Chapter 350: The Pure Healer Chosen One

Foolish Game of the Gods

Cheng Shi meticulously checked every inch of the area around the bookshelves. Only after confirming there was no second person did he frown in puzzlement:

"A Chieftain on the verge of 2,400—just dead like that?"

"Who killed him?"

"Why is there so much blood?"

"Interesting. Where's the pastry chef?"

"And our [Time] teammate—where did he go?"

"Tang—I mean, Gravekeeper, it's your time to shine. Take a look—what do you see?"

Zhang Jizu didn't mind the teasing. He used his scalpel to lift the severed hand, studying it through narrowed eyes:

"The muscle nerves at the cross-section still show faint vitality. That means when we heard the scream, he probably wasn't dead yet."

"But the strange thing is—with someone this big going down, why didn't we hear anything?"

Zhang Jizu frowned in puzzlement, then nodded thoughtfully:

"You're right. Someone most likely annihilated the sound."

He held up the severed hand, directing Cheng Shi's attention to the cross-section.

"Look here. This isn't a cut from a sharp weapon—it's erosion from [Oblivion]'s power. This is a limb that fell off after part of its flesh was annihilated."

He reattached the hand to Gou Feng's left arm. When the two cross-sections met, it was clearly visible that the reattached arm was noticeably shorter.

Cheng Shi seemed unimpressed, pursing his lips: "Anything else?"

"The fatal wound isn't on the chest—it's on the back." Zhang Jizu flipped Gou Feng's corpse, pointing at the torn wound on the upper back. "A short blade wider than three fingers, thrust straight into the heart. One-hit kill. Very standard assassination technique. A rear attack—doesn't look like a warrior's work."

"So you're saying Mo Shu severed the hand, but Scorpio made the kill?"

"They double-teamed Gou Feng and killed him here?"

"Can't rule it out, but the sequence is wrong. The kill came before the severance. And..."

"The corpse itself is problematic."

Cheng Shi finally perked up, raising an eyebrow: "Problematic how?"

"He... might not actually be Gou Feng."

"?" Cheng Shi's eyebrow rose higher. Now he was genuinely interested.

Zhang Jizu pointed to the corpse's neck and the corners of its eyes, then pinched the skin on its face.

"Gou Feng wasn't young. At least thirty-five. I observed him at the start—his skin had traces of aging. Faint, but definitely there."

"But look here. This corpse is identical to Gou Feng in appearance, yet there are no fine lines on the neck or around the eyes. Not even forehead wrinkles. Skin might tighten from a warrior's physical tempering, but [Birth] isn't [Prosperity]—it doesn't bless its followers with youth. Unless..."

"Unless he's a newborn!" Cheng Shi's eyes sharpened as he finished the thought.

"Exactly! Unless he's a newborn that Gou Feng birthed through [Birth]'s blessing. Otherwise, the skin wouldn't present this way."

"I know there's a [Birth] blessing that allows one to 'birth a copy of oneself.' Given the Chieftain class's traits, perhaps he killed someone and spawned a newborn from the corpse. When the newborn consumed the corpse and grew to full size, someone else killed it."

"And that would also explain the massive bloodstain beneath our feet—because this is blood from two bodies. It's just that one of them was eaten."

Cheng Shi listened to Zhang Jizu's deduction and nodded with a smile.

'Very clear thinking. He's got something—just not quite everything.'

The examination had been flawless, but Cheng Shi couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. He rubbed his chin, studying the [Death] Chosen One, and clicked his tongue:

"Bro, you're not holding back on me, are you?"

"?" Zhang Jizu's already-narrow eyes squeezed even thinner. A touch of confusion crept in: "Did I overlook something?"

"You didn't miss anything, but... you are His follower. That Lord's top lieutenant!"

"When you encounter a dead body, all you do is look?"

"Where are your talents? His blessings?"

"Whip them out! You can't seriously expect a Wood Elf to solve the case?"

'You really think you're a Wood Elf, don't you?'

"..." Zhang Jizu gave Cheng Shi a strange look and said flatly: "I'm a priest."

"Yeah, and?"

"My talents are all healing-related or survival-related. Even my equipment is the same. I have no other abilities."

"???"

'Not lying!'

Cheng Shi was floored. He gaped in genuine disbelief:

"A pure healer?"

"Wait—bro—you, the [Death] Chosen One! A pure healer?"

"What?"

"The term 'pure healer' sounds a bit odd, but if we must summarize it that way—yes, I'm a pure healer."

"...Then how on earth have you made it this far? Not a single other trick up your sleeve?"

Zhang Jizu smiled, as if finding the question rather silly:

"Simple. No matter how hard the trial, no matter how many teammates died, I never died. That's how I made it this far."

"..."

'Damn. He's got a point.'

Cheng Shi was stupefied. He'd genuinely never encountered a healer this pure at this tier. But still disbelieving, he pressed on:

"So when you pulled out that scalpel earlier—that's literally your only weapon?"

Zhang Jizu seemed to see nothing wrong with this. He nodded: "Not entirely. I also have hand-to-hand combat."

'Hand-to-hand combat? Against the monsters in trials? Or against these peak players?'

'Can your martial arts survive one tail-whip from Big Cat? Probably not.'

'Then again, Big Cat probably can't kill him either...'

Cheng Shi suddenly had an epiphany. Zhang Jizu's approach wasn't wrong at all—in fact, it was simple and brutal. This game really didn't have to be complicated. As long as you guaranteed you'd never die, you could genuinely outlast everyone.

