The Secret Peeping Ear was quite interesting. Within the Devout Land it could strip invaders' secrets by sound alone, but inside this theater it could only expose lies when soone lied.
A perfect counter to Brother Mouth — which explained why the Lips might genuinely resent the ears. At least right now, the Fool's Lips' absolute refusal to utter another word proved the ears' power.
But with both "brothers" clamming up, Cheng Shi searched the entire theater without finding a single clue about the "birth of the mask" or the "birth of the features."
All he had were countless torn bodies. The carnage told of a massive battle, but why it happened and what it led to — total blank.
So to uncover the truth behind Brother Mouth, to learn what really happened in San Dales, and to find leads on the other "parts," Cheng Shi frowned and pulled from his pocket... the Chronicle of Ti.
Yes — the very notebook Dragon King had once practically forced on him. A mory artifact granting one use of "Return of the Past."
He actually had a second mory tool — a small hamr-shaped mory Sea Insight that could give him historical hints about the area. But he suspected the story of the Fool's Lips was far from simple — a few sentences wouldn't cut it.
If the mory Sea Insight ca up empty, he'd end up using Return of the Past anyway. So Cheng Shi chose the most efficient option — skip the hamr, go straight to the heavy artillery.
Solid plan. Shaky execution.
As the Chronicle of Ti dissolved before him, the past did return — just not the way the clown expected.
mory's power inexplicably entangled with the Deceit energy saturating the theater. The resulting force shoved Cheng Shi straight out the door. He could only stare as lights flickered through the gap — so story clearly unfolding inside — but in that instant, he missed it entirely.
"You—"
He nearly cursed. But considering that a certain Benefactor might be watching for entertainnt, he held his tongue. Wouldn't do to blasphe to His face.
Still, even without seeing it, he'd already figured it out. The mont he felt Deceit's divine power surge, he knew: San Dales had been claid by Deceit long ago!
They really were born here!
The only question: how?
Cheng Shi wasn't the type to sit still after a rejection. Most people would reflect on what they'd done wrong. Clowns, however, first asked whether the other party was hiding sothing too big to share.
Already thinking, already moving — back to the door, trying to push it open again.
No luck. A seal now required two people to open it simultaneously. But that kind of trick was nothing. Rember — Cheng Shi wasn't just a Deceit follower. He was also a Chaos follower.
As long as smoke could seep through the crack, a door was the sa as no door.
He cracked a smoke bomb into the gap and, using his talent, swam through.
When he discovered the theater's interior had been replaced by San Dales' past, he knew: the real play had finally begun.
The Fun God wasn't rejecting his viewing — He was preparing a bigger stage!
That stage surely held secrets about Brother Mouth and the others. And those secrets were most likely tied to the clown-like NPC at the bottom of the theater steps.
Yes — Cheng Shi had only glanced at the marketplace once before identifying the lead: Crown, the Joy Theater's perforr.
Don't ask how the clown knew Crown was a clown. Clown's intuition.
Cheng Shi badly wanted to explore this place — to understand another clown. But a more pressing problem lood: his teammates were almost here.
Before secrets, he wanted exclusivity. Before danger, he refused to be soone else's canary. So to squeeze remaining value from his teammates, his eyes glinted — and he began setting up.
He tried to slip back out through the door crack and set an ambush. But he found himself teleported to the far end of the theater doors. This place — like a mory cage — trapped a Deceit follower whose head buzzed with too many clever ideas.
But every cage has gaps. Cheng Shi eyed the immovable door and scoffed. He switched faiths, beca a Fate Weaver, snapped his fingers, and let the dice carry him back to the outside — the door's "past," this place's "future."
'If mory and Deceit tead up to imprison , I'll use Ti and Fate as my keys. Prison break — right through the front door.'
Success. Back outside, Cheng Shi raised both hands in devout praise to his various Benefactors. Except, of course, that particular one.
First priority: find Mi Laozhang!
Zhang Jizu in the sa trial was the clown's biggest safety net. Cheng Shi disguised himself as a plant hanging from the highest icicle above the theater entrance, surveying everything, waiting.
When he spotted two Zhang Jizus arriving simultaneously, he didn't hesitate a single second. He beelined for the one crouching to examine whether the permafrost posed a threat.
'Obviously. Steadiness is bone-deep. Plain caution can't replicate Mi Laozhang's brand of prudence.'
Confident he'd found the right man, Cheng Shi shed his disguise, transford into... ahem, Dragon King, and crept toward Mi Laozhang.
Finding him was the easy part. Explaining his identity took ti.
When Zhang Jizu heard movent behind him and saw Li Jingming approaching, he squinted and calmly reasoned:
"The Acrobat can't impersonate Li Jingming — his disposition would give him away fast.
Li Jingming wanting to find
would only appear as Cheng Shi.
The War Supervisor values her life too much to enter the fog, let alone arrive before .
As for the Zhen girl — whoever she is, impersonating Li Jingming wouldn't be to borrow his identity; it'd be to cause him trouble. You didn't attack on sight, which ans you're not them.
So...
Cheng Shi — you got here three hours and twenty-seven minutes before . What did you find?"
"..."
See? That's where all Cheng Shi's wasted ti went.
"Master, please spare
the lecture. Let's save ti..."
Eye twitching, Cheng Shi hoisted Mi Laozhang and ran toward the doors along a route he'd scouted to avoid everyone. Before any other teammates could arrive, they pushed the door open together and re-entered San Dales' past.
When Zhang Jizu saw what lay before him, his eyes slitted hard.
"This is...?"
"San Dales' past. Fun, right?
mory distorts here. Deceit becos truth. I'm not even sure whether those two deities were an item before Dragon King fused."
"?" Zhang Jizu blinked. "Li Jingming's condition is... fusion?"
Cheng Shi ran and grinned. "My paynt's been delivered, Old Zhang. The rest is up to you."
"What are you planning?" Zhang Jizu's heart lurched.
"Relax. That door has a trick — needs two people. But I think two isn't enough. Change it so it needs three.
Since the War Supervisor didn't co in, I'd love to see three other 's' forced to team up just to push a door. The cody potential is imnse.
This stage can't have just one clown, right?
Oh — sorry, almost forgot. You're a clown too."
"..."
In that instant, Zhang Jizu's eyelid twitched violently. He finally understood how Cheng Shi felt during certain monts.
'You'd better be talking about my class.'
...
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