Finally back!
The mont Cheng Shi's feet touched the rooftop of the rest area, he collapsed onto the ground without a shred of dignity.
Completely drained.
Whether it was the observation and deduction during the trial or the maneuvering and fast-talking before the audience with the gods, all of it had left him utterly exhausted in body and mind.
Right now, all he wanted was to lie here and think about nothing — empty his mind, let that taut bowstring of tension slacken just a little, and catch his breath.
A nice thought, but relaxation was impossible. Although Cheng Shi lay on the ground doing nothing, the questions in his head never stopped.
He was "interrogating" Brother Mouth, demanding to know its true identity.
Whether before Ti or before Folly, Brother Mouth's behavior had been... alarming. But that very fact proved Brother Mouth's identity was extraordinary — profoundly extraordinary.
If it were truly nothing more than a sentient creation of Deceit, as the Dragon King claid, then why would two gods pay such "serious attention" to a re servant-god-level creation?
When They conversed — or traded barbs — with Brother Mouth, it didn't look like They were gazing down at sothing beneath Them. It looked more like They were regarding an equal.
So Cheng Shi grew ever more curious. From the mont he left the Void, he had been relentlessly bombarding the Fool's Lips, trying to pry out so clue. Yet Brother Mouth, who had been so fierce just monts ago, had now gone cold — no matter how Cheng Shi pressed, it refused to speak.
Left with no choice, Cheng Shi tossed Brother Tongue out to stretch its legs and tried so roundabout probing.
Watching the tongue lounge on the ground, idly spinning left and right without a care in the world, Cheng Shi's eyes glinted with mischief. He stirred up trouble:
"Brother Tongue, think about it logically. You eat lies, and Brother Mouth tells lies. By that math, it produces and you consu — you're its custor. The custor is king! Your status should be higher than its, so why does it look like you're its lackey?"
The Tongue of Eating Lies flipped over on the ground and smacked its tip boredly. "You want to know?"
Cheng Shi blinked. He was about to nod when instinct kicked in and he raised his guard. "What's the catch?"
"Hungry. Feed ."
"..."
'Bro, how is that any different from just slapping
across the face?'
'So I take the hit and then have to play along too?'
Cheng Shi was about to decline, but his curiosity was too strong. He ventured one more question: "You're serious?"
"I can't tell lies — a lie would make
eat myself. So if you want an answer, cook up a al first."
"..." What a way to put it — "cook up a al"!
Cheng Shi took two deep breaths, poked his head over to check the neighboring rooftop, and confird that Xie Yang still hadn't appeared. Only then, after much hesitation, did he utter a lie: "I don't want to know the Fool's Lips' identity."
The words had barely left his mouth when — smack — a vivid crimson "rouge mark" blood across Cheng Shi's left cheek.
The Tongue of Eating Lies finished its al, rolled over contentedly, and lounged on the ground. "I chose this willingly."
"?"
Cheng Shi touched his face, dumbstruck.
"Wait — that's it?
I took a slap to the face just to hear you say you voluntarily beca Brother Mouth's lackey?"
"And? That's what you asked. I answered. I didn't lie. What's the problem?"
"Then why voluntarily?"
"Urp — not hungry anymore today. Let's talk about it so other ti." The Tongue of Eating Lies rolled over, wriggled twice, and went still.
"I..."
Cheng Shi snapped. He snatched up the Tongue of Eating Lies, squeezed it viciously a couple of tis, then flung it toward the edge of the roof in a fit of exasperation.
But just as the tongue was about to sail over the rooftop, he scowled, snapped his fingers to teleport to the ledge, caught it mid-air, and shoved the slap-happy tongue into his personal storage with a scowl.
And right on cue, the expert at twisting the knife chid in: "Heh — nice acrobatics."
"???"
'Brother Mouth, did you catch Folly's disease?'
'I didn't close the deal with Folly, but you went ahead and sealed it for , is that it?'
Fine, fine, fine. Cheng Shi was so angry he laughed. He plopped down on the rooftop's edge, pulled out over a dozen cans of sli drink, and sneered:
"Today it's a duel to the death. Either I disgust you to death, or I burst trying. Let's see who breaks first — you talk, or I die."
With that, Cheng Shi chugged two bottles in quick succession.
Now it was the Fool's Lips' turn to be speechless. It could see that if it didn't give up so information today, this clown of a host was genuinely going to make himself vomit all over this rooftop. Of course, given Cheng Shi's cautious nature, he wouldn't actually die — but the thought of all that sli drink passing through itself going down and then passing through itself again coming up...
The Fool's Lips wrestled with itself for a mont, then chose a tactical retreat.
"What do you want to know?"
