Chapter 441: Behind the Stage Curtain |
"What does a one mean?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" Qin Xin's smile froze. He recognized the gravity of the situation. "Is it related to [Fate]?"
"That, I also don't know."
"Then tell me what you do know." In that moment, the Torchbearers' pragmatic ethos asserted itself. Qin Xin crossed his arms, brow furrowed.
An Mingyu deliberated for a long while before carefully choosing her words:
"First, I can confirm that matters involving Cheng Shi are subject to prophecy.
"Not long ago, he contacted me. The implication was that he wanted me to make a prophecy about [Prosperity]'s fall. After discussing it with Xin Xin, I didn't do that. Instead, I made a prophecy about Cheng Shi himself.
"You should know that deities cannot be prophesied about lightly. So what I prophesied last time was: whether the matter Cheng Shi described was connected to him.
Watching An Mingyu's increasingly solemn expression, Qin Xin raised a brow: "What was it?"
"Maximum."
"Twenty-two?"
"No. All seventeen dice in my possession— every single one rolled maximum."
"..." Qin Xin's expression finally changed. Shock— rare for him— surfaced on his face. He pointed upward and asked, "Are you saying His fall... is connected to him? Connected to a player?"
"Which is exactly why I said... I don't know.
"I've conducted two prophecies about him, and those two prophecies produced two opposite extremes. All prior experience and guidance has lost its reference value..."
"What exactly was your second prophecy?"
"It's what you mentioned— the audience. I wanted to know whether my Lord had ever summoned him. And my Lord's answer was a pitch-black [Void], along with...
"A one on the Die of Fate."
"Based on my understanding of you prophets, a one signifies absolute negation. So isn't it possible that [Fate] has already given its answer?"
An Mingyu fixed Qin Xin with a withering look, as if staring at a fool.
"I take no particular pride in it, but Qin Xin, please take a careful look at who's standing before you. I am the highest-scoring prophet in this entire game.
"As the Chosen One of [Fate], I believe I have somewhat more authority on the subject of dice values than you?"
"..."
"This is categorically not a normal one. You need to understand— [Fate] is suffused with change. No one can be certain that something will absolutely never happen.
"Fixed destiny only reveals itself at the very end... So the question is: whose ending is this?" An Mingyu furrowed her brow in thought.
Qin Xin stood there awkwardly. He shook his head with a smile.
"Forget it. What we don't know, we don't know. Whether or not he's had an audience with [Fate], it doesn't change the fact that the Torchbearers owe him a debt.
"With [Prosperity] fallen, everyone will start making moves soon. If the Torchbearers' God Creation Plan is to continue, the best approach is to seek inspiration at their funeral.
"Of course, I'm not sure there'll be a proper funeral. But I imagine that those who chase after the deity's relics will serve as a form of 'tribute' in their own right.
"I don't yet know what kind of lead Hu Wei and his group found ahead of time, but the Torchbearers need to start moving too.
"Once I return, I'll issue the task. As long as we find some 'relics' before everyone else learns the truth, we won't come out too badly.
"But I can't help reminding you and Zhen Xin of one more thing:
"Even if you're using Zhen Yi as a pawn in your schemes... letting her know too much is never a good idea."
Indeed— using Zhen Yi as a pawn!
This Mediocre Person Society gathering was never Long Jing and Zhen Yi's scheme. It was the Torchbearers' and Zhen Xin's!
After Zhen Xin had extracted every memory of Cheng Shi from Zhen Yi's mind, the Torchbearers' affairs had been laid bare before her.
And that was how the Blind One had come to find Qin Xin in the first place.
She hadn't been recruited as a Fire Seeker by Qin Xin— she'd come knocking of her own accord.
As for why Zhen Xin and the Blind One wanted to collaborate with the Torchbearers: it was because the Blind One, upon hearing about the organization from Zhen Xin, had immediately prophesied the Torchbearers' future.
And in the prophetic vision of that future, she'd seen herself and Zhen Xin.
So the two women had decided to approach the Torchbearers and align with [Fate].
After hearing this prophecy, Qin Xin— uncharacteristically— hadn't probed deeply into their motives. He'd simply consulted a certain "person," asking whether this partnership was feasible.
That "person" had given an affirmative answer but offered no further counsel.
So Qin Xin decided to take the risk.
Because the current Torchbearers were simply too weak. He desperately needed assistance, and a prophet who could see through [Fate] would undoubtedly spare them countless troubles.