'Damn—no wonder he's this steady. That game philosophy is absolutely insane.'

Deeply shaken, Cheng Shi pressed his lips together: "Doesn't that Lord equip you with anything else?"

"Equip? What do you mean—His bestowals?"

"Yeah. [Death] never lacks offensive items. Many of them are instant kills. Are they no good? Or do you just not like using them?"

"For every trial reward, I chose survival gear. Rather than killing others, I prefer keeping myself alive."

"..."

Cheng Shi was utterly convinced. Completely and thoroughly convinced.

'Well, well, well. I thought I was already extreme about preserving my life, but this guy is even more hardcore!'

'Truly worthy of His general!'

He fixed Zhang Jizu with a peculiar look and asked in a haunted tone the question that had been burning inside him:

"Is there anyone alive right now who could kill you in a trial?"

Zhang Jizu's gaze sharpened. This touched on his hidden cards—something he shouldn't share. But since his Benefactor had sent him to keep Cheng Shi alive, he naturally inferred that Cheng Shi's Benefactor must have a decent relationship with his own.

Since the two of Them were drawing closer, he should open up more to his protection target.

After a moment's hesitation, he said quietly: "No."

Those two weightless syllables didn't sound like much. But to Cheng Shi's ears, they rang like steel!

No!

This Gravekeeper had flatly stated that no one could kill him in a trial!

'How many survival tools does a person need before they can say something that audacious?!'

Cheng Shi was paralyzed with envy. Even carrying a partial "Vitality" Authority, he wouldn't dare make such a brazen claim.

"Impressive. You have my respect!"

"Alright—since the priest is a professional priest, let's leave the detective work to us Wood Elves."

"..."

With that, under Zhang Jizu's mildly confused gaze, Cheng Shi produced the hand-bone brooch bestowed by [Death].

The instant Zhang Jizu saw the brooch, he froze—then stared in disbelief, examining it closely.

'This thing... it looks like something my Lord crafted.'

'No—this IS something my Lord crafted!'

'The [Death] aura on it is far too pure. Identical to the aura beside the Bone Throne!'

'He made it Himself?'

'Seems like it!'

'But what is this thing, and why does a liar have it?'

He narrowed his eyes further, asking in confusion: "This is..."

"Oh, this? That Lord was contemplating [Memory] one day and idly molded a little toy. He wasn't satisfied with it, so He tossed it to me."

'Idly... molded... a little toy?'

'Why does this look like an S-rank Sacred Artifact to me?'

'How come I've never seen this among His rewards?'

'And what does "contemplating [Memory]" even mean?'

'Why would [Death] contemplate [Memory]?'

'Did my Benefactor steal [Memory]'s Authority?'

Zhang Jizu's brow knotted tightly. Something didn't add up.

'How come I never heard about this?'

'Why would He give a [Memory]-related artifact to a liar?'

'Just because [Deceit] is [Memory]'s rival?'

'Wait—no. Could it be that [Deceit] helped my Benefactor steal [Memory]'s Authority?'

'Is that why the two of Them are drawing closer?'

A cascade of thoughts flooded his mind. Just as the question marks over his head multiplied beyond counting, Cheng Shi had already activated the Departed's Recollection on the corpse.

Blue-green luminous flows filled "Gou Feng's" nostrils and mouth once more. His eyes snapped open.

Seeing the reaction, Cheng Shi smiled and asked:

"Before you died—what happened here?"

The corpse's lips writhed for a moment before it rasped:

"The Chieftain awakened me. But the Scavenger killed me."

!!!

That single sentence confirmed it: the dead man was not Gou Feng himself, but a newborn he'd spawned through his talent.

So who did the Chieftain kill?

If the Scavenger had killed the Chieftain's tribesman, did that mean the unlucky soul Gou Feng originally killed was Scorpio?

No—that didn't make sense. The tribesman's back bore clear signs of an assassin's strike. If Scorpio was dead, could the Scavenger have done it? A warrior using assassin techniques?

Questions abounded. Zhang Jizu raised an eyebrow and immediately pressed:

"Who did your Chieftain kill? Where did he go? Where did the Scavenger go? What about Scorpio?"

He fired off several questions in succession, but the corpse answered with only one line:

"Don't be afraid. It won't hurt. Just let me throw one punch. One punch, and you'll be pregnant."

"..."

Zhang Jizu went rigid. His perpetually squinting eyes flew wide open as he stared at Cheng Shi, his gaze screaming bewilderment.

Cheng Shi snorted a laugh and spread his hands.

"What did I tell you? A toy. Something He casually molded. Only the first question works. By the second, it's already glitched."

'It really is just a toy?'

Come to think of it, such a bestowal actually made sense.

Followers of the Fun God—of course they loved tinkering with bizarre, flashy gadgets like this.

After the little brooch interlude, both their brows furrowed again simultaneously.

They were both wondering why that seemingly shy and reserved Scavenger had turned lethal the instant the group split up—attacking a Chieftain who wasn't even a faith rival. It made absolutely no sense.

Unless a conflict had erupted between them the very instant they entered the compound.

But that possibility was too slim to serve as a logical foundation.

Moreover, if Mo Shu were a bloodthirsty killer, his pastries should logically have been tampered with. But Cheng Shi hadn't detected anything wrong with the cake.

"Strange. What do you think?" He looked at the Gravekeeper beside him.

Zhang Jizu pondered for a beat and was about to speak—when a thunderous crash erupted from downstairs.

BOOM!

CRASH—

Both jolted. They locked eyes—then simultaneously flicked scalpels from their sleeves and gripped them tight.

...