The Clown landed back on his rooftop.
The Fun God hadn't sent him back to Dolgod, which ant the gathering there had probably already dispersed.
Cheng Shi opened his eyes and imdiately rang the Silent Infant Bell. He wasn't sure whether Birth's parting burst of anger had adversely affected Hu Xuan, so he wanted to confirm first.
Fortunately, though the Life Sage didn't appear in person, she sent back an all-clear. And the thod of delivery was rather amusing — when Cheng Shi shook it, the bell emitted a faint glow, like a miniature Eternal "Lamp," casting the silhouette of a pregnant belly on the ground.
Seeing this, Cheng Shi hurriedly "put the magic away."
'She's at it again. Better not disturb the Life Sage.'
As for Aph Ros — now that his "sibling" had accepted his "excuse," Dolgod was officially his backup experintal base.
Zangier would undoubtedly spend a very morable remainder of his life there. How morable? Cheng Shi didn't care. He only knew that, even for Her own sake, Aph Ros would definitely "supervise" Zangier's hard labor with great enthusiasm. Go Lis, after all, was built for punishing blasphers.
And then there was Wei Mu...
Truthfully, without others around, the thought of a one-on-one encounter with this suprely intelligent Player made Cheng Shi nervous. He was afraid that his reactions might betray the fact that he was playing the part of Yu Xi. Even more, he feared that Wei Mu would silently weave a trap that Cheng Shi would walk into without ever realizing.
The Clown had excellent self-awareness. He knew how to leverage his strengths, and he knew even better how to avoid his weaknesses. This was his steady will in action.
Of course, he had no intention of abandoning this brainiac either. Even if they couldn't be allies, at least he wouldn't push Wei Mu to the opposing side. He very much wanted to stand on the sa team as Wei Mu — that was the only way to extract useful assistance. He just hadn't figured out how to deepen the relationship yet.
Think about it: a madman who dared insult his own Benefactor Folly to Her face — how could such a person not be suspicious of a lie-spouting Deceit Envoy?
So for now, Dolgod remained the best eting ground. Only in Aph Ros's presence — with a genuine Envoy's attitude toward him as endorsent — could the wise man's doubts be sowhat allayed.
But all of that was for later. The pressing matter was delivering the "Breeding" authority to Big Cat.
So Cheng Shi contacted Big Cat and once again t her in a fabricated forest sowhere in the Void, connected by that symbol.
The mont Big Cat saw Cheng Shi in one piece, she exhaled heavily with relief. Then a playful smile curled her lips, and she opened with:
"Whose surna does the baby get?"
"???"
The question blindsided Cheng Shi completely. Thanks to Birth's lingering aftereffects, he flinched, shot Big Cat a wary glance, and — without letting it show — retreated one step.
But that single tiny step made Big Cat instantly realize her words could be misread. So—
"ROAR —"
A gust of wind blasted through the forest. The Dense Forest Spotted Leopard planted a paw on her prey and looked down at him with imperious disdain. "Why did you step back?"
Cheng Shi was done. He struggled to raise his head and spat out the dirt in his mouth.
"Gra—"
SLAM — the paw bore down, mashing the Clown's face back into the mud. "Still running that foul mouth!"
"..."
Left with no choice, Cheng Shi snapped his fingers, teleported out from under her, and then — face dark as thunder — plucked the crushed grass from between his teeth, flung it onto the ground, and jabbed a finger at Big Cat.
"Grass! It was grass in my mouth! Sour, bitter grass!
And excuse
— you're the one who misspoke! What gives you the right to play the victim?
Don't forget — which of us is the other's creditor?"
"..." Big Cat obviously knew she was in the wrong. But how could she possibly swallow her pride and admit it at a ti like this? Fine, she'd misspoken — but what did that backward step an?
'Who exactly are you showing contempt for?'
Big Cat snorted through her nose and turned away, licking a paw as though she'd heard nothing.
