Chapter 359: Splitting Up

Foolish Game of the Gods

Despite Cheng Shi's words sounding deflated, his tone carried more mockery than disappointment. Seeing he wasn't truly discouraged, Zhang Jizu asked curiously:

"What's your plan?"

"I'm thinking: since the church has no records, it means there are two scenarios."

"One—illegal pregnancy. The expecting mother we're looking for must have gone into hiding long ago, undiscovered by the church. Perhaps in the coming days, she won't be able to hide anymore."

"Based on my experience, it's also possible that our search itself is what exposes her. Fate can be unpredictable like that."

"Two—supernatural birth. This one's trickier. It means someone in Dolgod might have the ability—like our Chieftain teammate—to impregnate others and trigger rapid delivery. That kind of scenario is impossible to predict; the entire pregnancy and birth might happen in an instant. Missing it means total trial failure."

"I'm hoping for the first scenario. But my gut says it's probably the second."

"Either way, we need to be fully prepared."

"Squinty-eyes—I don't want to lose. So... help me out?"

Zhang Jizu's expression turned extremely strange. He turned to Cheng Shi, studied him for a moment, and said: "What did you just call me?"

Cheng Shi jolted. 'Crap—said the quiet part out loud.' He hastily laughed it off: "Nickname. It's a nickname."

Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes, lips twitching: "The last person who called me that was..."

"..."

Some things didn't need to be finished for Cheng Shi to understand. They exchanged a look, mutually averted their gazes, and simultaneously thought: 'Bad omen.'

"Ahem... let's not talk about that. I genuinely need a favor."

Zhang Jizu shook his head and flatly refused—without even hearing the request.

Cheng Shi blanked again. His gaze sharpened as he studied the other man. After a moment of thought, he asked quietly:

"Did that Lord send you?"

This wasn't a far-fetched guess. Zhang Jizu's behavior all day had been indistinguishable from a bodyguard's.

Zhang Jizu hadn't planned to hide it. After half a day of traveling together and getting a read on Cheng Shi, he felt concealment was pointless.

First, the man was clever enough to figure it out eventually. Second, setting aside the lying, this Master of Trickery was genuinely worth befriending—his cautiousness, at least, was right up Zhang Jizu's alley.

So he nodded and said concisely: "Yes."

Cheng Shi frowned, wondering what was going on—was he about to run into trouble?

But then Zhang Jizu continued: "I prayed to [Deceit] for a trial, and He personally delivered me here."

"The Fun God? The Fun God sent you?"

Cheng Shi blinked in bewilderment, then dipped his head in thought. Some time later—as Turadin inside the room began dejectedly sorting documents and preparing to leave—he looked up at Zhang Jizu:

"I don't know what the Fun God is planning. But believe this: before the show He wants to see has played out, He absolutely won't let its lead actor get into trouble."

"To be clearer—I'm probably that lead actor. Do you understand?"

Zhang Jizu looked at Cheng Shi with a peculiar expression, then nodded.

"Good. Right now the situation is unclear. I need a backup plan to prevent this trial from failing. Squi—... Old Zhang, I really do need your help. I can't trust anyone else. Only you. And only you can keep him alive."

Zhang Jizu frowned: "Who?"

"Gou Feng!"

"?" Zhang Jizu's pupils contracted slightly. He repeated: "The Chieftain?"

"Exactly. To win this trial safely, we need to keep him alive first. I can't confirm he's still living, but I want you to check. If he is—keep him alive at all costs."

"Don't worry about me. I definitely won't die. Trust me—and if you don't trust me, trust that Lord. Think about it: if He agreed to send you here, that means I'm at least somewhat in His good graces, right?"

"So as long as the gods Themselves don't make a move, I'll survive. Even if it means becoming a skull."

Normally, no matter how eloquently Cheng Shi argued, Zhang Jizu wouldn't have agreed. But when he heard "skull," he stared at Cheng Shi in astonishment:

"You've been to the Fishbone Hall?"

Cheng Shi blinked rapidly: "Yep. Had the honor of being summoned once."

Zhang Jizu's eyes narrowed, his gaze intensifying:

"They're pushing their faiths toward fusion, aren't they?"

"[Death] and... [Deceit]?"

'Huh?'

'Are They?'

Cheng Shi was caught off guard, but didn't show it. Instead, he ran with Zhang Jizu's hypothesis:

"That's my guess too. Otherwise, that Lord wouldn't have summoned me, and you wouldn't have been thrown beside me by the Fun God."

