Chapter 994: Don't Worry, I'm the Older Sister |
Satisfied? Sure. But perhaps a bit too satisfied.
When you start baring your heart before a group of liars, they won't examine whether your sincerity is genuine — they know it isn't. They'll only focus on how much falsehood is mixed into that so-called sincerity.
A competitive liar like Long Jing getting embarrassed and immediately sharing intel honestly? Was that reasonable?
Not a ghost believed it.
Zhen Xin certainly didn't, but that didn't stop her from extracting some key information to guide the History School's future work.
Li Jingming didn't believe it either. Since merging with [Deceit], he'd discovered a universal truth: no liar doesn't lie.
Even if someone was absolutely trustworthy, as long as they were a liar, at least one in ten of their words had to be false.
So lies were inevitable. The only question was how much was mixed in.
He silently noted the information about Shi Zhen, eyeing Long Jing with newfound appreciation. This acrobat's deception skills were clearly improving through practice.
The newcomer wore identical black robes and mask. Familiar attire, miraculous coordination.
But when he drew near and found that no one present was disguised... he froze entirely.
And at that moment, Zhen Xin's smile turned eerily familiar.
"Heh~
Another one."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Even knowing full well the person before them was Zhen Xin — even having chatted with her for a while — all three veterans still tensed at that "heh." To say nothing of the newcomer.
His steps screeched to a halt. He immediately retreated two paces, and a scalpel had already slid from his sleeve.
Seeing the extreme reaction, Zhen Xin tilted her head thoughtfully and smiled:
"Interesting. But Cheng Shi, you're late.
Also — don't panic. I'm the older sister."
"???"
'What sane person introduces themselves by saying "I'm the older sister"?'
'And besides, who else could impersonate Zhen Yi this convincingly other than Zhen Xin? Well... maybe Cheng Shi...'
'But if she's Cheng Shi, then who's the "me" sitting on the [Death] tombstone!?'
The black-robed figure's eyelids twitching, he took a deep breath and removed his hood. When everyone saw those familiar squinting eyes, they all froze — then simultaneously turned to stare at the "Zhang Jizu" perched on the [Death] tombstone.
The imposter's face curved into a sly smile. He chuckled softly, shed his disguise, and revealed a brilliantly familiar grin, waving to everyone:
"Welcome to the Joker Society.
Miss Magician, I already told you I was hiding right here watching the show. So the latecomer isn't me — it's Squinty Zhang.
As punishment for tardiness, how about you kick things off for us, Squinty Zhang?"
"..."
Zhen Xin's smile vanished. The Dragon King's eye twitched. Long Jing beamed with glee!
His own failure was galling, but an opponent's failure was balm for the soul.
Zhang Jizu's eyes narrowed to slits. He nodded to everyone present, then silently walked to the [Death] tombstone. He pulled the "hey-hey-hey"-protesting Cheng Shi off, and took his seat.
With his spot stolen, Cheng Shi's face crumbled.
"You couldn't pick another one?"
"Trying to use devotion to that gentleman to offset blasphemy against all the gods?
Heh. Cheng Shi, don't forget — I'm that gentleman's believer."
Zhang Jizu kicked Cheng Shi away irritably. Cheng Shi shrugged it off:
"Oh right, right, right. Now you remember you're that gentleman's believer. I preferred when you were in the Cemetery questioning me about why He doesn't favor you."
"..."
Some people were exactly like their Benefactor. You could never beat them in a war of words.
Squinty Zhang, deciding out-of-sight was out-of-mind, simply closed his eyes. But this brief exchange added another delightful anecdote to the Dragon King's memory collection. Cheng Shi hadn't forgotten the [Memory] believer present, so he immediately pointed at Li Jingming:
"That counts as a first share. Dragon King, you owe me one now. Pay up later."
"?"
Cheng Shi's peculiar logic and trademark greediness drew laughs from everyone. The inexplicable tension in the air dissipated.
Zhen Xin shook her head with a smile: "No wonder He chose you as spokesperson. You truly have the talent."
Cheng Shi played dumb: "Who?"
"Give it a rest, Fate Weaver. Everyone knows who I mean.
Also, aren't you spacing out the arrivals too much? So few people after this long...
Don't tell me this is everyone."
"How could that be?" Cheng Shi immediately denied her challenge. "Don't underestimate our Jokers."
'Give me a break — there's still one more!'
'One seat might not sound like much, but in a group this size it's a twenty-percent increase. Double digits! That's significant!'
But he couldn't exactly confess there was only one more. So he rolled his eyes and deflected:
"People will arrive when they arrive. But forget them — why aren't you sitting?
Indecisive? Surely you don't prefer standing?
That's not the Zhen Xin I know. Where's that lightning-fast decisiveness?"
"..."
Zhen Xin eyed Cheng Shi strangely, then glanced around at the tombstones, her tone laden with meaning:
"Sitting is easy. Sitting correctly is hard.
Cheng Shi, where did the Fun God's tombstone go? As His believer, sweeping His grave wouldn't be bad."
'Sweeping?'
'I don't think sweeping is what you want. Everyone knows the Fun God doesn't care about that stuff. If I let you sit on His tombstone, that wouldn't be blasphemy — it'd be an offering.'
'Everyone else is blaspheming. You alone are demonstrating piety. Appropriate?'
Naturally not. So Cheng Shi had already hidden the [Deceit] tombstone. As for where...
Under everyone's questioning gazes, Cheng Shi casually looked up.
Every eye followed his, landing on the stone lantern illuminating the central clearing... which appeared to have been carved from a hollowed-out tombstone.
"..."
"..."
"...You hollowed out the Fun God's tombstone into a lamp?" Zhen Xin was dumbfounded. She blinked for ages, then burst out laughing and actually applauded. "Bravo. Nice symbolism — using darkness-dispelling light to metaphorize the Fun God's protection. Cheng Shi, I underestimated your devotion."
'Naturally!'
Had he been any less restrained, Cheng Shi would've struck a triumphant pose.
But Zhen Xin's next words were a bucket of cold water.
"Then again, dismantling the Fun God's tombstone smacks a bit of 'desecrating the corpse.' Seems your devotion has its impurities too. Hmm, next time I have an audience, I'll put in a good word for you."
"?"
'You'd better mean a genuinely good word.'
Zhen Xin waved dismissively and spun onto the [Chaos] tombstone. Her agile mounting drew everyone's attention.
Long Jing, unaware of the reasoning, teased: "What, you think [Chaos] is so chaotic He won't charge you with blasphemy?"
Zhen Xin sat with legs crossed, smiling elegantly:
"Of course not. I simply observe that everyone's words are razor-sharp without a trace of chaos. Doesn't that mean [Chaos] is receding from us?
Wouldn't you say so, Fate Weaver?"
Cheng Shi smiled dismissively, not engaging her loaded words. He was silently counting time, wondering: would the Doctor show up today?
...