But after Cheng Shi stayed silent for a long stretch, her entire feline body stiffened. Irritably, she pawed at her own head, and after a prolonged internal struggle, finally squeezed out: "Tao Yi says thank you."
Seeing her like this, Cheng Shi grinned.
"See? At least the Wood Elf has a conscience. Unlike certain... hey — what are you doing?! Think your claws are a big deal? I'm saying it right now — unlike certain atheads who thank you up and down beforehand and then beat up their creditor afterward."
Big Cat's frustration hit critical mass. She paced in a circle, fangs bared, then marched right up to Cheng Shi. Without bothering to shift back to human form, she sat bolt upright and rumbled:
"Give
a bit. I'll pay you back soon."
Teasing the cat was an ever-escalating source of joy for Cheng Shi. His eyes darted and he started heaping on guilt trips.
"What — settle the debt so you can pretend the favor never happened?
Hong Lin, oh Hong Lin — I never knew you were this kind of person!"
That pushed Big Cat straight into bristle mode. She arched her back, coiled to spring, and was a split second from swiping the mouthy Fate Weaver when — out of nowhere — Cheng Shi produced a tiny green sprout in his palm and held it up in front of her face.
This sprout, radiating dense Prosperity essence, was sothing Hong Lin knew all too well. The instant she laid eyes on it, her fur spiked even worse than before.
Her voice even cracked!
"Prosperity's authority?!"
Mission accomplished. Cheng Shi burst out laughing. "That's right — the Prosperity authority 'Breeding.' Well? Want it?"
Big Cat's brain hadn't even engaged before her mouth was halfway through "yes" — except the word caught in her throat and she swallowed it back down.
She snapped into human form, locked Cheng Shi with a dead-serious stare, and shook her head firmly.
"No. I don't need it. No matter how much authority cos my way, it can't change my current state of being caught between human and god. It's not suited for . But it's suited for you, Cheng Shi.
You don't have to hand over every piece of Prosperity you find. I..."
"Cut the nonsense. Do you want it or not? If you don't, I'll give it to soone else."
Big Cat's breath hitched. She wanted to hit him, but restrained herself. "Why don't you keep it? I know you're goading ."
"I don't need it. I've got better things." The Clown gave a scornful snort, eyes dripping with disdain.
But in truth, this was the best thing Cheng Shi had.
Posturing aside, watching a divine authority slip through his fingers genuinely stung Cheng the Greedy. But this wasn't a Void authority. Even if it had been Chaos or Ti, even with the Fun God's explicit order, he would have found a way to keep it.
But Prosperity...
Bottom line: nowhere in the foreseeable road ahead did Cheng Shi see a role for Prosperity.
And in Big Cat's hands, this authority was unquestionably more useful than in his own. Because arming Big Cat was, to a very real degree, arming the Clown himself.
Of course, "arming" was a superfluous word when it ca to Big Cat. Cheng Shi's actual goal was to help her beco a genuine "half-Prosperity" as soon as possible. Even without a vote among the gods, at least in status and tier she'd be able to feed him richer intelligence about Them.
Hong Lin's expression was a tangle of conflict. She understood what Cheng Shi ant. She also knew that taking this wouldn't be as useless as she'd claid. But the sensation of good things landing in her lap every few days had plunged her into a surreal haze.
'Is this a Fate Weaver?'
'This is Dorae-Cheng-Shi!'
'How does he have everything?'
Before eting Cheng Shi, her journey had been nothing like this. Every piece of gear she owned had been earned one punch at a ti. But now?
Authority arrived, then divinity. Divinity arrived, then more authority. At this rate, Hong Lin was beginning to feel she'd discovered the cheat code for the Faith Ga: protect the Fate Weaver, then sit back and wait for good fortune to knock.
She'd never imagined that "destiny" ant this kind of destiny — apparently a direct fast-track into the world's endga storyline!
...
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