That's right — the "Li Wufang" who'd tead up with Qin Xin to kill Wu Cun was Cheng Shi.
The clown was a man of prudence. Even after devising the most sound plan to send Qin Xin searching for the truth behind Ti's discrepancies, he still wouldn't trust an "outsider" at such a critical juncture without witnessing things firsthand — much less an outsider from another tiline.
So shortly after Qin Xin departed, he'd said goodbye to the Blind One and followed. In his plan, even if the Abyss Colorful Crystal truly was the cause of every anomaly — even if Qin Xin genuinely triggered a discrepancy at the site where Li Wufang and Wu Cun had first changed — Cheng Shi needed to see it all with his own eyes. He had to ensure Qin Xin wasn't influenced by anything else during the round trip.
This was about whether the clown could find his way ho. He was cutting no corners.
What he hadn't anticipated was that despite keeping his distance, the irrational Oblivion believer had obliterated an entire hillock in front of him. So the instant before his cover was blown, he'd had no choice but to use Chaos Acting to "present" himself as Li Wufang, pulling out the only longbow in his personal space and cosplaying brazenly in front of two peak players.
In all fairness, the performance was a success — not because Cheng Shi's combat timing was impeccable, but because he owed it to the Dragon King.
Thank the Dragon King for gifting him those A-rank Law Texts. They'd won Qin Xin's trust at the crucial mont and finished off the freshly revived, still-troublemaking Wu Cun.
Honestly, Cheng Shi hadn't wanted to kill Wu Cun. He'd never exchanged a single word with this volatile version of her. He desperately needed to extract intelligence from her. But ti waited for no one. Leaving the Extinguisher alive would likely an every lead in the trial got annihilated clean.
Cheng Shi couldn't gamble. He was terrified she'd obliterate his road ho. So, reluctantly, he chose to protect the clues first.
And in the mont the dust settled, Qin Xin's sudden probe had forced him to hide within the smokescreen and fish in troubled waters.
Chaos's talent had saved him twice. Cheng Shi should have been grateful, but in this impossibly chaotic situation, he truly couldn't bring himself to praise Chaos anymore.
He was afraid Ti would render him thoroughly chaotic.
So with painstaking caution, the clown trailed Qin Xin's path downhill — though he didn't dare follow too closely, keeping well back.
Along the way, Cheng Shi's nerves were wound tight. Not from fear of Qin Xin spotting him, but because of the devastation lining both sides of the main road to Falling Gate...
Wu Cun, that harbinger of destruction, had genuinely annihilated everything in her path while tracing the players' trail.
'Good, good, good! If I can't find any leads today, every last one of you Oblivion believers is going to have a very bad future. Mark my words!'
Cheng Shi was grinding his teeth in frustration, yet utterly helpless. After all — when every teammate's contingency plan had failed to stop the Oblivion believer's resurrection — the best he could hope for was that her next revival tir would be as long as possible.
Preferably not until after he'd uncovered the truth.
But what you fear most has a way of showing up. The mont Cheng Shi crept off the mountain and rounded a relatively intact residential zone, Qin Xin — who'd moved far faster — was standing right at this zone's edge, his expression grave as he watched Cheng Shi approach.
Of course, Cheng Shi was still wearing Li Wufang's face. The alias was already on — might as well keep it. Let the real Investigator take the fall. After all, Li Wufang was... his "brother" in another tiline.
What kind of brother doesn't take the bla for you?
So when he saw Qin Xin spot him, Cheng Shi didn't panic. He squeezed out an awkward grin and greeted: "Fancy eting you again, Mr. Qin."
But to his surprise, Qin Xin completely ignored his cosplay. One sentence pierced straight through his disguise — and delivered a result that left Cheng Shi reeling.
"I've got one good piece of news and one bad.
The good news: the area you ntioned wasn't damaged by the Extinguisher. It's perfectly intact.
The bad news...
I'm sorry. You guessed wrong. There's no Abyss Colorful Crystal there. Not even a sliver."
"!!!!!"
Impossible!
Cheng Shi's face darkened. He fixed Qin Xin with a grave stare and enunciated every word: "Take out your Master of Deception Card. Say that again."
"?" Qin Xin shook his head with a wry smile and flatly refused. "Pointless gesture. If you believe in the fire, you wouldn't question ."
"To hell with the fire," Cheng Shi scoffed coldly. A scalpel materialized in his hand, leveled at Qin Xin. "The Qin Xin I know wouldn't joke about sothing like this at a ti like this. And you — you're not one of the Torchbearers I believe in either.
I don't know what world you co from. I don't want to know. All I want right now is confirmation that what you said is true.
Given your speed descending the mountain and the distance I was trailing at, even with teleportation, you'd have had at most ten seconds to explore that area. Heh — ten seconds, and you're telling
there's nothing there?
Qin Xin, you're not the Doctor. You're not Wang Weijin. You're not a Truth or Folly believer. You're not even a genuine 'hunter.' What makes you qualified to rule out all trace of Abyss Colorful Crystal across such a wide region in ten seconds?
If your perception were that sharp, you wouldn't have rely 'passed by' the Crystal's location in the Shanty Area — you'd have dug out the whole deposit on the spot."
Cheng Shi's barrage drew an appreciative nod from Qin Xin. But the Torchbearer still showed no intention of proving himself. He studied Cheng Shi for a mont, then smiled:
"And? Regardless of what you say, it doesn't change the fact that 'I spoke the truth.'
I know your thods. The Master of Deception Card is vital to the Torchbearers. I won't hand it over — especially not to soone who refuses to stand with the Torchbearers. And besides, you're not the person who refused
either.
But — for Ming Yu's sake — I'll step aside and let you search the area yourself."
"Don't you realize how absurd you sound, Qin Xin?" Cheng Shi smiled — but there wasn't a trace of warmth in it. Only ice. "I have no desire to oppose you, nor any Torchbearer. But your behavior and attitude leave
no choice but to suspect you have an ulterior motive.
The Blind One told
you co from a world where carrying the fire isn't easy. So — have you already figured out which world we're standing in?
Is this one... easier to carry fire in than the one you ca from?
In other words, Qin Xin — you, the founding Torchbearer — do you even want to go back to that staggering world? Or has the fire you want to carry beco the fire of the world beneath our feet?!"
It was a brutally pointed accusation. Cheng Shi had sensed deliberate obstruction, and he was forced to assu the worst about the Qin Xin before him.
And the mont those words left his mouth — Cheng Shi moved.
At such a pivotal juncture, he couldn't trust a "Qin Xin" whose personality was so unlike the real one's. He had to verify the truth of the man's words and confirm he hadn't pocketed the Abyss Colorful Crystal — the key to unraveling Ti's discrepancy — for so sordid reason of his own.
So he flung a scalpel at Qin Xin. But a clown's wrist strength at best bullied NPCs; against a peak player, the throw was laughably feeble.
Qin Xin flicked away the blade — which barely qualified as an attack — with a finger, then fixed Cheng Shi with a aningful smile:
"You want to fight ?"
"You're the one who wants to fight !
But — the one fighting you won't be . It'll be her!"
The instant the words landed, Cheng Shi spun and hurled a headless corpse straight at Qin Xin.
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