Chapter 559: Not a Gardener? Huh? |
"It's a long story."
Cheng Shi trusted Big Cat. Or rather, in this entire Faith Game, the person he'd given the most trust to was Big Cat — because he knew she would never betray a friend's trust.
Even so, he didn't share the fact that he'd obtained the "Faded" authority. He merely gave a rough explanation of the last trial, saying he'd happened to guess Decay's true will and used that acknowledgment to strip away Nangong's faith.
Hong Lin didn't believe a word of it. She'd seen Cheng Shi pull off miracles before. She knew a trial involving Chosen Ones would never be simple — and certainly not as breezy as he made it sound.
So Cheng Shi must have cleared an extraordinarily brutal trial and poured his heart into saving a good girl.
'He is a good person!'
Even without witnessing that soul-stirring trial firsthand, Hong Lin was happy. She felt validated in her judgment of character.
"So that's what happened. She truly is lucky."
Cheng Shi blinked, sensing a hidden layer in those words but not dwelling on it. He asked directly:
"A gardener?
No. Rather than becoming a gardener who tends plants and preserves prosperity, I think she's better suited to be a fate weaver who mends others' destinies.
I saw her vision. I knew she was repaying a debt of gratitude. It moved me, so I recommended she take the path of Fate.
Nangong accepted. She was happy — because a certain fate weaver had given her a wonderful example to follow.
You know who I'm talking about, right, Cheng Shi?"
"..."
'Seriously?'
'This works?'
'So she ended up as a colleague? Great, great, great — this basically looks like I poached someone from Decay on behalf of my Benefactor.'
'Well, since Nangong's already been faded, that single-minded colossus obsessed with decay probably won't care about these faith headaches anymore.'
Cheng Shi smacked his lips with complicated feelings, unsure what to say. It was Hong Lin who gradually reined in her light laughter and suddenly turned serious.
"The good news ends here. Next comes the bad news.
Lin Xi... found his second faith."
'Lin Xi?'
'The Decay Chosen — the Plague Cardinal whose ID is "Rotten Wood?"'
Hong Lin's voice was heavy. Cheng Shi's heart lurched. "What faith?"
"Oblivion. He embraced Oblivion.
Being a fellow Descent faith made his offensive power even more devastating. I've done my best to hide our connection, but I still want to warn you — be careful of him. He and I don't exactly get along."
"..."
'Got it. Cover blown. Watch my back.'
That said, Cheng Shi thoughtfully looked at his left pinkie nail again. A Decay and Oblivion dual-faith follower, standing before him...
'Wouldn't that just leave... Oblivion?'
'No, no, no — can't fade him. If I fade him, I'd face a pure Oblivion follower. But if I don't fade him, he would have to face a Decay "Herald" wielding the "Faded" authority!'
'And that Herald... is me!'
Thinking it through... 'Tsk, I'm kind of eager to run into this "Rotten Wood" now.'
'If I dealt with this "Rotten Wood" in some trial, would Big Cat be shocked enough to literally bristle?'
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Cheng Shi said this aloud while quietly scheming internally.
Hong Lin acknowledged with a "Mm" and continued:
"The pace of faith fusion seems to be accelerating lately. I don't know if it's because of Her... because of Her fall speeding up the gods' movements, but many players — even those who haven't stepped onto a new path — have at least found a lead.
Keep in mind, just a week ago, even some Chosen Ones had no leads on a second faith."
'The gods' will had definitely shifted because of Prosperity's self-destruction, but where exactly that shift led was still unclear.'
Cheng Shi frowned and said nothing, patiently listening on.
"You know Mo Li, right?"
"Hm?" Cheng Shi blinked. 'That guy just parted ways with me, and there's already new drama?'
"Yeah, I know him. Why?"
"Apparently, he's looking to approach War. But whether that's true, I can't say for certain."
'War?'
'What?'
'An Order follower going for War?'