Hence his earlier remark: the two sides were merely collaborating, and a parting of ways was inevitable.
And how to grow the Torchbearers before that parting came was the most urgent question burning in Qin Xin's mind.
Returning to the matter of the scheme: when the Blind One had gleaned scraps of information from Cheng Shi and cross-referenced them with Zhen Xin, they'd arrived at a bold conjecture— the very one Cheng Shi had spoken of: [Prosperity]'s fall.
But this intelligence couldn't be verified. So they'd devised a scheme, feeding a few fragmented memories to Zhen Yi and letting her curiosity drive the investigation.
And conveniently, Zhen Yi was headed to the Mediocre Person Society. Zhen Xin had also given Cheng Shi a Mediocre Person Society invitation card in advance. So the two women, together with the Torchbearers— who hungered most for divine intelligence— had laid their trap within the gathering.
Their primary target was Zhen Xin's alternate personality and sister, Zhen Yi— along with the clueless clown, Cheng Shi.
Zhen Yi had believed all along that she was the star of this mediocre gathering, so she'd contacted her "good friend" Long Jing, and the two of them had run their own "little scheme" inside Zhen Xin's grand design.
And the target of that little scheme was also... the clueless clown, Cheng Shi.
In summary: con the clueless clown, Cheng Shi.
Simplified further: Cheng Shi the Clown.
But what nobody expected was that before this scheme-within-a-scheme concluded, the true clown had turned out to be the schemers themselves. Everyone who'd tried to extract intelligence from this game had ended up the clown instead.
What followed in the hall essentially confirmed [Prosperity]'s fall for Zhen Xin, the Blind One, and Qin Xin.
Because Cheng Shi's refusal to challenge or question the claim was, in their eyes, an attitude in itself— it meant he could actually stomach the bitter fruit of Zhen Yi impersonating him, which in turn meant he'd already come to terms with [Prosperity]'s fall.
And so, the Torchbearers' God Creation Plan was set in motion. Step one: find [Prosperity]'s relics.
Which was why Qin Xin had issued that warning. He simply didn't want Zhen Yi piecing together clues about their affairs, which could deal a fatal blow to the Torchbearers' existence.
An Mingyu nodded in agreement:
"Rest easy. Xin Xin has already removed every memory Zhen Yi had regarding the [Prosperity] speculation. She only left behind the faintest of clues— otherwise, someone as clever as Zhen Yi would never have been lured into the scheme."
"Should I say 'no one knows a sister like her sister'?
"Viewed this way, having an alternate personality is certainly convenient in certain matters."
"Convenient?
"If it happened to you, you absolutely would not say that.
"The two of them are sisters, but they're also rivals— and rivals who know each other inside and out..."
Qin Xin's expression turned strange for an instant. He imagined what it would be like if another version of himself appeared, then was struck by some thought that made him burst out laughing.
"Having a rival isn't so bad either. But enough of that.
"What comes next is memory erasure time.
"Ming Yu, although you're only an unofficial Fire Seeker, regarding this particular memory..."
An Mingyu raised a hand to cut him off: "Just bring it out."
Qin Xin nodded with an appreciative look, then produced two brand-new vials of Remembrance Needle!
"You're generous with these— they're quite valuable, you know. Aren't you afraid I'll resell them and let Xin Xin keep this memory?"
Qin Xin smiled brightly: "I trust you."
Those three words alone were enough for An Mingyu to shed every trace of levity. She nodded with absolute gravity and accepted the two vials of Remembrance Needle. But then she added with a light laugh: "There's one thing I've always been terribly curious about."
Qin Xin raised a brow: "Go on."
"From using dreams to shroud this hall, to generating memory projections of players, to all the memory-erasure abilities you're using...
"If I'm not mistaken, you seem to always rely on items to wield your [Memory] powers.
"Where on earth do you get so many [Memory] artifacts, Qin Xin?"
Qin Xin seemed entirely unsurprised by the question. He laughed heartily: "Perhaps you've forgotten that one of my Fire Seekers is a Learned Poet."
"True, a Learned Poet would greatly augment your capabilities. But what I mean is, your items go beyond mere pages.
"As a follower of [Memory], why do you refuse to wield [Memory]'s power directly?
"What exactly are you hiding?
"And that current mysterious number-one on the [Memory] ladder, Like A Dream— is that really not you?"
At those words, Qin Xin grinned from ear to ear.
"Of course it's not me. Because I...
"Am not on the ladder you're referring to."