"So this is most likely Their test. They probably want to see how a Master of Trickery and a Gravekeeper cooperate—hoping our performance sparks fresh ideas for the faith fusion. Sound right?"

Zhang Jizu fell silent. It made some sense, but his Benefactor's words still echoed in his ears. He'd been told to protect Cheng Shi—not to generate "fresh sparks."

Seeing an opening, Cheng Shi pressed on:

"So we don't just need to win—we need to win beautifully. Now is exactly the time to join forces. You go find Gou Feng. I'll guide Turadin."

"Trust me. We'll win."

Zhang Jizu's eyes had nearly squinted shut. He studied his protection target again and again without asking a single question about the plan. Instead, he suddenly asked:

"If [Deceit] and [Death] do walk side by side in the future—will your other [Fate] personality agree?"

?

'What other personality? I'm not Zhen Xin.'

But Cheng Shi blurted out without thinking: "I'm a Wood Elf... sorry, force of habit. I'm a Master of Trickery. What's my connection to [Fate]?"

Zhang Jizu snorted a squinting laugh and shook his head:

"Not a single truthful word leaves your mouth. I'm even starting to doubt your Master of Trickery identity."

"Stop lying. That Lord told me you carry both [Deceit] and [Fate]."

!!!

'It's over. I hid it for so long, and my identity leaked through [Death]'s mouth.'

'Bones without lips can't keep secrets—that's just unreliable. Boss! How could You just sell me out like that?!'

Still, the "alternate personality" angle made a convenient excuse. Since Zhen Xin had an alter ego, it shouldn't be too strange if he had one too.

Seeing concealment was pointless, Cheng Shi came clean:

"You're right. Like Zhen Xin, I have an alternate personality that follows [Fate]. But he's a complete lunatic. I'd suggest keeping your distance."

"I already have a method to separate him. When the time comes, [Deceit] will be [Deceit] and [Fate] will be [Fate]—no longer connected."

Zhang Jizu stared at Cheng Shi, thinking: 'You [Deceit] folks sure play wild. The Chosen One splits into a lunatic—fine. But the person [Deceit] chose also splits into a lunatic—and that lunatic even hooked up with the previous one.'

'Your esteemed [Void] circle really is... void.'

He shook his head with a smile, deciding that overthinking was pointless.

Cheng Shi's logic held up. If the entire trial revolved around a single objective, it did seem petty. How that Lord would view such behavior was uncertain.

Moreover, for the sake of future faith fusion, he was willing to take Cheng Shi at his word and give it a try.

Though his preference leaned toward [Prosperity] rather than [Deceit], sometimes preference alone didn't determine outcomes.

So instead of refusing Cheng Shi's proposal, he reached into his spatial storage and pulled out a palm-sized, oddly-shaped but fleshy little figurine, placing it in Cheng Shi's pocket.

Cheng Shi, bewildered by the still-squirming "little living person" in his pocket, asked in shock:

"What is this?"

"A Substitute Death Doll, made by a Backstage Puppeteer. Those [Folly] followers really do research divine wonders more deeply than [Truth]'s—but in far more twisted directions."

"This item is extremely rare. Few know what it does. It can save your life once. But never let anyone resurrect it—because it dies in your place, assuming your identity. If it's revived, your identity gets stolen."

"So after you unexpectedly die and come back—even before running, burn it first. I don't need to explain how terrifying identity theft is."

"This is the only lifesaving tool I have that works passively and can be given to others. Usage is simple: just keep it on your person. It doesn't bond to a master—it bonds to the nearest life form. Guard it well, and be careful."

"I'll head to the Evil Infant Inquisition. I'll return as quickly as I can. Until then—don't blow up the sky."

With that, Zhang Jizu let go of the wall, about to drop straight down from the tall building.

But just then, Cheng Shi freed a hand and grabbed him. As Zhang Jizu stood there utterly stupefied—half-wondering if Cheng Shi had changed his mind—a die slid out from Cheng Shi's sleeve like a magician's trick.

The die rolled along their clasped wrists and tumbled into Zhang Jizu's work-uniform sleeve.

"This is...?"

"Fair's fair. You be careful too. And—bye-bye, not seeing you out."

He released his grip, letting the self-proclaimed unkillable squinty-eyes plummet straight down.

BOOM—

Something slammed into the ground below.

The tremendous noise startled Turadin inside the room. Cheng Shi flashed a mischievous grin, vaulted over the balcony into the Head of Church's room, and walked toward the son who'd already put all the documents back.

"How are you here—?!"

...