Cheng Shi jolted so hard he nearly tumbled off the building. He hurriedly swept the drink bottles aside, planted himself firmly on the ledge, and asked with wary suspicion: "What are you, really?"
"The Fool's Lips."
?
Cheng Shi frowned. 'If that's a lie, does it an Brother Mouth just admitted it has a secret identity?'
"What was your original na?"
"The Fool's Lips."
"...Brother Mouth, if you're going to be like this, I'll have no choice but to continue!"
"...I'm not lying. Since the mont I was born, I've been called the Fool's Lips."
'Born?'
"Are you really a creation of the Fun God? I an, a creation like the Ritual of Truth or the Mirror of Delusion!"
"No."
"Then you're higher-ranked than those creations?" Cheng Shi was stunned — after all, the attitudes of Ti and Folly couldn't be faked.
"Lower."
"Lower? Impossible!" Cheng Shi laughed in disbelief. He was sure Brother Mouth was toying with him again. "Do people chat with ants? Why would the gods bother conversing with an ordinary creation? Brother Mouth, tell
the truth. Don't make
beg."
"You'd really be—"
"Please, I'm begging you, just tell ." Cheng Shi's face was the picture of sincerity — and he casually picked up a can of sli drink for good asure.
"...I can talk, but I don't have Status."
"Ha. Guess whether I believe that." Cheng Shi's eyelid twitched as he tightened his grip on the can. "Let
rephrase: if I found all your brothers and sisters and reassembled the complete set — would the whole of you have Status?"
"No."
Cheng Shi pursed his lips, resigned. "So you're just a bunch of talking facial features with no other purpose, is that it?"
"That's not what I ant."
"Hm?" Cheng Shi perked up. "Then what do you an?"
"I'm just . I don't have brothers and sisters."
"..." Cheng Shi's expression froze on his face. But an instant later he flicked out the Tongue of Eating Lies — smack — and jabbed a finger at the tongue on the ground, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Say that again, Brother Mouth. I dare you."
"I don't have brothers and sisters."
"!!!"
'You actually said it?!'
Cheng Shi was dumbfounded. He looked at Brother Tongue, who couldn't have cared less. "Brother Tongue, you're not mad? Your big bro just disowned you!"
The Tongue of Eating Lies bounced a couple of tis, thoroughly unconcerned:
"I call him big bro. He doesn't call
brother. Where's the conflict?
I call him big bro, he calls
tongue. Isn't that fine?"
'Fine?'
'Right, right, right. I see how it is — you're both just using the clown for entertainnt!'
Cheng Shi was so angry he forgot how to breathe. He exhaled heavily several tis, then switched tactics and tried the sentintal route.
"Regardless of everything, I've always felt that brothers and sisters belong together — that's what makes a family.
I don't have a 'family' anymore. But Brother Mouth, Brother Tongue — you still do. More importantly, I can help you find those scattered siblings of yours. So as long as you still long for 'family,' still long for reunion, then I'm willing to give everything I have to protect that beautiful thing!"
"Heh — who do you think you are, a Torchbearer?"
Cheng Shi faltered, but quickly recovered and declared solemnly: "For the sake of your reunion, I can be!"
"But I don't want a reunion."
"Neither do I!"
The tongue and the lips spoke in unison, dousing Cheng Shi's enthusiasm like a bucket of ice water. Yet he still detected sothing off, because those two refusals had sounded genuinely heartfelt — as if they truly didn't want to see the other parts.
'Why?'
'They don't get along?'
'But the tongue and the lips seem to be on decent terms.'
'Don't tell
a single set of facial features has internal cliques?'
Cheng Shi was baffled. He thought for a mont, then ventured a probing question:
"So there's soone you don't want to reunite with? Then surely there's at least one you'd like to see?
I don't know what the other parts are called or where they are, but I do know there's a Secret Peeping Ear currently in San Dales, in the Tower of Logic.
Would you like to see it?"
At the ntion of that na, Brother Tongue seized up and went silent. Brother Mouth clamped shut entirely.
Seeing this, Cheng Shi's eyebrow arched, and he finally smiled.
'Ah-ha — they're on bad terms with the ear!'
'Bad terms are good.'
The "enemy" of his "enemy" was his friend. At this rate, the trip to San Dales needed to be moved up!
Just as Cheng Shi was scheming about how to rally the ear against the mouth-and-tongue alliance, a shrill phone ring suddenly cut through the air.
He paused, dashed into the warehouse, and picked up the phone — only for an entirely unexpected voice to co through from the other end.
"Cheng Shi?"
Cheng Shi's pupils contracted. He nearly dropped the phone.
It was her!
...
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