Ready. But nobody drank.
Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu each took a bottle, exchanged a glance, and then fixed their gazes on Ai Si. The ssage couldn't be clearer: until the War Supervisor drank first, neither cautious man would touch a drop.
Ai Si's eyelid twitched. She raised the vial with a faintly mocking look.
"Bit paranoid, aren't we? This potion is genuine.
Sure — I'll drink first. But let
state upfront: the mont I drink, I have to start running imdiately to maximize the effect. I'll reach the Theater ahead of both of you.
That said, I have zero expectations for this trial. So what I want to stress is — if you catch up and find sothing wrong with the Theater's 'treasure,' please do your due diligence. It won't be my handiwork."
With that, Ai Si tipped her head back and downed the vial. Blade leading, she slashed the barbed wire open and launched into a dead sprint toward the Theater.
Her explosive stride cracked the frozen ground beneath her feet — yet produced not a whisper of sound.
She was fast. In seconds, the fog swallowed her whole.
'Potion's genuine then.' Cheng Shi raised a brow and gestured for Mi Laozhang to go first. Zhang Jizu chuckled softly, poured his vial onto the ground, and shook his head.
"The potion may or may not be real. But the person is definitely fake."
Cheng Shi showed no surprise. Lips curving, he asked: "What makes you say that?"
"She was too eager. If she truly had no expectations for this trial, she could have downed the potion and tested it on the spot, then waited for us to return from the Theater. Why rush to be first inside — and top it off with a 'no-silver-buried-here' disclair?
I've suspected her for a while. Now I'm certain: under that War Supervisor skin is you, Cheng Shi."
"That's none of my business." Cheng Shi pursed his lips, gazing at the spot where the figure had vanished. "The one standing in front of you is . As for which Ai Si ran in there... who cares."
"Another 'you' has gotten ahead of you. Zhen Yi might be ahead too. And you're not worried?"
"Worrying won't help. As long as Zhen Yi hasn't popped up to go 'hee~' at , it ans she hasn't gotten what she wants yet.
Besides, I don't think a Zhen Yi who's fooled everyone would slip up against one impersonator. That fake War Supervisor probably can't beat her.
Ideally, those two wear each other down, we arrive, and the fisherman profits."
Cheng Shi beckoned quickly at Zhang Jizu. "The goods — hand them over. I know you have sothing."
"My tools aren't as useful as yours. Cheng Shi, it's ti to pull out your ace." Zhang Jizu smiled with squinted eyes, looking exactly like a sly old fox.
"?"
That set off alarm bells. Cheng Shi narrowed his eyes in imitation of Mi Laozhang's signature squint, scrutinizing the man.
"Mi Laozhang — I see what you're doing. You're probing again!
How splendid. Revolutionary bonds always fracture from the inside first. We've been attached at the hip this entire ti, and you can still doubt ?
That makes
wonder whether you've been the Mi Laozhang I know from the very start!
I distinctly recall — before we linked up with the War Supervisor, all three other teammates had disappeared at so point.
So — are you really Mi Laozhang? Or are you the Dragon King? Or perhaps... Surna Zhen?"
Zhang Jizu laughed, shaking his head.
"Your suspicion cos too late. Raising it now looks more like cover for yourself.
But since you ntioned 'revolutionary bonds' — let
ask: Cheng Shi, what kind of revolutionary bonds do we actually share?"
His squint tightened further. A scalpel tip glinted between his fingers. He'd clearly reached peak suspicion of this Cheng Shi.
Yet the next words dialed it back.
"The one upon the Bone Throne, and the one within Void. Need I be more specific?
Tch —
Trying to bait
into revealing secrets?
Let
turn it right back at you, Mi Laozhang. What kind of revolutionary bonds are ours?"
That final counter froze Zhang Jizu for a beat. And in that beat, Cheng Shi seized the opening — eyes flashing, his scalpel lashed out for Zhang Jizu's throat.
Vicious. Even Zhang Jizu couldn't dismiss a point-blank ambush like that.
But as he started to pull back — one great sword, no, two great swords ca hurtling from opposite directions, slamming into the space between them.
Cheng Shi's brow rose. Zhang Jizu squinted. Both retreated — and turning, saw two Ai Sis glaring at each other across a stretch of open ground, neither giving an inch.
'Now that's interesting. Three Cheng Shis have turned into three Ai Sis.'
Zhang Jizu's eyes squeezed to their narrowest yet. After a mont's thought, disbelief lingered. "You're actually real?"
Cheng Shi, face dark, rolled his eyes.
"Obviously. Zhang-lao, has your Truth brain short-circuited?
If those two Ai Sis hadn't shown up, your behavior today would've given
serious reason to question your motives."
"..."
Zhang Jizu's mouth twitched. Without another word, he produced two pages inscribed with Silence techniques, handed one to Cheng Shi, and addressed the two Ai Sis.
"War Supervisor — your chance has arrived.
Our teammate's worst mistake was impersonating you. I know one of you is real.
All you need to do is stall the impostor long enough to fulfill the promise you made
at the start.
Don't worry — you absolutely won't die. I give you my word."
With that, Zhang Jizu activated his page and stepped into the fog a beat ahead of Cheng Shi.
"The inscribed Silence talent is unlimited in duration. It silences every sound a living being produces. It breaks the mont you speak voluntarily. Let's go — we can't fall too far behind."
The ever-steady Zhang 'Steady' volunteering to go first was itself the sincerest apology he could offer. Cheng Shi clearly felt it. He pursed his lips, muttered a few choice words about Mi Laozhang under his breath, then used his own page and followed.
After the two vanished into the fog, Ai Si faced her doppelg??nger. She dropped the stern mask and shook her head with a wry smile.
"To complete my assignnt, I'll only stall you for thirty seconds.
But you should know that's no real delay. Rushing in now risks running into them.
I'm guessing you've been a step behind on purpose — avoiding direct confrontation and creating chaos, planning to be the last one standing.
Relax. I have a sense of proportion. I won't get in your way — after all, the one who ditched
by playing dress-up wasn't you.
But I would love to know which peak... liar my teammate actually is."
"Heh — you've got a little sothing. But not much.
Rember: strict adherence to 'proportion' can trap you in a quagmire of inaction.
A dash of desire is the seasoning of life. Especially for mortals whose ti is so brief — strive to make it interesting."
As she finished, the smiling Ai Si slowly shed the disguise. Cheng Shi's face erged before the real Ai Si's widening eyes.
A Cheng Shi in a casual blazer.
Watching Ai Si's escalating shock, Cheng Shi bead.
"You can call
Cheng Shi. Or keep calling
'Surna Cheng.' A na's just a label.
But if you want to stand on a higher vantage point and see a wider horizon, then perhaps you could call ...
Yu Xi.
Fool's play. Mockery and jest.
To fool and to jest — that is Yu Xi."
...
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