the gist?"

"Cheng Shi, do you take

for a fool?" Hong Lin was so annoyed she laughed. She pointed at the spot where they'd dropped in from. "Fine — even if I'm not that sharp, what about that Corruption Herald? The dual Herald Aph Ros?

He's certainly sharp enough. Has He never once suspected you aren't a real Herald?"

"Of course He has. That's exactly why I dragged you in to borrow your prestige. For now, the lies should hold for a while longer."

"..." Big Cat was speechless. "What do you want from Him?"

"Intelligence!" Cheng Shi's voice rang with conviction. "Aph Ros knows a great deal about Them. And this is information we can never get from Their own mouths. Hong Lin — intelligence about Them is critically important. I think you understand that even better than I do."

"So, you know a lot about Them now?"

"Uh... not that much, actually. We'd barely started before He got suspicious. And I imdiately called you over."

Hong Lin raised an eyebrow:

"Is that so?

Then — Lord Yu Xi — could you tell

who that *Him is? The one Aph Ros refuses to ntion?"

"..."

Cheng Shi fell silent. He was weighing whether to tell Hong Lin about this now.

Hu Xuan may have known about *Him, but she wasn't yet a true Herald — still a considerable distance from the Origin.

Hong Lin was different. She was... a bit too close to the Origin.

He feared that learning about *Him might cause problems for her.

Hong Lin was no fool. One look at Cheng Shi's expression told her this was sothing she probably shouldn't know. And as always — she trusted her friend. She trusted Cheng Shi.

So she said: "Forget it — I don't want to know anymore. Too much trouble."

Cheng Shi blinked, then smiled warmly: "There'll co a ti when it's not trouble. Trust , Hong Lin, I—"

"Alright, alright — stop being so sentintal." Hong Lin's expression turned peculiarly uncomfortable. She glanced at Cheng Shi with a hint of distaste, then furrowed her brow in long deliberation before asking again: "Aren't you afraid the real Yu Xi will co after you once He finds out you've been impersonating Him?"

See — that was Big Cat. Always worrying about her friend.

Of course, how much of it was genuine concern and how much was teasing, even Cheng Shi couldn't quite tell.

So he could only give an awkward laugh: "Not afraid."

"Why?"

"Because..."

Cheng Shi's smile gradually faded into solemnity. He extended his hand toward Hong Lin — five fingers spread — revealing a die in his palm. One pip facing up.

"All paths traveled..."

He'd barely gotten halfway through the prayer when Hong Lin's eyes flashed. She too produced a die and, in perfect unison, finished:

"Are destined!"

In that instant, she rembered the words Cheng Shi had spoken when he'd recruited her into the Destined Ones: if the world's script had their nas written in its final chapter, then no matter how they scribbled over their own scripts, they would surely appear on the universe's ultimate stage.

So Cheng Shi didn't fear Yu Xi.

More than not fearing Yu Xi — he believed in Fate.

This was reasonable. And entirely predetermined.

With that thought, the two exchanged a knowing look and smiled.

...