Chapter 1194: The Missing Nose of Verification |
No one could defeat the Greed Lord in His domain.
The three-clown meeting ended abruptly thanks to a thorough shakedown. The Dragon King left behind a pile of "valuables," and even Mi Laozhang was charged a "project deposit" for "unauthorized renovation of the Gathering Place."
'Project deposit.' How rich. Before this, Zhang Jizu had single-handedly built the entire Gathering Place — a job a certain Clown had specifically sought him out to do.
But now he couldn't even swap out a tombstone without paying a deposit.
Aside from muttering "morals in decline, hearts no longer true" a couple of times, what could he do?
As the two black-faced Jokers departed, the thoroughly enriched Cheng Shi returned to his Rest Area in high spirits.
This Trial had been extremely satisfying. He'd not only found Eye Bro, but also eliminated the greatest divine-level threat — [Oblivion] — and even glimpsed a corner of the Fun God's larger strategy.
Looking at the gods' current situation made it clear:
[Life]'s path had only one devout Approach Faction member left — [Birth] — and She had always been neutral toward worldly affairs. [Prosperity] had fallen. [Death]'s boss was confirmed as a Fear Faction ally. This path was essentially free of obstacles.
[Civilization] was wiped out entirely. The sole survivor was imprisoned behind [Chaos]'s throne, likely to join His two sibling gods at any moment.
[Chaos] was the most active, but of its three seats — one belonged to the Fun God Himself, one to the nostrils-only deity of [Folly] who only sneered and never lifted a finger, and the last to a friendly ally who'd vote with [Death]'s boss. So [Silence] probably had ties to the Fear Faction too.
[Existence] went without saying. [Memory]'s abstention that drove [Oblivion] mad had already shown His shifting stance toward [Void]. And [Time] was a steadfast Faith Fusion ally, quietly supporting the Fun God's every decision.
So tallying it all up, the Fear Faction had no remaining adversaries in the universe — except for [Fate], who was also [Void]!
As [Void]'s two sovereigns, both Benefactors wanted to write the era's ending with their own will. But which of their competing visions was right...
No one knew. Just as no one knew what Origin's experiment was truly for.
Cheng Shi had a nagging feeling the "Fixed Destiny" dispute was about to reach its conclusion. He just didn't know how [Fate] would lose to [Deceit].
He didn't care how [Fate] lost. He only prayed he wouldn't become collateral damage in this ideological war. After all, he was still [Void]'s sacrifice. If the Fun God's plan of rebellion involved shredding the sacrifice prepared for Him... then Cheng Shi would truly be trapped in terror forever.
After spacing out in the Rest Area for a while, Cheng Shi rallied himself and began taking stock.
He removed his ears and tongue one by one, gouged out his eyes, and tossed the lot into two small iron cages. Once his vision regenerated, he watched the Eyes of Mockery bouncing tirelessly inside their hamster wheel and asked curiously:
"Eye Bro, do you two really have no abilities?
Ear Bro eavesdrops on secrets. Tongue Bro eats lies. Following that pattern — all you can do is mock people?
Verbal attacks are your whole skillset?
Or to think more broadly — can you precisely identify a target's emotional vulnerabilities and use words to break them?
Or maybe you have no abilities at all, and constantly belittling me is just to build an air of mystery so I'll think you're more valuable than the other parts?"
The moment he finished, Cheng Shi was roasted again — in stereo, left and right channels.
"Tsk—
An idiot is an idiot. I can barely imagine how you found them through sheer guessing.
Then again, that proves stupidity congregates. Idiots of the same type gravitate toward each other — just like them and you."
"Your provocation and denial will only make you look more like a clown. When everyone already knows, there's no need to reinforce your clown credentials every single day.
One or two times might amuse the audience. After eight or ten, it just proves you truly are a clown. A stupid one, at that.
What's sadder is the Mask has fallen into a clown's hands again.
Tsk. Round and round. [Deceit] is truly boring."
"..."
But this actually made Cheng Shi feel better.
'See? Not just me getting roasted — even the Fun God as their Benefactor catches strays.'
Still, having insulted everyone, could they at least cough up something useful? If he'd gone through all that trouble to bring home two grandmas who just yelled at him... he genuinely couldn't handle it.
Cheng Shi pouted and tried a different angle:
"Fine, I'm stupid. I'll own it.
Even if you look down on me, I'm still the one most likely to reassemble the Mask. Speaking of which — shouldn't you help me find the last fragment? So the Mask can be whole again? To honor Crown's tremendous contribution to the faith of [Deceit]?"
The two eyeballs scoffed in unison:
"Crown's greatest contribution to [Deceit] was helping Him trick you. But what does that have to do with me?"
"I do have abilities, of course. But the idiot can't see them. When you stop being stupid, you'll naturally understand what I'm for."
"..."
Cheng Shi was well and truly out of moves. He'd asked the same thing countless times and received nothing but contempt. So he turned to Brother Mouth instead:
"Brother Mouth, do you know?"
The Fool's Lips hadn't even opened when the Eye of Mockery cut in:
"What would it know? It doesn't even know what it's useful for."
"?"
A gleam sparked in Cheng Shi's eyes. "What's Brother Mouth good for besides knowing a lot, lying without getting caught, and... calling me a clown?"
"Nothing. Just as useless as you."
"..."
"·..."
'Defeated. Utterly defeated.'
In truth, seeing the normally fearless Secret Peeping Ear maintain total silence, and the perpetually fidgety Tongue of Eating Lies lying tamely on the ground, Cheng Shi should have realized that talking to the Eyes of Mockery would lead nowhere.
He wearily opened the hamster cage, released the endlessly energetic Eyes of Mockery, made sure they were far from his ears, then lay on his back staring at the sky, sighing:
"Why does it feel like those two are more like creations of [Folly] than the Fun God's handiwork?
Can anyone give me an answer? Ear Bro? Tongue Bro?"
"..."
"Even if you won't discuss those two, at least talk about the Nose of Verification. It's the last step. Once we find it, I can complete the Mask — and you'll get to discover the secret that [Memory] Himself forgot, hidden in His Collection Hall.
I'm fairly sure the Eyes of Mockery retained their memories and know what's in there. But you don't. Aren't you curious?"
The Secret Peeping Ear answered honestly: "Curious."
The Tongue of Eating Lies flipped over lazily: "Curious."
Cheng Shi's spirits rose: "Then tell me where the nose is, and I'll find it — and give you your answer!"
A moment of silence. No one expected the one to break it would be the Fool's Lips:
"·It's no use. Before you learned its name was the Nose of Verification, I couldn't even remember what it was called."
"!!??"
Cheng Shi shot upright, face full of disbelief. The ear beside him chimed in:
"That's correct. I seem to have no memory of this 'brother' at all. It's as if some force is concealing it, making its existence undetectable."
Cheng Shi's brow furrowed. Following Mi Laozhang's theory, the Nose of Verification was something the Fun God had created in an attempt to siphon [Existence]'s authority. If it really was being concealed by some force, could [Existence] be responsible?
Not impossible. After all, they controlled all [Existence].
But the question was — which one had done it?
[Time]... or [Memory]?
...
[Volume Three: The Mask Is Not a Face — End.]
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