'Has he given up on maintaining order?'
'What — he needs one hand holding the codex and the other swinging a big stick, clubbing anyone who breaks the rules?'
Cheng Shi's expression turned peculiar. He asked casually: "According to whom?"
Hong Lin's reply was blunt and unhesitating.
"Li Jingming. I ran into him again. Still doggedly pursuing his Memory path.
But he's changed too. Maybe it's from Deceit's influence — he's started trying to impersonate other people.
He also said he recently obtained a small portion of 0221's memories. You know 0221, right? Truth's Chosen."
Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened. He nodded in confirmation.
This mysterious Truth Chosen had an exceptionally scant information footprint across all the channels. For a mage — especially a Truth mage — that was highly abnormal. Suspiciously mysterious.
"0221 is conducting slice experiments. When I heard this, I was shocked but not surprised — it's very Truth, after all.
But he doesn't seem to be doing only slice experiments. He's apparently trying to replicate every experiment the Tower of Logic has ever conducted — it's just that the slice experiment has been the most successful.
Li Jingming theorizes this madman might not be the original. '0221' might literally be his slice number. But there's no hard proof yet.
I agree with that theory, personally. Those Truth and Folly types can't be measured by normal human standards. What do you think, Cheng Shi?"
Cheng Shi smiled. Rather than answering Hong Lin's question, he countered:
"I'm not particularly curious about some 0221. What I'm curious about is what earth-shattering intel you traded to get all this from the Dragon King. Don't tell me you told him you inherited Prosperity's authority?"
"Tch — do I look that stupid?"
"..."
"I just told him the truth. I said Prosperity had fallen."
"?" Cheng Shi's eyebrow rose. 'Clever girl!'
This news would spread like wildfire after that Mediocre Person Society gathering. By telling Li Jingming now, Big Cat had exploited a time gap to freeload his intel.
'Smooth move!'
But wait — how did she know Prosperity's news would spread quickly?
'She's got something.'
Cheng Shi grinned, praising her as he went: "Impressive. Nice time gap play. Was the Dragon King... shocked?"
"Not really. He seemed to already know. I felt like someone had told him, but he traded intel with me anyway."
"..." Cheng Shi froze. He opened his mouth, sighed, and asked: "Then why did you suddenly decide to trade this with him?"
"I figured there was no way to hide it from these sharp people. Better to trade early for something useful."
"..." 'That's reasonably smart, actually.'
Cheng Shi blinked: "So how did you explain the source?"
"I pinned it on Zhen Yi. Let that jinx take the fall. She's got so many lice she's stopped itching."
'Hiss—'
'Is this what a Fate follower with Good Fortune looks like? Casually throwing someone under the bus while perfectly closing the information loop?'
'The Mediocre Person Society's intel was connected to Zhen Yi anyway!'
'Fine, fine, fine. You win. You always win.'
Cheng Shi twitched his lips and said nothing more.
Silence fell over the phone line. On the other end, Hong Lin seemed deep in thought. After a long while, she finally spoke again:
"What about you, Cheng Shi? Any news on your end?"
Cheng Shi pondered briefly, then remembered there was still one unresolved matter. He smiled:
"The Decay number one is too tough to tackle. Let's steer clear. But, Hong Lin — have you ever thought about making a move on the Decay number two?"
"Number two? Yu Mu?" Hong Lin froze, then gave a half-smile. "What — another late-night hit?"
"..." 'Sis, I'm sorry. It was just a slip of the tongue from overthinking.' Cheng Shi coughed awkwardly and quickly pivoted: "Doesn't have to be late at night. Whenever you want. Just say the word, and I'll deliver him to you, gift-wrapped."
"?"
'You — a priest — are going to tie up a number-two-ranked hunter and deliver him to me?'
Hong Lin fell silent. After a long pause, she murmured: "Are you serious?"
"Absolutely. Dead serious. After all, I never lie."
...
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