Li Wufang was lost for words. He felt he'd stumbled into the greatest con since the Faith Ga's descent — and simultaneously, the greatest crisis.
Though the crisis wasn't the con itself. The crisis was that — despite facing a con this absurd — he was actually tempted.
An irrepressible urge surged inside him, like a moth drawn to fla, yearning to plunge headlong into Destiny's resplendent fire!
He stared into Cheng Shi's eyes, expression agonizingly conflicted, his mind frantically weighing pros and cons. Cheng Shi read the hesitation and placed one more tiny weight on the scales about to tip inside the man's heart.
A weight called "self-persuasion."
"Tell
about yourself, Investigator. Why do you believe in Destiny so fervently?"
The conflict on Li Wufang's face froze. Soon, the light of mory rose in his eyes.
He didn't say much — just fished an old photograph from his discarded jacket and handed it to Cheng Shi. Cheng Shi examined it: a cityscape photo, centered on a fountain. Inside the pool stood a sopping-wet child, clutching sothing in his hand, wide eyes searching for sothing.
That was the entire photo. Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow in surprise — he recognized the child as Li Wufang.
"That's you?"
"Yes. , as a kid." Li Wufang nodded.
"Were you... playing in the water?"
"No. I was... following Destiny's guidance."
"?" Cheng Shi frowned slightly and said nothing more, listening quietly.
"I'm an orphan."
"..." 'Congratulations — you've already got protagonist marks.'
Li Wufang didn't catch Cheng Shi's colorful expression. He gazed at the photo with nostalgia, cracking a small smile:
"I was raised by my grandmother. When I was twelve, she got sick. Very sick. The kind of sick no amount of money could fix.
There was nothing I could do — just watch her lying in bed, her spirit fading a little more each day.
Then one day I realized: if I didn't act soon, I'd lose her. So I copied what I'd seen on TV — dressed myself up as a beggar and went out to the streets.
The funny thing was, I barely had to dress up. A little dirt on my face and everyone believed I was a real little beggar.
I went to the city square — the most crowded spot. All those uncles and aunties, brothers and sisters were so concerned for . They asked after , comforted , cared for
— only, none of them gave
anything.
I couldn't bla them. They didn't owe
anything.
Grandma always said being poor is no reason to lose your pride. But I couldn't afford pride — because if I didn't speak up, Grandma was going to leave.
So I cried out in the square, begging people for money. But the mont I started crying, all those people who'd just been comforting
scattered like birds — leaving
alone by the pool, weeping my heart out.
And that's when the person who changed my life appeared...
That day, he was wearing a leather jacket just like mine."
Li Wufang even held up his jacket — though to Cheng Shi, the gesture looked more like he was flexing his biceps.
"..."
"I've forgotten what he looked like. I only rember his voice was very hoarse. He said he was soone favored by Lady Luck — so lucky that he could bring good fortune to others too.
But not everyone gets luck. Only those who believe in destiny get lucky.
So he asked : did I believe in fate?
I asked him: if I believe, will Grandma get better? He said yes. So I said I believe.
Then he gave
a die and told
to throw it as high as I could. When it fell, he said, the good luck would co.
I did as he said. The die landed in the fountain.
I froze, wanting to ask him where the luck was — but he'd already disappeared.
I didn't think twice. I just wanted that luck so Grandma could get better. So I jumped into the water to find the die, hoping it would guide .
And it actually did.
The die had landed right on top of a coin. I picked up both. While I was examining them, a man passing by spotted , scooped
out of the pool.
Later I found out he didn't pull
out to save
— he'd noticed the coin in my hand.
That coin... was extrely valuable to collectors.
I don't know why it was there. I don't know why that man happened to walk by. I chalked it all up to good luck. He bought the coin from
— and the price was exactly enough for Grandma's surgery.
Later, soone told
the coin was worth far more than one surgery. That the man had cheated . That I could have used it to change my destiny.
But I'd already changed my destiny. Because the luck I prayed for was simply for Grandma to get better. Destiny favored . So I was grateful.
From that day on, I believed in fate. Through Grandma's passing. Through the ga's descent. That belief has never changed.
This photo was restored from a newspaper clipping — back when 'Lucky Boy' made the headlines."
"So your way of repaying Destiny was to choose Order at the Path Starting Point?"
Cheng Shi nearly laughed out loud. To him, this was clearly an anonymous good deed — and the "good Samaritan" was very likely the sa man who'd bought the coin.
The thod was so crude Cheng Shi couldn't even bring himself to critique it. But one thing he couldn't deny: eting that anonymous benefactor was, in itself, genuine good fortune for Li Wufang!
"..." After hearing Cheng Shi's teasing, Li Wufang fell quiet. He sighed, expression impossibly layered: "Though what I said about 'spreading Destiny through Order' is true — I actually did want to choose Destiny. But at my Path Starting Point... there was no Destiny die for
to choose.
I worship Him, yet He didn't give
the chance."
"..." Cheng Shi froze. Sothing felt off. Based on his understanding of the Path Starting Point, the artifacts there mostly correlated with a player's life experiences. So why would the "lucky" Li Wufang not have a Destiny die?
"Then what was in front of you?"
"The codex of Order... and the mask of Deceit."
"???"
'Excuse
— what?'
'The Fun God's mask?'
'You had the Fun God's MASK?!'
'Right — the Investigator had uttered one lie, and that lie was "I'm not particularly good at lying." So this guy actually lies frequently?'
'Oh no — have I bumped into a high-level colleague?'
Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened. He looked at the Investigator with growing suspicion.
"Tell
a lie — right now!"
Li Wufang blinked, nodded: "I'm not particularly good at lying."
"..."
Still a lie!
'A con artist who can lie... could he be... Zhen Xin?'
For one second, Cheng Shi nearly bristled. But the next mont, Li Wufang openly explained why he lied so often.
"That's exactly what I was talking about — why Order is trustworthy. When I try to spread the doctrine of Destiny's favor, nobody believes . So I have to resort to tricks — harmless little cons to make people believe in luck.
I do lie often. But I've never profited from a single lie. I only lie to make people believe in good fortune. That... shouldn't be wrong, should it?"
"..."
It wasn't wrong. Not wrong at all. Absolutely, perfectly right, bro.
Cheng Shi's scalp was tingling. He suddenly wondered: was this Li Wufang actually the protagonist of so other world?
'You blasphe Deceit this hard for Destiny's sake — you're really not afraid the Fun God might object?'
'Clearly you've never taken a beating in the Void!'
Reviews
All reviews (0)